The trap chamber fell into silence after what Xia had said.

Ten players remained inside the circular stone room. Seven more openings stood along the walls, each shaped like a narrow archway carved into the rock.

They looked identical from a distance, dark gaps in the wall with faint shadows pooled inside them.

All which Xia claimed they were all fake. She didn’t move toward any of them.

Standing near the center with her arms folded, her gaze shifted slowly from one opening to the next. Nose wrinkled as she inhaled.

"These aren’t real doors," she said again.

All the players turned toward her.

"They’re fake. Something here is pushing a feeling into our heads," Xia continued, tapping the side of her temple with one finger. "Look at them. They’re not even built like the first locked door."

One of the remaining players took a hesitant step toward the closest opening.

"Stop!" snapped a man named Drew, grabbing the back of the man’s collar and yanking him away from the wall.

Standing beside him was Keres, planting his hand against another player’s chest and forcing him back. "Didn’t you just listen to what purple hair pretty lady just said? Don’t walk in."

The room held eleven players only minutes ago. Now there were ten.

Xia pointed across the chamber, away from where Olive stood.

"That one," she said. "I can smell honey from it. Strong and sweet. It keeps pulling me toward it." She glanced sideways and shrugged one shoulder. "I like honey. So that checks out."

Then she turned toward Olive.

"You were about to walk into one earlier. Which door?"

Olive stared at the wall for a moment before raising his arm and pointing.

"This one," he replied. "I keep getting the feeling it’s the correct choice."

Xia followed his finger.

Her nose wrinkled again.

"I feel the opposite. That one smells fucking disgusting to me. Like rotten fish."

Flinching, Olive jerked away from it.

He turned and looked at the eight other players left in the chamber. "Everyone. Which door feels right to you?"

The group hesitated.

One man slowly pointed toward a different opening.

Another pointed somewhere else.

Peter, another man, stood with his arms crossed, watching the walls carefully without speaking. He leaned slightly forward, scanning each player’s movement.

Then a quiet voice began murmuring near the back of the room.

"It smells sweet... really sweet..."

The others turned.

One of the players had begun walking.

His eyes were unfocused. His steps dragged across the stone floor while he moved straight toward the opening Xia had pointed at earlier.

"It’s sweet," he whispered again. "So sweet..."

"Hey!" Drew barked.

Keres lunged forward and grabbed for the man’s arm. But he missed, fingers brushing the empty air between them.

The man crossed the threshold.

Snap!

The opening slammed shut, crushing the man.

Blood spilled out through the thin gap at the bottom of the wall and spread across the stone floor.

Nobody spoke. Fear spiked among them.

Ding!

[Current Players in the trap room: 9]

[27 coins forfeited.]

Releasing a long breath through her nose, Xia took another step back. A metal bat appeared in her hand.

Rolling her wrist once, she rested the end of the bat against the floor.

"I’ll take a gamble," she announced.

Everyone looked at her.

"These ’doors’ aren’t doors at all. It’s a beast." She tapped the wall lightly with the bat. And something churned. "A high-tier one. Each opening is just its mouth pulling us in."

Ding!

A glowing runic panel appeared in the air.

[Would you like to make your bet on this Claim?]

Xia tilted her head slightly as she read it.

Her eyes moved across the glowing text.

"So that’s the trick," she murmured. "Every decision costs stakes."

The others stayed silent.

"If the claim is right, the game pays out," she continued. "If it’s wrong, it drains your coins."

She looked back at the wall.

One of those things had just swallowed a man whole.

Raising her voice, eyes dilated, she answered, "That’s how you play, huh? Fine.I bet twenty stakes."

She slammed the bat once against the floor.

"That’s a beast. Not a damn door."

Ding! Ding!

[Correct!]

[Oh how clever you are!]

[You have won 20 additional Stakes!]

Suddenly, the ground trembled.Every opening in the wall snapped shut at the same time. Stone shifted above their heads as cracks raced across the chamber walls. Dust rained down.

As the ground shook even more, some players staggered backward.

"What did you do?!" Peter shouted. "You triggered something!" He grabbed her arm. "The whole room is shaking because of your bet!"

Xia jerked her arm free and gave him a flat look.

"Saved your ass, that’s what!"

The shaking intensified. Chunks of rock fell from the ceiling.

Fei Ming stood near the back of the chamber without moving. He had not spoken once. When Xia said one door repulsed her, he noticed something.

To him, every door felt wrong. A harsh whisper scraped across his ears.

"You were the reason I died."

"You killed me."

"You let me die."

"No wonder the heavens rejected you."

Flicking his ear, his expression remained blank.

None of that mattered to him no more. He’d kill even millions to reach his goal.

As stone exploded outward, the center of the chamber collapsed.

A massive shape burst up from beneath the floor.

The creature rose on thick limbs made of rough stone. Its body was swollen and uneven, covered in dozens of circular openings that pulsed and flexed across its surface.

Each hole opened and closed slowly, wet sounds echoing from inside them.

The runic board appeared above its head.

[Fight the beast to win this mini-game.]

[Or get squished!]

[Time Remaining: 00:06:45]

"Six minutes?!" someone shouted.

Fei Ming’s blade appeared in his hand.

Keres summoned his weapon beside him.

The creature lifted one massive limb and slammed it into the ground. Stone shattered outward as it charged toward the group.

Then—

CRACK.

The beast froze.

A fracture spread across its body.

Fei Ming followed the crack downward.

Standing beneath the creature was the pale lady holding an umbrella.

Misfortune.

Her gloved hands pressed against the monster’s chest and another crack split across the stone.

The entire body collapsed into gray dust.

The pile hit the floor with a heavy rush of air, sending powder across the room.

Several players coughed.

Keres wiped his mouth and stared at her with bright eyes.

"Wow," he cooed. "She’s so cool. Go sis!"

Ding!

[Congratulations, Misfortune!]

[You have won 22 additional Stakes!]

Misfortune lowered her umbrella. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

She brushed ash from her hand and looked calmly at the group.

"I won," she said. Her cloudy blue eyes moved across the room. "Does that bother you?"

No one answered.

[Mini-game 1 completed.]

[The true door is unlocked.]

Across the chamber, the first sealed doorway slowly creaked open.

[You may take a short break.]

---

Far from the trap chamber, a low canvas tent stood alone at the edge of a quiet camp.

Dim red lanterns hung from the wooden poles inside. The glow shone through the interior in a dark crimson tone.

Along the walls, human skeletons had been arranged in rows. Some had been propped upright against the poles with their backs tied in place. Others were piled along the edges of the floor in loose stacks, ribs and limbs tangled together where they had been dumped.

The air mixed with the scent of dried blood.

At the center of the tent was an altar built entirely from bones. Long femurs formed the base frame while smaller bones had been stacked carefully along the surface.

A human skull rested at the very top, its hollow eye sockets facing outward toward the room and a long-haired man knelt before it.

Lu Yuan’s back remained straight as his palms pressed together in front of his chest. His head tilted slightly downward, eyes closed while he exhaled slowly.

Strands of his dark hair slipped over his shoulders and hung across the front of his robe.

"Ymir. Creator and destroyer of Earth. Hear my prayers," he prayed.

Many seconds passed.

Then Lu Yuan lowered his hands.

He rose from the floor in one smooth motion and turned away from the altar.

The lantern light slid across his face as he stepped toward the exit of the shrine tent and pushed through the hanging cloth.

Outside, the camp remained quiet.

He walked across the packed dirt toward the neighboring tent and stepped inside. The interior was smaller and mostly empty aside from a wooden crate, a narrow table, and a rack where several pieces of clothing hung.

Lu Yuan reached for the garments and began pulling them on, tightening the belt around his waist as he adjusted the fabric over his shoulders.

The entrance flap rustled behind him and a Krat soldier stepped inside.

The man stopped just two steps past the entrance and immediately lowered his head. His boots stayed planted near the doorway as if he were unsure how far he was allowed to move.

"Great Lu Yuan," the soldier began, his voice faltered halfway through the title.

Shifting his weight and rubbing his thumb against the seam of his glove, he continued.

"Shall I report to the second son where—"

Lu Yuan turned, maintaining a harsh gaze on the soldier.

The soldier froze mid-sentence.

His throat tightened visibly as his words cut off.

Swallowing hard, the soldier lowered his gaze to the floor, staring down at the dirt near Lu Yuan’s feet. A thin line of sweat had formed along his temple despite the cool air inside the tent.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Lu Yuan studied him in silence.

The soldier’s fingers curled stiffly at his sides. His shoulders had drawn tight without him realizing it.

After a while, Lu Yuan said, "Summon the infected soldiers to the ground."

His voice was calm, carrying no ounce of irritation nor annoyance.

Yet the soldier’s chest tightened anyway.

"Yes... yes, sir," the man answered quickly.

When Lu Yuan finished adjusting the sleeve of his robe, he looked at the krat soldier once more. "I have a mission to uphold. Summon the third son."