"I— I just— I didn’t—" Master stammered, trying and failing to find an answer to the question he’d been asked.

Even through his eyes, one could see the fear and the realization that maybe he’d done something he shouldn’t.

Lukas pressed the blade of his sword slightly closer to the man’s neck, a thin line of red appearing at the contact point.

"I’ll make this simple," Lukas said. His voice was so cold it seemed to drain the air of heat. "You just attempted to take control of my mind during a negotiation. That tells me you’re willing to do whatever is necessary to win."

He held the man’s gaze. "So am I. The difference is that my sword is currently at your throat and yours is not at mine."

He paused. "If you want to survive this round, you’ll follow my instructions. Do you understand?"

Master’s eyes moved from the sword at his neck to Lukas’s face and back again. "Y— Yes," he said. "Fine. Yes."

"Good." Lukas gave him a single nod, his expression not changing. "Tell me your hidden objective."

Master froze where he sat. "Wait, what? We’re not supposed to—"

"Show me the rule that says we can’t." Lukas tilted his head slightly. "The games have just one rule. Winner takes all. We were given a task and failure conditions but no rules."

"So there’s nothing written anywhere that says hidden objectives must stay hidden." He leaned closer. "But if you want to keep your objectives hidden, you’re free to do so. The only thing that awaits you at the end of this road is death."

Master exhaled through his nose. Lukas could see the reluctance in the man’s eyes but that didn’t stop him from speaking.

"My hidden objectives say I must receive at least double the number of grapes I pay for, in free grapes. But the grapes I purchase must be bought at above the standard rate, which is more than one coin per grape. But the total number of grapes I collect from you must exceed the total coins I spend."

Lukas frowned at what he was hearing.

There were no restrictions on how many grapes Master needed to hold at the end, nor any minimum amount of coins he had to spend.

The objective was about the ratio of what he received for free versus what he paid for, and the total grapes outweighing total coins spent.

He looked at Master with a cold expression for a moment longer, then spoke.

"I sell you one grape for two coins and give you three grapes for free." He kept his gaze cold. "This way, you’ll spend two coins and receive four total grapes."

"Your free grapes are triple what you paid for, your purchased grape cost above the standard rate, and your total grapes exceed your coins spent." He paused. "In exchange, you sell me five grapes for three coins."

With ten starting grapes, minus four given to Master, plus five purchased, he’ll end the negotiations with eleven total grapes.

Both their hidden objectives would be met, and they’ll both survive this round.

Master stared at him, then he nodded. "Agreed."

Lukas held his gaze for another second before sending the sword back into his spatial ring.

Master let out a long breath filled with relief, his shoulders dropping.

"I apologize," he said, his voice quieter than it had been. "For the attempt."

Lukas said nothing but inside his mind, he knew he wouldn’t forget this.

He knew how close the man had come to taking over his mind, so even if the negotiations were over and the round would end, he wouldn’t let this go.

Not when there was a possibility that the man could do it again in another round.

In fact, he would’ve killed the man right here and now if not for the fact that he wasn’t sure if it would count as a failure in the negotiations.

They exchanged their grapes and coins across the table before sitting back and waiting.

Lukas glanced at the opaque barrier but couldn’t see anything through it. All he could hear was a low drone of what sounded like constant conversation but he couldn’t pick out any words in the low noise.

He glanced up at the fiery numbers which continued counting down the time above their heads.

After a few minutes of waiting, the timer finally hit zero.

In that moment, a series of soft pops moved through the room in quick succession, one after another.

The opaque barriers that had divided each table from the next dropped simultaneously, and the players could finally see themselves again.

Lukas’ expression didn’t change from what he was looking at.

Some of the players were still seated, but those that hadn’t met their hidden objectives were in several states around the room but they had one thing in common.

Their heads had imploded, and their corpses were slumped either on the chair, the table, or the floor.

The cloaked workers began moving through the room, clearing the tables and removing the corpses.

The surviving players were gestured away from the tables, and they rose, stepping back to allow the workers to their jobs.

Lukas’ eyes roved around the room and he estimated that at least twenty players had survived this round.

At the head of the room, the conductor brought both hands together in a single clap, and every head turned to him.

"You have reached the final round," he said. "Congratulations to each of you."

"This round is called the Vault Room, and you have only one objective."

He raised one hand and gestured to the far end of the carriage.

The wall panel at the end of the room peeled away from itself, folding back smoothly to reveal a heavy door set into the wall.

Two cloaked workers walked to the door, taking hold of the handles on each side and with visible effort, pulled it open.

The moment the door swung open, the first thing the players saw was a large vault door.