After introducing Owein to the team, the preparations for the [FINAL EXAM] began almost immediately.

Celio made his way up the stairs, toward the third floor of the academic building, perking his head around in search of his friends. With Owein on the team, they no longer needed to all be ranked top ten to rent out the laboratory.

The perks of having a member of the SAA.

Frankly, Celio held many questions toward the man after learning he was sent here upon the Commander's request. If everything Owein stated was true, it meant his family knew he'd stolen the token in the Moon's treasury. They knew, yet they had turned a blind eye to his actions.

Why?

Especially his mother. Knowing that woman's personality, Celio was sure she'd stop him immediately upon learning that he would involve himself in something dangerous like the Labyrinth.

Amidst these contemplations, Celio's expression dulled. Aside from the impossible distance between him and the Commander, his mother was hiding things from him as well.

He shook himself out of his whirling thoughts. This wasn't the time to be carried away by unrelated speculations. The priority here was the plan—others could wait after he survived the Labyrinth in one piece.

The third floor was where the laboratory was situated. It was also where he would meet up with Owein and the freckled boy to make the "bomb" in Edris's plan.

Funny enough, despite the academy's boast of its resources, when it came to essential facilities such as libraries and experiment labs, there was only one of each on campus. With the finals in less than two weeks, a dreary atmosphere had befallen MW Academy.

Celio strolled through the empty hallway, his golden eyes scanning left and right for the designated lab room.

In light of the shortened schedule, the professors tightened rules around the campus significantly, and the slightest blunder would win you a trip to [DETENTION]. It also wasn't helping that the cloaked people floating around the dorm hallways loomed behind the students like a foreboding messenger of death.

As a result, the students—natives and players alike—now practically lived in the library.

From the moment curfew ended until the following curfew check, students studied relentlessly, memorising the book of Weisha word by word, as though their lives depended on it.

Well, it did.

Stopping at the room by the end of the hallway, he looked around to ensure clearance and knocked on the door.

Long, short, long, then a double knock.

A click came from the other side, and Celio pushed on the handle. The door swung open, and he walked into a dim room surrounded by maroon walls.

Long tables spread in the foreground of the room, while rows of metal shelves filled the back. Swerving around the shelves was the curly-haired No. 12, with various materials scooped in his arms.

Owein sat in one of the high chairs, with a row of measuring tubes neatly laid before him. His eyes squinted in focus as he immersed in sanitised each glass tube, not allowing room for a single stain.

Taking in the scene before him, Celio suddenly thought that they'd come quite far since entering the Labyrinth.

"Oh—you're finally here!" The freckled boy hurried over upon noticing his presence. He set the tools on the table Owein was sitting at and pulled the beast tamer aside. "Come help me find these ingredients. I'm gonna start constructing the bomb."

Nodding dazedly, Celio took over the list of materials and headed toward the shelves. As he gathered the materials, the freckled boy busied himself mixing different coloured liquids. Despite his usual rowdiness, he carried out the procedures with utmost precision.

Beside him, Owein observed his actions quietly, gaze filled with intrigue.

"I didn't know you were knowledgeable in alchemy," Celio said, placing the rest of the materials on the table.

"It started as a hobby. When I was young, I loved messing around with these types of things," the freckled boy said as he squeezed a drop of red liquid from the dropper. "My mom was pretty supportive of it too. She even said that if I developed this hobby, I could probably land a position in the—"

His sentence fell halfway, and Celio turned to him upon the abrupt silence. Owein peered over as well.

"In the?"

"… It's literally on the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember." The freckled boy scrunched his brows. "What position was it again?" He shook his head. "Anyways, it's because of this skill that I got extra points on the entrance exam. Otherwise, I doubt the academy would take me. Everyone else here is too talented."

Celio thought about both his Master's and Ives's role description, and he sheepishly cleared his throat.

"I wonder about that…"

"Oh, true. I guess there are exceptions for these places too. No. 111 is one of them." The freckled boy snickered, then turned to Owein. "Come to think of it, do you know about his obsession with your sister?"

At his words, both Celio and Owein stared at him. The latter creased his eyebrows.

"Sister?"

"No way." The freckled boy smacked a hand over his mouth. "He didn't tell you?"

Owein looked at him with a strange expression, but the next second, his head swerved towards the door.

"Someone's approaching."

At his words, Celio and the freckled boy stood up simultaneously, steering their gaze to the door in caution.

Footsteps echoed in the third-floor hallway, coming in their direction.

Without a moment wasted, Owein flicked off the lights and dropped the blinds. Celio scooped up the tools and materials, placing them in a large tray inside the drawers.

"Over here!" The freckled boy waved them over, and the three hid behind one of the shelves in the back of the room.

The door swung open, and two silhouettes stepped into the laboratory.

Strangely enough, neither of the two bothered turning on the lights. The two silhouettes approached one of the experiment tables, and one of them sat on the high chair. A glowing number was atop the latter's head.

Celio furrowed his eyebrows, trying to discern the person's identity.

Due to the shelves between them, he could only make out an obscured view of the two. The number atop the figure's head gleamed extra bright in the dimmed space:

Number 2.

Just as Celio was about to move forward for a better look, the player spoke.

"You said you'd help me."

Low and stern, the voice belonged to a male. Someone he was familiar with, too.

"What's this?" This time, a feminine but equally familiar voice spoke back leisurely. "Are you upset right now?"

Celio's eyes widened.

What were Alton and Professor Magenta doing here?

He whipped his head around and exchanged glances with the freckled boy, who shared the same dumbfounded expression. Owein peered over, observing the two with a thoughtful gaze.

Thousands of question marks swirled around Celio's head. The last time he saw Alton, the man was still ranked fifth. No further tests occurred between the time and now, so how did he move up the rankings?

Before he could dig further into any of his questions, the next scene threw his mind blank.

The two figures coincided in the dark.

Celio's mouth dropped.

His first thought was that Alton had somehow found a way around the mana restriction and activated a spell, but realised it wasn't the case when he heard distinct breaths coming from both sides.

“…”

Celio's face flushed pink as it finally hit him what he'd stumbled upon. As someone whose only romantic experience was no romantic experience, the poor beast tamer reflexively turned his head from the sight, only to crash foreheads with the freckled boy.

A whole minute passed before the figures parted.

Magenta straightened her collar and stifled a laugh. "So—you think this would make me change my mind?"

"I thought we were the same type of person. I thought you understood me. That's why you helped me all this time," Alton said. "I did as you suggested. I climbed my way to SAA, moved up to number two, got rid of everyone in my way—you know how much I sacrificed to get here. So why?

"Why can't you just help me again?"

At his burst of questions, both Magenta and the three in the back fell quiet. Celio scratched his head at the information overload, while the freckled boy was still recovering from the previous scene.

Owein remained silent and attentive, his gaze focused on the two as if he was watching a melodrama performance.

The beast tamer exhaled through his nose. Although he didn't know the details between them, Alton seemed to have somehow entered a collaboration with the professor. Was that how he managed to increase his rank despite there being no tests?

Magenta only faced him with a calm expression. She then shrugged.

"But that wouldn't be fun now, would it?"

Alton stepped back. "What?"

"I admit you have potential, but that does not mean you can act unreasonably as you are now. Although the current top student got to number one by luck the first time, he also scored brilliantly on the following two tests. Fairly, too." She sighed. "And you want me to fail a student like him? Even I'm unable to go against the Labyrinth rules like this."

"…Is that so." Alton's voice noticeably lowered, and Magenta cupped a hand to his cheek.

"But I'm sure you'll find a way around this." Amusement seeped through her voice as she spoke, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation. "I know you're someone who'd resort to great lengths to reach your goal. That's why you've been acting as my puppy this entire time, am I right?"

She gave his cheek a light pat and strolled toward the door. Placing her hand on the handle, Magenta glimpsed past her shoulder, toward the shelves in the back of the room.

She smiled.

"I look forward to your performance."

After Magenta left, Alton remained quiet for a long time. Slamming his fist on the table, the man muttered something under his breath before striding out the door.

When Owein gave the clear signal, the boys stumbled out from behind the shelves and dashed towards the sink. Flicking open the tap, the two dumped their heads under the streaming water to cool down.

"Damn. What did I just witness?" The freckled boy gulped, dragging down his cheeks with both hands.

"But their relationship aside…" Celio cleared his throat, in an attempt to recompose himself. "Alton wanted to get the professor to fail my exam? But why?"

From a Labyrinth player's perspective, Celio suspected that Alton's series of actions might have something to do with his main quest.

From his conversation with Magenta, the man obviously played a significant role in driving the various discriminations across the academy. Now that Celio thought about it, his eagerness to start his own alliance was suspicious to begin with.

In the beginning, they didn't think too deeply into it, but taking a step back, Celio realized that the players who supported the ranking hierarchies were all associated with Alton's team.

Edris had said that it was always better to avoid unnecessary trouble, especially regarding the works of others. As Alton wasn't too involved around campus, they weren't about to go out of their way to investigate the man as long as he wasn't a threat.

But now was a different story.

"I have to tell Master about this," Celio said as he turned to the freckled boy. "How much longer do you need to finish the bomb?"

"Not long. I just need to finish up the details," the boy replied. "But I'm warning you, this thing makes quite the impact when you activate it. So only use it on an empty field, and definitely don't do it indoors unless you wanna lose an eye!"

Celio responded to his naggings with a half-hearted nod. He briefly wondered how the freckled boy would react if he found out they planned to use his bomb to blow up the music tower.

"A student bribing a professor… is that not against the rules?" He glanced at Owein, who had been quiet since they left the shelves.

At his question, Owein peered at the door entrance with a contemplative expression.

"Just now," he said slowly. "She said 'Labyrinth rules," didn't she?"

Not academy, but labyrinth.

Celio's eyes widened as chills drove up his spine.

"You mean… Magenta is also a player?"

***

In the empty cafeteria, a dark-haired man sat by a table in the corner as he flipped through a book in his hands.

Sliding his index finger across the foreign words on the paper, Edris narrowed his eyes. It was almost time for his meeting with Ives and the others.

With today the day to execute the laboratory plan, they'd agreed to gather in the cafeteria afterwards. While waiting, Edris decided to reread the book about Weisha that Ace had given him.

From his knowledge, the main kingdoms in the Western Continent—Zacriya, Adalan, and Wendimore—shared the same language for centuries. Yet the script in the notebook was unlike anything he'd seen before.

Of course, Edris was no scholar, and it was no surprise he'd stumble upon unfamiliar languages.

However, even Ace failed to discern the origin of the language, and the man had engulfed the content of an entire library.

As Edris sat in contemplation, a group of three walked past him.

He glanced up from the book, just in time to make eye contact with a familiar man.

Different from his usual courteous self, Alton walked with a grim look dragging his face. His dress shirt was slightly wrinkled, and a faint wash of red smeared across his lips. The man paused upon seeing Edris, only to avert his gaze the next moment.

Behind him were No. 48 and No. 13. The former was the woman who'd bothered Edris once at the library, and the latter was someone he'd met back at the opening ceremony, the buff old man who revealed himself to be acquainted with Alton in the real world.

No. 48's attention lingered on Edris as she passed. Her expression had dropped from neutral to annoyed, obviously still bitter from their last encounter. For a moment, Edris even thought she was about to swear at him, but the woman only shot him a glare as No. 13 glimpsed her with a shake of his head.

Watching the three disappear into the distance, Edris raised an eyebrow.

Shortly after the intermission with Alton's group, Celio approached his table from the same direction. Behind him was the freckled boy and Owein, a member of the Lucid Clan and his assigned "unrequited love."

"Master, the plan was a success!" Celio said as he waved the card in his hand. "The final product is right here."

The moment the freckled boy finished making the bomb, the entire thing had condensed into a card, the type players could store in his player interface. Strangely enough, the freckled boy had readily accepted the transformation as he passed over the card, telling Celio to make good use of it.

"Great work," Edris said with a gentle smile. "Now all we have to do is wait until exam day."

"Was that Alton just now?" Celio perked his head over. "He didn't do anything sketchy, right?"

"No, but I suggest we remain cautious and keep an eye on him," Edris said, his mind flashing back to the man's reaction from earlier. "He might be involved in some questionable things. And from the looks of those associated with him, there are good chances that he also played a role behind framing Ives's roommate."

"Oh—your words just reminded me. You will not believe who we saw back in the lab," the freckled boy exclaimed with a shiver. "Never in my life did I expect to witness such drama."

Edris observed his reaction in amusement, but his expression suddenly stiffened.

"What time is it?"

The freckled boy was about to recount his entire experience when Edris's question pushed the words back down his throat.

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"Nine minutes past noon," Owein said beside him. He glanced up through his lashes. "We arrived at 12:04, so we are only five minutes late."

"That's not what I meant."

Edris stood up from the chair. Sweeping his surroundings, he steered toward another table in the distance, stopping in front of the student there.

No. 39 looked up at him with cheeks stuffed with bread. She blinked twice.

"Ken I hwelp yoo?"

"You're Ives's roommate," Edris said. "Where is she?"

Of all the meetings they held ever since entering the Labyrinth, never once had the seven-year-old been late. With the series of recent events, her absence was giving Edris a premonition of imminent trouble.

At his question, No. 39's brows scrunched up in confusion. She chewed for another few seconds before swallowing the food down her throat.

"Ah, you mean No. 112?" she shrugged. "Not sure. She said she was heading to over to the cafeteria to find you, like, twenty minutes ago."

She peered past his shoulders.

"What? You still haven't met up?"