Page 288 of Light Leech

She slapped my butt, which felt like a tickling ripple in my mind, and pointed for me to follow the others sprinting up the wide white staircase.

The more people who started up the staircase, the more fell off the edges, which lacked a railing. Those who fell blurred with shaking images, just as the slapped man had, though they were quick to stand and return to the bottom of the stairs.

“Hurry the zeg up!” Ralia shouted, pulling me from my distracted pause.

I sprinted after her. With the chamber’s colossal size, the staircase was several stories high. Despite my malfunctioning mod, I was still an impressive runner, though running here was not the same. The fatigue of climbing each step was not met with the buildup of lactic acid. I felt my body slow with my mind. Rather than struggle for the next step as I reached its apex, my mind struggled to think as clearly as I had at the bottom.

We reached the top and after a brief rest, I felt clarity return.

The second level was a mirror of the previous, except for one wall being a violet veil which blurred the path beyond. Ralia and I joined the others and proceeded towards it.

The crowd pushed us forward as more people filled in the space behind us. I checked back to see them struggling forward as the crowd piled in towards the end of the stairs. Some moved to the sides while others would not budge from the top of the staircase.

“Ten seconds remaining,” the voice announced, igniting hysteria around the staircase.

I glanced towards the staircase, no longer able to see the floor in the sea of people.

“This floor has been sealed,” the voice spoke. “Two hundred and fifty of you entered the Test, one hundred and sixty one remain.”

I turned to Ralia, her smile met my trepidation. While it hadn’t surprised me that she took pleasure in the ruthless rigidity, I was surprised that so many had already failed. What would have happened if Ralia hadn’t placed us so close to the staircase? Would we be cut off until we found another assassin to utilize?”

“What do you think happened to the people who didn’t make–”

The announcer cut me off. “In a moment, this light veil will disappear, opening the first segment.”

Shouts of confusion and demands for clarity led me to conclude that even though we were outsiders, none of these competitors had the faintest idea what was happening.

“Segment one: the Race. In this segment of the Standardized Test, you will compete for intellectual endurance. The brightest minds must not only be able to keep and retrieve knowledge, they must also learn to strain their minds to great extents to obtain such knowledge. Only the first seventy-five finishers will be permitted to continue on to the second segment.”

“That few already?” someone shouted.

“I demand an explanation!” Another, her voice haughty and forced to sound so.

“Zeg, you, Lemme forward!”

Bodies pushed us to the side as the group condensed near the front.

“Zeg you, shac, I got here first!”

They continued to shout as the announcer continued. “Those who fail are not fit for Pure Knowledge. Begin.”

The veil dissipated and the crowd pressed forward with screams and shouts. Had I not been pressed against bodies in every direction, the force from behind would have knocked me over. I felt like I was in a rally against Pavtov back in Medislavia. I thought we had it bad back then. How was it now? How was Arabasia since the Republic failed to take their Essence? The world’s powers contested on the outside, yet none of their corporate schemes mattered under the threat of the fetal god. How foolish they were to believe that lumens bought worth. They couldn’t even buy wisdom. Seeing these people around us, I knew there were many who had reached this point through manipulation and greed, nothing more.

I was no moral paragon, but I felt that I deserved to win.

But this was a competition of intellect, wisdom, and knowledge. Morals had nothing to do with it. If it was anything like the world out there, the victors would be those who were willing to deceive. I was willing to sacrifice my moral ground there, but I still lacked intellectual prowess. I was no genius. I never had been, even as a social media politician. That was the luck of the algorithm.

I hoped luck had its worth here.

“Pace yourself here just as you would in any other race.”

Even without luck, I had Zhu.

Ralia pulled my arm as space opened before us.

And I had her. She was worth more than any degree or fabricated certification any of these people had.

The shouting ceased as everyone joined the race. Focus prompted silence.