“I didn't understand anything...” Said Icx with a solemn face.

Erza kindly said, “Listen first, it's not finished.”

As if hearing his words, the voice indeed continued.

“In the game of Golden Maze of Solomon, each player has three different labyrinths connected. Player Erza's destination is the center of the first labyrinth. Player Silas’ destination is to reach the center of the second labyrinth. Player Icx's destination is to reach the center of the third labyrinth.”

“Three players have three different starting paths.” It paused, “After entering their designated labyrinth, players are free to choose on which path to take. Choose and think which way would lead to their own correct destination.”

“After reaching the end of each labyrinth, each player would be served by a question they needed to answer carefully depending on the question's requirements.”

An item resembling a huge bell appeared on top of their heads.

“The game provided each player ‘The bells of meeting.’ One person who will ring this bell would be able to summon the two other people to their own labyrinth, this is the only chance where other players are allowed to enter someone else’s labyrinth. An hour would be given to the two players to try and help the player who had rang the bell. After an hour, the two players summoned would be transported back to their own chosen labyrinth.”

“A labyrinth is to relax one's mind; however each labyrinth consists of riddles to be able to clear your path. Answering the mini riddles wrong would hinder your situation. Players, it is advised for everyone to be careful!”

“These are the rules of the game each player should follow carefully. One, violence towards your teammate is prohibited in this screening.”

“Two, any means could be done to answer the questions and riddles.”

“Three, each player is required to finish the Minor Screening for a maximum of one week.”

“Four, in one week, each player's turn to ring the ‘bell of meeting’ is only one. In one full week, a meeting could be held only three times.”

“Five, once a player realizes that they entered the wrong labyrinth they are free to go at the starting point. However, before being able to enter the next labyrinth, the former player inside must exit first before letting the second player enter. Only one player at a time can enter one labyrinth unless the ‘Bell of Meeting’ was rang. Attention, please do not enter the Labyrinth assigned to another player together or this player will be disqualified.”

「“Each player who reached the center of the maze, after going ritually through it, after ‘dancing’ in the way of an intuitive open-mindedness to natural laws and harmonies, which they maybe won’t understand, but feel inside of them, they will feel united, and it will be the best test of truth.”」

“Players, work hard to not die in vain!”

Two more paths opened from left and right, signaling for the players to choose. Luckily, the time for deciding where they should go wasn't limited to hours. They can spend the whole week trying to figure out how they should solve this maze.

Erza started, “We don't know which of these labyrinths were the first, second, and third. I don't think there was a clue given on what the order was.” The man talked, openly letting them listen. “There are many combos of one, two, three by rearranging it. We won't have enough time to try it all out.”

Icx nodded, “We're unsure of how much time each of us would solve one riddle and reach the center to confirm that our labyrinth was wrong. It said that Sir Erza should enter the first labyrinth, Miss Silas should enter the second labyrinth, as I would enter the third labyrinth.” The woman, after hearing that violence against their teammates is prohibited, slowly relaxed, “We don't have anything to connect us to each other—other than the meeting bell. We should use this wisely.”

The taller male approved of this statement, “The waiting time after the wrong order would be dependent on our speed. The labyrinth only has one way until it takes you to the center, however the voice mentioned that from time to time, mini riddles would appear. After placing the wrong answer the ‘hinder-your-situation’ reminder must mean a punishment will occur.”

Erza placed a hand at his chin observing the youngsters, “Silas and you are injured, as much as possible, think hard before answering anything.”

The other woman eagerly nodded at this, mentally noting.

On the other hand, Hesychia didn't say anything nor gave her response to these soft reminders. Her face was still, as if no emotions seeped through her skin. Erza only smiled at her uncooperative stance and continued, “Given these conditions, if one of us is wrong there's 2/3 more choices for the other to pick from.”

Icx, “If we're lucky enough to let one person find their position, if both two people were wrong as an example. Switching places would do the trick.”

Erza inquired the silent woman, “Silas, do you have any suggestions?”

“What's the condition of determining whether you entered the wrong labyrinth?” Hesychia gave them a look, “None was stated that you're supposed to realize that the labyrinth you entered was wrong only if you reached the center.”

Erza was quickly caught up to Hesychia's train of thoughts, agreeing. “Well, that's not wrong.” He placed a hand on the wall, feeling the material. The man knocked on it a few times before saying, “If Silas’ observations are correct, we can realize that the labyrinth we entered was the wrong one before we could reach the center. It might be connected to the riddle or questions inside.”

Icx tried to ask, “Then, you're saying that the question is connected to the designated player who's supposed to enter that specific labyrinth?”

Erza gave a nod, “Indeed. For now, we're only just speculating. What lies inside is still unknown of course, and if the Golden Maze of Solomon is indeed like that... determining if you've entered the wrong path should be as easy as breathing.”

“These Labyrinths have different conditions for each question and riddles.” The short-haired woman, Hesychia, said suppressing the cough she wanted to let out. “Meaning, these three labyrinths will either show questions regarding the player itself or let the players guess a random riddle. The conditions would probably be: answer it truthfully, use your elbow to write the solution, do a dance before answering, answer loudly using your fart or anything that can be counted as a requirement.”

Erza gave a laugh, “Silas, I don't think a fart can say your answer.”

“As I said,” Hesychia gave him a sarcastic smile, “...expect the unexpected.That was only an example.”

“Then shall we enter randomly first and meet back here?” Icx suggested fusing out the tense atmosphere, “By doing this we can brainstorm again about the questions we'll encounter and would give us a more specific view of the labyrinth.”

“As a precaution, the moment you've encountered a question or a riddle you can't answer, immediately fall back. Don't use the bell to call for help. For now, save it for an extremely important case.” Hesychia warned as the male at her left side answered, “Let's try the order from left to right. I'll enter from the left, Silas to center, Icx to right. That's pretty reasonable, am I right?”

“Yes, true.” Icx walked to her right and asked, “These doors won't let a second person enter but the first person can go in and out to surrender or continue… Right?”

Erza, “Mhm.”

“Well then, see you two later.” Icx was the first one to enter the place without much hesitation, disappearing from their sight.

Erza walked to his left and said, “Goodluck to you.”

The man also walked to the path, his silhouette fading in seconds. At the starting point, the only one left was Hesychia, her eyes intently staring at the bell at her hand. “No one also said that you can't analyze the right order from this spot...” She mused, “Though, experiencing the inside myself would also be a more effective observation method.”

It was night when Hesychia entered, but the short-haired woman felt that her energy wouldn't shut down for a few or so hours. She started pondering on some things she wasn't able to.

「Erza. Kind looking, patience is high although I kept provoking him, and didn't want to scare us. Smiles a lot. Leads the conversation and strategy.」

「Icx. Curious, a bit shy and cautious but cooperative. Doesn't waste any second to voice out her thoughts and questions.」

“If the Maze belongs to Solomon, would the question be about the bible?” Hesychia stepped forward, rubbing her earrings again,  “I hope not.”