Chapter 034 - Eerie Night Fair 06

  I could only steal quick glances around the arena, desperate for any escape as I gasped for air, my lungs burning with the effort.

  This place was an ordinary game venue, though something felt off.

  Perhaps it was the dolls’ grotesquely swollen size, but the arena felt vast—like a small indoor ice rink.

  It was nearly square.

  The floor was smooth and clean, empty except for the dolls, the rings clutched in their hands, and—of course—me.

  Three of the walls were solid concrete, painted in a soft pastel blue. The walls were decorated with whimsical drawings of blue skies, white clouds, soaring birds, and a distant ocean.

  The fourth wall was a metal fence, with an open gate that offered a potential way out.

  In the midst of all this, I dodged yet another ring, my eyes flicking over the rows of dolls standing ominously in place. For a moment, I considered trying to climb on top of them to avoid the rings.

  But the next second, I dismissed the idea entirely.

  It wasn’t worth the risk—any place within reach of their sharp claws was as good as a death sentence.

  "Fuck it!" I muttered under my breath, barely managing to dodge three more rings that came at me in quick succession.

  That was when I heard No. 137 shout from behind, "Bro, keep it up! You’ve dodged 17 rings, but there are still 44 to go!"

  I froze for a moment.

  Seriously? Little No. 137’s math was off again…

  Shouldn’t there be 45 rings left?

  I lost my focus for just a split second, and in that instant, a blue ring zipped past me. I felt the faint crackle of electricity as it grazed my face, and a sharp, burning sensation spread across my skin.

  In the nick of time, I dropped to the ground, twisting and rolling to the side.

  The iron ring flew past, tumbling and rolling across the floor, eventually coming to a stop in the corner with a dull clink.

  I glanced at the ring, and then, an idea struck me. I shouted to the others, my voice cutting through the tension in the air, "Hey! Can you estimate this for me? Do you think I can stand in the corner?"

  No. 25 seemed to catch on to what I was thinking, but instinctively she shot back, "That tiny curved gap won’t be big enough for you to stand in..."

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Maybe," I replied, my mind racing, "Damn it, they made the rings so big to trap the dolls, and now the rings are so massive I might actually fit in that corner. If I stand there, the ring might get stuck where the walls meet and it won’t be able to reach me!"

  No. 25 was about to argue again, but Elliot cut her off. "There are still 44 rings to go. It’s not realistic to expect Sylas to dodge them all. By the time we’re down to the last ten, he’ll be completely wiped out."

  No. 25 seemed to chew on her lip, calculating something in her head. She spoke aloud, "If Sylas stands in the corner, the distance between his body and the gap is about 40 cm, which is the square root of 2R minus R—around 0.414R. That means r is about..."

  She paused for a moment, and Elliot quickly continued, "Greater than 0.95 meters, but less than one meter. The steel ring’s diameter is two meters—"

  That left more than enough space for me.

  Definitely more than 40 cm.

  "That’s plenty of space!!" I shouted to them, relief flooding my chest. "Thanks, guys!"

  Without another second of hesitation, I bolted toward the corner.

  I could hear the pounding of my heart in my ears, louder than any drum. The adrenaline was a constant roar.

  And then, I could hear the steel rings flying past me, crackling with electricity, their sharp clangs as they collided with the floor.

  Some of the rings brushed against me, skimming by so close they seemed to brush my skin, only to crash into the walls and ricochet back.

  But I didn’t care. I was focused, my eyes locked on the corner.

  Once I reached it, I pressed my back against the wall, positioning myself as close as I could, standing at a 45-degree angle, my body angled just right.

  Maybe my sudden movement triggered something in the dolls. They froze, all of them, their stillness eerie as they let out a sharp, piercing scream.

  The sound was deafening, accompanied by a screeching melody that felt like it would shatter my eardrums.

  Then, in the blink of an eye, countless steel rings flew from their hands, one after another, raining down on me with terrifying speed.

  One, two, three...

  But I didn’t flinch. I didn’t move.

  I watched as the first steel ring hit the corner, its force sending it sliding down the wall, uselessly falling to the floor. It didn’t even come close to grazing my shirt collar.

  And in that instant, I knew:

  I was safe.