The growl echoed through the entire plaza.
Low.
Deep.
Wrong.
It didn't sound like an animal.
It sounded too heavy for that.
The trembling beneath the ground stopped a few seconds later, but the silence afterward felt even worse.
Nobody spoke.
Even the noisy candidates near the equipment stalls had gone pale.
Eokimo stared at the labyrinth gate.
"…Please tell me that's normal."
"Nope," Rye answered immediately.
"Fantastic."
The glowing surface inside the gate rippled again.
This time the darkness within it shifted slightly.
Like something massive had moved far away inside the labyrinth itself.
Several candidates immediately backed away.
One man muttered under his breath.
"I knew this evaluation was cursed…"
Another candidate grabbed their bag and started leaving the plaza entirely.
Dagan noticed.
"They're withdrawing."
Eokimo looked at him.
"You can do that?"
"For normal trials."
"…And for this one?"
Rye's expression turned flat.
"The gate already locked onto participants."
Almost on cue—
System windows appeared across the plaza.
Not just for Eokimo.
For everyone.
[Labyrinth Hunt Participants Confirmed]
Candidate count finalized.
Withdrawal unavailable.
Trial begins in:
00:30:00
The entire safe zone exploded into panic.
"What?!"
"You said we still had hours!"
"That's impossible!"
"THE COUNTDOWN CHANGED?!"
Candidates immediately rushed toward the gate, toward the pillar, toward literally anything that looked useful.
Eokimo blinked.
"…Okay, now even I'm panicking."
Lira stood up instantly now, all laziness gone from her face.
"That's bad."
Sen folded the map immediately.
"The system accelerated the start."
"Because of the Bonus Evaluation?" Eokimo asked.
"Yes."
Ashen's gaze remained fixed on the gate.
"The system wants unpredictability."
Eokimo stared at him.
"You say horrifying things way too calmly."
The safe zone alarms suddenly rang out.
A deep metallic sound echoed across the plaza.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
The giant stone pillar at the center of the safe zone lit up with red symbols.
Then another message appeared.
[Emergency Trial Condition Added]
Labyrinth Instability Detected.
Survival Priority Increased.
Additional rewards available for surviving hidden encounters.
Eokimo immediately pointed upward.
"See, THAT. THAT sounds like a death trap."
Rye grabbed his arm suddenly.
"Focus."
His voice had changed.
More serious now.
"No matter what happens inside the labyrinth, don't separate from the group."
Eokimo frowned.
"…That sounds very specific."
"Because the maze isolates people."
Sen added quietly:
"And isolated candidates die first."
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
The old tavern keeper approached again carrying a wooden box.
Inside were several small crystal lanterns glowing faintly blue.
"Take one."
Dagan grabbed one immediately.
Eokimo picked his up carefully.
"What does it do?"
"Labyrinth light."
The old man's expression had become unusually grim now.
"It reacts to distorted zones."
"…Distorted zones?"
The old man looked toward the gate.
"Areas where the maze changes improperly."
Eokimo almost laughed from disbelief.
"There are proper maze changes?!"
Nobody answered.
That was answer enough.
Ashen suddenly stepped closer to Eokimo again.
"Stay alert once we enter."
Eokimo narrowed his eyes.
"You keep saying things like we're teammates."
Ashen looked at him quietly for a moment.
Then:
"I'm trying to prevent the worst outcome."
Before Eokimo could ask what that meant—
The gate roared.
Not metaphorically.
Actually roared.
The entire glowing structure burst with light as symbols spread across the stone frame.
The darkness inside expanded violently.
Several candidates stumbled backward.
One woman screamed.
The system message appeared above the plaza in massive glowing letters.
[Labyrinth Hunt Beginning]
[Primary Objective: Reach the Core]
[Secondary Objective: Survive]
[Hidden Objectives: ???]
The safe zone barrier behind them sealed instantly with a thunderous sound.
BOOM.
Eokimo turned sharply.
The invisible wall surrounding the safe zone had turned solid black.
No exits.
No escape.
The gate pulsed one final time.
Then a voice echoed from inside the labyrinth.
Not the system.
Something else.
Something ancient.
"ENTER."
And one by one—
The candidates began walking into the darkness.