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Chapter 57: Suspicions

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Shocked at her sudden, childish outburst, Robin, Weiss, and Pyrrha stood there staring at her with wide eyes.

“““...”””

Feeling their stares, Diane remembered her teammates were not her usual ones, and she recollected herself.

“..Ahem. I suppose I got a little overexcited.” Diane said after her laughing fit had subsided.

“““...”””

“....Lets just set up our base.”

Diane got to work operating her blue screen. Weiss rearranged the chairs and tables. Pyrrha stood on guard, and Robin began walking along the “paths” Diane created that led to their base in order to set up various traps. Whenever he wasn't studying or sparring, Robin would tinker with his Invent skill. The result was the creation of various contraptions that Robin was now setting up in the maze. An example of some of the newer tools he created was the device that showed a still hologram of Diane earlier.

The maze had several areas that were designed to look like actual locations. The center, for example, was a grassland. The location they had decided to make their base was a fancy looking restaurant. At least, it looked like that before the walls collapsed. However, restoring the walls to its former appearance was a trivial task since anyone who possessed an orb was supposed to be able to do that anyway.

An obvious problem was that even if Diane could Hack into the entire maze, it didn't mean she had complete control over it. It merely gave her access rather than complete control. Furthermore, operating the maze meant she was constantly consuming Aura. Fortunately, she was able to alter how much she consumed when operating the maze. If she was just idling through Security, she consumed little to no Aura, but a huge problem Diane mentioned to them was that fighting for control over the maze consumed her Aura at an astonishing rate.

In her case, because she used passwords that were stolen, she consumed considerably less Aura when hacking in the maze the first time. Of course, that meant the moment others had orbs, Diane was in danger due to others fighting for control over their area. Fighting for control meant consuming Aura. The longer fights when, the harder it was to obtain victory.

This was why it was crucial for them to reduce the number of fighters. On the other hand, this meant before anyone grabbed an orb, she had full control of anything that happened regarding the maze's structure.

= That was the reason why it was so crucial to reduce the number of fighters, supposedly. On one hand, using Hack can result in time-consuming and inefficient consumption of Aura. On the other hand, this means that unless someone steps up to challenge her control of the maze, the flow of this match isn't going to change. =

Robin was currently hanging sideways on a wall about 3 meters in the air thanks to a grappling hook he made. Just because they couldn't jump over the walls didn't mean they couldn't use tools to hang on them. As he was winding up a box on the wall, Robin began contemplating.

= Even though her power seems overwhelming at first, no doubt someone would guess that controlling the maze is difficult. They might even aim to start a fight over control just to make her weaker. The worst about that kind of fight is that if she were to decide to give up on trying to control the maze, it would only make her weakness all the more obvious to others, especially if such a famous fighter stops trying to manipulate something that many thought was under her complete control. That would cause a commotion. =

Robin dropped down to the floor and carefully lined up a thin trip wire in the shadow of the wall. Because there was sunlight shining on the rest of the maze, one would think putting a wire trap near sunlight would be a terrible decision. However, people's eyes are naturally directed toward brighter objects and would miss the coated wire hidden in the shadow. The coated wire was also only noticeable if seen from a certain angle, and would be unnoticeable to victims turning the corner in the maze.

= Given Diane's cautious nature, she has probably already assumed this, and she would most likely abandon the strategy of using Hack and fight for the orb normally. If she is aware of her weakness, then the bravado that she showed earlier is most likely another act to put others on guard.... =

Robin scratched his head as he made his way back to their base, carefully avoiding all the traps he had just set up.

= It would make sense. She's famous, rumored to be unbeatable, and just turned an impossible situation into a win-win scenario. Rather than trying to fight the unbeatable, other people would rather turn away and look for a better option. Her bravado act sells it even better. She's taken so many scenarios into account when making this plan. It's absolutely scary... but that's why... =

“It doesn't make any sense.”

Weiss was sitting at a table sipping apple tea. At Robin's comment, she turned his way. Pyrrha, who stood at the entrance of the restaurant, didn't move, but her ears twitched to show she was listening in. The person who the comment was directed at, Diane, looked away from her blue screen to motion Robin to elaborate.

Robin felt that something was wrong. This feeling appeared yesterday in their meeting, and it only intensified today. He did not just sit back and accepted orders like a robot- no that was the feeling he got from this group. It was as if he was an actor following a set script. A script that was written by Diane. He didn't like it.

“How did you know about Velvet's and Simon's abilities?” Robin questioned.

“Because I did recon about the fighters. I make it a point that my MO consists of knowing everything there is to know about my opponent before I fight.” She said without hesitation.

“How exactly do you find out about their abilities?”

“Rumors here and there. Why exactly are you asking me this?”

An answer that explained nothing.

“I'm curious about your methods of information gathering. I accepted it easily yesterday, but after thinking about it, the fact you found out so much about them through some rumors is hardly believable.”

“You would be surprised what you can find out in the grapevine. For example, I know many girls shun Blake for being a “disgusting animal lover” because she hangs around you, and that one of our students has a thing for bondage. That was a secret that was supposed to only be known between the couple involved, yet it has made it's way to everyone else. You can't trust secrets to not spread somehow.”

= There is some truth to her statement. This was the electronic age. Once information spreads to the internet, it could become widely known very quickly. As for Blake, people don't know she's a faunus due to her bow... wait that's not the point. =

“This and that are two different things.” Robin rejected. “The only way one knows for sure about another person's semblance is if they were told by the person in question or saw their status plate. Otherwise, it's just a guessing game. Yet somehow, you're telling us you figured out that Simon innately understands all the possible routes of any structure he's in by just rumors?

It's unlikely for you to discover these things through rumors. Especially since I can't imagine the topic of semblances is popular weeks before a competition. That is essentially revealing to others your trump card.”

Robin was only getting started. He twirled a chair beside Diane and straddled it. Pyrrha was no longer guarding the front door. Robin now had their undivided attention. He stared into Diane's blue eyes with a blank stare, but Pyrrha stepped in before Robin could continue.

“...I suggest you stop right there.” Pyrrha interrupted while patting her hand on Robin's shoulder.

“That's taboo.”

What Robin was suggesting was that Diane didn't get this information through rumors. If she didn't get the information from another person, then she must have used a skill. Knowing Diane's class was Hacker, it wasn't hard to guess what she might have done. Although Robin, Pyrrha, and Weiss had a general feeling behind the truth of the matter, they never confronted Diane about her skills because it was taboo as Pyrrha said.

It was common courtesy to not inquire about other's skills unless they were close friends or people you trusted. The normal way was to learn through spectating sparring matches. However the four of them were merely temporary teammates. Today's allies would be tomorrow's enemy. Despite knowing all this, Robin still confronted her about this.

“It's fine.” Diane assured Pyrrha. Diane felt the knowledge was not something that would put a dent in her plans. Thus, she began to explain.

“I merely my Identify skill evolved by combining it with Hack. That way, whenever I identified someone, I am able to know a few other stuff as well. It depends on what I'm looking for though. Does that answer satisfy you?”

“..One last thing. How did you hack into the maze so easily?”

“?? I believe I went over this already? My semblance and class is unique. It's a result of my evolved Hack skill. I thought I showed you that lock example, remember?”

That same, overconfident smile rested on her face.

“....Of course!” Robin smacked a palm on his forehead.

“How could I be so silly as to forget that? Forgive me, President.”

“Haha, no worries.”

Robin got up from the chair and went to grab a glass of water from the sink behind Diane. As he started to take a sip, his back was turned to Diane, and hers to his.

“...Robin.”

“...”

“...For you to start questioning me like this, it couldn't be that you are suspicious of me cheating right?” She asked as she turned her head ever so slightly.

“What? No, I was just curious about a few things was all. You wouldn't dare to break the law, right?”

“Ha, being caught committing crimes is grounds for disqualifications, you know. I'm not so foolish to do that.”

Robin mimicked her smile. They smiled with squinted eyes at one another. A silence overcame the group. Robin sat at a separate table and slowly drank.

= Hacking into the maze so easily because of the coincidence between her semblance and class? Don't give me that bullshit. The officials know better than anyone else just how vast the world is. With each year, our technology improves. How is it possible they haven't taken precautions in the case someone like her shows up. I didn't think that hard about it yesterday, but after that skirmish with the other Hunters, it seems so suspicious.

After thinking about it a bit, the example with the lock she gave yesterday actually doesn't make sense. For her example to make sense to Pyrrha and Weiss, there had to be someone to compare the speed of her Hack. Otherwise, the validity of her argument goes up in smoke. That means she must have known I already had the skill...Given the research she somehow has into Velvet and the Simon guy, it wouldn't be surprising if she knows about me.

The biggest thing about that lock example that bothered me is the speed of her unlocking. Just like anything else, Hack works faster if you do it over and over on the same lock. Of course the speed of her Hack would be faster than mine. However, because I tried unlocking it first yesterday, I inadvertently convinced myself about her skill. All she had to do was keep practicing Hack on that one lock, so that when she used it as an example, we would believe her without a doubt. =

Robin had long since finished his drink. He was just sitting and staring at his empty glass. What was the reason that caused Robin to suspect Diane to such an extent? Specifically, there is absolutely zero evidence that she is cheating, but that was the reason he began to suspect her of cheating.

Her plan was flawless. Too flawless. It depended too much on coincidences. Diane just happened to have her abilities be a perfect match for the event. Robin just happened to have a device capable of making a hologram of her. There just happened to be five teams reaching the center just like Diane predicted.

In all his thinking, Robin noticed one small verbal mistake. Diane had responded to his question not straight up refusing the act of cheating, but instead said she would never get “caught” cheating. He didn't know if that was a slip up due to overconfidence, but if he went to the officials and asked them to listen to the recordings..

= ..! That's impossible! Diane has hacked into the maze's security system. She has control over all the recordings. Even if I went up to the officials, there is no conclusive evidence she's a cheater! =

Out of shock at the revelation, Robin inadvertently looked in Diane's direction, only to find her confidently smirking at him as if she knew he would figure it out. Almost as if she knew he was just like her. Someone who will think deeply about the situation in order to cover all the bases. It could be said that in terms of character, Robin and Diane were very similar. Diane contemplates every scenario possible whereas Robin contemplates counters to his opponents abilites through technique and clever traps.

= Graaa! What a cunning woman! Her plan is so perfect, it's aggravating! No matter how suspicious someone is, she is still basically a free woman. Still, no matter how much I think, I can't figure out the why and how. =

A perfect plan such as hers, which encompassed the hacking of the maze, arrangement of teams, and manipulation of moves like chess pieces, requires extensive planning in advance, research, and countless simulations. A perfect plan for what purpose? Her words earlier served a hint. She did not want to get “caught” in fear of “disqualifications”.

In other words, her goal is to win the tournament. But why? For what reason did she need to resort to cheating in order to win the tournament? If it was power, she had more than enough to be seeded to win. Why bother doing something which would cast suspicion onto herself?

And how? Just exactly how did she get access to the passwords and access codes to Hack the maze?

The answers to these two questions did not come from Robin's thinking, but Weiss's. Recalling her father's words yesterday, Weiss inferred that Diane was the one hired by her father to ensure her victory. As for how she got the passwords and access codes, she firmly believed Diane was provided by insiders bought by her father.

The reason Weiss did not speak up about these facts no matter how much the thought of cheating irked her was to save the dignity of her father and his company. They went this far to save their so-called dignity. She might as well go with it for their sake, right? As she asked herself that question, Pyrrha looked into the distance saddened. Her own thoughts unvoiced.

And the thing that broke the silence that hung over them was an announcement none of them expected.

Ding!

Announcement:Team at Entry Point 7 has captured the North Orb.

Participants:

Jaune Arc (Lvl 55)

Raven Branwen (Lvl 52)

Dove Bronzewing (Lvl 57)

Cardin Winchester (Lvl 58)

“...Huh?” The first time ever, the three of them heard Diane genuinely confused with the turn of events.

It was way too early for someone to possess an orb. There still had to be a huge number of Hunters and Huntresses leftover. If an orb came into someone's possession now, then that cage which was supposed to enclose 60 people will...

Discharge

A loud bang resonated in the restaurant. The crumbling of the table Diane was sitting at was heard. The smell of burnt wood was in the air as blue electricity enveloped her arm. Anyone who looked at her right now could tell... She was furious.

“..WHO! WHO DARES TO MESS WITH MY PLAN!!”

The biggest weakness of a carefully set plan. The more rigid the plan, the worst it falls apart due to outside factors.

= ...Ah. =

A fact dawned on him. A fact that only he knows, something --maybe the only thing-- Diane could've possibly overlooked. A fact that follows a single name that was on that list.

= Does Diane know Raven can use portals? =

Hello friends. Been a while but here it is. It's shorter than the last one, but I hope you can forgive me. Enjoy!

Ps. Apologies if grammar is not as good. I'll be actively correcting it over next few days.