After a successful Labor session, the panic produced by Mrs Takane finally died down. Our protagonist returned to her lane, she stood in her reserved space, the equal middle out of 20 blue holographic men.
Her eyes still in amazement and shock from the beauty of child birth.
"Hori what was that all about?!" Haruki yelled snapping her back to reality. His voice sounding from his own assigned lane, a black wall blocking every opponent from observing the other. He asked about what just happened with Mrs Takane.
"Haruki! Can you believe it? Mrs Takane just had a baby!" Hori announced with glee. Haruki, also excited asked for more details.
"It was a girl! And Haruki! It came from her private part!" Hori said with a red face, she never knew they were meant for such a purpose. The announcer told Hori to keep quiet, she was making the other contestants uncomfortable yelling such details.
Hori sighed with relief, she couldn't wait to finish the trials and meet Mrs Takane again.
She clapped both hands, returning back to business.
"Okay, this is very easy." Hori said with secured confidence. The task at hand was quite simple, to stand in the queue and wait your turn to exit the room, nothing difficult with that.....
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An entire hour passes and their position in the queue remains unaltered. Hori, now tired of standing crouched in her position in the line.
'Ahhh this is bad.' Hori mentally whined, a whole hour had passed but the holographic men still remained stagnant, except from the sparse random movements they produced, aimed at imitating real men.
"I'm getting hungry..." She rubbed her stomach, not having any action in this trial forced Hori's mind to wander towards food.
Haruki had no trouble tho, enthusiastically singing an American song, annoying most participants.
Hori smiled at her energetic friend.
'Of course Haruki is fine, if I recall, Sins don't need to eat.'
She started tapping the floor, trying to maintain composure.
'There's no clock whatsoever, so I can't even tell what the time is...' Hori gasped upon remembering the friend in her head. She made sure not to speak out loud when asking.
'Narrator, could you please tell me the time?' Hori politely asked hoping for a reply. After 40 seconds, she actually replied.
Narrator - The time is 2:00 o'clock.
Narrator said with a blunt tone.
'Hmmm.... just 2, I wonder how long it will take for this line to move?' Hori thought with an annoyed expression, she wasn't the patient type.
"Hori, let's play word chain to keep ourselves busy!" Haruki suggested, his voice echoing through the wall. Hori agreed, she'd never heard of the game and it would help her stay vigilant.
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2 hours later, now making a total of 3 hours since the beginning of the third trial. The wails of multiple annoyed participants were cut through by an annoyed Meadow.
"I don't get it! How long is this meant to take exactly?! Hey Announcer, are the holograms even working?!" Meadow yelled, trying to maintain speaking in Japanese. Mr Shiba answered with zero emotion, the holograms were not faulty.
Meadow began to curse in Spanish. Begging for the exams to be over.
After her multiple complaints the announcer bluntly suggested.
Mr Shiba asked through the microphone without any specific tone. Meadow hesitated before answering.
"Wait, forfeit, as in use the bribery system?" She asked with caution, before making a crucial mistake.
Meadow's face turned pale. Sweat immediately rolled down before placing her hands at her sides. "Of course I don't want to forfeit! Are you crazy? This is the third trial!" Meadow said with worry, why would the announcer joke like that.
She gasped upon recalling the words during their briefing.
'I remember now, Sir Scott said we can't use the bribery system for this trial!' Her back immediately slumped as she sat in spot. She was stuck in this except to quit.
'Forfeit? Yeah right! I've spent 5 f*cking years preparing for the Sabbath Exams!'
Meadow pouted, standing up from the floor and straightening her posture.
Mr Shiba slightly smiled from the spacious lavish room, kids for this years Sabbath Exams were quite interesting.
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Exactly 43 rooms away from Hori's, a new character is seen exiting the private bathroom. He wiped his hands with a black napkin he later returned to his right pocket.
"Phew~! Back to standing, good thing the line didn't move." He said with relief. From the looks of it, he appeared to be another foreigner, brown skin like the Mexican Meadow Fernando. But a more African tone to his face. He wore a black beanie cap, covering his brown hair dyed blonde at the tips, neatly dressed as braids.
His full name:
Barbosa Uto Pedro
A half cast, Brazilian - Japanese.
He wore the Sabbath Exams uniform like every participant, but a detached expression as he waited for the third Trial to come to an end.
"Man.... this is so boring~~~~!"
He stretched to the ceiling. "Why can't they be a trial that involved soccer or something...." Uto said, barely stoping a yawn from escaping his mouth.
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An extra agonizing 3 hours later, now a total of 6 hours since the third Trial began, a particular participant couldn't take it anymore. Standing for 6 hours straight was just torture, to make matters worse, a single holographic man hadn't moved since then.
"That's it! I forfeit!" A handsome looking youth admitted defeat.
He waved both hands to announce to Mr Shiba.
The Bishop answered by asking.
"Yes! Just hurry up and let me out of here! You can imagine after paying all that money for the Bribery System!"
Nakayama cursed. Feeling somewhat embarrassed being the first to forfeit.
Hori remained still with panic on her face. "So that participant is seriously going to quit?"
Narrator chimed in.
Narrator- Nakayama Ōkumo, age 23, he's from a quite well off family. He most likely couldn't handle 6 hours of staying still.... honestly, when are these holograms supposed to move?
"I know right?! I'm so hungry right now!" Hori yelled, Haruki worriedly asked if she was talking to herself again.
After the contestant announced his forfeit, he was immediately teleported away by the sound of a kitchen bell.
Narrator - After such a quick liberation from the trial. Other participants soon became tempted. They began to reason the pros and cons of forfeiting.
The pros;
Immediate freedom from trial 3.
Wisdom to warn any relative who might attempt the Sabbath Exams.
Saving their money since this is only the third Trial.
Hori continued. "While the cons include;
Failure of the Sabbath Exams for this year.
Wasting money spent on the Bribery System so far.
The opportunity of becoming a Priest is flushed down the drain!"
Narrator - That is correct. It's all going according to plan for SHO. They have currently generated
¥102,000,000 since the Preliminary Rounds. With the use of the Bribery System being forbidden for trial 3, opponents will be forced to forfeit, reducing the total amount of participants who will claim the prize money for completing all 7 trials.
Hori's eyes widened, it was all making sense. "But won't participants sue the organization for such a scam?!" Narrator didn't reply.
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Another hour later, now 7 in total.
The queue didn't so much as inch forward, agonizingly staying still. Hori momentarily shifted her weight to maintain concentration, her feet aching in her shoes. She glanced around, taking in the faces of the holograms waiting –– still 10 people, but her mind had long since lost care of keeping track.
"Uhhhhhggghh~~~~~~!!!!"
She whined for what felt like the hundredth time. Haruki chuckled from the wall, consoling her to exercise more patience.
Surprisingly, contestant Nakayama was the only participant who had forfeited so far.
Hori let out a soft sigh, her eyes drifting forward to the door ahead.
'It's right there!' she cursed in her mind.
Why was it taking so long?
Soon enough her stomach growled. Right on time, Hori hadn't eaten anything, combined with her fast metabolism would most certainly produce hunger.
She ignored the pangs and tried taking her mind off it.
She fidgeted, her hands drumming a restless rhythm on her lap.
20 minutes later, the attention of every participant is caught by a loud buzz.
Immediately, as if ordered. The holographic man furthest from Hori steps forward! The second one does the same, then the third, until it reached Hori's turn. Finally the line had moved forward, only 9 more figures in front.
"Thank God!" Hori jumped to the air.
"Alright Hori! It moved!" Haruki as well cheered, not getting hungry nor thirsty for standing that long but definitely bored, he was just glad the holograms actually worked.
But soon after, complaints filled the trial grounds.
"Are you fuckin serious?! Does SHO expect me to wait that long 8 more times?!" A contestant yelled, forfeiting soon after. Then another, then another. Hori gasped. 'Narrator was right. The time interval between each figure is too large! Of course participants will be annoyed.'
Mr Shiba simply smiled from the lavish room as participants threw in the towel one after the other.
Narrator - The reason the observation room where Mr Shiba occupies is currently lacking in persons. Is because SHO wishes to hide the third Trial from other Priests. This is their only chance to reduce as much contestants as possible.
Narrator - With 236 participants starting the third Trial, about 82 have forfeited so far... good luck Hori, you'll need it.
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Hori's bum ached from sitting on concrete for so long. The story continues from the single holographic man who finally shifted his weight.
But due to the painstakingly long time needed for that, a total of now 90 participants had forfeited, deeming their chances of priesthood not worth such hassle. The omniscient voice finally explained.
Narrator - The total time it took for the first man to exit the room was a staggering 7.2 Hours. With the remaining 9 before Hori's turn, she and every participant will be required to stand in line for a total of 3 days.
"Ehhhhh???!!!!" Hori exclaimed, she must have heard wrong. Mr Shiba asked for the reason for her shouting to which she laughed it off, no one else could hear this "Narrator"
Hori decided to talk in her mind. 'Does SHO seriously expect us to stay 3 days without food nor water?! I'm already hungry!!' she whined, the situation reminded her of her homeless days, barely eating at all.
'Apart from eating, I'm getting pretty hot' Hori moved her hand as a make-shift fan. Her faster than average metabolism meant faster than average rate of metabolic reactions, like hunger and even sweat.
"Announcer-san! Is it okay if I remove my jersey?!" Hori yelled feeling slightly embarrassed,if she kept sweating this much she would most certainly pass out. Mr Shiba confirmed it was okay so she did so, elegantly removing her oversized red jersey, revealing her slightly muscular physique, radiating with a lovely shade of tanned skin. She wore a simple white singlet, slightly tight seeing as it hugged her features.
Hori used the jersey top to generate some breeze as she fanned herself. This made her more tired than standing still since she was now spending energy. Hours seemed to crawl and Hori was getting tired. 'Oh no,I can't sleep if not I'll miss my spot in the line!' she thought, immediately slapping her self awake.
Her head bobbing left to right, she was at her limits. Hori tilted to see the back of the line, worry grew on her face. She snapped her fingers upon realizing, Hori decided to ask Narrator to keep time for her, and immediately wake her up if it was time to move forward. No reply from her friend tho, Hori was used to being ignored by her so she reasoned it was all good.
-------------------
Another agonizing 2 hours and 20 minutes later, Hori was found sleeping soundly on her spot in the queue, she wasn't the only one. The total amount of time contestants had spent in such a boring trial was now 9.2 hours, not doing anything would turn boredom into tiredness. This was the second phase of SHOs plan.
Mr Shiba smiled at what was ahead, everything was in order, but he slightly frowned seeing Haruki still standing, not staggering what so ever. Unaware of him being a "Sin" he did not require the same amount of sleep a person did. Sure he was bored, but not the slightest bit tired.
He glanced around the large monitor to see other participants, the foreigner Hobie Jones was not sleeping as well, just standing still staring into the abyss. For sure this years participants were odd.
During their slumber, the buzzer finally sounded but the twist was simply just evil. Mr Shiba the announcer reduced the volume of the buzzer, making sure not to disturb the sleeping opponents.
Haruki frowned, "That's weird. I'm sure it was louder last time..." He contemplated whilst walking forward, the line was moving!
Mr Shiba grinned at the situation, the men being holographic phased through the sleeping contestants. Turning from blue to red as the participants unconscious body phased through.
As if noticing something wrong, most participants finally awakened, confused about the current situation. "Huh? Why are they red?" A woman asked seeing her fellow heads in the queue a different color, as if angered.
Mr Shiba finally announced.
"Back of the line?! Wait, the buzzer didn't sound! I swear I didn't hear it!" She complained, telling the honest truth, reducing the buzzers volume fostered a deeper slumber for the participants, increasing their chances of losing their spot.
They all protested in disagreement, this wasn't happening, SHO wasn't this evil....
Haruki panicked, he called out to Hori to make sure she didn't screw up. No response, still sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Haruki held his breath and yelled, "Horiiii!!! Wake up!!!!" Silencing the entire trial grounds from such a high volume.
"Ughh....my head~!" She tossed around before finally getting up. "Hori, you moved right?!" Haruki worriedly asked. Hori glanced around, to discover she stood in the same spot as a holographic man. His red color and annoyed vibration made Hori flinch back, apologizing for taking his position, the non-sentient man turned blue again showing the problem was addressed.
"Wait a minute....!" Hori looked forward in the queue, then backwards to see the last man. Haruki asked again if she moved properly, to which she paused for a minute, letting the silence do the talking. Sweat rolled as she absorbed the gravity of how badly she was cooked.
Her silence was broken by Mr Shiba who announced for the second time,
Multiple participants who had missed their turn began to forfeit like dominoes, sleeping out of boredom was normal but the consequences for doing so in this trial were dire. "Over my dead body will I wait that long!" One hissed, he had a life, he wasn't going to spend multiple hours waiting for 19 turns to pass. "There's always next year." Another shrugged, devoid of feeling.
The sound of multiple kitchen bells rang like land mines getting triggered, as they rapidly teleported from the trial grounds.
Narrator - 1 by 1 they dropped like flies, the Patience trial was always like this, it's aim to eliminate/manipulate participants into forfeiting. Time for a recap of figures, 236 participants started the third Trial, 126 have forfeited so far... this despicable strategy was invented by Mr Shiba himself.
"I swear to God you better not be talking to me." Hori snapped with furious eyes, her facial features twisted in anger and betrayal. "Why didn't you wake me up?! I politely asked you for such a simple favor! If you weren't going to do it you should have said no!" She spoke with slightly watery eyes.
"Hori are you okay?" Haruki worriedly asked.
"You know what?! I don't know what's your problem! You act so immature, ignoring me or going God knows where for hours replaced with silence! You said I'm not meant to be able to hear you, but since I can shouldn't we get along?!"
Narrator didn't reply.
"Listen, you can't treat me like this. If you don't want to be friends just say so!"
Narrator - Listen here Tabata Inori, you 14 year old female protagonist. I am a sentient plot device, I am NOT your "Timekeeper" nor "Friend" I have no connection to this story other than to guide the readers with a clearer understanding of the plot.
"For the love of God! Just stop it with the whole readers nonsense! This is my life! I do not exist to entertain any form of viewer whatsoever! Stop making excuses for being a terrible person and apologize already! I mean was it really so hard to tell me in my sleep, 'Hori wake up! The line is moving!' no! It's not hard! You didn't do it because you're a big... Bitch!" Hori insulted for the first time in her life leaving Haruki stunned. Although worried who or what she was arguing with.
Hori cleaned some tears from her eyes with her jersey's sleeve. Shivering from the fact that she would need to move. 'if she said it took 7 hours 20 minutes for one man to move, and they're....19 more men in front of..." With a heavy sigh she crouched before finally moving.
Hori would need to stay in this trial for a staggering 136.8 hours to come.
She slowly dragged her weight towards the utmost end to stand dejectedly, backing the wall with tired eyes. "Hori?!" Haruki yelled again seeing as his friend had suddenly turned mute. "Ehmm, Haruki.... don't panic, but I might take more time completing this trial." She said with a breaking voice.
Haruki sighed, "You slept off didn't you." He said with empathy evident in his tone. Hori nodded with cold sweat, leaning her back to the wall. Every participant who had missed their spot already forfeited. Hori rubbed her eyes, "just be patient."