Alicia’s assimilation into No. 39 took the group by surprise. Even though many of them didn't grow too close with the woman, she was still someone they still saw and conversed with on a daily basis.
After conversion, No. 39's personality remained relatively unchanged, but her perception of the Labyrinth and its structures had been reset to the level of native students. All memories regarding players and assigned quests were stripped away, and further discussions on these topics no longer resonated with her.
It was as though the Labyrinth had narrowed the range of information available to her consciousness.
"So, No. 39, what exactly happened? Did you end up in [DETENTION]? But the professor called your parents too, right?"
In the sparsely populated cafeteria, the freckled boy pushed his food tray past No. 39 and took a seat across from her. On his side sat Celio and Edris, while beside the woman was Ives.
The freckled boy leaned forward, eyes flickering in curiosity. "So, how did they punish you?"
"I… don't remember," No. 39 said, grimacing as she attempted to recall the day. "My parents, they were furious. I ended up going into [DETENTION] as well, I think. My memory's been hazy lately, but it's not somewhere you want to be. Trust me."
Watching as the woman began shivering almost from instinct, Edris fell contemplative.
The more he thought about it, the more apparent that recounts from people who'd undergone [DETENTION] followed a particular pattern.
Physiological backlash, psychological avoidance, then a verbal warning to others… What was inside [DETENTION] that could instill the same extreme fear in everyone who entered?
Piecing different pieces of information together, his mind slowly formed a hypothesis.
"Perhaps [DETENTION] isn't dangerous in itself."
At his remark, heads turned in his direction. Celio creased his brows in puzzlement.
"Master, what do you mean?"
"There are over two hundred students here. There's no way for them to all fear the same thing, yet from what we've seen so far, the emotional aftermaths from [DETENTION] have been largely the same: extreme fear and subconscious avoidance," Edris said. "How should we go about explaining this?"
"You mean…" Celio blinked. "What's in [DETENTION] is different for everyone?"
"What's the best way to instill fear into a person?" Edris asked.
"Break what they value the most," Ives responded, and the dark-haired man nodded.
"If the Labyrinth's punishments, such as [DETENTION], change based on the person themselves, it would explain how it manages to uphold its effectiveness regardless of individual differences."
The Labyrinth didn't have to come up with something equally feared by all; it simply needed to dig into each person's memories, draw out the scenario they'd avoid at all costs, then yank it out bare and magnified.
Edris tapped the surface of the table.
Now the problem was—how was the Labyrinth capable of doing that?
"Good afternoon, students of MW Academy. May I have all of your attention?"
His thoughts interrupted, Edris glanced up through his lashes, only to see that a portion of the cafeteria wall had been replaced with a broadcast of the Principal's face, plastered over a black background.
It was the first time the old man had appeared since the opening ceremony.
Not only in the cafeteria, but in a matter of seconds, the Principal's face had manifested throughout the entire campus.
"What the hell? The Principal?" The freckled boy jerked his head back, narrowing his eyes at the face on the wall. "That's totally creepy. How does he just do that?"
Edris didn't respond to his remark. Instead, his gaze fixed on the floating screen in his field of view. Just now, the entire interface had unlit and became unresponsive.
"Mister Edris," Ives said. "I can't access my profile."
"Wait, you too?" Celio inhaled sharply. "Me neither."
Edris cast his gaze on the smiling old man on the wall. His eyes narrowed.
What was the Labyrinth planning now?
"I apologise for the sudden intrusion, but an important decision has been made this morning, and we thought the earlier the students are made aware of this decision, the better." The Principal said, his tone smooth and genial.
At his words, the entire cafeteria fell silent. Players and students glanced at each other in caution, then turned to the old man as they awaited his next words.
"Based on the series of events that have occurred recently, I have decided to move the [FINAL EXAM] forward. It will now take place exactly thirty days from now."
One of the students a few tables away dropped his fork. It clattered onto the ground with a metallic clang, reverberating in the otherwise silent space. The student stared at the wall with his jaws dropped, a reaction shared by many others in the cafeteria.
However, the Principal wasn't finished.
"The [FINAL EXAM] is the most important test of the semester. As students of MW Academy, you are our future leaders. Any malperformance will not be tolerated," he said. "As a result, those ranked 150 to 216 in the exam will directly have their parents called. Those ranked 100 to 150 will enter [DETENTION].
"We do not need incompetent students here at the academy."
Faces collectively paled at the Principal's announcement. The thought of [DETENTION] was already daunting enough, but to skip the punishment and jump to the next?
They all saw what happened to No. 39. Although they weren't sure of the exact entailment of "calling parents" for players, chances were they'd end up assimilating just like the woman.
At that moment, a single thought swept through the entire players' population:
I must make the top 100 ranks no matter what.
Edris listened to the announcement in silence. Rather than the consequences of the exam, he was more fixed on the announcement itself.
After over a month in here, players long acquainted themselves with the Labyrinth's order and rule-driven structure.
The countdown was something every player woke up to on their interface every day. He certainly wasn't expecting the Labyrinth to push over the date just like that, and not to mention, by a whole month.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
The moment the Principal declared the change, his player interface had relit with a new message.
[PLAYER PROFILE] has been updated!
PLAYER [EDRIS] 'S MAIN QUEST:
Confess to your unrequited love during the [FINAL EXAM]!
TIME LIMIT: 55:13:03:56
He watched as the countdown number began glitching, soon replaced by another message.
[MAIN QUEST] has been updated!
PLAYER [EDRIS] 'S MAIN QUEST:
Confess to your unrequited love during the [FINAL EXAM]!
TIME LIMIT: 30:23:59:59
"Hah…" Edris ran a hand through his hair. Despite the soft laughter, no joy was present in his gaze. "The countdown's really been pushed forward."
The Principal's words were one matter, but the players' embedded interface was another. Seeing how the alteration was reflected in his profile, the Labyrinth must have felt threatened by the series of events.
The intrusion was enough for the Labyrinth to update its entire schedule?
"Master." Celio turned to him with apprehensive eyes. "If the exam is pushed forward, does that mean there are no more ranking tests?"
Edris nodded, and the beast tamer's expression ashen. He crossed his arms and began to think.
At a glance, the cancellation of biweekly tests may seem to the players' advantage. Without the updated ranks, players could evade the [DETENTION] punishment for being in the lowest twenty. It must have felt like the end of the tunnel was pulled closer to them.
However, that was an illusion.
The approaching tunnel was a sea of flames.
With the [FINAL EXAM] taking a whooping 100 people on the list—with over half straight to second stage punishment—its consequences were at least equal, if not much worse, than the original schedule.
Not to mention, as a chain effect of the adjustment, the Labyrinth decided to make up for the "lost order" by tightening the already stringent rules. Chances of entering [DETENTION] had increased multiple folds, and many already got in for missing curfew or even missing a button on their blazer.
Less than thirty days were left until the [FINAL EXAM].
Studying time aside, it meant their preparation time to complete [MAIN QUEST] given by the Labyrinth had also been significantly cut.
More importantly, without the second round of rankings, No. 12 couldn't enter the top 10, meaning he might have to abandon the plan with bombs.
Edris cast his gaze toward the two. He was considering whether it was possible for them to sneak into the laboratory.
After all, unlike him, those two had quite impressive physiques…
Edris sighed softly.
On the other hand, he couldn't help but be concerned for his own assigned quest. Owein had been out of sight for the past week, barely making it back to the dorms on time for curfew check.
At this rate, was the man even going to be present at the finals for his confession?
Edris sighed again, pushing his thoughts to the back of his head.
Either way, from the progression of things, the Labyrinth seemed desperate to cause as much havoc as possible among the players before they were thrown into the exam.
He didn't expect his actions to yield such impact. No—chances were his intrusion was not the only reason behind the Labyrinth pushing forward its [FINAL EXAM]. There must have been something else.
Something beyond the Labyrinth's control, yet holding a presence threatening enough for the Labyrinth to go back on its own rules.
"…A outlier."
***
The second night since the Principal's announcement, Edris met up with Ace on the seventh-floor balcony.
Ever since the conversation with Magenta, the man realised that most of his actions were monitored anyway, so he gave up on being subtle as a whole.
With the professors turning a blind eye toward most of his actions, Edris wanted to see how far his "privilege" could reach.
"The professors weren't notified of the change either." Ace stood tall and upright, arms crossed as he peered toward the academy's night scenery. "This seems to be a decision the Principal made wholly on his own."
"Either way, this is quite problematic," Edris muttered. "And then there's the hidden room behind the portrait. Are you sure you couldn't find anything?"
Ace gave him a side glance. "It was just a wall."
"…How strange."
Edris had told Ace about the hidden library he found at the back of Sky's room, but when the white-haired man had gone to check, there was supposedly nothing.
"My guess is that the room is somewhat detached from the rest of the Labyrinth. And from the looks of it, it's used by the owner as a hangout or studying space." Edris leaned forward at the railings, closing his eyes. "On the table was a picture of two people. One looked like The Archivist, while the other was an unfamiliar woman."
A breeze brushed past his cheeks, and Edris's eyes fluttered open. He turned toward the white-haired man.
"Could she be the 'Weisha' everyone is forced to learn about?"
At their locked gaze, Ace spun around. A minute later, he came out of his room with a book in his hand. It was the book he'd found himself reading on the first day in the Labyrinth.
"Weisha. Founder of MW Academy," he said. "This book documents her inspirations for creating the academy."
He passed the book over to Edris, who received it with an arched eyebrow.
"…You really couldn't give this to me earlier?"
Ace looked at him, gaze stoic.
"Try reading it yourself."
Edris flipped open the book at the man's prompting, only to narrow his eyes at the content.
As with the notebook he found back in the hidden library, this book was encoded in a foreign language. Each page was filled with wiggly sketches and colourful notes, and the latter, although incomprehensible, was written in a way that revealed her optimism for the school.
"I wonder if she expected the academy to turn out like this." Edris let out a short laugh.
Flipping through the pages, his gaze landed on a certain drawing of a white tower.
Unlike the other sketches in the book, this picture was sophisticatedly drawn down to the singular brick.
An arrow pointed to the upper end of the tower, connected by a line that led to the interior—a doodle of another room. Three exclamation points and a heart was scribbled on top of it.
Edris suddenly lifted his head. He withdrew the [MEDICAL PACK] card from the [CARD SLOT] inventory and opened its description.
[MEDICAL PACK]
USAGE: When activated, the player can drink one of the tubes in the pack to restore some health and [AFFINITY].
"Gobble gobble! Take a gulp, save a life!"
NOTE: Rewarded for discovering The Hidden Location (½)!
"Assuming the library I discovered wasn't something planned by the Labyrinth, then who created it?" he said aloud, almost as a question to himself.
In fact, what if the room itself was the foreign threat that forced the Labyrinth to pull forth its original schedule? If the so-called "hidden locations" weren't supposed to be a part of the structure, it would make sense why the Labyrinth reacted so intensely after Edris intruded the seventh floor.
The tips of Edris's lips curled.
The Labyrinth was afraid. Afraid that whatever secret it'd been hiding would be uncovered.
"There's a second hidden location. We must find it."
Ace stared at him. "But you've gone everywhere."
The man was right. From the southmost street to the northern buildings, Edris knew the entire campus like it was his home. Even for academic buildings he was prohibited from entering, he'd asked Celio and Ives to create multiple maps of their layouts.
"No. There's one last place."
The dark-haired man chuckled to himself.
"It's so obvious, yet everyone intentionally overlooks this possibility," he said slowly. "Makes sense, though. After all, it's a place everyone tries to avoid at all costs."
Edris peered toward the hill in the distance, which looked like a lush land of vines under the gleaming stars.
"I better be on my way for curfew check," he said. "It was nice watching the stars with you, professor."
He withdrew his gaze and turned around, only to lock eyes with Ace.
"What?"
Ace narrowed his eyes. "You always make that face when you're thinking of unreliable plans."
Confronted with the man's deadpan gaze, Edris only shrugged his shoulders. Moonlight reflected off his pale eyes as he gave him a gentle smile.
"What’s this? Is Professor 004 worried?" He tilted his head in amusement. "Don't be. I don't plan on doing anything that will put myself in danger.
"A peaceful and carefree life is still waiting for me, after all."
***
Contrary to his statement made less than ten minutes ago, Edris soon found himself in a befuddling situation.
He stared at the wet crimson soaked into his duvet, now dripping from his bed frame and creating a puddle of red under his feet.
Edris creased his brows. He could feel an emerging headache his way.
"… I must have missed something."
Why was Owein lying on his bed?
And why did the man look like he was about to bleed to death?