The moment Eokimo crossed the gate—
The world twisted.
Not visually.
Not completely.
It felt more like reality folded around him for a second.
His stomach lurched violently.
Then the ground returned beneath his feet.
Cold stone.
Wet air.
Darkness.
Eokimo stumbled forward immediately.
"…I hate teleportation."
His voice echoed strangely through the corridor.
No answer came back.
Eokimo froze.
The others were gone.
The corridor stretched endlessly in both directions, illuminated only by faint blue cracks running through the walls.
Water dripped somewhere in the distance.
The air smelled ancient.
Like dust and rain trapped underground for centuries.
Eokimo looked around carefully.
"Rye?"
Nothing.
"Dagan?"
Silence.
"…Okay. Awesome."
The system window appeared.
[Labyrinth Hunt Has Begun]
Primary Objective: Reach the Core.
Current Participants Remaining: 67
Eokimo blinked.
"…Sixty-seven?!"
That was way more candidates than he expected.
Another line appeared.
Warning: Labyrinth separation active.
Group synchronization unavailable.
Eokimo rubbed his forehead.
"So the maze really splits everyone apart."
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Then something in his pocket began glowing faintly.
The Safe Marker.
Eokimo pulled out the small metal tag the tavern keeper had given him earlier.
The symbol on it pulsed softly blue.
At least it still worked.
For now.
He started walking carefully through the corridor.
Every footstep echoed too loudly.
The maze walls weren't smooth stone like he expected.
They looked… layered.
As if multiple walls had melted together over time.
Some sections even carried scratches.
Deep ones.
Not human.
Eokimo slowed slightly.
"…Nope."
A distant scream echoed somewhere far away in the labyrinth.
Then silence again.
Eokimo immediately walked faster.
"Definitely nope."
The corridor eventually split into three separate paths.
Left.
Right.
Forward.
No signs.
No clues.
Eokimo stared at them.
"…This is where people die in horror movies."
His eyes moved toward the left tunnel first.
Cold air drifted from it.
The right tunnel smelled damp.
The forward path—
He frowned.
"…Wait."
There were footprints there.
Fresh ones.
Eokimo crouched carefully.
Several sets.
Some boot prints.
One looked dragged.
And near the edge of the stone—
Blood.
Not much.
But enough.
The system suddenly flickered.
[Hidden Event Nearby]
Eokimo immediately stood up.
"…Absolutely not."
Before he could back away—
CLANG.
A metallic sound echoed behind him.
He spun around instantly.
The corridor he came from—
Was gone.
Solid wall.
Eokimo stared.
"…No."
He ran toward it immediately, pressing his hands against the stone.
Nothing.
No opening.
No gate.
Just cold rock.
The maze had changed.
A low growl echoed somewhere deeper ahead.
Eokimo slowly turned back toward the three tunnels.
"…You know what?"
He sighed shakily.
"I miss the safe zone already."
Then—
Footsteps.
Not his.
Someone was approaching from the forward tunnel.
Slow.
Steady.
Eokimo backed up immediately.
The blue cracks along the walls flickered faintly.
A figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
Tall.
Calm.
Familiar.
Ashen stepped into view.
Of course it was Ashen.
The system reacted instantly.
[Linked Candidate Detected]
Bonus Evaluation Condition Progressed.
Ashen glanced at the blood on the floor.
Then at Eokimo.
"…You got separated too."
Eokimo stared at him for a few seconds.
Then sighed deeply.
"At this point I think the system is doing this on purpose."