The Degree
Answer Puzzle II

“What do you mean?” The order asked, asking for an affirmation.

It's natural to confuse anyone because no one will reach that conclusion.

It's possible that only Leo and Terumi know what that means. After all, only the two of them knew of the presence of dangerous objects hidden in the Open World.

“Yah. Let's start with the answer to the riddle. Is there a whiteboard or something?”

When Ray asks, Sebastian immediately goes to get him. He knew it might be hard to find him. But at least he needs to be better.

After a few minutes of his departure he returned with a large LED TV with him. Because of his size he also needed the help of two other people.

“This may be different, but if all you need is a board to explain. This thing should be.”

“Yes. No problem.”

The TV has the same function as the whiteboard. The difference is only in the part of technological progress.

Ray takes a digital pen provided by Sebastian and starts writing down two puzzles he has.

“The first puzzle of the Redwest union. Debt is hell. Love for you. Death makeup. Lastly, the absurdity of hell.”

Those are unsustainable sentences that are hard to find what they mean. I don't know the extent of Erina's research on him, but if she doesn't pay attention to the basics then everything is in vain.

Then, Ray writes down another puzzle that he got from Terumi. A riddle that only exists in the Blueeast guild.

“Other puzzles. A place to fail over everything.” Finished writing everything down, Ray turned his digital pen around and looked at everyone.

He was almost like a lecturer who was giving lectures to other troubled students.

Although they are not stupid, but errors in delivery can have a bad effect. And, just maybe, completely wrong actions will be taken.

“From these two puzzles I don't know what you guys have, the first generation got. This is just my thinking supported by some promising aspects.”

There's never a really definite answer. To get such certainty required supporting aspects that make it possible.

Ray noticed that Arthur raised his hand slightly. He could not lift too high because his own body was full of bandages, even he looked more like a mummy if his face was getting bandages. Small movements can hurt him so he has to be careful.

“What's up, Arthur?”

“I want to ask you a few things,” Arthur lowered his hand and closed his eyes before seeing Ray again. “This is an unsolved puzzle for two years by the first generation. You said you found the answer. How do you do it?”

So that's the question. It is questionable that a matter of two years without an answer was suddenly discovered by a new person like Ray.

It seemed that the Order and Sebastian also wanted to ask the same thing as they started nodding.

“Somehow about the others, but how to solve it is simpler. The way I think is to start from finding a solution from the easiest step before to the difficult step.”

The way algorithms think is always like that. Finding a way out of the easiest thing is a mandatory option.

Ray must also be curious from the perspective where the Order or Erina tried to solve it.

“So so. All this time I've been researching the meaning of each sentence. This is such an organization anyway. I never imagined they would make something easy,” Ordo said. Crossing his arms arrogantly, even though his bonyok face was destroying his image.

“Blogs is the problem. When someone is overwritten by difficult and heavy things, they will forget that problem solving is really easy.”

Just like when one looks at each other with another man. It would be considered impolite and men would take it as a challenge to fight.

Though the easy solution to avoid it is to turn your face or stop looking at it. Fighting is not a solution.

“The answer to the puzzle can be clearly seen. Look, if take the first letter of each sentence, a new sentence will appear.”

Ray spelled it out and rewrote the puzzle in capital letters at the beginning of each sentence. The first puzzle produced the word:

Debt is Hell. Love For You. Death Makeup. Hell's Absurd.

If combined it will produce the word Destroy'.

Then for the next puzzle:

“Place To Fail For Everything. If combined will form the word 'Duty', yes?” Arthur said with surprise on his face.

Everyone immediately furrowed his brows. Feelings of anger, incomprehension and other things become mixed.

That's because the two sentences produced are very dangerous and unthinkable at all.

“If combine these two sentences .. then the formed sentence is 'Destroy the task'. Although it is very simple and seems stupid, in fact this is what Virgo is trying to do with Rebellion.”

It was a big surprise that it was really going to happen.

“Entahlah. We must be reminded again that this organization does not work with common sense.” The Order did not seem to hesitate with the answer to the riddle that Rau found.

In addition, he actually seemed embarrassed because he was unable to solve it in two years. The Order began to wonder, what exactly had he been doing all this time?

Other than sleep .. there is hardly any intensive movement that he does to the task.

“Could this be the reason Secret brought us, the second generation to take part because the first did not complete the task?” asked Mona timidly.

“It ... I can't argue with it. In fact we did not do anything but live a trivial task just to collect DP and survive,” said the Order with a bitter face.

“If you have to be honest. The reason we are the first generation is not progressing. It must have been caused by the Order and Erina.”

The rivalry between the two allowed them to be unable to achieve this answer immediately. That was because the first generation split into three parts.

Erina's fortress, the Order's stronghold, and others were neutral. Those who chose neutral eventually left the position and began to participate in the competition.

“So, if Virgo were a person of the same generation as you. He may be fed up with your behavior and choose to act aggressively,” Arthur dropped the last bomb to suppress the Order.

Those from the second generation were quite curious about this. Is there another conspiracy behind their hostility? It was hard to imagine both of them maintaining the status quo for that long.

If both sides wait for the other party to step up, then there will never be any progress.

The order smiled wryly and looked sad, “It seems that our little quarrel caused this to happen, huh? It's mortifying. Looks like I should have ended it.”

Was this little squabble really important until both of them brought chaos to the Open World. Well, Ray sure will find out soon enough.

“For now, do we consider this finished?” ask Ray because he wants to jump immediately to another topic before—

“Wait,” Arthur stared intently at Ray and stopped him, “You haven't said what aspect makes you sure that your answer is the truth.”

—before someone asks.

Ray honestly didn't want to tell you. This is something Leo discovered. Ray didn't want to say it before he confirmed it with his own eyes.

This man can't be fooled. It seems that other than the Order and Virgo. Arthur might be a threat to me. Her thought.

“You didn't mean to keep it to yourself, did you?” Arthur reaffirmed because Ray was silent for a long time.

“... of course not,” Ray gave up on his own wishes and decided to speak up. “Leo, you can tell it, right?”

Leo was a little stunned at first, yet he immediately nodded.

The Order stared intently at Leo, Ray and Terumi in turn.

“It seems like a lot of things happened between you guys without my knowledge, huh? Well, let's.”

Ray didn't say anything about it. If there had been no Virgo attack. Ray intends to use Leo and Terumi to destroy the Order. And, make it seem as if Erina did it.

But what power. The situation changed and went faster. The change in the situation made Ray change his stance in this situation. From sacrificing everything to using everything.

“I'll tell you about it from the beginning ..”

Leo explained as he finished the task with Terumi around the waterfall. At that time because the air was very hot Leo chose to swim and dive.

At that time he found an unnatural cave at the base of the waterfall that seemed to be connected to one place. At first he wanted to go down immediately, but he could not leave Terumi for a long time.

“I decided to explore it later and back at night.”

Leo returned to investigate the cave and found a hidden place.

“That's a big place that Secret certainly made. Besides being very cold, the place also stores one thing that cannot be ignored.”

Leo looked scared when he remembered that moment.

For modern humans like them, it was something very common in anyone's ears. Benda— weapon that is even capable of annihilating mankind.

“What do you find there?” sebastian asked because he didn't like the tense atmosphere.

Leo nodded with confidence, “That's the thing we all know .. hydrogen bomb.”

“Hah?!” Everyone choked on his breath in surprise.

A weapon capable of annihilating humanity and the thing most feared should a world war occur.

Ray knew it would be like this. The big worry Ray has is that the people here will start competing to master it and use it as a threat.

No one living in the Open World would want to feel the explosion of a thermonuclear weapon.