I jogged through the labyrinth, would’ve sprinted if the hallways weren’t so short. This time my guessing wasn’t so lucky.

At the first path split I picked right then there were three options, so I stayed to the right and after a few twists and turns I was at a dead end.

I went all the way back and picked the middle but that ended quickly. The left one ended with a miniature of the puzzle I had just done.

I hit my head into the wall and let out a guttural groan that only made Phuaphua giggle. Don’t have fun at my expense you little thing.

I plopped us down on the floor and sat in front of the small door set in the wall. The puzzle sat in the floor in between me and the door, The blocks were lined up along the wall to my right.

I quickly put the blocks in the spots and the small door opened up to reveal a solid metal blunt ended pole. It was thick but only half an arm’s length. I picked it up and shoved it in my belt before turning back down the hallway.

I went all the way back to the first split and chose the left path. This time after one turn there was another set of stairs and a large room.

The ceiling was tall and, on the wall across from me was the next stupid puzzle.

At the top of the wall there was a door set in the wall. Even if I could break the door open, the platform I would need to land on was quite a bit out of my normal jumping range. If I could just break these stupid walls, I could make a way to climb up there. Stupid, stupid, stupid, why can’t I just break things?

Again, I hit my head against the wall.

“Come on Ihrhis, your head isn’t just for hitting things. At least take a look at it.”

Against the wall there were some vertical track systems and below them was another chasm.

How an underground labyrinth could have so many chasms was beyond me. What’s the point of digging into the ground to build something only to have to dig some big chasms for people to fall into.

There was a set of ropes hanging from the wall to my right and each had loops with slightly different spacing and were currently attached to hooks at my height.

They reached up and into holes in the ceiling so there was no way to tell what they were attached to. Just gotta pull and see what happens I guess.

I went to the roped and pulled on the first one. A block rose from the ground and at the first loop and the block’s bottom lined up with the floor.

I guess I had to make my own steps.

Well, my own giant steps that’d I’d still need to jump from one to the other.

I went to the second rope and pulled. Instead of lifting the next block, it lifted the sixth up to the first position, I just moved it all the way up to where I thought it should be to be the second to last step only to see that the third block was moving with it and was moving one space slower.

The next rope pulled the first and the seventh block up.

My eyes narrowed, stupid puzzles.

I pulled it until it was all the way up, making the door accessible and then pulled the first rope again to get it into a better position.

The fourth rope though, lifted the second, third and fourth blocks. With one loop the fourth and third moved up one but the second moved up two spots.

Might as well try them all at this point.

I pulled the fifth rope up one loop to see where it would go, and it pulled the fifth and seventh blocks up one.

I pulled the sixth with too much force and put it at the second loop. It moved the second and sixth block up two spots.

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I pulled on the seventh rope, and it moved the fourth block so I just put it where I thought it should end up.

Now I back tracked.

I think rope five moved the fifth block so I pulled, it also moved the seventh, but I think this was the only rope to move the fifth block so I placed it where I thought it should be.

The seventh block was now in its second position out of the floor.

I had already forgotten what the first rope had done and so I pulled it, and it moved the first block, I left it just one up from its position.

Easy, rope one moved one and five moved five.

I moved the second rope and moved only one loop up and checked to see that six had moved one position. I didn’t remember that six had its own rope but shrugged it off.

Pulled the third which moved seven and one, so I moved seven to its proper spot and then went back to the first rope to put block one in its spot.

There I’ve got three positions.

I pulled the fourth to see which ones it moved, four, three and two, but two moved an extra two spots.

I looked at the fifth, come on you got this, the fifth moves the f……first? No, the first moves the first. The fifth moves the…...

I didn’t remember it the more I stared at it, so I just pulled it to see it move the fifth and the sevenths.

Come on, the fifth moves the fifth, easy don’t forget it next time.

I put the fifth in its spot.

Just remember the rope, and don’t touch it.

I went to the second rope and pulled and moved six until it was at its spot. The third block actually moved with it and was now at its right spot.

That’s pretty lucky, but I was right, the second rope didn’t move six on its own.

The fourth moved a few of them, but I didn’t remember which ones. So, I pulled and the third moved with the second and fourth. I held onto it between its hoops trying to pick a spot to go to

Six and five were in their spots so I guess I should put the fourth, since that was next.

On to the sixth, which I haven’t touched in a bit. I yanked and it moved the second and sixth, I put the sixth back where it was supposed to do which made that move nothing but a waste of time.

I looked over at the first rope trying my best to remember what it was, it only moved one block so moving it wouldn’t do any harm. I pulled it, heard something move.

The first moves the first one idiot.

I didn’t even need to look to confirm it. But I looked so that I could pull it all the way through to its proper position.

Okay let’s set the second rope. This moved the sixths up one and out of its right spot. I hooked it off annoyed.

I pulled the third rope, not considering what it was and lifted seven into its spot and the first out of its spot.

I grinned though, that was an easy fix. I pulled the first rope but instead of it moving, there was a loud click and then all of the blocks dropped down to their starting positions.

Is there seriously a limit to how many times I pull the ropes?

I sighed heavily and slouched down bending at my waist too. I felt Phuaphua’s back against my head and he grabbed at my face to brace himself.

“Oh, sorry bud.”

I straightened out.

No choice but to start again.

I started with the third and first rope, since they were fresh in my memory, putting seven and one in their spots.

The fifth moved five, so I pulled.

Buuut it also moved seven, which I forgot, so after putting five in its spot I fixed one and seven.

Okay three were set, now to deal with the others.

I forgot what the seventh rope did, since I hadn’t touched it in a while. It moved four on its own. That was helpful. So, two ropes moved one block each.

The first moved the first, and the seventh moved the fourth. Need to remember that,

I put four in its spot and pulled on the second. It moved the sixth, so I put that in its place and saw that the third block moved as well but one less.

The first moved one.

The seventh moved four. I pulled on the fourth and saw that second, third and fourth moved. Two moved two spots more than three and four did. I only moved it one spot.

The fourth moved two, three, and four.

Then I almost pulled on the fifth but stopped.

Fifth moves five, don’t touch.

I skipped it and pulled the sixth, moving two and six.

Remembering which ropes did what was probably the first step to figuring this out. At this point time didn’t matter all that much. The others would be fine, hopefully doing something just as boring.

And I could probably do this. Well, I’m sure Awkyo would’ve figured it out by now.

Idiot, you went on a tangent and forgot what the sixth rope did.

I pulled it again to remind myself.

Sixth moved two and six.

First moves…one.

Fifth moves five.

Fourth moves… two and three?

Third moves….

The seventh moves….

I pulled it, it moved four on its own.

Time didn’t seem to matter and even though the amount of pulls did, since it would just reset, I decided to test my memory of which rope did what.

At the moment, six and three weren’t in their right positions. But I think six has two different ropes.

The sixth and the second?

I tried both, and I was right.

The second rope moved three also, but I knew that three had another rope.

All that was left was the fourth and third. I think the third moved one and seven so if I pulled the fourth and it doesn’t move one and seven then I’m right.

“Shya!” I lifted my arms up excited, only to have Phuaphua pull on my hair.

“Oops sorry again,” he was so freaking quiet today.

I ran through the ropes again.

First, moves one.

Second, moves three and six.

Third, moves one and seven.

Fourth, moves two three and four.

Fifth, moves five and seven.

Sixth, moves two and six.

Seventh, moves four.

When I made it to the seventh, the thing reset.

Alright, now that I know my ropes, I can try to beat this thing.