The Degree
Second Resistance

“Awas!”

Edward shouted out loudly and pulled Steve's shoulder firmly.

Fortunately Ray had guessed that such a thing would happen so he was ready from the start.

Ray pulls Steve's shoulder from the other side and grabs Jane, who almost completely falls off.

Both were rescued by Ray and Edward. Jane who was previously on the edge of the horn of death looks weak and unable to stand. Jane looks like she can cry and faint at any time.

Diana immediately took him into a hug and looked at Ray with mixed feelings. Between fear and debt.

“Thank you ... have been willing to save him.”

No matter how much he hates Ray, the fact that he saved Jane will never change.

Edward and Jack are also surprised that Ray has the will to help him. They must have thought that Ray would shut up and see Jane's death.

“Even I have the heart to help people. If you're okay drag your ass and let's go.”

Rather than thank you, Ray would rather they not waste precious time.

It took less than ten minutes for Jane to completely calm down. Ray was a little tired from wasting a long time but he could not complain.

“Ray ..” Edward approached her with a face that was hard to say. “I want to thank you for saving Jane earlier.”

I guess what he wanted to talk about but about this, huh?

“Not to think about. From the beginning what deserves thanks is Steve. If he doesn't act either me or you won't have time to save him.”

“However it is not enough to deny that you have a great contribution saving both of them. I am indeed very wary of you but let me really thank you for this time!” Edward slightly bowed his head painfully.

Ray doesn't want to argue any further because there won't be a favorable outcome by debating it.

After all, getting thanks from someone else won't be able to kill him.

“Sesuukamu. Let's hurry, starting from this point it will be very difficult to help each other. Please do not be careless, there are two more dangerous obstacles in the middle half at the initial stage.”

A new big fight would occur when they passed the third hurdle. Until then they had to cross the second hurdle and devise a battle strategy.

Ray's goal of wanting the existence of this small group was to overcome the big battle in front of him.

In addition, the second task requires more than one person to go through it.

Surely Ray can go through it alone or just the two like Erina did. Ray doesn't believe he can handle it.

Although he was strong and had various abilities yet he was still an ordinary human.

Human nature is not good at everything.

Erina Queen, she is definitely not an ordinary woman. Not with his behavior, ability and degree. I would feel stupid if I forced myself to be like him.

Traps are always changing all the time and getting harder.

Erina had been in this place longer than the other participants in the venue. The fact that he acts faster than anyone shows that the task never changes.

Well those we can call seniors like Erina, beginners like us who are new to the Degree. It seemed that the tasks received were exactly the same and there was almost no change at all. Her thought.

Ray had no idea what Secret was thinking and what kind of data they were looking for.

He shook his head and kept his thoughts to later.

For now it is best to face obstacles in plain sight.

Keep running while away from crowded places they reach the second obstacle.

If before it was a falling floor and making a ravine, now it is a real abyss.

At its base are sharp spines that will penetrate the body if they fall from above.

“Do we have to jump again?” Jane looks tired and desperate as soon as she sees the next hurdle.

He was clearly not confident of being able to jump far if recalling the previous events.

“Must be! It's twice as far as before!”

In front of him were ten floating boxes ignoring gravity.

The cube-shaped box emits a blue beam and a propulsion engine below that keeps it hovering.

Steve, Jack and the girls are relieved by this, but Edward doesn't believe it right away. In that small group he was the one who was now beginning to understand Secret.

“What should we do, Ray?!”

Ray stops running and stares at Edward sharply, “This will require the cohesiveness of everything.”

They tilt their heads together because they don't understand.

“Do we have to jump together? Can't one by one?”steve scratched his head.

“Ya and neither. The cube box there is our path through the second obstacle. It's just that the objects are set to have a difficult mechanism.”

Ray had seen the movements of Erina and her servant. On the one hand it looks strange but on the other hand both are very compact when facing obstacles.

Then as he watched the others passing through, the cube box fell down and was replaced with a new one. Surely some have made it through. Either use cube box or Degree.

“Mechanism difficult?” ask Steve.

Ray nodded, “One box can only be stepped on by one person and will fall if the person who stepped on it leaves. The worst part of those boxes is the falling one collapses all.”

Let Ray stand in the first box and then he jumps the second box.

If he manages to reach the second box, then the first one will fall and so will the second to last box which is ten.

No matter how fast one moves, when one falls, when together everything falls.

“Isn't it impossible to get through if so?” Diana was a little furious and in disbelief.

“Really! Then why did the people there make it through?!” Steve takes a heavy step towards Ray but Edward stops him.

“That's why he says we need compactness to get through it, Steve.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked again with an annoyed face.

“There must be a certain trigger that causes it. Don't you remember the demonstration that the first two women did before? They move together and regularly.” Jane gave her explanation carefully.

“I didn't pay much attention but it's true.” Jack also agreed and looked at the other side, “In addition we do not have to go through it because there are other obstacles that may be easier. Or we can use Degree.”

In addition to cube boxes and using a Degree, there are two other ways they can use.

The first way is to hang like a monkey and reach the rope from one rope to the other. It would be exactly if depicted with a large human in the forest named Tarzan.

The second way is to use a one-wheeled bicycle on a small road and can only be stepped over the wheels of the bike. It's very similar to something in a circus.

While in other places there are people who go through the abyss with their Degree. Like someone who could jump far away or even fly.

“Why don't we take the hurdle in that section alone?”

“Both require great physical strength and balance. In addition, the battle there is quite severe because they are competing to use it. I wonder why no one chose cube.” Jack put his hand on his chin as he thought.

“For them this place is the most dangerous, look at the bottom there. How many lives have been lost?”

There were dozens of horrid dead people at the base. Their sight made the girls nauseous.

“In addition, no matter which one you choose the risk of death remains high.”

Ray might be able to choose one of two other ways if he doesn't get Edward and his friends.

Both obstacles there I might be able to go through but I will not try something that has great potential to fool me. Her thought.

The cube box is the safest because Ray already knows what the obstacles are like.

The existence of Edward and his partner was like a horse carriage that would take him to the other side.

“You must have a special reason for choosing this cube box right, Ray?” Edward stared expectantly and still held suspicion.

That's a gray question. Whether he just wanted to know or suspected there was a shrimp behind the stone.

Ray himself considers the question reasonable considering the cube hurdle is the easiest way for Ray to bury them all.