Tower Climber (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1) by Jakob Tanner (interesting books to read for teens .txt) 📗

Casey nodded and looked over to the instructor, huddled with the examiners at the front of the boat.

They must have been discussing the exam arrangements.

The other students were trying to listen in, but they seemed to be struggling. Maybe one of the examiners had some kind of trait with a deflecting ability. Either way, the mood on the boat was growing tenser by the minute.

An island in the distance began to get closer and closer.

The instructor turned around and faced the students on the main deck of the boat.

“Listen up,” said the instructor. “We’ll be reaching the island where the exam will be held in a few minutes. Further instructions on the nature of the mid-term will be given upon landing.”

The group of students audibly groaned as the delay to the test continued.

“They’ll give us the instructions at the island,” mused Casey aloud. “What do you think, Toto?”

“Don’t you want my advice?” said Max.

Casey and Toto looked at him unimpressed.

“Toto has some great ideas sometimes,” said Casey.

“He does?”

“You’re just not as in touch with nature as I am,” said Casey, crossing her arms. She then muttered, “But if you did have some ideas, now would be a good time to share them.”

Max considered what they knew so far. It was going to be a survival test and it was going to be held on the approaching island.

“Whatever the rules are,” said Max, “there will probably be a flurry of activity right at the start. We’ll have an advantage if we know what we wanna do before we even land.”

“Great thinking, Max,” said Casey, turning to Toto who nodded. “Toto thinks so as well.”

The island was approaching. They’d dock in about five minutes. They didn’t have long to sketch out a quick plan.

Max pointed to some cliffs near the interior of the island. “The island has a summit. If we head there and get there first, we’ll have a height advantage over everyone. As soon as we learn the instructions we should head that way without delay.”

Casey nodded.

With the semblance of a plan formed, all they had to do now is wait to get their instructions.

The boat docked and the examiners told all the students to exit the boat and line up in a horizontal line along the beach. As they walked off the boat another examiner handed each person a candlestick.

“What the heck are we supposed to do with these?” said one student.

“Just line up and hold onto that candle,” said the examiner. “You’ll find out in a second.”

Max and Casey stood side by side. They peered at each other, but didn’t speak. The mood amongst the students had suddenly changed.

It was exam time now. The game was on.

The time for strategizing out in the open was over.

Still, Max wanted to speak with Casey. This candle they were each given was an unexpected development. How did these random candles fit into the survival test?

“Settle down everyone,” said the instructor. He then snapped his fingers and suddenly everyone’s candle lit up with small delicate flames.

“Each and everyone of you is holding a lit candle,” said the instructor. “You must survive the night on this island without letting the candle’s flame go out. These are not normal candles and will not relight from outside sources of fire. That’s for all the clever firebringers amongst you.”

“So we fail the exam if our candle goes out,” said a random student.

Max shuddered. This test was extremely difficult. One puffed out candle flame could mean the end of his climber career.

“Let me repeat,” said the instructor. “You must return here tomorrow with a lit candle.”

Everyone nodded silently. So you could steal another person’s candle if you wanted.

“Alright, any more questions?”

The group was silent.

The instructor walked back onto the boat along with the examiners.

“Alrighty then,” said the instructor. “That’s it. Let the exam begin!”

59

All the climbers stood frozen in a row after the instructor had shouted, “Let the exam begin!”

Max had half-expected chaos to ensue as soon as the exam started, but everyone stayed motionless.

It was the candles. They were a completely unexpected factor.

Everyone was acting extremely cautious, not wanting to accidentally let their flame go out.

Some climbers started walking away, others stood exactly where they were.

Max suddenly had an idea.

“Everyone!” he shouted. “The test isn’t as hard as they made it out to be. They wanted to fray our nerves by making it take so long to get here. They wanted to put us all on edge, so that we weren’t thinking straight. But listen: if we work together, there’s no reason why we can’t all pass this test. If all of our candles stay lit, there’s no reason to steal one from someone else.”

The other student climbers perked up at this idea. Other groups looked to each other, trying to see what their partners and allies thought of this suggestion.

“He lies!” shouted one voice.

It was Cyrus Archer on the other end of the beach.

“Don’t trust him,” declared Cyrus. “He’s not one of us, remember? He’s from the outer-rim! He’ll steal everyone’s candles in the end, you’ll see!”

Max gritted his teeth. That seriously won’t work, will it? There was a clear chance for victory for everyone here. They all just had to stay calm to achieve it. Cyrus’ words were actively working against that goal.

Max bottled his anger. Yelling at Cyrus would only help the boy’s goals to create anger in the group.

“Why don’t you hear me out?” said Max to the rest of the group. “If you don’t like my plan you can head off on your own.”

The other students nodded their heads to suggest that this option seemed reasonable enough.

Cyrus winced bitterly on the other end of the beach. He was up to something. Max just wasn’t sure what.

“There’s more than one airbringer among us,” said Max. “They should be able to manipulate the wind to protect us from the breeze taking out the candles. Next, we can search for a cave at the bottom of the jungle’s cliffs for shelter for the