"Take a guess?"

Celio frowned. Despite Aureolin's amusement, it didn't look like she was planning to tell him. At least until the test was over.

Edris had told them to act with caution, especially when it came to following the Labyrinth and the academy's rules. With his Master absent and Ives still taking the test, Celio couldn't afford to be rash.

His hand on the door handle lowered.

Although none of them had explicitly stated it, Celio knew deep down that he was the reason his Master and Ives had also ended up in the Labyrinth. He may be inexperienced, but he wasn't stupid.

Tokens were hidden, exclusive items offered in minimal places. The fact both of them entered through a token, not to mention—the day after the incident at the Moon Household—was too timely to merely be coincidental.

Celio lingered by the door, silent and observing. Aureolin and Sky held no particular reaction to his decision to stay as they continued to patrol the lecture hall.

Although Ives was more clever and mature than people her age, in the end, she was still just a seven-year-old child.

If anything unexpected happened that would place her in danger, Celio would do all in his power to save her. It was the least he could do as the cause of this situation.

As the countdown continued, more and more students handed in their test packages. At around the fifteen-minute mark, Ives put down her pen.

Holding the package in her hand, she hopped off her seat and headed to the centre of the room. Celio eyed her attentively, making sure her surroundings were clear.

He blinked at the papers in her hand.

The test package was made with jet-black fibre paper, so it was hard to discern any abnormalities from a distance. However, now that Celio actively paid attention to the girl's movement…

Her package seemed a tad thicker than the others?

After Ives pushed the package onto the tabletop, the two exited the lecture hall at once. They were going to scout out the rest of the academic building for future reference, only to realise that other than their classroom, the rest were locked and off-access.

Celio peeked through the empty classrooms, growing increasingly concerned after each one.

Did they not have other classes going on?

All of the buildings on campus were uniformly designed to have seven floors. The test classroom they just came from was on the fourth. With only ten minutes left before the test finished, the two decided to leave the building and save the remaining scouting for later.

"Mister Edris said to meet him at the cafeteria," she said, her eyes fluttering from the blinding sun.

Celio stepped in front, his shadow casting over her. Ives blinked twice.

"Thank you," she said. "But it's not a good idea to walk backwards. You might trip."

"…"

Sometimes, Celio wondered what her life was like for a seven-year-old to exhibit such composure.

"So I've been wondering," he started, staring at her while his back was against the sun. "Why'd you decide to come to Adalan with us anyway?"

"I came with Mister Edris," Ives corrected.

"…"

The two walked on the empty sidewalk, the sun blazing above their heads. Ives was much shorter, so Celio had to consciously slow down his steps to match her pace.

"Fine. Why'd you decide to follow him? You've only met once, and that's back at the Slums with your sister." Celio cocked his head to the side. "Sounds impulsive, if you ask me."

Ives glanced up at him. Despite the beast tamer's attempt to block the sunlight, she didn't tell him that it was only working for himself.

"Twice."

Celio blinked.

"Huh?"

"At the Slums. Twice."

Before Celio could ask what she meant, the seven-year-old shoved him aside as her eyes lit up. Poking her head sideways, she peered past him.

"It's Mister Edris!"

***

The cafeteria, as with all other buildings, also had seven floors. However, only the ground floor was opened for their arrival.

Edris glanced around, taking in the rows of metal benches and long tables.

The kitchen, ordering counter, and pick-up area were all cramped at the back of the cafeteria. Since they'd arrived just when it opened for lunch, the group got their food relatively quickly.

Each student was given a standardised meal: fried potatoes mixed with vegetable medley, a meat sandwich, and a cup of fruits.

Celio scrutinised at the food. Not as pleasing to the eye as the meals he had back in Odeen Academy, but visual display was the last thing on his mind right now.

He gulped. It wasn't until the beast tamer held the tray of food in his hand did it occur to him that this was his first meal since entering the Labyrinth.

With the feeling of hunger catching up only belatedly, Celio's stomach rumbled.

The three settled down at an empty table nearby. Edris scooped up his sandwich and placed it on Celio's plate. The latter lifted his head and stared at him.

"I'm not hungry. Eat up." Edris smiled.

"Master, I'm fine! I'm not that hungry!" Celio said, shaking his head.

The next second, his stomach roared in protest, and the beast tamer buried his face in his palms.

A second plate of potatoes also slid into his view. Ives gave him a small pat on the back.

"I don't like potatoes. You can have them." She paused, then nudged the plate of vegetables toward him as well. "I don't like vegetables, either. Especially broccoli."

"You mustn't be a picky eater." Edris glanced at her. He slid over his own vegetables. "Or else you won't grow."

"I'm only seven. I have plenty of time to grow."

"Ah, children." Edris sighed. He turned toward the young beast tamer, unaware of his thoughts that had grown complicated from the two new plates of food. "How was the test?"

Celio stared at him. "Master, you knew about it?"

Edris shrugged. "On the announcement board."

The children told him about the test content, the empty classrooms, and the player who was taken to detention. Edris listened to their recount silently, tapping his lips in thought.

"I asked one of the professors what happens to those who aren't present for the test, and she looked at me with a really ominous smile." Celio frowned. "I'm sorry, Master. If I knew beforehand, I would have written your name on my test."

"Good thing you didn't." Edris glanced at him, amused. "Or else I would have had two tests with my name."

At his words, the beast tamer looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"I took two test packages," Ives said calmly, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Mister Edris told me to last night."

"I only suggested staying observant for tomorrow's class. The one who acted accordingly is yourself. Well done." Edris smiled, and Ives averted his gaze, lips subtly upturned.

She stiffened the next moment, then turned away with a scoff.

Both Edris and Celio stared at her blankly, and the seven-year-old cleared her throat.

"My affinity just dropped," she said in a lowered voice. "I'm supposed to be hostile towards everyone. At least when the natives are around."

At her words, the beast tamer immediately looked around them. Although the cafeteria was sparse with people, there were still a few situated at tables around them, both students and players, each in their small clusters.

"So that's why the package looked thicker when you handed it in! I thought it was just my imagination," Celio whispered in a belated epiphany. "Hold on, did you know the answers to the questions?"

"Of course not," Ives said. "I don't even know who Weisha is."

The beast tamer furrowed his brows, and she sighed softly.

"My persona is someone who's trying to sabotage her twin sister's reputation for when she returns, while Mister Edris's is a wealthy, helpless romantic who dislikes learning," she explained. "I purposely took a long time to finish, but guessed all the questions. In line with our roles, it'd be unfitting if we did end up getting high scores."

"Ah. I guess you're right," Celio nodded as another thought occurred to him. "Come to think of it, if the future quizzes are fact-based like this one, are we expected to be memorising book after book then? How would we know what to study?"

The test content, aside from being absurdly random and contextless, was something one could only know through memorisation.

Unlike short answers or opinion-based questions, these questions were the most challenging but straightforward — you either know the answer, or you don't.

Celio drew his head back as his mind ran wild with countless possibilities.

"They're not expecting us to live in the libraries, are they?"

He turned to look at Edris, only to realise that the latter's expression had fallen strange.

The door to the cafeteria flung open, catching Celio mid-sentence. He spun around and was confronted with a surge of students flooding the dining space. Many were players and native students who'd spent the entire hour taking the test.

Watching as the cafeteria quickly grew crowded, Celio turned his attention back to the dark-haired man.

"Master?"

"About the library…" Edris said slowly. He gazed at both of them, a complicated look on his face.

"Not a single book was in there."

In the rowdy cafeteria, his voice delivered itself through the countless other noises. After what seemed like a mental delay, Celio lifted his head.

"…Huh?"

***

The following morning, all students woke up to the sound of the [BELL].

A hyme-like melody reverberated throughout the campus, sonorous yet eerie as it pushed past the dorm windows and delivered itself into the ears of every student. Each note compiled into a dissonant harmony, bringing about familiarity to the ear, yet not quite specific enough to be defined.

Celio turned to the clock.

7:53 AM. No pattern whatsoever in the timing.

Sitting up from his bed, he noticed that the freckled boy was already awake, kneeled on his bed, and praying.

"…"

According to Rule #3 of Labyrinth 53, all players must offer their prayers at the sound of the [BELL].

Celio sighed internally.

As much as he wanted to test the consequences of what'd happen if he disobeyed, the series of absurdities in the Labyrinth so far was telling him to cherish life.

The sequence of melodies repeated itself three times, each a bit faster than the previous. At the third repetition, a hollow resonance echoed throughout the campus, marking the start of the day.

Celio headed to the bathroom and splashed himself awake with cold water. When he looked in the mirror, however, his eyes widened.

"What the hell is this?"

A glowing number "1" was floating on top of his head.

Celio squatted, swerved, and spun—the number stayed on top of his head, trailing his motions like a tail.

He flung open the bathroom door and cast his gaze over to the freckled boy, only to realise a number was on his head as well. Except while his was "1," the freckled boy's was "12."

"Hey," he called out to the boy, jabbing a thumb over his own head. "Do you see this?"

The latter stared at him as if he was insane.

Just as Celio thought the numbers, like the profile interface, were player-exclusive, the boy tilted his head.

"Your ranking? What about it?"

Celio froze.

"My what?"

"Your test ranking." The boy lifted an eyebrow. "Dude, you good? Didn't sleep well last night?"

"Test ranking… The test from yesterday?"

From the way he acted, Celio would have thought himself to be the abnormal one for making a big deal about floating numbers.

Before he could ask further, the boy suddenly sprung forward with bulging eyes.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on." He pointed at him, jaws dropped. "N-number one. You're ranked first?! You got the highest score on the test? That's sick, bro."

He then quickly recomposed himself, bobbing in a matter-of-factly way.

"But again, as expected from the top student in our year…"

However, Celio was no longer paying attention to anything coming out of his mouth.

Just now, his player profile had updated itself in accordance with the new information.

PLAYER ID

Celio

LABYRINTH

#53

RANK

1

PLAYER STATUS

Normal

ROLE DESCRIPTION

You are an incoming student who got into MW Academy through exceptional grades and a Scholarship of Excellence! Congratulations on your admittance!

Thanks to your talent and hard work, you managed to seize a spot on this year's acceptance list through top-notch examination results and outstanding interviews.

You love learning and always arrive fifteen minutes early for each class. You are enthusiastic and actively seek opportunities to foster meaningful connections with prominent figures for your future career.

AFFINITY LEVEL

97%

CARD SLOT

Stabilising Sneakers (L + R) [EMPTY] [EMPTY]

NOTE: Future card slots may be unlocked as a reward

The beast tamer wobbled back into the bathroom and stared dazedly and the floating "1" on top of his head. Then at the same number reflected in the [RANK] section.

Him? Ranked first? On a test where he only picked the third option?

How?