The Devil’s Cage

When a satisfied Kieran reached the student affairs office on the first floor, the fairly big office was filled with people.

A single glance encompassed around a hundred people.

All of them were unfamiliar faces, certainly not the panicked students from this block of the building.

“So, there is more than one examination venue?”

With this thought lingering in his mind, Kieran slowly walked towards the desk of the teacher in charge of the office.

It was easy to recognize because the top of the desk had a sign that said ‘Student Affairs Office. New Student Receptions.’

“2567? You are late. This is yours, treat it properly.”

A teacher with reading glasses passed a black travel bag to Kieran, taking the sign on the desk and exiting the office.

The door slowly closed.

The student affairs office was filled with many people, yet not a single sound was made. The white lights looking extremely depressing, even more so when the crowd was filled with people looking at Kieran.

In fact, from the moment Kieran stepped into the office, a hundred pairs of eyes were locked on the late newcomer.

Some were dubious, some curious, some impatient, and a lot more disdainful.

Although time wasn’t a criteria in judging the first out of examination, anyone who arrived late shouldn’t get a good result either.

Prejudiced by their first impressions, the little groups that swiftly formed among the crowd did not care about Kieran, believing him unworthy of their time.

Likewise, many others deemed him unworthy of their attention too. So everyone looked at Kieran, but not a single soul came to talk to him.

Kieran didn’t care. He checked the black travel bag. After realizing it was just some daily supplies, he took the bag to an empty corner, threw it on the floor, leaned back on the wall with his hood up, and completely merged into the shadows.

10 minutes later, the door to the student affairs office opened again.

A tall, thin man and a short, buff man entered one after another. Behind them was a bunch of invigilators.

The first two men were no doubt the examiners.

“I am Senile.”

“I am Leonard.”

“We would now like to announce that the second round of examination will begin right away,” both of them said in succession.

“A second round?”

“Shouldn’t the entrance exam be over?”

“Why is there a second round?”

Questions exploded from the crowd, but the two examiners didn’t have the slightest intention of explaining. They left the office after they finished, as did the invigilators.

The freshmen looked at each other in confusion. Ultimately, the few small groups among the crowd walked out under their temporary leader’s guidance.

Wherever there was a leader, more would join the fray.

Kieran followed, too, at the end of the line.

The group moved forward until they walked out of the building and reached the field.

10 buses were lined up in two rows on the fields.

“20 students in one bus. These buses will bring you to your examination venue,” said one of the invigilators.

The several little groups eagerly moved on as they chose their buses, some of their acquaintances also joining them.

Since the number of freshmen and buses were not precisely even, many seats in the buses were left empty. Kieran was the last one to move, picking the bus with the fewest number of people in it.

Other than the driver, there were only three students in it: a shy boy, a short-haired girl in a jersey, and a boy with headphones and glasses.

When Kieran boarded the bus, the shy boy looked down and shrunk in his seat as if he were a scaredy cat.

The girl in the jersey smiled at Kieran but didn’t say anything. The other boy with the headphones and glasses ignored Kieran.

Kieran did not care about either of them as he headed straight to the last row and sat down in the most comfortable way possible, waiting patiently.

Similar to how an explosion was used during the first round, Kieran was certain the second round wouldn’t be that easy.

Vrroom Vrooom! Kak!

The buses roared to life, and the doors slowly began to close, but just as the doors were about to shut, the drivers jumped out of their buses through the closing doors.

Everyone was stunned by the scene, but before they could react properly, a broadcast came through the loudspeakers in the buses.

“Since every single one of you freshmen passed the first round of Theorate’s entrance exam, you must have gone through the self-introduction part. Well then, our second round will begin shortly. Of course, this second round wasn’t stated in your admittance letter like the first round was, but it will decide whether or not you will be accepted into Theorate School. As for the first round of the examination, does everyone remember the key you got? There are three types of keys: gold, silver and black. The different colors represent different abilities in the second round of this exam. Gold provides you with one time immunity, and silver provides you with one time external aid. As for black? Well, I’m sorry to tell you that you being here is already the black key’s biggest use.”

Senile’s voice was strict and mocking.

All of the freshmen could sense the malicious intent in his words.

Discomfort started to spread throughout the buses.

Leonard’s voice came through the loudspeaker and elevated the discomfort to its peak.

“I will tell you what the second round of the exam is about: finding the mole! Each bus has a mole—don’t worry, it isn’t a teacher of Theorate in disguise. They are outsiders that ought to infiltrate Theorate, and they are also freshmen. So… we will not be holding back.”

When Leonard’s voice subsided, beeps resounded from the driver’s seats.

“A b-bomb!”

Cries of shock sounded out one after another.

In the bus that Kieran was in, the shy boy felt weak in his seat, the girl in a jersey looked astonished, and the boy with glasses even took his headphones out. Kieran was unmoved by the broadcast, waiting for things to unfold.

“The bomb is real, don’t even try to doubt it. Now, you have three choices. First, forfeit this round, lose your qualifications to enter Theorate, return to your home, and live happily ever after. Second, find the mole in the bus within three hours. Third, wait for the explosion to blast you into pieces.”

Leonard’s voice subsided, leaving a slight buzz over the broadcast.

“I-I don’t want to die! I give up!” the shy boy cried out, the first one to speak.

In the other buses, there were many others who made the same decision, but right away, Leonard’s voice came through the loudspeaker again.

“If one of you surrender, the whole bus surrenders.”

When Leonard’s voice echoed throughout the bus, everyone fell into silence. They looked at each other with doubt.

“Leonard, don’t be so serious, you’ll scare the freshmen. Everyone, please don’t be overly concerned about Leonard’s serious tone. Things aren’t as serious as you think. Although Theorate is good… isn’t staying alive better? Even though a Proper Meal class dinner will be prepared for the student who cleared the exam the fastest during the welcoming dinner, compared to staying alive…”

BANG!

Before Senile’s ridiculing words could end, they were interrupted by a loud bang.

A distorted bus door flew far away. Kieran grabbed the short-haired girl in a jersey, her face swollen, and ran out of the bus.

“Where is the dinner?” he asked.