The moment of my entrance caused a sudden, startled silence. The passionate embrace between the woman and the orc broke apart as five pairs of eyes turned toward me, all registering different levels of shock and confusion at my unexpected appearance.

Among them, I recognized Sarah immediately. No longer in the designer clothes she'd worn at our first meeting, she now sported the same novice outfit as the other Tutorial participants. Her perfect features twisted in annoyance at the interruption before recognition slowly dawned in her eyes—not the kind I'd expected. This wasn't the recognition of someone who remembered me; rather, it was the same predatory interest I'd seen when she'd first laid eyes on me in that dark alley.

"Well," she purred, already recovering her composure, "if we're getting unexpected visitors, at least it's an attractive one."

The orc, still processing my sudden appearance, let out a low growl. The other three occupants—two human men and an umbral elf woman, all in various states of tension—had already backed away toward the transparent windows, clearly hoping to avoid whatever was about to unfold.

[Cabin Dimensional Control Device Malfunction Detected]

[Error: Participants are locked in the cabin until the 9th Revolution is complete]

[Immediate Maintenance Required]

Through my Virtual Interface, I analyzed the cabin's occupants. Sarah was only level 15, while the two human men were both level 8—fairly typical for Tutorial participants. The orc warrior stood at level 240, his massive frame radiating raw physical power enhanced by the System. But the elf woman, at level 333, carried herself with the practiced grace of someone who'd mastered her abilities long before the System arrived.

"W-Who are you?" the elf woman, who had the highest level of them all by far, asked as she was the first to recover her composure. "H-How the heck did you get in here?"

"Don't worry about this, fair lady. I'm just a passing maintenance guy! Though I have to ask you a few questions first..."

"Hmm, just a level 20 pipsqueak," the orc growled. "I don't know how you got here, but why do you think you can act all bossy, huh?"

"Maybe because I can do this, my green-skinned fellow?" I said, decreasing his weight with Gravity and controlling his body with my Air, raising him midair. The orc flailed his arms helplessly as I sucked air from his lungs, making him suffocate. Of course, at such a high level, he would be able to hold his breath for... a very long time. That didn’t make it any less uncomfortable and humiliating. I let him go after a dozen seconds, allowing him to catch his breath.

The orc recovered from my display of power, glaring at me with wounded pride. "Cheap tricks," he growled. "If you're a real man, fight me the way real men fight!"

"And how's that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"The ancient way!" the orc declared, raising his right hand and curling all but his thumb into a fist. "Like the Romans fought the Russians!"

I couldn't help but smile—how the puck did an orc know about Earth history? "Thumb wrestling? Sure, if that saves me time dealing with you."

The orc gave me a savage grin, his bottom tusks protruding. "Sarah, watch as I show this weakling who's a real man!"

Sarah's eyes sparkled with interest. "Go, go, mysterious stranger! Show the orc who's daddy!"

The orc's face darkened at Sarah's enthusiasm. I had to wonder—even with her memories erased and without my powers on display this time, why was she still so attracted to me? Considering how passionately she'd been embracing the orc moments ago, it seemed odd.

The match itself wasn't as easy as I'd expected. The orc's hands dwarfed mine, his fingers thick as sausages. He was clearly experienced at this particular form of combat—if you could call thumb wrestling combat. Despite our level difference, his Might attribute was probably higher than mine; it was my second lowest stat, after all. He seemed like the type to dump most of his points into raw strength.

But what I lacked in pure power, I made up for in Grace. Plus, I'd spent my childhood engaged in epic thumb wars with my little sister and dad. Though I had never managed to beat our old man, I picked up a few tricks along the way.

After five consecutive losses, the orc stared at his defeated thumb in complete disbelief.

"Truly impressive," the elf said diplomatically.

"You're so awesome, handsome stranger!" Sarah exclaimed, trying to hug my arm. I created an invisible barrier of Air Mana, keeping her at a safe distance. The last thing I needed was her clinging to me.

"So, does anyone else want to try their powers?" I looked at the dark elf, trying to redirect the conversation. "I'm still full of energy, my thumb at the ready! How about you, fair lady?"

"With all due respect," the elf replied stiffly, "I am a man."

Looking closer, I studied the elf's slim build and flat chest. Their features were undeniably feminine by human standards—just because a beautiful woman had a flat chest didn’t mean most men would assume she was actually a man. But there was something in their bearing, their voice, that finally registered as distinctly masculine. Beautiful, yes, but male.

"My apologies," I said. "You're just... the most womanly one here."

Sarah pouted while the elf frowned.

"In any case," the elf continued, "if you truly were assigned by the System the role of a maintenance worker, we desperately need your help. We've survived five revolutions. The sixth might be doable, barely, but from the seventh onward, things get absolutely insane."

"You seem experienced with this attraction."

"Of course. I've lived in this crazy but fun place for three hundred years. This is only my twelfth time finding myself in a broken cabin throughout all those years."

"Just twelve times in three hundred years. Sure." I shook my head skeptically.

The elf explained further: "I'm not worried about myself—I have some revival points, as do the Tutorial participants with us. But Grogar... if he dies, that's the end for him."

The orc, still nursing his wounded pride from our thumb war, bowed his head. "If you can get me out of this, maintenance guy, I'll owe you my life."

"Don't worry, my green-skinned friend. With me here, no one's going to die." I chuckled. "Unless I kill them, of course."

No one laughed except Sarah, who’d probably laugh at anything I said.

"Let me apologize for the misunderstanding again," I said to the elf, trying to lighten the mood. "But in my defense, I've met another umbra elf at the Happiest Chicken who looked quite manly."

"The Happiest Chicken?" The elf brightened. "Oh, so you met my wife! She's such a beauty, isn't she?!"

Well, that was awkward. "Yeah... such toned muscles... deep, piercing eyes..."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"I am Adriel, by the way," the elf introduced himself with a slight bow. "It's nice to meet a fellow man of culture, how can I refer to you?"

"You can call me the handsome maintenance guy," I replied, having grown used to not brazenly sharing my name during my time in Luminosa.

"A rather long name for a human..." Adriel pondered with a serious expression. "Though if I decided to share my full name it would take a couple of minutes, ha-ha!"

If there was a time to change the topic, it was now.

"It seems I'm here for not as important a reason as I first thought," I said, glaring at Sarah. "But I need to ask you a few questions to clear my doubts. Were there others in the cabin who lost their lives?"

"Yes," the elf said. "We started with ten people. As you can see, our number has halved. Three were high-level Land residents, and two were Tutorial participants from Earth."

"Did you lose one of those about forty minutes ago?" The conversation with the Pope and the fight with the gummy bear felt like a lot, but not much time had actually passed since I received the notification. I had been in a hurry, after all. "One of them could be the person I'm looking for... my relative."

"Yes. In fact, four people, including both Earth users, died in the previous rotation's challenge."

I carefully examined all five survivors, both visually and with my Mana Sense, looking for any sign of deception. If Leah had been here and died because of them, or if they'd killed her... well, a rather gruesome fate awaited them. The mere possibility of losing my little sister for good made my blood boil with an intensity I hadn't experienced in a while.

"Every challenge is slightly different," Adriel explained. "Usually the third, sixth, and ninth rotations involve combat. The others could be anything. This particular one wasn't fair—I'm surprised we survived with as many as we did."

Through my Mana Sense, I monitored their reactions. Nothing suggested they were lying; even the two weaker men showed no signs of deception in their heart rates or blood pressure.

"To be honest," Adriel continued, "with so many low-level users, the challenge should have been easier. Usually, low-levels complete their objective and leave after one or three rotations. But since our cabin is locked, we couldn't leave. With me and Grogar, plus two more high-rank residents, the challenges should have been trivial. Instead, the System seemed determined to mess with us." He paused. "Have you ever played Mafia?"

"Ah, you mean those social deduction games where a group has to figure out who among them is secretly working against everyone else?" I remembered playing such games back on Earth. The classics like Werewolf, where innocent villagers tried to identify the monsters in their midst, or more modern versions with different roles and win conditions. "Someone gets assigned as the killer or wolf, and the others have to figure out who it is before they all die?"

"Exactly. They called it 'Mr. Chuckles and the Wolf.' One person was labeled as Mr. Chuckles, three as Wolves, and three more as Rabbits; the rest were just villagers. Also, four NPCs were added to the mix, bringing our total to thirteen. We had no idea who was who—an NPC could’ve been a Rabbit, or one of us could’ve been a Wolf. And because we guessed wrong..."

The implication hung heavy in the air.

"Everyone had a vote for the Wolf after some discussion each round," Adriel explained. "And if someone voted for Mr. Chuckles instead of killing him, they would die. In between rounds, Wolves could choose someone to kill, and Rabbits could test if someone was a Wolf, as well as learn who the other Rabbits were."

"Wait, wait. If a Wolf chooses someone to kill, would they die for real?"

"Yeah, that's why I said the System screwed us," Adriel sighed. "It was basically a game where it was impossible for all of us to survive."

I frowned. It seemed very likely that someone among those people was responsible for the death of my charge, who may or may not be Leah.

"So who were the Tutorial participants?" I asked.

"They were actually two girls," Adriel replied.

"I knew all the girls even before this attraction," Sarah interjected. "In fact, we became friends very quickly in the last few days! They were nice girls, though not as cute as me." She paused, her usual flirtatious manner faltering.

The elf pointed at the two human men. "Those two surviving Tutorial participants, some locals and NPCs chose Emily as a candidate to be sacrificed as a suspected Wolf," Adriel continued. "As for the other girl, Vienna... she died when she voted for one of the NPCs who turned out to have Mr. Chuckles' role."

"It was so unfair that certain guys suspected Emily!" Sarah glared at the two men, who had the decency to look uncomfortable. Finally, one of them spoke up.

"It couldn't be helped! That NPC, Grimweld, was very convincing in his arguments! His logic was flawless!"

"Convincing, you say?" I raised an eyebrow. "Wait—you're saying one of the NPCs was that announcer from the monster exhibition?"

"Yeah, why?" Sarah didn't seem to find anything strange about it.

"Well, for one, he was killed less than an hour ago," I said.

"That makes even more sense!" Adriel said. "The System needs NPCs who aren't busy at the time. It can probably revive them faster than normal users. Sure, it might require more resources, but someone has to be present for the challenges."

"She was nice," the other human male said nervously. "But the System could've given any of us the role of the Wolf..."

"Actually... now that I think about it, her face was similar to yours." Sarah nodded to herself. "Was Emily the relative you were looking for? And you both have a certain kind of charm... if I were into women, I'd want to date her! Probably."

A rather perceptive observation. It wasn't easy to see similarities between me and Leah anymore, not after my transformation in Luminosa.

I had a suspicious feeling that Emily was actually Leah. As for why she had introduced herself with another name—well, Emily was the name of our mother and the username Leah tended to use in video games. She was also the type of girl who wouldn't trust random strangers, even though sharing your real name didn't mean much in this crazy place. My chest hurt with the realization that I could lose Leah, my dear sister, for good. That she could just be revived as a copy, completely recreated by the System from scratch... a mere fake. But even if she were fake, I would still treat her like my Leah, I decided. And that was only the worst-case scenario... Still, it showed me that in this new reality, I wasn't as almighty as I used to feel in another world. I needed to grow stronger. Much stronger.

A dark part of me wanted to crush the bones of those two guys responsible—no matter how indirectly—for her death. I was prepared to do it if the revival proved to be flawed and didn't bring her back perfectly, as intended. Perhaps I wouldn't hold myself back then. But for now, I decided to give them a chance. Still, this didn't mean I would suppress my urges completely... I hoped that the next challenge from the System would give me an opportunity to vent my anger... and helplessness.

Adriel sighed, his eyes betraying a hint of guilt. "The girl was one of the Rabbits, just like me. I knew she was innocent, but that damn gremlin was just charismatic enough to sway people into labeling her the most suspicious one... If she's really your relative, I'm sorry. At the very least, she had a revival point, if only one."

"We really didn't want such a nice girl to die!" The two men lowered their heads. "W-we were swept up in the moment... sorry!"

Was it just a coincidence? I pondered. No, I won’t believe for a moment that neither the System, that chipmunk, nor the Ringleader had nothing to do with such a nice "coincidence" that two of my charges ended up here at the same time, in a broken cabin, facing a challenge way beyond their capabilities while also having a guy I just killed as one of the NPCs participating in the challenge... Perhaps the disappearance of two other dots isn't random, either. It's Sarah who actually got lucky.

I guess I now knew everything I needed to know. Killing or torturing those two guys right now would be pointless and unnecessarily cruel. They were tricked—by the System, by Grimweld, and whoever else was pulling the strings. The guilt in their eyes seemed sincere enough. I sighed, deciding that I wouldn't place blame on them even if the worst came to worst.

"Oh yeah," Grogar spoke up, his deep voice rumbling. "In one of the back rooms, there's this weird black chest."

"It's giving off some strange vibes—I think it's Space Mana," Adriel added.

Part of me was surprised that someone here could recognize Elemental Mana to begin with. But considering I felt Shadow Element from the two umbral elves I had encountered, and that about a third of their total power had Elemental nature, it was only to be expected. Still, theirs had a different "taste," so to speak, compared to the usual Elements of cultivators from Luminosa. Their Shadow felt less pure but more intense.

I raised an eyebrow. "Space Mana, huh? Sounds like a job for the maintenance guy."

The orc led me to the room in question. Sure enough, tucked away in a corner was a sinister-looking black chest, its surface etched with eerie, shifting runes. As I approached, the maintenance tool in my hand began to change, its form rippling and distorting until it settled into the shape of a heavy hammer, its head inscribed with glowing sigils.

Hefting the transformed tool, I struck the chest with a resounding clang. Instantly, the runes on its surface flared to life, pulsing with an unsettling radiance. Through my Mana Sense, I could perceive the incredibly intricate weave of the System's power within, the patterns mind-bendingly complex.

The hammer melted and reformed in my grip, this time taking the shape of a flute of polished silver, its surface shimmering with iridescent light. Raising it to my lips, I played a haunting melody that seemed to resonate through the very fabric of the cabin. The notes hung in the air, pulsing in time with the glowing runes on the chest.

Gradually, I felt something shift—it was as if the entire cabin gave a subtle shudder, some unseen component clicking back into its proper place. The tension that had permeated the space eased, the air itself seeming to breathe a sigh of relief.

A message flickered into view:

[Congratulations! You have fixed your first cabin out of six.]