The iron gates behind them clanged shut with a finality that made Haruki's stomach twist. The sound echoed through the twisting stone halls ahead, swallowed by the dark as if the labyrinth itself had consumed the noise.
He swallowed hard. The air was damp, carrying the stench of mildew and something else something sour, rotten, like meat left out in the sun.
The walls were close, carved from rough gray stone etched with faintly glowing runes. They pulsed slowly, like veins under the skin of some slumbering beast. Every few seconds, Haruki could swear he heard a heartbeat thrumming through the walls.
Kana wrinkled her nose, pulling her bow free with a sharp motion. A faint green aura shimmered along the string as she drew it back experimentally. "I hate mazes," she muttered.
"You hate everything," Rai replied coolly. He was already on edge, both daggers gleaming in his hands.
Faint arcs of lightning danced along the blades, sparking just enough to push back the shadows. His golden eyes scanned every corner, sharp and restless.
Haruki tugged at his gauntlets, tightening the straps around his wrists. His palms were sweaty, his arms trembling slightly but his heart hammered with a strange mix of fear and excitement.
He glanced at the endless dark ahead and forced out a laugh. "We just need to find the exit, right? How bad could it"
The floor rumbled beneath them, cutting him off. The tiles shifted with grinding echoes, sliding like puzzle pieces on a giant board.
The straight corridor warped, twisted, and split apart until three separate tunnels gaped before them like open jaws. Each one stretched into shadow, their runes flickering faintly like dying stars.
Kana snapped her head toward him, glaring daggers. "Never. Say. That. Again."
[User has officially jinxed party survival rate. Adjusting statistics. Death probability increased by 12%.]
Haruki groaned. "Shut up, Zero."
[I am merely stating facts. Someone has to.]
Kana raised an eyebrow. "You talking to yourself again?"
Haruki coughed. "Nope. Just—mentally preparing."
Rai didn't even glance back. "Focus. The labyrinth's already moving against us. Pick wrong, and it won't matter how much you 'prepare.'"
Haruki's throat went dry as he stared at the three tunnels. For the first time since stepping inside, the weight of the trial pressed down on him.
This wasn't just a maze.
This was a predator.
And they were already inside its belly.
The three tunnels stretched before them, each as dark and unwelcoming as the last. Kana tilted her head, eyes narrowing, as though she could peel back the shadows themselves.
Rai crouched low, brushing his fingertips across the stone floor, his expression unreadable.
Haruki hovered awkwardly behind them, chewing his lip. "So… left, middle, or right?"
"Not middle," Rai said instantly.
"Why not?"
Rai tapped one tile, then another. "The stone's too smooth. No dust buildup. That corridor's been reset recently. It means it's active."
Before Haruki could ask what he meant, the middle wall shuddered then snapped forward with brutal speed. A row of spikes shot out, gleaming wickedly in the dim light.
The sound of metal grinding against stone echoed down the hall before it withdrew, leaving only silence.
Haruki yelped, stumbling back. "Okay! Not middle. Got it!"
Kana smirked, brushing her braid over her shoulder. "Good eye, lightning boy."
"Observation," Rai replied curtly, standing. "Not luck."
Kana's smirk deepened. "You really don't know how to take a compliment, do you?"
While they bickered, Haruki's pulse hammered in his ears. He glanced at the floor nervously. The runes pulsed again, faintly red this time, as if mocking him.
"Traps, monsters, shifting walls… this place really wants us dead," he muttered.
[Correction: This place is not designed to want. It is designed to kill. There is a difference.]
Haruki rolled his eyes. "Oh, that makes me feel so much better."
[Excellent. Improved sarcasm detected. At least you will die with wit.]
"…You really are the worst support system."
Before Haruki could grumble further, Kana raised her bow. "Quiet. Something's coming."
The wall beside them shuddered again. At first Haruki thought another spike trap was about to spring but instead, a faint hiss filled the air. Small holes opened in the stone, releasing a mist that burned his nose instantly.
"Poison gas!" Kana snapped.
Rai was already moving. With quick precision, he jammed his dagger into a seam in the wall, prying open a hidden panel.
Sparks of lightning surged through the metal, frying whatever mechanism hid inside. The hissing stopped.
The corridor fell silent once more, save for Haruki's ragged breathing.
Kana lowered her bow with a sigh. "Well, that was fun."
Haruki wheezed. "Fun? That was fun to you?"
She smirked. "What, you want me to say terrifying? Because I won't give this maze the satisfaction."
[Observation: Party morale remains disturbingly high despite near-death experience. Suggest harnessing humor as coping mechanism.]
For a brief moment, Haruki almost laughed. Almost. But then his gaze shifted back to the endless dark ahead.
If this was just the beginning… what horrors waited deeper inside?
The path they chose sloped downward, twisting in jagged angles that made Haruki's sense of direction dissolve almost instantly.
He had no idea whether they were heading deeper into the labyrinth or circling back toward the entrance.
Every step was a gamble. Every breath carried the taste of damp stone and faint rot.
Then the floor gave way.
"Move!" Rai barked.
Tiles crumbled beneath Haruki's boots. His heart leapt into his throat as he dropped only to feel a rough hand yank him sideways. He hit the ground hard, gasping, inches from a gaping pit of fire that had roared open beneath them.
Flames licked the edges, crackling hungrily before the tiles slid back into place, sealing the inferno like it had never existed.
Haruki's chest heaved. "I ..I almost"
"Died?" Kana finished for him, already tugging him to his feet. She smirked, but her eyes were sharper than usual. "Yeah. Get used to it."
He gulped. "That's not exactly comforting."
"You're still standing, aren't you?"
[Correction: User was lying down just seconds ago.]
"Zero shut. Up."
The labyrinth didn't let them breathe. Poison darts hissed from hidden cracks in the walls, forcing them to duck and weave. Once, a bridge of stone shifted beneath their feet, becoming slick as glass.
Kana reacted instantly, firing an arrow into the opposite wall and anchoring a rope for them to cling to until the path stabilized.
Rai dismantled traps with mechanical precision, his lightning-charged daggers frying mechanisms before they could activate. His focus never wavered, his movements sharp and deliberate, like he'd done this a hundred times.
And Haruki ... Haruki stumbled, tripped, panicked… but his gauntlets responded. When darts flew, the metal flared into a shield that deflected the worst of them. When a floor collapsed again, the gauntlets reshaped into claws, digging into the stone to keep him from falling.
It wasn't skill. It wasn't even control. But it was something.
By the third narrow escape, Kana huffed, brushing sweat from her forehead. "You're either blessed by the gods… or cursed by them."
Haruki gave a shaky grin. "Why not both?"
For the briefest second, Rai's lips twitched. Almost a smile.
[Note: Party cohesion improving. Survival probability has increased to 41%.]
"Better than zero," Haruki muttered under his breath, and for the first time since stepping into this nightmare, he felt a flicker of hope.
But the labyrinth wasn't finished testing them yet.
The corridor widened suddenly, opening into a cavernous hall supported by pillars that looked disturbingly like giant bones. The ceiling vanished into shadow, and the air grew thick charged, alive with something that made Haruki's skin crawl.
He slowed, eyes darting. "Do you feel that?"
Kana's ears twitched, bow already drawn. "Yeah. Something's watching us."
Rai didn't answer. His daggers hummed faintly with lightning, his whole body tense, eyes narrowing at the dark between the pillars.
Then the shadows moved.
Glowing eyes snapped open all at once dozens of them. Crawling, slithering, skittering shapes emerged, their forms twisted mockeries of wolves, lizards, and insects, fused together by jagged bone and blackened flesh. Their screeches echoed like nails dragging across stone.
"Bantings," Rai spat.
The swarm lunged.
Kana's bowstring thrummed, each arrow a streak of green light that cut through the air with precision. Every shot found its mark, bursting Bantings into clouds of ash. She laughed, sharp and wild, like the chaos was just another game.
Rai blurred forward, his figure splitting into arcs of motion. His blades crackled as he carved through monsters, sparks scattering across the floor with every strike. Three Bantings fell before they even realized they were being cut.
Haruki froze for half a second, heart hammering. Move. Move now.
The gauntlets pulsed, reshaping into a chain-sickle. He swung clumsily, the blade whipping out in a wide arc. It caught a Banting by the neck, jerking it backward straight into another. The two beasts collided, snarling before bursting apart into ash.
Haruki blinked. "Did I did that actually work?"
[Combo attack achieved. Efficiency rating: 47%. Progress: not terrible.]
"Not terrible?!" Haruki shouted, ducking another set of claws. "That's the best thing you've ever said to me!"
[Don't get emotional. You'll trip again.]
Kana's voice cut across the din. "Focus, weakling! More on the left!"
Haruki whirled, clumsy but determined, barely parrying a Banting's snapping jaws. Sparks flew as his gauntlets shifted again, forming short twin blades.
He slashed desperately, more survival instinct than skill but somehow, the blades found their target. The Banting dissolved, leaving Haruki gasping in its ash.
The last monster shrieked and lunged at him. Haruki raised his arms too slow.
But Rai's blade was faster. Lightning cracked, and the beast split in two before hitting the ground. Ash scattered across Haruki's boots.
Silence followed, broken only by Haruki's ragged breathing and Kana's amused chuckle.
"Well, look at that. Our little weakling actually killed a few."
Haruki managed a grin despite his shaking hands. "Told you. Stubborn counts for something."
Rai said nothing, but the faintest flicker of approval crossed his face.
[Note: Party synergy improved. Survival probability now 49%.]
The bone-pillared chamber settled into stillness again, but Haruki's gut twisted. The labyrinth wasn't just throwing traps and beasts at them. It was watching. Waiting.
And something worse was lurking in the dark.
The echoes of battle still clung to the chamber, the air thick with ash and the coppery tang of blood where Haruki had bitten his lip mid-fight. He leaned on his knees, catching his breath, gauntlets faintly glowing as they cooled from their last transformation.
"We… we actually made it through," he said between gasps, almost in disbelief.
"Barely," Rai replied flatly, wiping his blades clean. Sparks still danced faintly along the steel.
Kana leaned against a bone pillar, her bow balanced casually across her shoulders. "Relax, weakling. Celebrate while you can. The labyrinth hasn't even shown its worst yet."
Haruki opened his mouth to answer.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound rang through the hall, slow and mocking.
All three of them stiffened.
From the far shadows, a figure stepped into the dim light. Tall, lean, every movement deliberate. His black hair gleamed, slicked back, and his silver-crest uniform caught the glow of the rune-etched walls.
Kuro.
Two other candidates flanked him, both carrying themselves with the quiet arrogance of people who had never been told "no" in their lives.
"Well, well," Kuro drawled, his voice like oil sliding over steel. "The stray puppy lives another day. How inspiring."
Haruki's jaw tightened, heat rising in his chest. "Don't call me that."
Kuro's smirk widened. "What else should I call you? You don't belong here. You stumble, you scrape by, you survive on the pity of others. Do you think that makes you a Hunter?"
Kana straightened, eyes narrowing. "Back off, noble boy. Or I'll make that smug face of yours my next target."
Kuro chuckled. "An elf with a sharp tongue. How quaint. But I wasn't speaking to you." His gaze slid back to Haruki, sharp and cold. "I was speaking to the mistake standing in your team."
Rai moved a step forward, lightning crackling faintly along his daggers. "Enough. If you want a fight, then fight."
But Kuro only laughed softly, raising a hand to signal his allies not to move. "Not yet. I'm patient. This labyrinth is a culling ground, and when the time comes, only the strongest teams will survive. Weaklings like him" he tilted his head toward Haruki "are nothing but dead weight."
Haruki's fists clenched inside his gauntlets. His pulse roared in his ears. He wanted to shout back, to prove himself, to do something.
[Warning: Engaging in direct conflict here reduces survival chance to 0%. Recommend restraint.]
Haruki swallowed his anger, forcing the words back down his throat.
Kuro smirked at his silence, satisfied. "That's what I thought." He stepped backward, fading into the darkness again with his companions. His voice lingered in the air, smooth and venomous.
"Remember, puppy. When the time comes, don't expect mercy."
The shadows swallowed him whole.
For a long moment, none of them spoke.
Finally, Kana muttered, "I hate him."
Rai's grip tightened on his blades. "He's dangerous. More than he lets on."
Haruki exhaled, trembling with a mix of fear and fury. One thing was certain he couldn't afford to stay weak. Not with people like Kuro in the same labyrinth.
The silence after Kuro's departure pressed heavy on the chamber, thicker than the stench of ash that lingered in their lungs.
Haruki flexed his gauntlets, the hum of shifting metal steadying his trembling hands. He wanted to chase after Kuro, to prove him wrong but a single look at Kana and Rai reminded him that would've been suicide.
The labyrinth had already claimed too many reckless fools.
Kana slung her bow across her back and started forward. "Come on. Standing still makes us easy prey."
The stone walls rumbled in agreement, shifting with a low, grinding growl. A section of the floor slid open, exposing a pit of writhing spikes before sealing itself again. The maze was alive, hungry.
Rai's eyes narrowed. "It's separating teams. Forcing collisions."
Kana arched a brow. "Collisions?"
"Between survivors," Rai said quietly. "Think about it. Only teams of three are allowed to reach the exit. What happens when more than that make it through?"
The words sank in like poison.
Haruki's breath caught. "…They'll turn on each other."
Kana's smirk faltered, replaced by a seriousness that rarely touched her sharp features. She looked him dead in the eye. "Exactly. Don't fool yourself, weakling. This isn't just a maze it's a test of trust. And trust is the first thing to get you killed."
Haruki's chest tightened. "You mean… even allies?"
Kana's grin returned, but it didn't reach her eyes this time. "If you're smart, you won't trust anyone too much. Not even me."
The words stung more than he expected.
[Analysis: Candidate Kana is statistically less likely to betray you immediately. However… betrayal probability in future trials is 78%. Rising.]
Haruki bit the inside of his cheek. "So you're saying it's inevitable."
[Correct. Betrayal is not a possibility. It is a certainty.]
The System's cold finality cut deeper than Kuro's venom had.
He looked at his team kana walking ahead with a bow in hand, Rai scanning every shadow with those sharp, storm-colored eyes. For now, they were allies. They had fought side by side, saved each other's lives.
But in this labyrinth, "for now" was all that mattered.
The grinding of stone shifted again, the corridor splitting into three new paths that reeked of dampness and smoke. The walls seemed to breathe around them, waiting for a choice.
Kana didn't hesitate. "Left."
Rai nodded. "Agreed."
Haruki followed silently, but his thoughts churned. Kuro was waiting somewhere in the dark. The labyrinth itself wanted to tear them apart. And his own teammates no matter how much he wanted to believe in them might someday turn on him.
Still, as his gauntlets pulsed with quiet light, he clenched his fists.
If betrayal is inevitable… then I'll just have to be strong enough to survive it.
The darkness closed around them as they pressed deeper into the maze.
And somewhere deep inside Haruki's chest, the System stirred with a whisper that wasn't cold or mocking this time just final.
[Warning: The true trial begins now.]