They were only a few hours away from the Pandora.

It hadn’t sunk in between all the chaos of the battles and all the madness—but they were extremely close to finishing their little quest. The golden glow of the sun in the background seemed to struggle against the chills of the wind.

Nathan checked the Global Quest tab.

[Find and Use the 100 Pandoras!]

Whoever used it would ascend to being an E-rank being.

Also, Nathan’s group would probably separate when the portals opened if the pattern held true.

It was an odd thought. He’d gotten used to all of them. Chad’s eccentricities, Bjorn’s stoicism, Emi’s sweetness, and even Mara’s insanity. Somewhere along the way, they’d just become normal to him, just another part of his now absurd life.

Nathan pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He turned his head back toward the group.

“How much longer?” Nathan said.

Emi smiled. “Not long. Three hours, if my mana sense is right.”

For a second, Nathan considered asking them if they wanted to hide out in his Soulbound town when he jumped into the portal.

He grimaced. The System, if Emi’s story was true, didn’t appear to appreciate anyone trying to sidestep its regulations, as evidenced by the seventh-circle monsters it sent.

Perhaps, if Nathan was certain the System wouldn’t find out… but as it was… he wouldn’t take the risk.

An hour passed.

Two hours. Three hours.

A colossal temple stretched out before them like a monument to the gods. Vines and moss grew from the dilapidated stone while the whole thing had three floors arranged in a roughly pyramidal fashion. On the sides, column after column wrapped around the building in a long line, most of them crumbling and powdery.

“Is this where it is?” Nathan said.

Emi gave a quick nod. “Yes.”

A dungeon with three levels. Made sense.

“Let’s go in.”

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

When they entered the dungeon, Nathan wasn’t sure what to expect. Maybe hundreds of monsters, or a pedestal, or something.

Instead, the only thing he saw was a long corridor with openings along the side.

“It’s a maze,” Chad said. “It’s just one of those old-school dungeon games.”

Bjorn trailed his hand along the wall. “I don’t see any markings. How are we supposed to advance?”

Nathan felt a shiver go down his spine from out of nowhere. He turned to his right to see Mara looking up at the ceiling with a pointed stare.

“Mara?” Nathan said. “What are you thinking?”

Her head snapped toward him. “I still have explosives, Nathan.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea.”

“We could cut through all this nonsense and get to the Pandora.”

“Mara, no.”

“Mara, yes.”

Somehow, Nathan found himself verbally outwitted and ended up agreeing to her insane proposal. The next thing he knew, they were back outside. Mara took a barrel from her inventory and set it down. She lit something up, then sprinted back toward them.

She came to a stop and turned around.

“Now, my beauties!” she shouted. “Rage, rage, burn it all to the ground!”

Nathan shut his eyes and hit the dirt.

A split second later, there was an enormous boom. Nathan fell over from the shockwave and rolled against the ground with a crash. Dust washed over his body, propelled by the explosion, brushing against his body and cutting tiny slices across his skin.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes.

“Oh, what is this bullshit!?” Mara said.

The temple was still standing. What’s more, it didn’t seem like a speck of damage had been done.

“What do they make these things out of?” Nathan said.

“Whatever it is, even Mara’s explosives didn’t do anything to it,” Emi said.

Chad raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? I didn’t realize. I thought that I was just hallucinating this thing’s continued existence.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“How did you not realize? Are you okay?”

“That’s not what I—never mind.”

They went back into the dungeon. Chad shrugged at Nathan.

“Supposedly the best way to get through mazes is to stick to the right side of the wall and you’ll eventually find the exit,” Chad said.

Huh. That makes sense.

“Let’s do that, then,” Nathan said.

They walked along the maze. Torches lit the way, thankfully—it would’ve been rather uncomfortable if they were trapped in total darkness.

There was an air of tension at first, but each step chiseled away at the fear. There was nothing. No monsters, no enemies. No traps, no nothing.

Honestly, Nathan was kind of disappointed.

“Mara,” Nathan said. “What are your thoughts on the Pandora?”

Mara glanced back at him. “It seems neat, I guess.”

“Yeah, but do you want it?”

“Not really.”

Nathan blinked.

“Oh,” he said. “Why not?”

She snorted and pulled her shotgun from her inventory. “This is all the firepower I need.”

Nathan’s lips twitched and he nodded.

They continued until they came to a massive locked door.

Nathan stared at it for a little while.

“I guess we need to find a key?” he said.

“That might take a while,” Bjorn said.

Mara started to reach into her inventory. “I can fix this—“

“Don’t!”

She pulled back from her inventory and pouted.

Chad, meanwhile, stared at the locked door. He stepped closer and looked into the keyhole.

“What are you doing?” Nathan said.

“Does anyone have, like, some tools?” Chad said. “Even just a thin metal rod will do the trick.”

“I have knitting needles.” Emi reached into her inventory. “But what do you need them for?”

She knits? I never saw her—oh, well, I guess we don’t have a lot of time for that in the apocalypse.

“This is literally just like Groundrim.” Chad took the knitting needles from Emi and pushed them into the lock. “I’ve done this thousands of times. Watch and learn.”

“Chad, for the last time, this isn’t a video game—“

The door clicked and swung open. Chad stared back at Nathan with a smug grin.

“Point taken,” Nathan said.

They continued, sticking to the right side of the wall. The air turned humid and warm. Emi pulled off her cloak, revealing a thin, sweaty white tunic.

Chad stared shamelessly at her back. Nathan rolled his eyes.

Perv.

“Chad, quit it,” Nathan said.

“Quit what?”

“Don’t be a pig.”

A smile burst across Chad’s face and he covered his mouth to stop a snicker.

“Dude, you sound like a sixty-year-old boomer.” He shook his head. “I guess that’s why you’re in charge.”

“I’m not in charge.”

“Mm.”

The conversation came to a stop.

“So, about that Pandora,” Nathan said.

“You’re using it, dude,” Chad said. “We’re all in agreement.”

Nathan motioned to cross his arms—then stopped when he realized he only had one arm. “And what if I disagree?”

Chad stared at Nathan’s sad attempt to use his nonexistent arm. “Bro, we’ve already decided. Just let it go.”

Nathan bit his bottom lip.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate it,” he said. “But I’m strong. You need it more than I do.”

“And we’re not?” Chad asked. “Look, you’re tough, but get your massive, disfigured head out of your ass. We can handle ourselves and you need your arm back. End of story.”

I don’t have a disfigured head…

Nathan went quiet. They continued walking. A blue light seemed to come from the next right, its glow bounced off the walls.

Chad narrowed his eyes. “Ah, shit. Please don’t tell me we’re back at the start.”

“No way!” Emi turned around and shook her head. “That’s just some weird magic light, definitely.”

Bjorn didn’t comment. Mara looked at Emi and shrugged.

Nathan sped up. He turned the corner, and—

The glow led to the outside. They’d returned to the start.

“We did a loop,” Nathan said.

“They haven’t connected the walls fully,” Chad said. “It’s a disjointed maze, that’s the problem.”

“Please tell me you have some trick for solving these types of mazes,” Nathan said.

“Er, I watched a video on some kind of algorithm that helps you solve it faster.”

“…do you remember this algorithm?”

Chad stared at Nathan like a deer in headlights.

“Uh… no.”

Nathan sighed. “I guess there’s nothing for it. We’ll just have to head in and hope we’re going in the right direction.”

They went straight down the middle. After a few minutes of heading in a random direction they spotted another blue light.

“Hold on, how did we get back to the start?” Chad said.

They walked over to the blue light, revealing that it was, in fact, the beginning.

“That makes no sense!” Emi said. “How is this possible?”

Chad’s left eye twitched. “Screw this.”

He ran into the maze at breakneck speed. Nathan reached out his hand to stop him, but it was too late.

After a few seconds, Chad popped out to their direct right.

“H-how!?” Chad said.

Chad ran back in. After a few seconds, he popped back again to their left.

This continued for several more minutes before Chad dropped to the ground, chest heaving and covered in sweat.

“This is so stupid!” he said. “Who designed this puzzle!?”

Mara had been in the back, looking at the entrance. She stared at it, then raised a pistol and shot at it.

Emi winced. “What did you do that for—!?”

The entrance rippled like water and disappeared, revealing a stone wall.

“We’re making progress,” Mara said. “But something’s playing with our heads, making us see things that aren’t there.”

“How did you know?” Nathan said.

“Sniff the air.”

Nathan did as she asked.

Still warm. Still humid. If that had been the outside, there should’ve been a cool breeze.

“And now we have no idea where we are,” Chad said. “Great. This is off to a good start.”

A flash of insight struck Nathan.

“Emi, whatever’s doing this—could it be a spell of some sort?” Nathan asked.

“It has to be,” Emi said.

“If it is, can you sense it using your Mana Sense?”

Emi paused.

“…probably,” she said.

Emi held out her left hand. A white glow emanated from her palm. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, slow and deliberate like she was about to sink into a meditative state.

Her eyes snapped open.

“Follow me,” she said.

She marched through the maze and everyone followed behind her. As they walked, a thought came to Nathan’s mind.

“Emi, Bjorn,” Nathan said. “What do you guys think about the Pandora stuff?”

“You shouldn’t use it,” Bjorn said. “You should give it to someone else.”

And here Chad was saying they were all in agreement.

Emi glanced over at Bjorn but didn’t object.

“Chad almost died,” Bjorn said. “I believe he needs it the most.”

“Not you?”

“No, I’m strong.”

Poor Chad. Roasted alive.

Emi was quiet.

“It’s up to you, Nathan,” she said. “I trust your judgment… but I’ve got to admit that it would be nice to see you be selfish for once.”

before coming to a sudden stop in front of a blank wall.

“It’s right here,” Emi pointed.

Mara stepped forward and tapped against the section Emi was pointing out. Without a word, she pulled out her pistol and let two rounds into the wall. A loud shattering noise echoed out and all at once, it was like a veil lifted away from Nathan’s eyes. A headache that he hadn’t noticed vanished… along with all of the maze walls.

The area that Mara had shot was covered in the remnants of a glass orb.

Nathan turned around, revealing a set of stairs going up to the second floor.

“Let’s head up,” he said.