Getting the money

Nothing surprising took place as they discussed their place and time of when to meet next then Maximus and Seraphina stayed up to guard while the couples went to sleep.

Seraphina walked over to one of the tents and brought out a blanket which she wrapped herself in while leaning against one of the tent poles. Maximus rested his back against the bark of a tree while overlooking the entirety of their base and began thinking,

'Their fuel doesn't replenish? But mine does? I've experimented with it before. It's incredibly slow, slow enough that maybe it lasts more than a week, maybe a month. But it does. Yes, without that scripture, with scripture it's a whole different thing, I might even refill it in less than a day. What could be the reason? Am I doing anything different? Is there something different in me? 

'Maybe because I transmigrated? No, there has to be a reason right? Discounting my probability manipulation, my next two abilities are doubtful as well, I don't even know how I got them. Fuck, I don't even wanna think about it.'

Maximus took a deep breath, he didn't close his eyes as he was on guard but still relaxed his mind, gesturing to Seraphina that he was taking a short break. One could obviously not expect a person to be alert for the entire three hours, in times of exhaustion, they could let their partners know to cover for them as they recovered their spirits.

This time he recollected his experiences after setting foot on this unfamiliar world, instead of William's. He thoroughly combed it before he eventually stumbled upon a fragment of memory which he had chalked it up to maybe a dream, maybe a state of being high or drunk, maybe in some other form or something weird in general. 

He had done it so because firstly, what he saw was something weird and hardly made sense. What he did was largely based on instincts and situational response. Lastly, he didn't understand the majority of what transpired except the last bits where he pushed energy into two cats, awakening them in the process. 'It was because of that right? Or something else?'

Shaking his head, he cleared that train of thought and went back to what he was thinking,

'So, I remember that these globs of light were connected to a thread. The ball of light, which was of Probability manipulation I presume, even that of Reality manipulation, were both connected to a thread. When I infused energy into the ball, the threads vanished like they had been cut off. 

'Similarly, If I assume that every supernatural being is basically that ball of light and are connected by a thread, does that mean that the thread is the reason they can't replenish their energy or fuel? So does that mean only I can replenish my energy naturally with time? Why is that so? What is that thread? Where does it connect to? So many questions, so little answers, well, almost none. I should probably hide these things unless someone doesn't tell me.'

The rest of the night was uneventful and they all ate a nice steak in the morning. No one was a vegan in their group. Around 10 everyone heard a large sound as they began packing their equipment.

"Tidy up students! Our trip comes to an end here. The army will shoot flares every 15 minutes beginning from now, follow that direction to arrive at the main base."

Maximus and others had barely used their supplies, relying completely on meat, condiments and a little veggies they picked up from the wilderness. They reached the base camp in around an hour, it wasn't the one they previously slept in, that was a makeshift camp made for principals and other staff.

When they got there, Maximus noticed that not many students had arrived. Following the instructions, they returned all the supplies as the person in charge calculated their points accordingly. They weren't told anything except that the points aren't of much use unless you won, in which case it would be announced by the principal. 

It was roughly one hour later of excruciating wait for them, during which they made small talks as the large clearing was gradually filled out by students. Maximus noticed from the corner of his eye that the short man out of whom the red figure had escaped was among the students too. 

When their eyes met, he awkwardly smiled at Maximus who was subconsciously staring so intently at him and continued talking to his friends. Maximus looked away after a while and thought, 'Does he not remember anything? Could it be that he was just used as an unlucky host for that red figure? That's scary.'

It was simply a short interlude which no one noticed. A few minutes later Sebastian walked on stage with a mic loudly addressed everyone,

"Hello guys! Hope you all had a great time here! Of course, we had a few hiccups here and there along with the student who was intent on competing for the rewards. Unfortunately there was something wrong with him, or there would've been a nice show available for us principals and staff to watch.

"Alright keeping all that aside, we gave you only a single task and didn't feel like giving any more because the rest of the points would be decided on how you all dealt with the animals sent your way and how you managed your supplies.

"We have only two groups here who are worthy of winning the reward had they not been on this trip together. We can only choose one, and indeed, one group has a minute lead in their points, making them the winner. It's the team with Maximus, Seraphina, Adrian, Isabelle, Adam and Elsa. Welcome them everyone!"

The crowd descended into cheers and howling as they showed their support for the winning group. Out of the whole lot only a few were willing to really fight for money, whose, no cheering, didn't affect the atmosphere. The majority came here only for fun. 

When the group reached Sebastian, he amusingly said, "The resources which you used lesser than the other group were because you used some at our army's camp. But don't worry, no one will know, let's keep it our little secret." Saying so he winked sneakily at Adrian. The lot of them were all given 835,000$, roughly amounting to 5 million dollars. 

Maximus hesitated for a second before he eventually asked, 

"Which group was the one that almost tied with us?" His curiosity got the better of him. Who could be more efficient than Adrian?

Sebastian smiled playfully and pointed at a group which was talking peacefully and joyfully with others, as if they weren't too affected by the loss. 

Everyone of their group turned their heads towards where he pointed and their eyes met with the platinum blonde haired young man whom they had met after spending the night at the army's base. He just happened to see their way, probably due to luck? Or sharp sense? But he smiled at them, just like when they first met him and waved his hand. But Maximus also saw another familiar person close to the young man, which likely meant they were in the same group.

It was David.