Page 111 of His Hell Girl

A matter of focusing on even the tiniest movement, and I'm able to calculate the place the bullet will land.

While everyone is trying to haphazardly avoid the incoming bullets, I know exactly where they will hit a second before they do.

Luckily, my body is well trained, and there's no delay between my mental command and the execution of the movement. Fluidly moving through the bullets, I'm rushing toward the point of origin, jumping in the air and landing right behind the barrel of the gun.

I know I have a couple of seconds at most before it turns toward me, so I channel all my strength in my arm, grabbing the metal body and wrench it from the floor, throwing it backwards. And because I'm keeping track of the limited time, I don't linger.

The board displaying our names suddenly changes to show the dead, as well as the ones advancing to the next level. I look up to see my name in white with a one hundred score next to it.

The first round.

Somehow, I know that I need to reach one thousand points to be crowned the winner. Ten rounds to be won, ten rounds to show how much I've improved.

There are other people too running around me, all of them having the same intense concentration, keeping their eyes on the prize.

It's still too early in the game to start fighting one another, the trials just beginning. Yet I know that whoever will reachthe end with me is already dead, and my eyes filter around the room, studying each person to ponder my competition.

A smile pulls at my lips as I realize that this will be a piece of cake. The harder part is getting across all the obstacles.

With no time to linger, I hurry forward, the next stage of the test starting. Passing by yet another wall that delimitates the trials, I find a pit filled with vipers that takes up all the space in this enclosed area. And in order to advance to the next level, I have to cross it.

Fast.

There's a small rope tied from one end of the pit to the other, crossing right over the vipers. The rope is maybe the size of my palm in thickness. Enough to accommodate one foot at a time.

Considering I've had extensive balance training over time, crossing it would be a piece of cake. The only issue is that the vipers have already been agitated and they reek of violence as they hiss at me.

The moment my foot will hit that rope, I know they will pounce on me. I bet Miles is looking from the sidelines, enjoying the grotesque show we're putting on for him.

And if he wants a show, he will have one.

I still, watching how a couple of girls hurry on the rope, banking on speed to get to the other side. Although their movements are not slow, they are certainly no match for angry vipers.

The snakes attack from all directions, going for their legs and scaring them into falling down into the pit.

Their screams echo inside the room, and I lower my gaze, my lips pulling upwards as I watch tens of vipers coil over their bodies, their venom being injected into their skin.

I let another boy shoot his shot too, and I'm not surprised when he too ends up falling down, the vipers taking him by surprise.

There are more behind me watching with trepidation, probably trying to calculate how to best weather this.

I take a step forward, and with a quick glance toward the pit, I decide my time has come.

Placing my entire body weight on the tips of my toes, I concentrate on regulating my breath and slowing down my heart beats.

When I know I'm close to a catatonic state, or as I like to call it, quiet, I move.

One foot on the rope, my eyes are shrewdly assessing the situation downstairs, my ears perked to hear every sound made by a sudden attack.

I move quickly, and not even three steps later the first viper attack comes. Jumping up, I watch as it skids past the rope before lowering itself back in the pit.

My feet land back on the rope, my balance in check as I lean forward, the arch of my foot making contact with the small surface. I don't waste time as I prop myself on my hands, doing a somersault in the air while avoiding two more incoming vipers.

I thrust my body forward to cover as much distance as I can, my breath slow and calm.

This is key.

I can never let panic take over me. The moment I allow that, it's game over.

---