Patrick crossed his arms. “Honest mute…? What’s both honest and mute at the same time? It’s such a weird combination.”

  Connie paced around the room, nibbling on her finger. “That line makes no sense. How does something that mute even be truthful? It can’t even lie to begin with, let alone speak.”

  Leo gritted his teeth. “What if they don’t need to speak…? What if it shows the truth instead?”

  “Shows the truth?”

  Staring blankly, Anthony suddenly blurted out, “The closet. Something’s in the closet.”

  Leo moved for the closet at the foot of the bed. Opening it, he saw a handheld mirror inside of the closet.

  “A mirror?”

  Connie’s eyes flickered. Makes sense, Leo. A mirror doesn’t lie and it only shows the truth, in this case, you. But what do we do with it?”

  The mirror simply reflected Leo’s face, making no changes to the reflection nor any weird effects. It was just a simple mirror.

  Anthony silently grabbed the mirror from Leo’s hands. “We just have to smash the thing, don’t we? Patrick, could you?”

  He handed the mirror to Patrick.

  “Huh? Oh, alright.”

  Patrick grabbed the mirror and prepared to break it by throwing it on the nearby wall.

  Leo reached out to Patrick. “Patrick, wait!”

  But it was too late.

  Patrick hurled the mirror into the wall like a stone with full force, completely shattering the mirror.

  The glass shattered, spraying everywhere around the room like a buckshot, threatening to hit Connie and Patrick.

  Connie quickly hid under the opposite side of the bed, dodging the shards. Meanwhile Patrick was just lucky enough to not get hit by any of them despite not moving from his spot. Not a single cut marked his skin somehow.

  Angry at Anthony, Leo put a hand on his shoulder. “Anthony, what was that!? Someone could’ve gotten hurt!”

  Lightly pushing his hand away, Anthony pointed at the glass shards. “The shards, Leo. They’re showing us a way.”

  Looking down, Leo noticed the glass shards were slithering outside the room like snakes.

  “Damnit Anthony, you still have to tell us before something happens. Talk to us next time, alright?”

  Saying that, Leo turned to Connie and Patrick. “You two alright?”

  Connie and Patrick gave a thumbs-up, their bodies unharmed. Though Connie did give Anthony a nasty look.

  With that confirmation, he moved to open the door to the living room, seeing that the glass shards were moving to the bathroom across the hall. Rushing to the bathroom, he opened the door to see the glass shards huddling around the sink mirror.

  Connie and Leo looked at it in confusion, while Patrick muttered under his breath. “A runic item…”

  “Runic item?”

  Patrick explained, “It’s pretty much an item with some effects depending on the runes carved into it. But runesmiths are so rare nowadays that you can count the amount we have at Central with a single hand.”

  ‘That’s…actually pretty sick.’

  The item seemed to have piqued Connie’s interest. “How many runic items have you seen?”

  Patrick shrugged. “I’ve only ever seen two but I know my family holds a lot more runic items. But that’s only because we have a huge influence in the city compared to others.”

  Leo looked at the shards in concern. “Are the shards…safe?”

  “Only one way to find out.”

  Behind, Anthony grabbed a lamp from the living room and threw it near the shards. Upon getting near them, the shards jumped at the lamp, shredding the entire thing. It was like watching piranhas in a feeding frenzy.

  “Alright…how do we get around this now.”

  They had no weapons, all they had were items in the rooms. But judging from what just happened to that lamp, they had absolutely no chance at beating the opponent with just those.

  Suddenly, Patrick raised his hand. “Um, I think I can deal with it.”

  Connie looked at him in surprise. “Oh? What idea do you have this time?”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  With a smug expression, Patrick walked towards the shards. “Observe.”

  “Hey wai-”

  Leo couldn’t finish his sentence as he stood in awe as he watched Patrick waltz into the horde. The swarm almost immediately rushed him like the lamp before, but they couldn’t cut him. It was like he was made of metal as the glass shards broke upon contact with him.

  Upon closer inspection, Leo saw that his skin had slightly changed color, taking on a more metallic look as if he were a bronze statue.

  ‘A Refraction!’

  Once they broke, the shards ceased moving.

  For the next minute, Patrick stood there taking the hits, until finally, the last shard broke itself on him. All while he stood tall, maintaining his smug expression to the end.

  Just like that, the savage glass shards were but a memory to the group.

  Leo and Connie simply clapped at Patrick, genuinely impressed by the display.

  Meanwhile Anthony’s calm demeanor showed a slight ripple of frustration, unseen by the others.

  Patrick’s ego was brimming at its peak. “Thank you, thank you.”

  He dramatically bowed to the two, basking in his success.

  Connie approached him, careful not to step on any shards. “You’re a Smogborn?”

  “Yeah, not very fancy though. All I can do is make my body as solid as metal.”

  Leo’s mouth widened in amazement. “With a Refraction like that, how could your family see you as a disappointment?”

  Patrick chuckled, his smile fading as he shook his head.

  “Leo…My siblings are much stronger Smogborn. They saw my Refraction as weak because while I can take a beating, I can’t really move while I’m in that state.”

  Leo patted his shoulder with a stupid smile. “Well, from what I can see. You’re an amazing Smogborn.”

  “Thanks Leo, “ he said, eyes softening with a warm smile breaking for a second—before snapping back into his usual smug look. “Obviously I’d be an amazing Smogborn. Who else but me?”

  “Of course I am! What does the opinion of others mean to me?!”

  He laughed in a ‘hohoho’, his smile noticeably wider.

  Connie rolled her eyes bringing her hand up to her forehead as if her head hurt, hiding a small smile behind it.

  “Alright, let’s see what this mirror’s about.”

  Anthony stepped forward toward the mirror, staring deeply at the reflection—eerily silent. That dazed look had returned, but it was heavier this time.

  After a few seconds, the mirror slowly transformed the reflection to mirror a number instead, displaying “14” at the center of the mirror.

  Anthony turned to the rest. “According to the last line, we just have to divide fifty-six by fourteen. Patrick, would you please?”

  Patrick mentally calculated the equation for a moment.

  “It should be four. What an unlucky number…”

  Leo asked, “Why’s it unlucky?”

  “In the past, the number four was a bad omen in the east. From what I remember, the number represented death. Nothing bad should happen though, it’s just a superstition though, completely harmless.”

  “Right…Let’s get that door open, then.”

  Moving to the steel door, Leo approached the keypad. Preparing for the worst, Leo took a deep breath before clicking the number “4”, then the pound sound to input the number for the door to process.

  Waiting on the loading screen, the group held their breaths, hoping they hadn’t wasted time.

  The loading screen stayed for a solid minute before it finally printed on its display…

  Password Correct: Door Unlocking Now

  Connie let out a long exhale, squatting down with her head between her hands. “Thank god…”

  The steel door released steam with a hissing noise, a loud sound came from inside the door as gears changed within.

  Leo twisted the knob and slowly creaked the door open, peeking in for any unwanted surprises.

  Immediately he was met with two guards escorting Sergeant Hoffman, who waited behind for the group with hands behind his back.

  Seeing the familiar sight, Leo swung the door completely open, motioning for the group to follow.

  Upon seeing the group walk out, the Sergeant gave a polite smiled.

  “Congratulations, you’re the first group to have completed their room. In good time, too! Well done, you pass.”

  The group cheered in celebration upon hearing their success. Everyone but Anthony, at least.

  Anthony, not reacting to the pass, asked the Sergeant, “How difficult was that room compared to the others?”

  Raising an eyebrow, the Sergeant looked to his clipboard before returning eye contact with Anthony.

  “I must say your group got lucky with probably one of the easiest trials here. Other than the glass shards you encountered, the only other threats inside that room would only be activated if you guys did something wrong.”

  “The others, however, weren't so lucky.”

  ‘So much for all being equal difficulty…’

  Nodding, Anthony seemed satisfied with the results. “Anything else you need for now?”

  The Sergeant shook his head. “Nope. You’re free to return to your quarters. Just follow the hall behind me and you’ll find your dorms. Again, great job.”

  Anthony immediately went into the hall without waiting for the rest, quickly walking past the Sergeant without a glance.

  In distance, Leo watched as Anthony retreated into the shadow of the hallway, his unease constricting his gut. Leo couldn’t help but notice the abnormalities in Anthony’s recent behavior.

  His lack of communication. His dazed expressions. Especially the way he carried himself.

  It was as if he were a completely different person.

  ‘It all started after he went into that bathroom…what happened…?’

  This couldn’t wait. Leo resolved to corner Anthony to finally have the long-overdue conversation he needed and figure out what was going on with him.

  Leo only knew one thing. He wouldn’t lose another friend.

  Not again.