“Sir, you should sit back a little.” The agent said something, but I was too focused on my screens. I can’t believe what is happening right now. Not only one or two, but, so far, 6 people have made it through the levels. It’s…it’s unimaginable. “Sir, you really need to take a break from watching the humans.

“It’s so fascinating, seeing the different ways they defeat my stages. I love it.” I kept my eyes glued to screen 4; stage 4. Those two were the first to make it through. They probably set an example or motivated the others. They must be the best for understanding how to get past the first level.

My eyes fixed on the girl. The boy is the thinker, but she has a brain too. Same with the boy and his body. It's surprising since in the other pairs I’ve seen so far, there is always the brain and body; one that thinks and one that acts. That first pair is golden. They have both abilities.

“Sir! You need to rest a little!” The agent yelled at me, but I kept my gaze on the screens, my eyes rapidly flipping from one to the next.

“I’ve rested enough. This is my time to finally get excited!” I replied, my eyes twinkling from the activity going on in the stages. He sighed.

“Sir…please, just eat something at least.” I groaned, turning to him.

“Bring the food here.” I switched from my chair to the ground, lying on my stomach and leaning on my elbows. I must have looked like a little kid watching television, but that’s what it was. It was so interesting to see what was happening right now.

The agent brought me food, but I didn’t even notice until he yelled at me again. I kept watching the screens. Ah. Ah!

“Player 68 and player 18 pass.”

Two more passed! I was so excited and happy that my stages are being used and that I could let others see my lovely puzzles! Well…I don’t want it to be too easy… so many are passing now. Maybe I should send him in…? I debated the thought for a while.

“Pathogen, go to stage 5. Actually, no…stage 4.” The pathogen’s eyes glowed a light blue as it left. 

My eyes went back onto the screens; screen 4 specifically.

This’ll make it a little tougher for you.

Dongwoo POV

“Hello!” I heard a yell from behind us. A dark brown haired boy appeared. Wah~ So cute~ “Hi! Can I join you guys?” he asked.

“Sure.” Woohyun accepted him into our trio, now quartet. We kept walking through the stage. “So, how many stages do you guys think there are?”

“I don’t know…we’re already on stage 4, right?” We all stopped in our tracks seeing…I don’t even know what the thing was. Sunggyu groaned and Woohyun rubbed his temples, while that new guy just smiled optimistically. Ah. We didn’t even ask his name…maybe I should later.

I kept looking at that…thing. It was just big and dark. “How would you describe this, Sunggyu?” I nudged him. He looked like he was in complete thought. I poked Woohyun instead. “What do you think it is?”

“Well… Doesn’t it look like a computer virus?”

“What? How do you even know what that looks like?”

“Well, look.” I stared at the black thing. “Doesn’t it look like pixels?” It did seem like it was a pixelated, aura of darkness. I wouldn’t call that a virus, but more like…hmm. It was a giant black, fog-like thing. It moved like gas, but only in one place, not coming near us. I examined it, seeing the small black and purple colors making it up.

“Ah. There are cubes.” Sunggyu mumbled to himself. I squinted, being able to make the shape of the gas to be tiny cubes. All the little cubes were meshing closely together, making the object appear as smog. I still don’t know what to classify this as, but as long as we can get through it and to the other side, it doesn’t matter.

“So, what should we do?” The new guy asked. “I doubt we can just walk through it.”

“Yeah…” Sunggyu’s eyes were so focused, moving back and forth quickly. “We have to be able to touch it, since there is no other way around.” He was right. This thick mist was blocking every little space from the ground to the walls to the ceiling. There was no possible way for us not to touch it. “Dongwoo, come here real quick.” I went over, him starting to whisper in my ear.

“I want you to shove that new kid into the smoke.”

“What?!” He smacked me in the head, pulling my ear back to his mouth.

“Do you want to get out of here alive? You want to go back to your real life, right?” I really do… “Just push him through, plus…I don’t trust him. He keeps smiling. There’s something with him.” He was right. That guy was smiling the whole time and it doesn’t even make sense why. I nodded to Sunggyu, preparing.

“I suppose I should just go on through then.” The kid said, starting to bravely walk towards the smog before I had even done anything. “Betrayal. It’s quite easy for some and hurtful for others.” W-What is he talking about? “I, on a third hand, love betrayal. I think it shows who’s strong and who’s not.” He turned to us before moving any farther, being only a foot away from the layer of miasma. He looked Sunggyu in the eyes. “I like you the best, but I have to go now.” He smiled, walking through the haze.

“What’s with that guy? He seems a little insane in the head.” Woohyun breathed out, heading towards the mist. He touched it, immediately retracting his hand in pain. “Tch. What is this thing?! It only wants that kid!”

Sunggyu went up after, touching the floating cubes. It showed no reaction to him, his hand passing it as if it was nothing. I tried too, getting an electric shock. Aish! It stung long after I had tried. “I know what it is…” Sunggyu smirked. “Sorry boys.” He walked through to the other side.

“Yah! Are you just going to go on your own?!” Woohyun yelled at him.

“It’s like that kid said. Betrayal; showing who’s stronger and who’s not.”

“Tch.” Woohyun had such a killer glare. “Doesn’t matter since you’ll get stuck at the next stage when you can’t use that flimsy body of yours.” Sunggyu smiled with widened eyes.

“Yah. Don’t you get it yet?” He almost giggled.

“What?” Woohyun’s tone was dead serious.

“Hehe, it’s a selectively permeable membrane. Don’t cha know what that is?”

“Selectively what?” Sunggyu tried to hold in a laugh.

“It’s in the body cells and only lets some things pass through it and not others.”

“And what happens to the things that this ‘membrane’ doesn’t let through.” He laughed a little more, holding both his hands out through the layer of colors.

“A protein needs to help them come.” He motioned his fingers, letting us grab onto him before he pulled us through. “Dongwoo, Woohyun, let’s go!” We all smiled, continuing to walk. Sunggyu's not a bad guy. The room began changing colors again, like the last time.

The ceiling changed into a brighter blue sky and the ground into a dull, mossy green. We kept going, finding the stairs easily this time around. There were a lot of them as always and we couldn’t see the end like usual, but they were covered in leaves of brown, red, orange, and green. However, all the colors were so overcast and dark…

“This looks easy!” Sunggyu said, taking a footstep onto the first stair. He instantly slipped backwards, falling into Woohyun’s arms. “It’s very slick…” He mumbled, Woohyun picking him up and placing behind him.

“Let’s see…” Woohyun touched the leaves with his fingers. I also bent down, feeling the dry textures. “They are dry, but when you put your feet on them they get slippery, like oil.” He tried to rip a leaf off the stairs underneath them, but it’s as if they were glued on.

I looked ahead, seeing that only the first half of the stairs that we could see had leaves. The other half was bare.

“I got it.” Sunggyu used his hands to take steps, letting his legs lie on the stairs. He pulled himself up a few steps, just allowing his hands to do all the work. It was like a snake, slithering up the stairway. He kept going until his feet had to touch the steps and then, by some force, he was thrown back off the stairs. Luckily, Woohyun caught him, but Sunggyu was still deep in thought. “Let’s do this. Woohyun, do what I just did until I tell you to stop.”

Woohyun obliged, a bit confused, but he still agreed, using his arms and hands to help him climb.

“Stop!” Woohyun froze just before his feet touched the stairs. “Ok.” Sunggyu grabbed Woohyun’s ankles, pointing his feet in the air. “Keep going.” Woohyun continued, Sunggyu latching onto his ankles. Oh! Sunggyu is using Woohyun to pull him up and not touch either of their feet to the stairs. “Dongwoo, grab on to me like I did to Woohyun.”

I gripped his ankles, feeling a bit bad for Woohyun who was technically pulling the weight of three people. Me and Sunggyu tried to help, using our hips to climb up some steps until me feet were at the bottom of the stairs and Woohyun’s hands luckily reached the end of the leaves.

Woohyun, keeping his feet in the air, got up, standing on the regular-looking concrete. He held his hand out the Sunggyu, pulling the both of us up. “Wah! That really worked!” I hugged Sunggyu, who got a bit shy.

“Yes, yes. Let’s just keep walking. I can’t even see the end of these stairs!” At least they looked like normal stairs now.

“Player 85, player 73, and player 13, pass. Move onto the next stage.”

How many more until this is all over…?