On the night of the [PRE-EXAM DASH], all students gathered by the dormitory lobby.

Celio perked his head up among the hoard of people, surveying the crowd around him. All students were told to meet here at 10:25 PM, five minutes before the usual curfew time. Celio had met up with Ives and Owein, only to be then separated as they were sorted into rows of ten based on ranking.

“It’s rare to see the Labyrinth break its own rules…” Celio muttered to himself.

Although the scavenger hunt was optional, many students continued to trickle into the space in hopes of receiving the final boost preparing for the [FINAL EXAM]. After all, who wouldn’t want a chance to obtain free pages from Weisha’s Notebook?

Amidst his thoughts, Celio felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Hey!’ No. 12 waved at him with a toothy grin. “You’re here early. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“We came together.” Celio creased his brows.

“C’mon, it was a joke.” The freckled boy gave him another nudge. “You weren’t at dinner today either. It was so lonely, eating without you.”

“Oh really?” Celio glimpsed at the spot beside him. “Why didn’t Ekaush go eat with you? Guess he’s not the pretty nice guy you take him to be.”

“No. 13?” The freckled boy fluttered his eyes. “Oh, we were studying together in the library, but he had to meet up with someone and left right before dinner. Oh—speaking of him, there he is!”

No. 12 waved his arm enthusiastically, and Celio lifted his head toward the direction of his action.

Ekaush strode out of the elevator and towards them. As he and the freckled boy were chronologically ranked, they stood beside each other, with Celio in the row before them.

“Ready for the dash?” Ekaush asked as he positioned himself to the boy’s right.

The freckled boy gave him a thumbs up. “You bet. I reviewed the entire floor plan last night. At this point, I know the building inside out.”

The lights above them dimmed row by row, leading to the final row by the lobby counter. The crowd quieted down as five figures rose from the counter.

“Good evening, students of MW Academy,” Magenta said. “Thank you to all who came out tonight for our final event before the exam.”

Based on the information given to them, a total of 300 boxes were hidden throughout the seven dorm floors. Half of the boxes entailed pages from Weisha’s Notebook, a quarter of the boxes were empty, a fifth were regular item cards, and another fifth contained “trigger cards,” which were practice exam questions for students to answer.

If the student failed to give the correct answer, the trigger card would send out a signal which notified the Shadows of its current location.

In other words, this was a scavenger hunt in which the students were both hunters and hunted.

“I am sure you’ve all read and understood the instructions by now,” Moss spoke beside her. “Before we get started, are there any questions or concerns regarding the rules?”

A hand rose within the crowd.

“You said Shadows will track us once we answer a question incorrectly?” The question belonged to one of the students, ranked No. 72. “What will happen once they do?”

Moss tipped his glasses with his knuckle. Before he could answer, Aureolin’s tiny arm shot up beside him.

“I can answer that!” She exclaimed, clearing her throat. “The Shadows only have one job: to execute punishment.” She grinned. “Is that clear enough?”

Her words echoed throughout the lobby, splashing on the students like a bucket of ice water.

Without waiting for a reaction among the students, Moss spoke. “If you get caught, you’re in [DETENTION]. Simple as that.”

“B-but!” The student opened his mouth to protest.

“With less than three days ‘till the exam, what good have you learned all this time if you’re still getting questions wrong?” Sky shrugged his shoulders, the smirk on his face dropping to a cold stare. “It is only reasonable for you to get punished.”

“If there are no further questions, we will begin shortly.” Magenta stepped forward. “The event will last 60 minutes in duration. During this time, Professor 004 will remain by the lobby counter to respond to any situations or concerns.”

As she said that, Ace turned to look at her. Magenta merely gave a friendly smile in response.

“Oh, me too!” Aureolin hopped on the counter. “I volunteer to uptake the responsibility with Professor 004.”

Magenta eyed the girl in amusement, then nodded. “Alright then. In light of any sightings of broken rules, especially violence, we ask that all students report to them to be rewarded with knowledge of a box location.

“That concludes everything we have to say. The [PRE-EXAM DASH] will begin in one minute.”

She stepped back, and the lighting in the room returned to normal.

“Good luck to you all.”

As if responding to her words, a 60-second countdown popped up on everyone’s profiles.

The students began to disperse, scuttling off to their little groups. Many steered toward the lift and staircases. It wasn’t difficult to guess their destination.

“The seventh floor is a must-visit,” Ekaush said, turning to the freckled boy. “Judging by the way that place is closed until now, there’s got to be good stuff hidden there.”

“Hm…I guess I’ll head there too.”

Watching No. 12 bob his head up and down in thought, Ekaush gave him a pat on the back.

“Good luck, kid.”

The freckled boy turned to him with a grin. “Yeah, you too!”

Taking in their interaction, Celio gave them one last glimpse before turning his head back to the front.

“Well, aren't they close.”

Feeling a tug on his blazer, he glanced down to see Ives staring back at him, head tilted and eyebrow raised.

“What’s with the jealousy? I thought you didn’t like him in the first place.”

Owein popped up from nowhere. “I see them together everyday.”

Ives side glanced at the brown-haired man. “You really don’t make a sound when you walk, do you?”

“Hold on, wha—jealousy?” Celio took an entire step back. “You’ve both misunderstood. I’m just worried that a naive dumbass like him is getting chummy with the wrong person. He’s not even a player. Why would I get jealous?”

Ives and Owein stared at him, watching as he frantically waved his hands in defence.

“Don’t give me that look, both of you! I’m just keeping an eye on No. 12 in case he screws us over with his naivety,” Celio said. “Honestly, with that personality, how did he survive up until now?”

Owein redirected his gaze.

“You’re one to talk.”

“Wait—where is Mister Edris?” Ives looked around. “He said he would meet us here.”

“He was the one who told us to come early to secure a good spot near the elevator, too! But it didn’t even work out, since we ended up standing based on our rankings.” Celio frowned. “I tried looking for him earlier too. No luck.”

“Knowing your Master…” Owein said thoughtfully, rubbing a strand of his hair between two fingers. “You think he wouldn’t have predicted this situation in advance?”

At the man’s words, Ives and Celio both looked towards him, then at each other.

Celio smacked a hand on his face. “We should have kept a closer eye on him, especially after what he pulled yesterday!”

Without another word, Ives climbed onto Owein. Ignoring the latter’s protests, he used him as a stand and sat on his shoulder. She scanned the crowd, her hands above her forehead to shield the light.

No signs of Edris.

The seven-year-old smeared a hand across her face.

“…I have a bad feeling about this.”

***

In a separate part of campus, a fleeting shadow swept by, its figure creating a doubling effect under the moonlight.

The next second, the door to the Principal’s Office creaked open. Alton slipped into the vacant space.

The card in his hand, called [COMPASS], disintegrated into thin air as he stepped feet into the room. Thanks to it, he could make his way here despite the disoriented directional perception that came with the tower.

He’d sent Ekaush to linger by the top student and the people around him, preferably reaching the extent they become close enough to scoop out some valuable information.

Honestly, he didn’t expect much. Although Ekaus had been a competent hunter in the real world, he lacked as a Labyrinth player. The fact that it took over two weeks for the old man to grow accustomed to his role was already making Alton impatient. After all the effort he put in to help him survive, Alton expected the man to at least be useful for once.

Fortunately, Ekaush didn’t let him down.

Yesterday night, Alton received a tip about the new location of the test papers. According to Ekaush, the information came straight from one of the professors. The quiet one with white hair...Professor 004, if he remembered correctly.

From what Ekaush described, Professor 004 seemed close to No. 1’s group. Especially with No. 111, the one whom the boy deemed as his “master.”

Alton didn’t know how No. 111 managed to bring one of the professors on his side, but it ultimately proved to be to his own benefit.

With his privileges as a member of the SAA, it wasn’t difficult for Alton to enter the [MUSIC TOWER]. All the professors were busy hosting the [PRE-EXAM DASH], which meant the tower was in its most vulnerable state. The only other person in No. 111’s group who was also a part of SAA was No. 9, but from what he knew, that man planned to participate in the dorm event.

Magenta had also assured him the Principal would be out of the office tonight, so all Alton had to do was get to the office a step ahead of No. 1’s group, and the first place would be as good as his own.

With these thoughts in mind, Alton closed the door behind him. Draws, shelves, couches—he needed to examine every aspect of the room, refusing to miss out on even a single corner.

Just as he was about to begin his search, Alton froze.

Someone was sitting in the Principal’s chair.

Most of the Shadows were either called to patrol for the dash or lingering in the library, where the rest of the students studied for the [FINAL EXAM]. As a result, the [MUSIC TOWER] was even more silent than usual, with only muffled screams coming from the [DETENTION] rooms from above.

Yet it was the silence that enabled Alton to hear his own heartbeat, drumming against his ears with elucidating clarity.

Staring at the blurry silhouette by the office table, Alton felt goosebumps spread across his entire body.

Did Magenta lie to him? Was the Principal here after all?

“S-sir! I apologise for entering your office without prior notice.” Alton entered an immediate bow, his eyes darting side to side, trying to continue with an excuse. “It’s just that… it’s the dash right now, and since the professors are busy with the event, I wanted to make sure nothing unexpected happened outside of it as a member of the SAA. I do ask for your utmost wise understanding…”

Trespassing the Principal’s Office without permission was more than enough to get him in [DETENTION], which was the last thing Alton wanted to get into with the [FINAL EXAM] just around the corner.

If worse came to worst, he could always pull out the collaboration card with Magenta.

After all, he’d helped her for so long, from lowering the players’ affinity level to assimilating the incompetent ones. Surely, he had a right to bring out her name this once…

The next second, Alton’s thoughts were disrupted by a stifled laugh.

It was silvery and lighthearted, nothing like the Principal’s monotone.

Someone he knew.

Alton’s head flew up. His mind raced, desperately trying to pin a name to the speaker. At the same time, the clouds dispersed in the sky, allowing a beam of moonlight to shine through the window, casting a soft purple glow on the figure by the chair.

Resting his chin on his palm, a dark-haired man leaned against the office table nonchalantly. His eyes bore a peculiar glint as the man peered toward Alton.

“You look pale. Are you this surprised to see me here?” he said, taking in the incredulous look on Alton’s face from across the room. “But what to do…”

The corner of Edris’s lips lifted.

“I’ve been waiting here—just for you.”