Conquering The Novel

Alex hit the buzzer and was instantly transported to the challenge room.

As he approached the pedestal in the center, he found himself facing an unexpected challenge – a tablet screen with a maze puzzle game on it.

"Uh... do I have to play this game?" Alex muttered to himself, feeling uneasy. He had never been particularly good at games, and the pressure was mounting.

"Good luck, Alex! We know you can do it," Marcus offered, trying to boost Alex's morale.

Alex took a deep breath and began the game. His task was to help a character find his way out of a dungeon by solving a maze puzzle.

As he studied the intricate walls of the dungeon, he noticed that it was filled with traps and obstacles. Each brick was carefully drawn in detail, making the maze a challenging task to solve.

Alex started to trace his finger along the lines of the maze by zooming in and out of the screen, trying to figure out the most efficient path. The maze seemed to stretch on forever, and Alex felt his heart rate increase.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to clear his mind. When he opened them again, his eyes focused as he used one of his skills. He was then able to notice that there were certain patterns in the maze that he could use to his advantage.

He started to trace a path through the maze, keeping track of which turns he had taken and which ones he still had to try.

Tap— Tap

His heart pounded as he dodged obstacles and worked his way toward the exit.

At one point, Alex thought he had hit a dead end. But then he spotted a tiny gap in the wall that he could squeeze through. It was a close call, but he made it through unscathed.

"Okay, I think I'm getting somewhere," Alex muttered to himself as he continued navigating the maze.

His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to navigate through the maze. His teammates watched with bated breath, silently urging him on.

Ayla leaned in on the sofa, her eyes glued to the maze. "Go left, Alex! No, no, wait, go right!" she shouted.

But Alex's attempts to follow her advice only led him to more dead ends. Frustration began to set in, but he refused to give up. He was determined to see it through to the end.

"I think I got it!" Alex exclaimed, as he finally found the correct path.

The rest of the team erupted in cheers as Alex finally reached the end of the maze. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well done, Alex! That was amazing," James said.

[Congratulation! You have completed the 3/5 puzzles of the Puzzle Relay Round, the Maze Puzzle!] the disembodied voice announced.

Alex was teleported back to the room, still catching his breath. "Sorry I took quite a lot of time completing it," he said, his voice filled with disappointment.

"Don't be sorry, Alex. You did great," Marcus reassured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

However, inwardly, Ayla was biting her nails with anxiety. As team captain, she had been keeping track of the time, and she knew that this Puzzle Relay Round was just a time-waster. Although the puzzles were relatively easy, it would still take a considerable amount of time to complete them.

"Marcus! It's your turn. Press that buzzer now!" Ayla commanded, her calm demeanor fading.

!?

Startled, Marcus instinctively pressed the buzzer without questioning her urgency.

Buzz—

"What the hell?" Marcus muttered, confused by Ayla's change in mood as he was teleported to the white room. However, he shrugged off his confusion and approached the center.

And he found a tablet screen with a Sudoku puzzle already turned on.

"It's a Sudoku puzzle!" he informed the rest of the team.

As he picked up the puzzle, he felt a rush of excitement. He loved Sudoku, and he was determined to complete it as quickly as possible.

"Do you need any help?" Ayla asked.

"Don't worry, I got this," Marcus replied confidently.

"Okay, let's start with this column. If there's a two here, then that means there can't be a two in this row," Marcus muttered to himself, his fingers moving quickly across the screen.

The rest of the team watched in amazement as he filled in square after square with ease.

"You're incredible, Marcus! I can barely even understand this puzzle," James said, admiringly.

Marcus smiled, feeling a sense of satisfaction as he completed each row and column.

"Almost done..." he said, as he reached the final few squares.

The pressure was on, but Marcus remained calm and focused. He took a deep breath and fill in the last few numbers with precision.

"Done!" Marcus exclaimed, holding up the completed screen with a grin.

[Congratulations! You have completed 4/5 puzzles of the Puzzle Relay Round, the Sudoku puzzle!] the voice announced.

Marcus felt a sense of pride as he was teleported back to the room. He knew that he had done well.

Swish—

Ayla glanced at the timer on her wrist and sighed inwardly. Time was running out, and they still had one more puzzle to solve. She turned to James and said, "It's your turn, James. Let's move quickly."

James nodded and immediately pressed the buzzer.

Buzz—

In a flash of light, he was transported to the white room. He rushed towards the pedestal, his mind already racing with the possibilities of the puzzle he would have to solve.

As he approached the pedestal, James took a deep breath and focused his attention on the task at hand.

The puzzle in front of him was a logic problem that involved a group of adventurers searching for a hidden treasure. There were various clues and pieces of information provided, but it was up to James to put it all together.

He stared intently at the logic puzzle, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. He knew that this puzzle was going to be tricky, and he needed to focus if he wanted to solve it. The puzzle was laid out like a chart, with different columns representing different pieces of information. James scanned the clues, looking for patterns and connections.

"Okay, let's see here... We know the treasure is hidden in a cave, and there are three caves to choose from," James murmured as he scanned the puzzle.

He looked over the clues and began to make notes, trying to eliminate possibilities and narrow down his choices. "Hmm, this clue says that the cave with the treasure is near a river. That narrows it down to two caves," James said, pointing to a specific part of the puzzle.

He started filling in the chart, trying to match the clues with the correct columns. But the more he worked on the puzzle, the more complicated it seemed to get.

As James continued to work through the puzzle, he could hear the rest of his team trying to offer their own ideas and suggestions to help him.

"What about this clue about the red flowers? That could be important," Emma offered, pointing to a different section of the puzzle.

James thought about it for a moment, considering how the clue could fit into his deductions. "Good point, Emma. The flowers could be a marker for the cave with the treasure," he said, quickly filling in a few more boxes.

"Wait a minute, if the treasure is in the cave with the red flower, then that means..." James trailed off, his brow furrowed in concentration.

The rest of the team began to, offer suggestions and try to help him make sense of the clues. The puzzle was complex, but James was starting to make headway. He crossed out incorrect possibilities and honed in on the most likely solution.

James also listened to the team's arguments, taking everything into consideration as he tried to solve the puzzle. Finally, he had a breakthrough.

"Okay, I think I have it. The treasure is hidden in the cave with the red flowers near the river," James announced, as he quickly filled in the final squares.

The rest of the team cheered and clapped as James held up the completed puzzle, a wide smile spreading across his face.

[Congratulations, Team Soreh Academy! You have proven yourselves worthy and have successfully completed Round 4: Puzzle Relay!] the voice boomed.

"We did it! Great job, James!" the team exclaimed, giving him a high-five. James beamed with pride and a sense of accomplishment as their team began to teleport to the location of the final round.

To be continued...