‘So, now that we’ve got a way out…shall we go?’

At that moment, their stat windows popped up.

Notification!

Congratulations on clearing the game Sphinx’s Riddles!

Your stats have been updated…

They all immediately checked their stats windows and were surprised to see how much they had increased.

‘Okay…so everyone check and announce your current stats’, said Seo-Jun.

Alice glanced at her stats, a mix of relief and excitement washing over her.

Alice: Strength-136, Speed-136, Intelligence-136, HP- 100, MP-126, PP-120 TP-120, EXP-601, and Kills-10 and Gold – 600

‘So, those are my stats, I guess I didn’t get much EXP and stuff since I didn’t really contribute to this trial’, she said.

‘Wait…your PP and TP are already above 100? Doesn’t that mean you’re already done?’ asked Seo-Jun.

‘Oh yeah, there was something like that,’ Alice said, a bit sheepishly. ‘I totally forgot because of how hectic it got. Wait, it seems I have another notification.’

(Seo-Jun: Hey…author-nim~ umm, I’m not criticizing you or anything, honest! I’m just curious about something…You forgot, didn’t you?

Author: *smacks* What?

Seo-Jun: Nothing, of course it’s nothing. I was just speaking non-sense, how can our dear author-nim make such a stupid mistake as to forget what you, yourself wrote. Right?

Author: *threatens to write something unpleasant* You were asking something?

Seo-Jun: What?! No, no. I’m sorry to disturb you and waste your precious time. Please, carry on.

Author: Thought so. *smiles*)

Notification!

Congratulations! You have completed the tutorial and met the criteria to participate in the Main Tasks! However, you may only leave the tutorial zone with your team members. But you can choose to end your tutorial or proceed till the end.

Do you wish to end the tutorial? – Yes – No

‘That’s what it says’, she read out.

‘Oh…then I guess you’ll have to wait to the side till we finish to leave this place’, said Seo-Jun.

‘Yeah, so might as well help to make it faster’, said Alice while choosing No.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, not expecting her to continue when she could’ve ended this horror for herself at least.

‘What are you guys staring at me so intensely for? The others should continue telling theirs, Alice said, smiling and putting her hands in her pockets.

Jason cleared his throat.

Jason: Strength-76, Speed-76, Intelligence-76, HP- 100, MP-66, PP-66, TP-66, EXP-240, and Kills-3 and Gold – 250

‘It seems I had more increases, though I don’t really remember doing much. I only gave some suggestions, but they weren’t correct’, said Jason.

‘But if you didn’t say it, I wouldn’t have thought in that direction’, Zhiren said with a gentle smile before reporting her stats.

Zhiren: Strength-91, Speed-92, Intelligence-96, HP- 100, MP-86, PP-86, TP-86, EXP-, Kills – 300 and Gold – 400

‘I guess you got a lot since you were the one who guessed it.’, said Alice.

Then Daiki continued,

Daiki: Strength- 92, Speed- 96, Intelligence-96, HP- 100, MP- 86, PP-97, TP-93, EXP-400, and Kills – 7 and Gold – 450

‘I’m almost there too, I guess since I contributed to the last bit, I got quite a lot’, said Daiki.

Finally, Seo-Jun reported his stats,

Seo-Jun: Strength-80, Speed-80, Intelligence-86, HP- 100, MP-76, PP-76, TP-76, EXP-200, Kills – 3 and Gold – 250

‘Whoa, I got as much as Zhiren even though I didn’t even do any thing’, said Seo-Jun.

‘The system must have taken into account that I wouldn’t have arrived at the answer if it wasn’t for you. Besides, you weren’t even given the chance to participate since you knew the answer, so not giving you anything would’ve been too unfair’, stated Zhiren.

‘I guess…but this means that we’re not far off from completing this tutorial and at least getting out of this place. So let’s go so we can quickly get this over with’, said Seo-Jun taking a step towards the wreckage.

They moved forward towards the opening, having to climb their way out using the rubble to get to the next floor. The toxic fumes emitting from the crushed corpse, made the air difficult to breathe as each breath came with a sharp sting, but the promise of freedom fueled their determination.

“Watch your step,” Jason cautioned as he hoisted himself up a precarious mound of debris. But as soon as he said it, a piece of unstable rock slid out from under Alice’s feet as fell back to the bottom. ‘

‘Why is it always me?!’, she complained as Zhiren offered her hand and helped her back up. Their relationship had significantly improved when compared to this morning.

‘Dude, you never say stuff like that. That’s practically jinxing us’, stated Seo-Jun with a smirk. He climbed on to a large piece of what had been the ceiling, and took a moment to catch his breath.

‘I know’, chuckled Jason, looking back at his team with a wicked grin.

They all looked at him in shock.

Daiki said, ‘Who are you and what have you done to Jason?’ he had taken out his sword, taking on an attacking stance.

‘Whoa, bro chill. It’s me. I mean, I did tell you that I’m not one to act like I have been, didn’t I?’ said Jason with a mischievous smile. It was true; except for his mother, he had never acted like that with anyone. He had always been the type to go at his own pace and do whatever he wanted, if anything he was actually known as a jerk who only cared about swimming…well at least until the accident.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

That’s why he said that he didn’t really understand why he’d been acting to contradictory.

‘Hey, why did the Mr. Perfect ML turn in to an annoying lil’ bro?’ said Seo-Jun, still wide-eyed.

”Damn, how could you?’ said Alice looking offended, while Zhiren was just looking down and shaking her head.

‘Guys, what’s with the overreaction?’ asked Jason, confused at how seriously they were taking this.

‘Pfft’, the four looked at each other and started laughing again. ‘You should’ve seen your face just now! Of course it was no big deal, we’re just joking around’, said Alice laughing.

‘You guys are like kids’, Jason sighed and said. He decided to ignore them and continue climbing.

They climbed for what seemed like hours, until they almost reached the top. The floor above seemed tantalizingly close, yet every shift of the rubble threatened to send them tumbling back into the darkness below.

“Almost there,” Jason grunted, panting and sweating from exhaustion. The light from above was brighter now, cutting through the oppressive gloom and illuminating their path. The silence was eerie, making them vigilant the new unknown horrors they would encounter above.

As they emerged onto the next floor, they found themselves in an area similar to where they encountered the centipedes. However, the light they had seen seemed to be some fluorescence emanating from the walls.

It was a rather narrow space with not much room to move around, as behind them was where they’d climbed up from while in front was a fork in the road, having two paths.

“Which way now?” Daiki asked, scanning the room for any clues.

Everyone stared at Seo-Jun, their expressions a mix of anticipation and trust.

Seo-Jun waved his hands, and said in a panicky voice, ‘Don’t look at me! I have horrible luck, we’ll probably walk to death’s doorstep if I choose ‘.

Given his past experiences and the fact that he was born in a world doomed to ruin, Seo-Jun believed he had the worst luck. But in their own ways, each of them had their share of bad luck. The limited knowledge they had of each other was enough to know that.

They decided to place their faith on Seo-Jun because he knows stuff and that’s always helped them make it through seemingly impossible situation so why not try .

‘It’s okay. We won’t blame you even if we end up in danger, so you can pick one. No pressure,’ assured Jason with warm eyes and a kind smile. He always had an expression that made people want to trust him.

‘Saying no pressure actually added to my pressure, man ‘, lamented Seo-Jun, looking tense.

‘I know, that’s why I said it. It’s fun to mess with people and watch their reactions ‘, remarked Jason with a smirk.

‘Dude, not cool. I want the old ML Jason back, not this jerk ‘, complained Seo-Jun.

Jason just gave him a wicked look and made a gesture to choose, when they heard Alice mumble, ‘Well, I might blame you.’

‘Thanks, that helped a lot ‘, said Seo-Jun, sarcastically.

‘You’re welcome’, casually relied Alice leaving Seo-Jun flabbergasted.

‘She’s kidding. Just choose any way. Jiayo!’ said Zhiren trying to reassure Seo-Jun with an encouraging smile.

Seo-Jun cautiously stepped forward, trying to find any hint indicating the safer path, but the long pathways did not provide any information on their destination or inhabitants.

He hopelessly said, ‘Okay…then let’s go right’.

(Author: Seriously? Right? What, you think it’ll be the right path cuz it’s right?

Seo-Jun: Hey, cut me some slack and help us out here. I couldn’t choose.

Author: I’ll think about it.

Seo-Jun: •́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀

Author: … ?

Seo-Jun: Eh? Ahhh. Thank you author-nim~

Author: ^⁠_⁠^)

‘Okay, we’ll go left then’, said Jason cheekily.

‘…’, Seo-Jun stared expressionlessly.

‘I’m just kidding, sheesh, so serious. Let’s go right’, laughed Jason .

Seo-Jun rolled his eyes and took the first step forward towards the right path (You don’t have to emphasize it, author-nim…), and the others followed behind.

They walked the long, winding path for about fifteen minutes, and to their relief it was a clear, uneventful walk. But, when they eventually reached another choice between two roads, and this time on Seo-Jun’s suggestion they chose left, then right, then left again, each choice proving to be a good one as the journey thus far was peaceful.

It seemed as if Lady Luck was on their side , but not for long.

‘Let’s go right again’, said Seo-Jun confidently.

‘Hey, I know you’ve been right every time but is it really okay to keep alternating this way. Surely the pattern won’t be fixed like this ‘, expressed Daiki, concerned .

‘I get what you’re saying, but we can only guess and hope for the best. Though if you want we can choose the opposite direction instead’, said Seo-Jun with an accepting countenance.

‘Nah, I was just overthinking. We said we’d go the way you say, so let’s continue that way’, explained Daiki guiltily.

‘Okay, then let’s go left’, said Seo-Jun, stepping forward soon realizing that it was a mistake.

Approximately five minutes inside the path, they noticed the group rumbling with the sound of the thudding steps of a large creature rapidly approaching were heard. They didn’t know what it was, nor did they want to know.

‘Every one, retreat!’ yelled Seo-Jun turning his heels to dart in the opposite direction along with the others. While their reflexes had indeed become faster, they weren’t fast enough as they creature had already come in to view.

Standing over nine feet tall, the creature was a towering figure of raw muscle and primal fury. Its skin was a dark, leathery hide, scarred from countless battles, and its enormous frame was covered in coarse, matted fur.

The beast’s head was that of a bull, with menacing, bloodshot eyes that glowed with a malevolent intelligence.

Sharp, curved horns jutted from its skull, glistening with a deadly sheen in the dim fluorescent light. Each breath it took was a ragged snort, expelling clouds of hot steam into the cold air, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.

Its upper body rippled with bulging muscles, veins protruding with every movement, while its powerful arms ended in massive, clawed hands that gripped a colossal double-headed axe. The weapon’s blades gleamed with a sinister light.

It was a Minotaur!

The ground trembled beneath its massive hooves as it approached, each step a thunderous echo that reverberated through the narrow space.

The Minotaur’s hooves clacked against the stone floor, each step echoing with a sense of impending doom.As it moved closer, the air around them grew thick with the stench of sweat and…blood. It seemed it had been hunting the creatures living there, and now this group of people was its new prey as it eyed them like a ferocious predator.

The Minotaur’s bellowing roar filled the space, a sound that seemed to shake the very foundations of the dungeon. Its eyes locked onto the group, and with a snarl, it lowered its head, preparing to charge.

‘Run!’ screamed Seo-Jun.

They bolted with all their new found abilities, pushing themselves to the limit for the sake of survival. They ran and ran and ran.

However the Minotaur was but an arm’s length away from them at all time.

But they didn’t give up, and kept going like their life depended on it, because it actually did.

They didn’t know where else to go and hoped to somehow out run this creature or have it lost in the paths at some point.

‘Guys, go to the right path!’ yelled Seo-Jun, pale with fright.

‘What good would that do?! It’ll just keep coming after us ‘, screamed Alice, fully keeping her word as she looked at Seo-Jun with an expression of blaming him for this misfortune.

‘Just trust me on this, one more time. These plots usually work out like this!’ assured Seo-Jun in desperation.

‘Fine! But if we die, I’ll kill you!’ warned Alice.

‘Dude how cliché could you get. Just follow what I said if you’ve decided to agree!’ shouted Seo-Jun while rolling his eyes.

‘Guys, we can have this nice conversation later. Just focus on running for now’, interrupted Jason.

‘But if it doesn’t work, can’t we try fighting it together?’ asked Zhiren while running.

‘It’s clear, we can’t win against that thing with our current strength. At least one of us might die, it’ll be suicide to try. So let’s only attempt it if we really don’t have any other choice left ‘, replied Daiki.

They snapped back to devoting all their energy into escaping rather than chatting, as the Minotaur let out a thunderous roar, seemingly upset that they had the liberty to engage in a conversation when it was as their tails and started running faster.

They continued until they finally reached the entrance to this path and immediately turned a sharp right. As soon as they entered they noticed the thunderous clacking of hooves suddenly died down, they took a peek while running forward and stopped as they noticed the creature was really gone!

‘Told ya’, boasted Seo-Jun, with a gloating expression.

‘Fine, thanks though it was your fault in the first place ‘, complained Alice.

‘Hey, if anything it was because if what I said, if we’d followed his original suggestion, that wouldn’t have happened ‘, said Daiki, down cast.

‘No, it was my decision. It’s my fault, not your’s’, countered Seo-Jun.

‘Stop blaming yourselves or others. It’s no one fault. We just had some bad luck’, said Zhiren.

‘She’s right, we shouldn’t waste our time on this. Let’s just keep going’, agreed Jason.

They reached the end of the path, only to be met with three different paths this time.

‘So which way do we go next, Seo-Jun?’ asked Alice looking the other way while saying it with crossed arms.

‘Why is it me again?!’, cried out Seo-Jun.

To be continued…

----------------------------------------

Seo-Jun: Why me?! .⁠·⁠´⁠¯⁠`⁠(⁠>⁠▂⁠<⁠)⁠´⁠¯⁠`⁠·⁠.

Author: Heh

Meanwhile the Minotaur: ┻⁠┻⁠︵⁠ヽ⁠(⁠`⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠︵⁠┻⁠┻

----------------------------------------