NOLMES. ZACRIYA KINGDOM.

The first scene Magnus Vyris saw upon regaining consciousness was a pair of brown, doe-like eyes.

"You're awake."

Vision still blurry, he could barely make out the faint figure standing before him. A young girl, looking a few years beneath her teens. She stood barefoot on the carpet, arms tucked behind her back and leaning toward him.

Confronted with her curious gaze, the archmage fluttered his eyes, letting his vision adjust to the light. His mind was a haze, his lips cracked from dryness. It felt like he hadn't drunk a sip of water in years.

A raspy cough erupted from his throat, and the archmage moved his arm to cover up the action out of a habit for etiquettes.

Only then did he realise his entire body was confined to a chair. Mana-restricting shackles bounded his wrists and ankles, and he was stripped bare of all equipment and clothing, leaving only a white dress shirt and pants over his body.

"Where…am I?"

Despite his throbbing head, Magnus forced himself to dig into his memories to obtain information. The last thing he recalled was entering the mines with the Royal Mage Brigade. Dolan had notified him of laveric diamonds found in the western territory, so he'd participated in the expedition to investigate the matter.

So how did he end up here?

Books scattered on the floor all around him, and a few meters away from the chair was a traditional, Nolmes-styled fireplace. The smell of burnt logs intermixed with a sickening smell of sweet syrup, instigating a wave of nausea up his stomach.

Magnus broke into another coughing fit.

"You're at Canary's treehouse," a mellow voice echoed around him.

The girl snuck to his side and raised a teacup to his lips. Before Magnus could regain a sense of what was going on, he felt a warm liquid sliding down his throat.

He froze on the spot.

Blood.

The girl tilted her head shyly as she stepped back. Upon receiving Magnus's attention, she ran to the center of the carpet, lifted the side of her red ruffle dress, and bobbed a curtsy.

"Good evening, Mister Archmage," she said. "Mister Finch said that magicians are delicate and should be handled with care. So today, you're a guest at Canary's treehouse."

"A guest, you say?" Despite his burning throat, Magnus managed to stifle a chuckle. He twisted both wrists side to side, letting the shackles clash against each other. He then gazed at the girl.

"Is this how you treat all your guests?"

The girl listened to his words attentively. Her head drooped, gaze lowering as she fell deep in thought.

"It's Canary's first time having a guest over, so she is still learning…"

Magnus eyed her with caution, taking in her every movement as he probed his surroundings.

The space, as the girl had introduced, was indeed designed like a treehouse. Wholly built out of wood, the interior was minimalist and damp, lit only by the fireplace across from them. Besides the bookshelf on his left and the chair confining him, there appeared to be no other furniture in the room.

As Magnus surveyed around, the petite girl lifted her head in exclamation. She scurried over to the carpet and picked up one of the books. Despite her carefree, child-like movements, her feet didn't make the slightest sound as they contacted the wooden floor.

Magnus narrowed his eyes.

"You said your name was Canary, right?" he said carefully, in the way one would speak to a child. "And you're doing this because someone called 'Mister Finch' asked you to. Can you tell me why?"

The girl whirled around, her two pigtails flying behind her. She blinked in puzzlement.

"Would it make you happy if Canary told you?"

Magnus gave her a gentlemanly smile. "Yes, it would."

"But Mister Finch said people shouldn't be happy by themselves."

Canary opened the book in her hands. After flipping through some pages, she stopped at the page with a bookmark stuck in the corner. She yanked out the bookmark, which revealed itself to be a card of some sort.

"Mister Finch said before Canary can make people happy, she has to be happy first." The girl peered toward him. The entire time, she bore an aloof expression, a mix of childish innocence and indifference.

Under Magnus's widening eyes, she flicked the card, and it transformed into a syringe the size of her forearm.

Lifting the syringe upright, she gazed at him with sparkling eyes.

"Canary's been waiting for you to wake up. It's not very fun playing alone," she said. "Mister Finch says Canary can do anything that makes her happy as long as you're alive."

As she spoke, Magnus tried to draw out his mana, only for his efforts to fall in vain. The shackles had blocked his mana channel, and his entire body was numb from whatever the girl had done when he was unconscious.

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Her lashes swept up, and she blinked, peering at him with anticipation.

"Would you like to help Canary be happy?"

***

MW ACADEMY. LABYRINTH 53.

"That is the curse of the Lucid Clan."

Edris listened to all his words with a contemplative expression. If everything Owein said were the truth, it would indeed explain how he was able to pass the [INITIAL QUEST] with such high performance, and his knowledge of the Hidden Room despite having gone in there himself.

"What is your [INITIAL QUEST]?" Edris asked.

"To make myself known to the entire academy," Owein said.

"And your main one?"

"To join the SAA."

The Student Administrative Association, known as SAA, was a mysterious student organisation involved with the academy's upper management. Edris leaned against his chair rest, tapping his lips in thought.

"And you ended up like this because of your [MAIN QUEST]?"

Owein nodded again.

"How did you go about completing it?"

"The chosen student receives a series of challenges from the SAA. Only upon completion would they be enrolled as official members," Owein said. "I needed to be in the detention room for twelve hours."

Edris cocked a brow in surprise upon hearing his words. He thought back on the day when he saw Owein climbing the music tower.

"You made it in the room without the professors actually executing the punishment."

Owein nodded curtly. His stare lingered on the bloody duvet that was soaking up soap in the laundry room.

"But it didn't work," he said. "[DETENTION] is a psychological trap. It's a trap that draws out the player's deepest fears in life and breaks their mentality. The moment you enter the room, you will be subject to its influence."

In other words, the Labyrinth content varied for everyone, but the more attachments in one's life, the more profound its influence and the more vulnerable the player was to succumb to its attacks.

With his previous hypothesis verified, Edris decided to probe further. "What was in there for you?"

Owein stared at him intently, as though he was searching the depth of his soul for Edris's intention behind his question.

However, the dark-haired man only shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said. "In any case, someone didn't want you to enter the organisation. They used their card on you, and that intervened with your test." Edris clasped his hands together. "Now, who could it be…"

Owein paused. "They didn't."

Hm?

Edris glanced up.

"I stayed in there the entire twelve hours. They intervened at the end and thought I'd die for sure, so they left," Owein said.

"Hold on." Edris stopped him mid-sentence. "You're saying you endured the psychological effects of [DETENTION] for the entire twelve hours?"

Owein nodded. He seemed to be confused as to why Edris was reacting this way.

Edris fell silent, letting his mind process the information. The man's mental perseverance aside, the sole fact that he'd already completed the main quest revealed a crucial piece of information.

The time limit given by the Labyrinth seemed not to be player-dependent but affects all equally, regardless of their quest status.

Wouldn't that mean everyone who completed the quest would only be released after the countdown reached its end?

Edris glanced at his profile.

Thirty days left until the [FINAL EXAM].

"I suppose I'll congratulate you in advance, then." Storing the speculations to the back of his mind, Edris turned to Owein with a smile. "Congrats on your survival."

However, the latter shook his head.

"Only the Labyrinth's quest has been completed," he said. "My role remains to ensure the Young Master's survival.

"For the chief, for the clan–I will see to my mission's end."

"Young Master…?"

Suddenly, Edris was struck by a distant memory.

A memory about a certain conversation he had prior to entering the Labyrinth.

Come to think of it, Grace Moon did mention something about sending others into the Labyrinth to protect Celio.

He shifted his gaze to the brown-haired man, currently scraping off the dried-up blood on his cheeks.

So Owein was the "reinforcement" she was talking about.

The corners of Edris's lips lifted.

In that case, the situation just got much more convenient.

Edris turned to Owein with a gentle smile. It was the type where, if Ace was here, he'd definitely click his tongue in disdain upon seeing.

"Owein, Owein," he started slowly. Owein stiffened mid-action in brushing his hair at his tone. Heading perking up, he glimpsed the man in caution.

"Why are you suddenly talking like that?"

"I take it that you've been given the mission to protect someone, right?" Edris said. "Celio Moon of the Moon family?"

Owein blinked.

"How did you know?"

"That makes the two of us." Edris laid both hands out with a sigh. "If I'm not mistaken, we've been commissioned by the same person. Otherwise, why do you think I saved you? We've never met beforehand, and if it weren't for the mission, we'd have nothing to do with each other here.

"It's because we share the same fate that I did what I could in this situation."

Rising from his chair, Edris strolled over to his bedside.

He raised a clean handkerchief and smeared off the remaining crimson stains on Owein's face. Their eyes locked.

"You see, I'm someone who likes peace," Edris said. "So I tend to do my share of benevolence."

Original intentions aside, it was undeniable that Owein was alive because of him. Although the starting point was different, did it really matter if the end result was the same?

Edris watched as the young man fell silent, evaluating the validity of his words. Confronted with Owein's brooding eyes, he withdrew his arm with a shrug and set the handkerchief on the table behind them.

"We're strapped onto the same boat, Owein. A sinking boat that'll only submerge faster if we don't work together." Edris turned around, palm extended and smiling. "So—what do you say?"

At his invitation, Owein merely sustained his gaze. His lashes swept up, and his penetrating stare probed on the man's outstretched hand.

Instead of a handshake, Edris felt a card carefully tucked between his fingers.

The card [FRUIT KNIFE] has been acquired!

USAGE: With this knife, not only can you peel fruits with ease, but it can also be used once to slice through anything.

"A brick wall? Watch me slice it like pudding!"

Place [FRUIT KNIFE] into [SLOT 3]?

His gaze moved past the card to its owner, who was currently rubbing strands of brown hair between his fingers.

Owein gave the card a good flick, and watched as the rectangle folded into itself, transforming into a knife about half the size of his hand. It was a foldable, intricately crafted knife that fit in the blazer pocket with ease.

He levelled the blade to his eyes, tracing his fingers over the grind line. The warm lamp light reflected off the metallic surface, casting a glint across his brown eyes.

"A weapon to protect yourself," Owein said, studying him up and down. "I don't need it. You do."

Dismissing the man's blatant scrutiny, Edris mustered a smile as he accepted the weapon.

"…I will take that as words of kindness."

"You said we need to work together," Owein said. "You already have a plan?"

"Naturally." Edris twirled the knife in his hand, letting it dangle from the rear handle.

"Quite an explosive one, if I do say so myself."