In a Civilized Manner

“Now, please put on the mask.”

Moss’s words hung in the air, silence spreading as they awaited the collective acceptance.

Glancing over his shoulders, Edris felt the wooden mask with his fingertips. Not only him, but the other players also stirred in place, obviously hesitant to heed the strange request. Who knew what would happen if they were to put on something like this in the Labyrinth?

As if expecting the reaction, Moss only stood still. Instead, the Shadows lined up on each side of the auditorium and loomed about, seemingly in anticipation. From their restless jitters, Edris wouldn’t be surprised if they had pounced right at those without a mask in the next second.

Slowly, students put on their masks, one by one. The act was almost ritualistic, the rustle of fabric filling the room.

With a subtle sigh, he raised it over his face and pressed forward. As the mask made contact with his skin, the birch tone morphed into the colour of his skin. Although there were no clasps or strings to secure its position, the mask somehow ended up fitting perfectly on top of his skin, almost moulding into his existing features.

Edris blinked. It felt as if he wasn’t wearing a mask at all.

When the final mask was donned, Moss stepped back with a brisk nod, apparently satisfied.

“Now,” he continued, “you have ample freedom to explore the campus until curfew. However…”

Just as the students were preparing to disperse, he stopped them again. His voice shifted into something more serious, his eyes narrowing behind those golden frames.

“There have been reports of suspicious figures roaming the campus lately. If you see anything unusual, report it to the professors immediately. Remember to return to your rooms by 10:30 PM. The school cannot take responsibility for what happens after curfew.”

Edris glanced at the clock—9:45 PM.

As the students finally began to scatter, Edris and Ace moved with the flow of the crowd.

The next moment, his eyes caught sight of Owein from across the hall. Although the man was wearing a mask like the others, Edris could immediately tell by the knitted scarf that wrapped tightly around his neck, likely to cover up the scar.

Although they all wore the maroon uniform, each student seemed to retain some aspect of their appearance back in the real world. Edris still had his Calvest gloves, which now functioned no different from your average leather gloves.

As for Ace, thick bandages wrapped tightly around his forearms, covered up by the blazer sleeves. They had been “protective gears” which he used back in the real world during training, though Edris always doubted how helpful they actually were in terms of alleviating damage (in fact, he suspected that Ace had put them on to seem cool, but obviously he didn’t tell him that).

As he peered across the auditorium, Owein also happened to glance their way, only to have widened eyes that mirrored his own—a mixture of surprise and recognition.

Given his “curse” as a Lucid Clan member, Owein was required to enter every Labyrinth pull. However, he probably hadn’t expected to see him and Ace here as well.

“You…” Owein entered a frown as he approached closer. “You didn’t evacuate like the others?”

“...Long story.” Edris shrugged a smile, ignoring Ace’s sideglance.

The atmosphere in the hallway was unsettling as the three made their way toward the dorms. The familiar maroon building design, which once felt like an ordinary part of campus life, now seemed haunted.

Everyone around them wore the same mask, their uniforms identical, making it difficult to distinguish one student from another. The only clues to their identity were their body shapes, hair colour, and occasional murmurs of voices.

Edris walked cautiously, glancing around at the masked figures as he found himself incessantly searching for someone.

Someone who shouldn’t be here.

He scanned each masked figure for a glimpse of green hair, but saw none.

Owein caught Edris’s distracted look.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice low.

Edris shook his head, brushing off his suspicions. “It’s nothing.”

As fourth-year students, they each had single rooms, all located on the sixth floor. Fortunately, their rooms were close to each other: Edris was in Room 606, and Owein and Ace were nearby. They gathered in Edris’s room to discuss the situation.

The weight of their predicament pressed heavily on the room. Owein leaned against the door, arms crossed, while Ace stood by the window, his sharp gaze scanning the darkened campus below.

“This Labyrinth is different,” Owein said, his voice low but steady. As someone with a rich experience in past Labrinths, the man’s words were good enough to indicate something abnormal this time around.

After Moss’s speech, a list of rules had surfaced in the corner of the players’ [PROFILE]. This time, it had considerably shortened. Over half of the regulations from the last Labyrinth had been taken off, made purposely visible from the cross-outs.

LABYRINTH #53: RULES & REGULATIONS (UPDATED)

[1] Cheating in any form of academic evaluation is strictly prohibited! If you are caught cheating once, you will enter [DETENTION] for a day; if you are caught cheating again, your parents will be notified of your misconduct; if you are caught cheating for the third time, MW Academy will be taking justified countermeasures.

[2] Students must wear their uniforms masks at all times, except in locations designated as a [GREEN ZONE].

[3] Any usage of individual talents—including but not limited to mana manipulation—outside the given settings of Labyrinth 53 is prohibited at all times except during [GRADUATION].

[4] Romantic relationships are prohibited between MW students! If you are caught engaging in such distracting behaviour, your parents will be notified immediately.

[5] Life is valuable! As MW Academy hopes to cultivate a loving environment, please only allow MW students to enter onto campus. In the case of any suspicious figures, notify a professor immediately.

“Labyrinth settings never repeat itself. Yet this time, we’re back at the same Labyrinth as the last pull,” Owein said. “And more, the foundational setup has changed. The Labyrinth’s structure is looser, more chaotic. And that means more danger.”

Edris nodded, processing the implications. The clear rules that had governed their previous experience in the Labyrinth had vanished. Now, everyone had the same quest: survive the next three days.

"Survival will only be harder, huh."

“Survival against what?” Ace asked, breaking his silence. His tone was flat, but the sharpness in his gaze was evident.

Owein slowly breathed out. “That’s the question. But whatever it is, we’ll likely find out soon enough.

“Unfortunately, I doubt it’ll be anything good.”

The air in the room seemed to grow heavier.

“Whatever happens, don’t break curfew,” Owein continued. “The Labyrinth’s emphasis on staying inside after 10:30 PM is deliberate. We can’t take that warning lightly, not in this Labyrinth.”

Edris nodded, rising to his feet. “Let’s get through tonight, then.” He paused as Owein moved toward the door. “And stop being so ominous, Owein. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Owein gave him a small nod before slipping out. “Sure hope so.”

Ace, who had remained by the window, turned to face Edris. His dark eyes were deep with intensity. “Who were you looking for earlier?”

Edris hesitated. He knew the man had seen him leave the teleportation circle before the last round activated. And now, they were both back in the Labyrinth. Edris realised it was his fault Ace had been dragged here. Their contract—bound by the link with mana—had sealed their fates together.

He sighed in resignation, looking out into the desolate campus hills.

“I saw someone…” He said slowly. “Someone who shouldn’t have been there. I just wanted to make sure.”

Ace remained silent, his gaze unwavering.

“…Sorry about this." Edris sighed softly.

"…"

Ace peered at him with dark eyes.

“This isn’t like you.”

The white-haired man said nothing more, but the sternness in his gaze loosened ever so slightly before he turned and walked toward the balcony. Without a word, he vaulted over the railing, landing silently on his own balcony next door.

As Ace went, his parting words hung in the air. “Don’t die.”

The room fell silent. Edris pulled off his mask, set it down on the desk, and stared at the Sacrificial Hourglass that hung at his neck. He held it up to the moonlight streaming in from the window, watching the sand shift as it glowed faintly in the pale light.

His thoughts churned as he sat on the edge of his bed. The candle on his bedside table flickered in the breeze, then, without warning, went out completely. Edris’s eyes snapped to the clock above the doorframe.

10:30 PM.

Curfew had begun.

The campus plunged into complete darkness and, along with it, utter stillness. The only light came from the blood-red moon filtering through the window, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

Edris sat on his bed, the familiar weight of the Sacrificial Hourglass resting in his hand.

It was then he heard it—a hum.

Soft, almost inaudible at first, but it grew louder, wrapping itself around the silence like a creeping vine. He lifted his head, brows furrowing as he tried to make out the sound more clearly.

When he did, his blood ran cold.

Edris stiffened, his heart skipping a beat. It was unmistakable, a voice he hadn’t heard outside of dreams in years.

The hum turned into a faint whisper, drifting closer with every passing second. Edris’s pulse quickened, his mind racing. Rationally, he knew it couldn’t be her. Yet the voice was so familiar, so painfully clear.

It stopped right at his door, the muffled sound of breathing on the other side.

A shiver ran down Edris’s spine as the voice, gentle and familiar, called out through the wood.

“Edris...”

It was Roos—at least, it sounded exactly like her. The woman’s usual carefree tone was gone, replaced by something fragile, nasally, like she’d been crying.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she continued, gentle yet filled with regret. “I’m sorry... for what I did. Please, open the door.”

The words pounded against Edris’s eardrums, flooding his mind and drowning out everything else around him. An indescribable anxiety surged within him, tightening his chest. His breath hitched, and before he knew it, his body moved of its own accord.

His feet hit the cold floor, and his trembling hand found the doorknob. His fingers wrapped around the handle, gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Something isn’t right.

His pulse thundered in his ears, mind tugging at him to stop, to pull away. But the voice was so real, so close. His hand shook as the pleading voice echoed in his mind, clearer than ever.

“Open the door, Edris... please.”

Edris’s heart clenched at the thought of the woman standing just on the other side. He hadn’t seen her in so long, hadn’t heard that voice in years—years he wasn’t even sure were real.

But then, in the midst of his haze, he stopped amidst a single thought:

Roos would never apologise.

The thought cut through the fog, bashed him like a splash of cold water. He stopped, fingers still hovering over the handle.

His eyes darted to his [PROFILE], and sure enough, his [AFFINITY] had dropped to 85.

Whatever was outside the door, it wasn’t her. Edris narrowed his eyes. The Labyrinth had changed the game; this thing, whatever it was, had become the biggest threat to his sanity.

The voice outside grew more frantic, the words now tinged with desperation.

“Edris, open up!” The door shook, and a loud rattling reverberated through the room. The voice, still Roos’s but twisted, had distorted into an eerie wail. “Please! Let me in!”

Edris frowned deeply. The voice was becoming unhinged, desperate.

His chest tightened with each disturbing note pleading on the outside. Despite his internal rationality, the sound still clawed at his nerves, scraping at the edge of his reason. He felt a flood of annoyance, knowing that using that voice had been a tactic to toy with him.

Without a second thought, he fumbled through his drawer and found a pair of earplugs. Shoving them into his ears, the voice faded into a dull murmur, then silence. The door stopped shaking, the room returning to its eerie calm.

But Edris couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever had been out there wasn’t gone. He took a cautious step toward the door, the floorboards creaking under his weight. He hesitated, his pulse pounding in his ears, then leaned forward and pressed his eye to the peephole.

His breath caught in his throat.

On the other side of the door, staring directly back at him, was his own eye.