Rift Chronicles

Rift Chronicles Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Searching

On the ship, it was Lucas and Koola's turn to watch the monitors to keep track of all the candidates, in case there was a need for the Hunters to assist them. The boat gently rocked under the night sky. Lucas was brewing some coffee to help them stay alert and focused. As he was, Koola let out a, "Huh?" Something was strange on the monitors.

Lucas poured the coffee into some mugs. He asked over his shoulder, "Is something up?"

"It's strange. Larch just left the others, and now Raff and Grant are going with Token. Something is off," Koola said.

Lucas glanced up at the clock in the room. It read a bit past three AM. "Yeah, it's a bit early for a morning walk," mused Lucas as he walked over with the coffee. He placed one mug down for Koola.

The two stared at the screen. Larch's dot raced back to where Raff and Grant's had been, but theirs still seemed to be going away with Token's dot. Some laughter broke the silence in the room. Koola and Lucas turned to see who was laughing and saw it was Narute.

"What's so funny?" asked Koola, slightly annoyed.

"Gwahaha! It looks like Token is up to his old tricks again," laughed Narute.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lucas, a bit confused by Narute's statement.

"I'd wager he stole your friends' bracelets," Narute mused as he stroked his beard.

"Wait, what?! Explain yourself, old man," said Koola as she glared at Narute.

"It's as simple as what I said," said Narute, unfazed by the glare.

"And this doesn't surprise you because... Never mind. We got to do something to help them," said Lucas.

Narute held out his hand, ordering Lucas not to do anything. He said, "Hold it right there, boy. If you rush off to assist them, they will be disqualified. Listen, everyone is provided with a single bracelet. There are no replacements. Either they'll recover their bracelets before the end of the exam or fail the exam. If you go to help them, they'll be disqualified. What Token has done isn't a violation of any rules."

"What do you mean, he hasn't broken the rules?" asked Lucas.

"There was nothing in the rules about stealing another person's bracelet. But there was a good deal about making sure you don't lose your bracelet. Token is doing what he's always done in past exams, finding ways to weed out the overly naive. For example, last year's exam was a free-form fighting tournament where a person could win by a knockout, his opponent forfeiting the match, or if the judge deemed one of the two opponents unfit to carry on. Token, before the match, was offering his fellow competitors free drinks which he had put a small amount of laxative in. A few unwary people were caught by his trick and couldn't fight for their allotted match. As for Token, he forfeited his match against his first opponent and thus exited another year's exam," explained Narute.

Koola clenched her fist in frustration. She had known Narute all her life, as he was a close friend of her grandfather. This was the exact sort of crap he loved to pull. Did he seriously not care what could happen? This was unacceptable. Seeing that, Lucas put his hand on his wife's shoulder. She growled through her teeth, "If you knew all that, then why did you let him enter this year's exam?"

"Gwahaha, that's easy. It adds a little extra chaos to the mix. In the real world, not everyone is looking out for each other's best interest. It's always good to have some troublemakers in the mix at the exam. Though the new head of the Hunters would have something else to say on the matter. I imagine she won't be allowing people like Token into future exams. But this year is my exam still, so it's my call. If your friends can't make the cut this year, there is always next year. I'm sure she'll make a number of changes to next year's exam by then. However, if your friends are as good as you believe, then they should have no problem securing their bracelets again," Narute said with a smirk.