Season 1. Chapter 64: Game II
Chapter: Rushing Currents and Slippery Trials — The Second Trial of the Labyrinth
The roar of the waterfall thundered behind them as the players emerged, one by one, soaked, panting, and wary. The rushing water hadn't just tested their bodies—it tested their minds. Loops. False ledges. Invisible trails. Only a few noticed the illusions; others made it through by brute strength or sheer teamwork.
Some had fallen multiple times—others recorded their progress using basic Systematic Guide entries, hoping for clues.
As the last of the players scrambled up the mossy slope at the top of the waterfall, a new sound emerged—a deep gurgling, like a giant exhaling underwater.
The forest above trembled.
Then… a faint flood began to seep out of the slope itself.
Water crept between the roots and rocks—not from the waterfall, but from some hidden reservoir in the cliffs. It glowed faintly with illusion-touched light. A mist law was in effect.
Then they saw it.
A row of wooden buckets—some cracked, some sturdy—scattered among the grass and wet moss. At least twenty buckets, but only seven players were standing close by.
A new rune shimmered into the air, written across the top of the forest canopy like an overhead sign:
> ❖ Labyrinth Trial #2: The Bucket of Burden
✦ Each player must grab a bucket.
✦ Some buckets leak.
✦ Some are haunted.
✦ Some carry illusions.
✦ Choose fast, or be caught by the rising flood.
✦ Be warned: the grass is slippery. Lose your grip, and you start back at the waterfall.
> "—Optional: work as a team... or not."
---
Instant chaos.
Players scrambled. Some fell.
The grass was a trap—slick like oil, as if the dew had a mind of its own.
One burly fighter lunged for a large iron-handled bucket, only to slip sideways and crash down the slope, sliding halfway back to the edge.
Another bard tried using her scarf to snag a bucket from afar—only for the bucket to burst into water and reveal itself to be an illusion.
Elowen, once again poised, stepped forward carefully. She crouched, examined the ground. Her moss-sensing Vita tuning guided her weight. She reached slowly for a wooden bucket with a carved sun on the side.
She whispered:
> "Vita responds to the carved ones. This one is real."
She lifted it. It felt balanced. Heavy—but not wet. A real container.
---
Nearby, Shura darted between grass blades like a ghost. She used her fox tail for balance and picked a tiny blue bucket. The moment she touched it, a swirl of water tried to escape—but her cleric seal glowed, holding it back.
> "It's a dark spell," she muttered. "But sealable."
---
The Moss-Hat Druid didn't move fast. He paused, picked a spot opposite where most people were running, knelt down… and used a sprig of green herbs to test the dew on the grass.
> "Illusion layer," he whispered.
Then calmly reached forward, and pulled a stone-colored bucket from beneath the illusion—a bucket that hadn't been visible a moment ago.
---
More players arrived. Some fought over buckets. Some tried to trade. Others slipped and fell again, caught in the comedic misery of magical wet moss.
One player, in panic, grabbed a shimmering gold bucket—only for it to burst into a flock of glowing birds and vanish.
Tu Cherry's voice echoed softly from a hidden speaker rune:
> "Oopsie~ That was just for show. Don't be greedy~"
---
The flood continued to rise, faint but unrelenting. By now, the slope was ankle-deep in glimmering water.
Time was running short.
The true rule, however, lay not in the buckets…
…but in the path once you grabbed one.
Because as soon as each bucket was lifted, a small illusionary doorway opened nearby—a trail only visible to the bucket holder. Some doors led forward. Some looped. One was a trap that led back to the beginning.
And only the bucket's nature could guide the player to the next leg of the Labyrinth.
---
As the last few players grabbed buckets, soaked and struggling not to fall, a faint echo moved through the woods.
A distant voice. Low, cold.
Zack.
Still distant. Still watching.
But always approaching.
Tu Cherry, watching from high above on a red-wooden branch, sipped a strawberry drink and smiled wickedly.
> "Round two was delightful. Let's see who makes it to round three…"
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Chapter: Caught in the Threads — The Watchful Eyes of the Labyrinth
The taiga winds picked up.
The once-glistening slope, now cluttered with footprints and scattered moss, began to hum faintly as the laws of the Labyrinth flexed in reaction to... disobedience.
Some players—desperate, clever, or just reckless—had decided to bypass the slow route.
While the others struggled over slick terrain, a few had already planned ahead:
Swiftness potions to race across the grass.
Sight enhancement elixirs brewed with owl-root and flare moss.
Even borrowed scrolls of minor clairvoyance—risky, expensive, and highly illegal in standard play.
But the goal was clear: find the real bucket fast, skip the illusion guessing game, and surge ahead in the race.
And it worked... for a moment.
---
One rogue-looking girl with bronze hair and camo sleeves dashed ahead, her boots glowing with swiftness sigils. She spotted a real bucket—green, reinforced, slightly glowing—and snatched it just as her potion vision faded.
She grinned. "Too easy."
But then—
Snap.
Like a spiderweb catching a fly, invisible threads burst up from the grass. They weren't seen, weren't heard, but felt—like cold steel winding around the ankles, locking motion mid-sprint.
> "Wha—!?"
She tumbled, legs bound.
The bucket hit the ground—and the moment it did, it shimmered, vanishing in a soft glowpop. Returned instantly back to the main bucket table in the mist.
From the trees…
Zack Erebus, leaning back against a thick pine, observed silently. The hood of his long black cloak fluttered slightly as the air cooled.
He didn't move.
He didn't even blink.
But with a subtle flick of his fingers, the threads had obeyed.
---
Another pair of cheaters—a pair of merchant-class travelers with glowing belts—had tried something similar, coating their boots in friction oil to negate the slippery grass. One used a scent sigil to detect real wood over illusion.
Smart.
But not smart enough.
Before they could even move past the second incline, Zack's threads whipped out again, twisting around their boots and yanking them back so hard their potions spilled across the forest floor.
> "Hey—what is this?!"
One shouted.
The bucket they had stolen disappeared, phasing out of existence like vapor.
---
Above in the canopy, Tu Cherry watched through a projection orb. Her red fur tail flicked with bemusement.
> "Oh dear. What a shame~ They almost got away with it."
Tu Orange blinked up at her. "Shouldn't we disqualify them?"
Cherry shook her head and sipped her berry drink.
> "Oh no, no. We want them to try. That's part of the game. Zack's the only penalty here."
Tu Lemon giggled. "So, they're not out...?"
> "Not at all. But they were warned." Cherry gestured toward the orb, where the threads faded, and the travelers were left breathless and stunned on the ground.
Above their heads, a glowing system warning hovered faintly:
---
⚠️ Warning:
Caught violating Labyrinth Protocols.
Bucket confiscated.
Threaded by the Enforcer.
Next infraction will result in Progress Reset.
"Cheat smarter."
---
Zack turned away from the tree quietly.
He said nothing.
He never did.
But his job was clear: watch, judge, and punish.
In the Labyrinth where cheating was required, only those clever enough to break the rules without being caught would make it to the next phase.
And Zack Erebus?
He never missed.