Monolith World 6 Diminishing Returns

The final bell for the day rang, closing the curtains on exams for the day. Frustrated beyond belief, I threw my cheaply made mechanical pencil on the ground, where the plastic burst open, scattering the contents around the floor. As I pitifully sulked in my chair, I overheard an equally pitiful conversation that was slowly headed for the exit of the room.

"Look at him, getting all worked up over that easy quiz, I wonder how he's doing in this cla.s.s. I thought Asians were supposed to be good at math? Haha."

"He's Asian?"

"Well, his last name's Xu, isn't it?"

"I guess so..."

*Seriously... calling finals an easy quiz? That's actually hilarious.*

As the conversation left earshot, I sighed in relief. Those goons didn't know how to do anything but get good grades. I have them beat in most other areas, so the only way they can attempt to harm me is with this sort of trash talk about grades on the edge of my hearing. Honestly, it was fortunate for them that I didn't want to deal with them at the moment. Not like I'm bad at arguing or anything. I guess they just don't like a kid a few years younger than them competing on the same intellectual battlefield. As I picked up the pencil and graphite I had carelessly hurled, I heard footsteps approaching at a leisurely pace.

"Hey," I mumbled, not even turning to look at him.

"Yo, Jon. Ready to lose again?"

This guy. He'd always boasted higher accomplishments in the academic department, and with a love for games, it was no surprise that he was the president of the chess club as well. He was also someone who would never go easy on me in a battle of wits despite knowing he was superior. Despite that, he was still my best friend.

"Of course not! I'm fired up right now."

"I can tell that much..."

He glanced at the debris on the ground.

After I had tossed the whole dilapidation in the garbage, we exited the room and started walking towards the club room. He finally spoke up again.

"So? What did you think?"

*About the final?*

"Oh it's totally nothing. Other than the fact that the one thing I don't study turns out to be the question worth the most points! What the h.e.l.l is that upside down triangle thing, anyway? Did we even talk about that?"

"Of course we did. And it just so happens to be the day you fell asleep."

*Right. Of course.*

"And you? What did you think? Wait, never mind. I'm not even gonna ask..."

*This kid's never gotten under a ninety-five percent in an exam, so what's the point in even asking?*

"Well, I did think it was difficult..."

Hearing this, my spirits lightened a little. Of course, if the smartest kid in the cla.s.s thought it was difficult, it really must have been.

"I wasn't even 100% confident in one of my answers!" He continued.

"Oh, f.u.c.k off!"

I gave him a playful shove, and we both laughed in kind.

"Well, what's done is done, I guess", I told myself. We reached the outside of the designated room. "So, let's play a game? Loser has to do the club president duties first thing upon entry. Whatever those are."

To be honest, I kind of wanted to see how to be the president of a club. In the past, I'd never really payed any attention to leadership, and practically freeloaded off of the benefits of being a useless member of society. But hearing what my sister said earlier about the "threshold of adulthood" made me reconsider my choices.

"Oh? *You* want to try being club president for a day? That's unusual, but I'd love to see it!"

"That's an unusual way of saying you're sure to win. Bring it on. I'm feeling kind of down after that last final, so let's only play RPS-5. Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, best of 3."

Actually, I had another reason for challenging him here as well. The minor victory I had won against Jeanna gave me some confidence in my abilities, and I was itching to play something as soon as the exams ended for the day. Of course, I didn't have to say this aloud.

"Seems fair. On shoot, then?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Let's start."

The game to decide today's fate - Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock. A 5-way version of roshambo. The rules are simple; they're identical to normal Rock Paper Scissors. There's just two extra options. Each option beats two others and is defeated by the remaining two.

On the mental count of three, we simultaneously began.

""Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!""

I extended my hand all the way, and opened my ring and pinky fingers on one side, and my middle and index on the other. The result - Spock.

He, however, had simply extended his hand all the way out with no hesitation. Four fingers and a thumb, fully extended. The result - Paper.

I let out a small whistle, impressed at his first immediate victory.

Paper disproves Spock. I was losing 0-1.

"Really, now, Jon? You're so easy to read!"

"Am I? Good."

Obviously, I knew this was a bluff. The only person in the world who could read me so easily was Jeanna, and nothing could change that fact. The first round was nothing but luck. It's impossible for him to know that I'd have played Spock.

In cla.s.sic roshambo, men, especially those who don't know any strategy, typically open with rock. Although the choice doesn't hold any more weight than the others, it's definitely psychologically comforting to hold out a fist right from the get-go. Obviously, my opponent isn't a moron. However, this is where reverse psychology can come into play. It's possible he could pick Rock even if he knows it's a typical starting move. Therefore, it's impossible to know if he will play Rock.

Conversely, women throw Scissors more often. It's definitely an opening move that's likely to win. Knowing this, I picked Spock. Spock smashes both Rock and Scissors. He knows this. However, there's no guarantee that he knows I will play Spock due to the logic of reverse psychology. Therefore, the first throw is pretty much down to luck.

This is also what makes a 5-way version of RPS so much more exciting than the standard. Since so much of the first throw is down to luck, there's a 1 in 5 chance of a tie, due to there being five options to choose from. In standard, there's a 1 in 3 chance. Of course, there's the argument that more ties can make the game more suspenseful, but I'd rather just get the thing over with as soon as possible. I play to have fun, and endless ties aren't all that.

"Again."

"Of course."

We prepare for the second round. Once again, on the mental count of three, we chant.

""Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!""

I stuck only my index and middle fingers out sideways and made sure there there was a gap in the middle. The result - Scissors.

Lo and behold, my opponent responds in kind with the same move as last time, a fully open hand. The result - Paper. A mirrored move, and a good strategy. It's highly unlikely to want to make the same move twice, especially now that there's five options to choose from. Of course, if this was the only thing I knew, I would have hesitated to play Scissors. But, there was something else I had an idea of. To confirm, I looked at his hand. It looked to be shaking uncomfortably. It's as if he were trying to flex his muscles really hard, but to no avail.

*I knew it! Wow... I really didn't expect this from someone as incredible as you, but I guess it's still true to this day...*

The score was tied up 1-1.

"I've got Scissors, and you've got Paper. Scissors cut paper. That's one for me. Who's easy to read, again?" I taunted him.

"... paper. Right. The point goes to you," he reluctantly responded.

*I think I've got him where I want, now. He looks pretty fl.u.s.tered at the moment. And would you look at that... He's even switching what hand he's using.*

"Ready?" I carefully said, trying not to betray my confidence.

"Yeah, lets go ahead."

For the final time, the chant resonated through the hall.

""Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot!""

Four of my fingers were stuck together on top, while my thumb was across from them, resembling a "C". The result - Lizard.

My opponent, for the third time in a row, unleashed a fully open hand - Paper.

"Lizard eats Paper. 2-1, my victory," I said. And I gave him the upright Scissors. Some may call it the hand symbol for "peace" or "victory", but frankly, that's overrated.

"No, way, dude. You knew?"

"Hmm? What's that? Knew what?"

"Okay, I'm sorry. I take back what I said earlier about you being easy to read. Can you tell me how you knew that I can't play Spock?"

This was how I beat him. The dude literally can't even make the Spock sign with his hands... it's a pretty dirty victory, but a win's a win.

"Oh, I just happened to overhear it back in the day on the elementary school playground... no big deal, right? I heard you watched Star Trek one day, and tried to make the Vulcan symbol, but couldn't. I took a chance that you still couldn't do it to this day, and would you look at that."

"Man... is that why you only wanted to play RPS-5? What's got you feeling so upbeat today? Especially after failing the final..."

I pretended like I didn't hear that last part.

*I actually did get a little nervous after the first loss... keeping that confident facade was really a challenge.*

Regardless of if he managed to play Spock, Lizard poisons Spock, so I still would have won. In an effort to protect his pride, he had to play Paper again or Spock. I had him in checkmate.

As for the bet... although I was willing to take a test of leadership by being club president for a day, I had to admit that I can't change overnight. I'm still nervous about dealing with a bunch of people, it seems...

*Anyway, this is definitely an opportunity! I can finally learn how to be a leader.*

I'd never really witnessed a club president's duties before. I'm either late or don't show up to the club, and I hardly pay attention to what anyone else is doing, since I don't really care. The going-home club is best, after all. This was my first time actually showing up on time.

When we opened the door, the earth suddenly started shifting beneath us. A weak earthquake. We both grabbed the closest thing to stabilize ourselves, which happened to be the door frame. In less than thirty seconds, it subsided.

"There's been a lot of those recently, but I gotta say that this was definitely the strongest one yet..."

"Yea, I'm with you on that one..."

The unexpected scene was quickly forgotten.

"So? What are you gonna do, Mr. President?" I asked him.

"Hmm? After checking attendance, nothing, really."

"What? Nothing? So I staked nothing on that game?"

"I'm sure you'd be nervous even about doing nothing, Jon!"

"..."

We pa.s.sed a sign-in sheet around, verifying everyone present. The sign-in sheet would be sent to the school board to judge the club's activity. The more popular the club, the more funding it would get. Therefore, everyone was reminded to sign in.

A few of the club members started to look in our direction once things had settled down. After all, we were the main attraction here. Since I didn't show up very often, whenever "Mr. President" and I were together in this room, we would play a game with 100% certainty. But I guess you can't say that this time, since it wasn't me who would be playing today. I made this clear by not making any effort to issue a challenge.

"What's up? Scared of losing another chess match?"

"Pshh. Of course I am. You beat me most of the time, anyway."

Of course I was a little nervous. My win rate against him never went above 45%. But that's besides the point. Today was a special occasion. I wanted to see how he stacked up against a certain someone. Maybe if I knew the result, I could relax my soul even more.

"Then why did you even come? On time, no less... are you healthy today? You didn't hit your head, right? Definitely your performance on the final-"

"I've got a special guest coming today, and I guarantee your loss."

Once I said that, silence broke out. Then, a small commotion started around the room. Of course, the number one player getting a guaranteed loss was bound to garner at least some attention. A kid I'd never seen before seemed especially angry.

"Club president? Guaranteed loss? Who is that guy anyway? Why do you all seem to trust what he's saying?"

I guess I could understand where the newcomer was coming from... Objectively speaking, the number one and number two players were on a pretty different level from the rest of the club. If a random guy came in and said that he knew someone that could get either one of us a guaranteed loss, he would probably be treated like a laughingstock. What really surprised me, though, was how long this question created conversation. When I looked closer, I saw that there were actually quite a few new kids I'd never seen before.

*Oh jeez... how long has it even been since I last came here? Somebody please tell them something...*

Looking around the room, none of the club veterans spoke up for a while. Apparently, they're jealous of not being able to take the number two spot, even though I haven't shown up in G.o.d knows how long.

Finally, the player in third place, Alex, began to speak up.

*Finally, man. It's about time. Thanks, Alex...*

The newbies quieted down to hear what the old fox had to say.

"Yea, I have no clue who he is. Guaranteed loss on the Prez? No way, of course he's bluffing!"

Silence resonated.

"..."

*Dammit, et tu?*

"Yea, I've been coming here for the past four weeks and I've never seen him."

"Five for me."

"Six."

*I really haven't been here in a month and a half? I guess time flies when you're not losing chess games.*

It was impossible to get the club to calm down after that one. Honestly, I'm really glad I didn't need to perform any "leadership duties" today. No one would have taken me seriously, it seems...

At that moment, the clock struck 4, and the door opened.

*Punctual, like always... but thank goodness you're here now.*

My prayers were answered. All the attention on me dissipated; all eyes were on the door. Of course, without a bold claim such as guaranteeing the number one's defeat, this wouldn't have happened. Even if they believed it was impossible, I guess they couldn't completely kill their curiosity towards this mystery guest.

...Now believe me when I said I was relieved when I saw her. But another emotion immediately overrode that.

*What the h.e.l.l are you wearing, Jeanna?*

"Yo," she said, like a typical... something, but this wasn't her normal behavior! Something seriously went wrong!

I was floored.

She was dressed in a dark gray sweatshirt hoodie, with the hood up, mind you, and light gray sweatpants. No trace of dignity whatsoever.

"Who's the punk I need to beat? Jon?"

She raised an eyebrow at me.

After another second of stunned silence I finally managed to utter a few more words.

"Uh, yea, he's right over here... Jeanna, this is..."

"No need for introductions, I've heard all about you from lil' Jon here. I just need to beat you, right? Let's just get this over with."

*Don't call me that here of all places! And I was about to comment on your outfit, not give introductions!*

"Oh? Interesting. I a.s.sume you're Jon's older sister? Not like it matters who you are, anyway. I won't give you any special treatment. This is what I say to all my opponents, regardless of who they are. Ready to lose?"

"No. Let's go."

The two challengers quickly set up the board.

Of course, this sudden entry was not taken very warmly. From what I've told her about the club, she should know that as well. Apparently she's trying to rile them up on purpose. And it's not helping my cause. I know she'll win, but still... think of my reputation a little bit, at least!

"Hey, seriously? She just walks in here like she owns the place?"

"Talking to the Prez like that? Talk about arrogant..."

"Who is that chick, anyway!"

I sighed quietly enough for no one around me to hear.

*That's the problem with you idiots. Don't just follow someone around because you think he's a G.o.d... learn to form your own opinions!*

Hopefully they'll be hit with some reality after this game.

...

The game was close. It really was. Jeanna, playing on the black side, couldn't have had an advantage of more than 5 points at any given time. But the result was clear. Checkmate, her win.

Everyone was stunned into silence. Before anyone could react, Jeanna abruptly said, "Is that it? See ya."

She got up to leave, but was met with some mildly annoyed chatter.

"Hey, this guy said he knew someone who could give Prez a guaranteed loss. Although it was a win, it didn't look very guaranteed to me."

"Yea, let's see a rematch!"

*They can't even take a loss on someone else's behalf?*

"Hmm? Is that any way to treat a lady?" She inquired mockingly.

"What! Act like one, then!"

She started towards the door, and the absurd scene continued until *somebody* with some authority decided to speak up.

"Why not? Let's go again. Scared I'll beat you this time?"

There was a fire in his eyes that was rarely seen amongst normal people. Of course, he was like this every time he was against me. The burning determination to win. Looks like he wasn't going to back down.

With those words, Jeanna stopped and twisted her head back to look at us. Her eyes narrowed. "Oh? I was trying to go easy on you knowing this would happen, but you saw through it?"

"Of course. Although your advantage was small, you kept it consistently throughout the course of the match. You're truly a fearsome opponent. I probably won't win. So let's go again."

After a heated staring contest, Jeanna complied and sat back down on the black side of the chess board.

"Fine. But we're playing on a one minute timer this time. Any complaints?"

"Not at all. As long as I get another match against you, I'm perfectly happy."

Her expression was cold. His expression was heated. A blitz battle of ice and fire would rapidly consume the table in between them.

Once again, she was victorious. She didn't hold back; she crushed him. The result to any doubters was clear this time.

"Let's go, Jon."

She grabbed me by the wrist and briskly headed towards the door.

"Huh? Um... okay?"

A repet.i.tion of the previous scene. Stunned silence with one person seemingly unaffected.

As the door shut behind us in the hallway, I couldn't hold my questions in any longer.

"What are you thinking?"

But I couldn't articulate any of them. Instead, I gave her this pathetically concise excuse for one.

"Diminishing returns."

"Huh?"

She let the hood fall off of her head as she explained.

"The more skilled you become at something, the more time and it takes to gain the same amount of skill."

"Well, yeah. So?"

*What does this have anything to do with anything...*

"Like I told you earlier today, he's a dangerous opponent. He seems to be the type to enjoy losing."

"What? But he loves playing against me and winning. How does that make any sense?"

"I know because I'm the same way. I love playing against stronger opponents. I love losing against someone stronger. But that's a rare case nowadays; finding a difficult opponent is quite a task. I'm sure he feels the same way."

"Then why don't you go play in chess tournaments or something?"

"It's too much effort. Like I said, diminishing returns. I'd have to play an insane amount of chess at this point to get any better. It's not worth it. And you know that chess isn't the only thing I'm good at."

I then realized something. I guess I never thought about it too much, but I guess there comes a time where you can optimize what you're skilled at. If you balance your skills and skill levels perfectly, it can seem like you're a pro at everything, especially to the average person. Of course, in reality, you are far worse than a pro. If an ant stood in front of two mountains, both would seem insurmountable, even if one mountain was twice as tall in reality.

"Not only that... but here's what scares me... he's an insanely quick learner, especially if he loses against someone an order of magnitude stronger. I don't know how many matches it would take for him to catch up to me, but it wouldn't be very many. Normally, I'd be fine with someone surpa.s.sing my skill in a game, but..."

She glanced nervously back at the door.

*Why is she so on edge today?*

"I get what you mean. I play against him all the time, but he's not nearly as scary as you. Although I guess he can get really fired up sometimes..."

I recalled the time I beat him and he flipped the table, demanding a rematch in the process.

Jeanna smiled bitterly.

"Thanks, Jon, I'm glad I look like a big and scary monster to you."

She stuck out her tongue to tease me. And let me tell you that there really was one heck of a monster standing right in front of me.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a pale face with blonde hair.

"What the heck are you doing? Don't you have club president duties to be attending to? We're outta here for now." I told him.

He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

"Then I'll come along as well. I'm really interested in what's going on between you two. I just left the presidential duties to Alex. Punishment for trash talking you."

He winked at me. Gross.

*I don't need that consolation...*

It took a little convincing, but Jeanna sighed and reluctantly agreed to bring this psycho along with us.

We walked in silence towards the exit doors of the building.

"Aren't you two gonna say anything to each other... are you really siblings? Where's the trash talk?"

I wasn't going to voluntarily answer that question, and Jeanna didn't seem to have any plans to speak up, either. So the silence continued.

We eventually walked outside towards the commons. Eerily enough, it was deathly silent outside as well. Barely any sounds of nature reached our ears.

Suddenly, Jeanna spoke up.

"Hey, Jon. If you were stranded somewhere remote, do you think you could muster your will to survive?"

"Huh?"

*She's blindsided me at nearly every opportunity today with these strange questions and statements... I wonder if everything really is okay today...*

"You heard what I asked... would you?"

"If it really happened, then yeah. I'm not actively trying to get myself killed here."

"Is that so? Thank goodness..."

She turned away and hid her face in her hood.

*She seems especially relieved after hearing that answer. Something has to be up with her today, seriously.*

Maybe she was just being overprotective of me, but seeing her that relieved made me smile, too.

Suddenly, we were hit with another mild earthquake. This one easily stronger than the last.

*These have been getting really annoying lately, but if their magnitudes keep scaling up at the same rate as today, we'll be in serious trouble soon...*

Even though it was the strongest, it didn't last very long. Jeanna spoke up once more when the earthquake subsided.

"Hey, on second thought, let's not go towards the commons. Let's go around towards the parking lot..."

"Why?"

"Um... you know how they have that mascot statue there? I don't want to admit it, but... that thing really scares me..."

I knew which statue she was talking about. It was a fairly large bra.s.s statue of a wolf, our school mascot. And it wasn't very well made. It definitely fell within the uncanny valley in terms of how cute it was. However, there was no need to worry, because...

"They got rid of that statue last year. I do admit it was pretty creepy, though."

"Oh... are you sure? I still don't want to go that way... can't we go around?"

"It'll be fine! It's not cursed or anything... nothing's gonna happen in the commons, okay?"

Jeanna didn't look convinced, but it was too late. We had arrived near the commons.

The deathly silence from the beginning of our little stroll hadn't let up.

*That's odd. Why is no one here?*

Typically, the commons were one of the busiest places in the school. But...

*Is it because of the earthquakes? Did everyone evacuate? If so, then why did people still come to the club?*

"Did everyone evacuate because of the earthquake, you think?" I asked. I had to know. This was getting really strange.

"Maybe, but if so, why did people show up to the club? Something's not adding up here."

"Yeah..."

Looks like we both followed the same train of thought.

But apparently someone wasn't on the same page as us.

"What earth... oh, right the earthquake."

We both looked at Jeanna like she was crazy.

"Are you serious right now? You don't just forget an earthquake. Are you okay today?"

*Seems like this is a common question flying around today for everyone.*

"I'm fine, Jon. I'm just more worried about you..."

*Seriously overprotective... but why?*

As if on cue, a beacon of bluish-white light suddenly shot upward from the center of the school's commons area. Cracks started appearing across the sky, as if it were someone were driving piles into gla.s.s in a sloppy polkdotted pattern. The cracks from the small holes extended into even smaller fractals of branches that expanded radially outward. Panic ensued throughout the campus. In a peaceful world like ours, something of violence on this scale was sure to traumatize the whole lot who experienced it. It appeared that no one would make it out alive. This is what my instincts were telling me, even though I'd obviously never seen anything similar to it before.

"What's going on?" my friend hurriedly asked.

*Not like I have a clue, either, man. Why are you asking me?*

"... Go."

My sister, normally so caring, so gentle, had an unusually agitated look on her face and an icy look in her eyes.

"What? What do you mean? What's going on?" I replied.

*Go where?* I thought, but thinking about it clearly, there really was only one place to go.

"Just leave! I've been trying to prepare you for this your whole life! You're not about to render my efforts nil!"

*This is really my sister, isn't it? Is that her true nature? What's with that vocab, anyway? Preparing me for what?*

"Why are you so mad all of a sudden?" I inquired.

Most likely realizing her abnormal condition, she suddenly froze and took a deep breath, which softened her features back to normal.

"Listen, Jon. As you can probably tell by now, it's not safe here. If you want to survive, you must leave. I'll take care of things on my end. Just trust me, okay?"

"... okay."

How can I say no to her when she's looking at me like that? I looked around the world again, most likely for the final time.

*I don't really get what's going on, but I trust you, sis.*

I turned away from my sister's slightly bewildered smile which seemed to say, "You really can abandon me that easily, huh?" and started off towards the commons.

*I'm not abandoning you. Don't you know of a little something called trust?*

Slowly, step by step, I started off towards the light.

"Come with me, dude." I hollered towards my friend.

"Uh, o-okay! I'm not a third wheel or anything in this situation, right?"

"..."

This guy. Even in a chaotic situation like this, he's still able to keep his head straight and joke around. As expected of someone with great leadership capabilities.

As I ran towards the beacon, it seemed like its light was expanding towards me as well - it seemed like it was rushing towards me faster than I could ever imagine. Then, both pairs of footsteps slowed to a stop. Exhausted, I turned around to look at my friend who had slowed down to a walking pace to match me.

I told him, "Dude, I don't think I can make it any farther... This thing's too bright... And for some reason, it's getting pretty hard to run..."

"Seriously, Jon? I'm sure even someone as dumb as you can figure out the world's ending or something, and this light is our only hope! If you can't make it, you're really not gonna make it!"

*I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I haven't truly given up yet, right? I guess you're not too wrong, but...*

"So the world's ending, you think? Isn't that quite the conclusion to come to just from what we've seen today? ...Yeah, I know. I'm just getting both of us riled up for no reason, aren't I? I just got Mr. know-it-all over here to say something really dumb!"

"Shut up! It's not like you're that much dumber than I am! Anyway, who knows how long we're gonna last here! ...How about this? Let's play a game."

"A game, huh? You can't seriously mean..."

"When it comes down to a game, Jon, I'm always serious. And you know what it's gonna be."

This is how he always is. Whenever, I'm feeling down about myself, he always brings the one thing to light a fire within me again. A game. I'm not going to let him provoke me too much this time, either. When it comes down to physical ability, there's no way I could lose against him. Bring it on.

"Of course. First one to reach the light wins, right? This is just like you; always picking useless fights with me, huh? Let's go."

The pseudo-motivational speech accomplishing its task, two pairs of running footsteps could be heard once more. The end was in sight. Just a little bit farther, now...

Each step closer to the goal was more difficult than the last. Not that it was too exhausting, but the already blinding light wouldn't stop getting brighter. Eventually, the light became so bright that I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed. My steps seemed to become more and more hurried, as if running on a treadmill that was going too fast. But I couldn't stop now. Faster. Faster. And then...