CHAPTER 46: THE MAZE HUNT.

Jayhan suddenly opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on a small futon inside the group’s tent.

Noises echoed from outside, so he knew there had to be a gathering just outside.

’I guess I’m back?’

Looking to the right and left sides of the tent, he couldn’t find Rockie anywhere.

All he could see was Kara, asleep on the same futon, but her back was turned to him.

Kara isn’t a morning person, so if she was asleep with all this racket outside, it had to be the next day.

’This is the third day, then.’

He sat up straight.

Jayhan realized he wasn’t wearing the same set of clothes he had on before he fell into the curse.

This time he had something different on: black suit trousers and a white shirt.

’Of course, she changed me while I was unconscious.’

Just as he wanted to stand to his feet—

"Are you going to keep falling asleep every time you use your blessing?"

That was Kara, though her back was still turned to him.

Turning his gaze toward her, he could already see that her eyes were open.

"Not often, only when I fall asleep."

"Every time you fall asleep?"

"After I use the blessing, yes."

No words were said right after.

Jayhan couldn’t tell what it was, but he knew Kara was upset about something.

The first thing that came to his mind was that she had gotten scared after Adonis and Seo brought him back to the camp.

"I’m sorry."

Kara froze.

"What are you apologizing for?"

Jayhan proceeded to scratch the back of his head, his eyes wandering to the side.

"For collapsing, I guess..."

"..."

Suddenly, Kara stood up, her dead eyes staring directly at Jayhan.

Frightened, Jayhan tried to look away quickly, only to have Kara grab him by the chin and tilt his face back.

"I know what happened between you and Seo."

Jayhan was shocked, as was evident from his face.

"...But I’m not mad about it."

That was even more shocking and unbelievable.

"You’re not?"

Kara strengthened her hold on his jaw.

"Doesn’t matter; if I say I’m not mad, then I’m not mad."

Jayhan nodded his head.

"Let me make one thing clear: if I catch you cheating on me with any other girl outside this group, then I’ll kill them myself, do you understand?"

Jayhan nodded his head again.

Although he couldn’t help but think, are Seo Yuna and Veronica the exception?

"Good, as long as you agree with that, don’t ask any questions regarding that more than you need to. Welcome home, darling."

She reached in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his back with her face pressed against his chest.

Even while he hugged her, he couldn’t help but worry about what she meant by that.

[Your understanding of the goddess Amastarus has increased.]

The screen glowed in front of him.

Before he could take a closer look, Kara leaned away from the hug, her face brightened with excitement.

"That reminds me, Veronica and I already upgraded our stats. And I got this from a side quest I picked up."

Reaching into her inventory, she pulled out an old brown paper, rolled up and tied with a red ribbon.

Kara then stretched it toward him.

"The system said it was supposed to be used to find some treasure, but I don’t care about it. I figured you would."

Jayhan took the paper from her.

’I have never seen this before, not even in the game.’

[Blank map: This item registers any location you are currently at and changes when you move to a new one.]

Jayhan couldn’t help but carry a weird, guilty expression on his face.

’If someone had this while I was selling the maps, it would have been over for the business.’

He loosened the ribbon around the brown paper and then opened it.

At first, the sheet was blank, and then eventually, it began to draw by itself.

Lines began to connect, forming roads, water, terrain, and even tiny buildings.

It didn’t take long for the entire plaza where Jayhan was to be presented on the once blank sheet.

’I didn’t see this item in the game, but this will undoubtedly be helpful in the fifth quest.’

Suddenly, in that moment, realization dawned on him.

He quickly raised his head to meet Kara’s gaze.

"Did you say you upgraded your stats already?"

Kara replied,

"Yeah, is something wrong?"

Jayhan turned his gaze toward the entrance of the tent, taking notice of the sun rays slipping in from the opening.

It couldn’t be.

There was no way Kara would successfully upgrade her stats, complete a side quest, and still be at the plaza while the sun was up.

Quickly pulling out his phone from his pocket, he checked the time.

9:39 am, Wed, 2027.

’It’s the next day.’

His eyes darted toward the screen at his side.

[Time remaining until the next quest: 3:03 mins.]

’Dammit! It’s the next day!’

Jayhan leaped from the futon and grabbed Kara’s arm.

"We need to move now!"

Kara was confused, but she knew better than to question when Jayhan gets like this.

So, she followed him, allowing herself to be dragged out of the tent.

As soon as he was outside, he saw Adonis and Veronica playing a game on the picnic mat.

Jayhan didn’t care and instead ran past them yelling,

"Quick! Head toward the front, hurry!"

Adonis could feel the seriousness in Jayhan’s voice but didn’t know why.

Not until he decided to take notice of the giant screen.

(Time left before the next quest: 2:03 mins.)

Not wasting any time, he grabbed Veronica and carried her on his shoulder, chasing after Jayhan as fast as he could.

Just like Kara, Veronica did not resist.

A few people who were standing at the side noticed the group running and didn’t think twice before they did the same.

If people like Jayhan’s squad could be running, there was no reason for them to stay behind.

Running as fast as he could, Jayhan had a serious look on his face, as if his life depended on getting to the front of the plaza.

’I need to run, come on.’

With a smooth leap, Jayhan finally stopped, Adonis doing the same right beside him.

People were behind him, scared and confused as to why they were running, but before they could get there—

(Time’s up!)

Green glowing walls grew from the ground, blocking everyone’s path.

Many people were on alert and began to pay more attention to the scenario.

The walls quickly blocked everyone’s way, creating a labyrinthine landscape with little room for movement.

People’s faces were marked with fear, anxiety, and panic as they realized the fifth quest was about to start.

At the very front of the maze was Jayhan and his group, standing right outside, their vision blocked by the giant walls.

"You once again used your intellect to do something shocking. What is this?" Adonis stared at the walls with total disbelief.

Jayhan didn’t need to give an answer, as the system took the opportunity to do so.

{The fifth quest has been issued by the Taskmaster.}

They all had their eyes on the sky.

{Main quest: A new world.

Description: Everyone will be thrown into a world at random, along with multiple other groups from different regions.

Requirements to complete this quest:

- Gather 10 Dila stones lost in your world with your leader alive.

- Each member of the group must have a total of 4 kills.

- Having more stones will qualify you for a massive reward.

Reward: 30,000 coins to be shared among members, and each member will receive a chance to battle for a title.

Penalty: The punishment is being eternally trapped in the world.

Note: Working together as a team is your best bet to survive your world.}

Everyone was confused, as nothing was said about the giant green walls before them.

Until—

{A side quest has been issued.}

{Side quest: Death maze.

Description: Get to the portal gate before the timer runs out, and don’t stand still for more than five seconds.

Reward: None.

Penalty: Death by body explosion.}

{Time remaining: 10:34 mins.}

Jayhan lowered his head.

’The fifth quest has begun.’

Behind him, a blue oval glowing gate appeared, pulsing with energy and life.

Since Jayhan and his group were right in front of the portal, all he needed to do was walk through it, and he would be saved from the penalty.

That wasn’t the same for the people who were still inside the green walls. Not only were they lost trying to find the exit, but they could not risk stopping, as it would lead to their death.

Since no one wanted to die, they began moving around endlessly in hopes of walking out of the exit.

Just like in the game.

And just like in the game, people began to do anything in order to survive.

That included killing.