Sakura Hasegawa replied, “My sister didn’t want to betray the love. As a kunoichi, we get information through conversation, trade, and sexual activity. That’s why my sister doesn’t want to stay in a relationship with Kyosuke. For her, it was a betrayal.”

Murasaki Kubo asked, “Then, why Ye? Are you saying Asagi’s task is him?”

Sakura Hasegawa nodded, “Yes. Ye is my sister and my target. If she failed, I would be the one filling the place. Ye is a mysterious man. I can’t get close to him in shadow form. Even though we are on the outskirts.”

Murasaki Kubo frowned, “How is it possible? The environment of the outskirts is harsh. Air contains other impure particles. Many ruined buildings and landscapes are scattered here and there. It is a heaven for your shadow to sneak near him.”

Sakura Hasegawa nodded, “But it is what my sister and I have been facing. Ye know who have their gaze on him. My sister always used a look of affection to cover it up. However, Ye would always do the things that could benefit us. Not more specifically, my sister. Ye cares about my sister more than anyone.”

Murasaki Kubo raised her voice, “How are you so sure about it? I don’t believe it.”

Sakura Hasegawa, “After Ye appeared, everything that pointed to my sister has changed to Ye. He is outside of everyone's plan.”

Murasaki Kubo fell silent, while Sakura Hasegawa was deep in thought.

***

At the same time, Kotaro Fuuma and his team had returned to where the students gathered. The students were discussing their thoughts. Long Kai, who was silent, noticed them and approached.

Long Kai asked, “Kotaro, did Sir Ye have any suggestions?”

Kotaro Fuuma shook his head, “No. He gave the same remark as Yuan Zhu.”

Long Kai nodded and remained silent.

Kousuke Sato, who had listened and scorned, “What idea could he have?! I don’t believe he has a better experience than Yuan Zhu.”

Rinko Yamamoto comforted Kotaro, “What Sato meant was Yuan Zhu’s judgment should be right. It's not a totally bad thing, at least it has a direction.”

If Rinko Yamamoto had not stepped in, a fight would have occurred. Rinko Yamamoto was the sub-leader of this team. The leader was Long Kai, and this kind of thing should be his doing. However, Long Kai was a nerd who was immersed in training.

***

After three days of marching, they could see the entrance of the maze. Over the past three days, the students have had significant growth. What surprised Ye was that the students could use the refined method of using Yuan Li. The proficiency was not good, and they may not always be able to use it. However, achieving this result in three days was something Ye had never experienced.

‘So this is those with talent… No wonder… They were killed before they could bloom.’

That was what Ye thought upon seeing the result. A voice broke Ye’s thought, the voice of Asagi Hasegawa.

Asagi Hasegawa, “There are some people that we need to meet up with. While we are waiting for the meeting point, we will take the time to rest.”

Asagi Hasegawa left the group and went to have a private conversation with her bracelet. Sakura Hasegawa and Murasaki Kubo were staying with the group.  The students were resting, hoping to rejuvenate as much as possible. It was a golden opportunity for Ye. Ye released some shadows to be submerged under everyone. Then, Ye started manipulating his status.

Sakura Hasegawa approached Ye and asked, “How long does the manipulating effect last?”

Ye replied, “As long as there is Yuan Li in the area, it will work. Do you want to try? Verifying it is possible to enter the maze?”

Sakura Hasegawa nodded, “Sure.”

Sakura Hasegawa used her clone skill, letting it act as her. Then, Ye manipulated Sakura Hasegawa’s status. Sakura Hasegawa verified her status and headed to the entrance in shadow form.

Fifteen minutes had passed, and Asagi and Sakura Hasegawa had returned. Asagi Hasegawa announced the meeting point, which was within a five-minute walking distance. Sakura Hasegawa had an expression that wished to be praised. Since Sakura Hasegawa gave the information. The information was that she could enter the maze with Ye’s manipulation.

***

When they arrived at the meeting point, ten individuals were waiting for them.

A beauty wore red half-frame rectangular glasses. The glasses covered her green eyes and a mole under her left eye. She had long black hair and an earring in her right ear. She was not in her battlesuit. The clothing was a green knitted turtleneck shirt and a black tight mini-skirt. Along with cross-garter motif stockings. She also had a white coat similar to Qian Hui's. She was the most beautiful female in here. At the same time, she had a goddess vibe.

They were the first groups of other races that Ye and co met until now. Besides, Qian Li was human, the other instructor was a divine race, and a female student was a hybrid. The others were from the demon race. 

The beauty approached them, “Nice to meet you all. My name is Qian Li (千里). One of the instructors from the Magicular Academy.”

Asagi Hasegawa shook hands with her, “It’s my pleasure too. My name is Asagi Hasegawa. One of the instructors from WuShu Academy.”

Qian Li asked, “We will be having nineteen students in total. Five instructors and an additional helper. Should we separate into three groups?”

Asagi Hasegawa replied, “I think we can divide into more groups. And let each of us handle one group.”

Qian Li nodded, “Which means one group will have four members. Sure, I’m second to you.”

Since there was no other opinion, the students were forming groups. The group of three students was Rinko Yamamoto and Kotaro Fuuma. Rinko Yamamoto was teaming up with her brother, Tatsuro Yamamoto, and Yukikaze Mizuno. And Kotaro Fuuma was teaming up with Hebiko Nohara and Shikanusuke Raiden. The members were as expected for both of them. 

Ye was the instructor of Kotaro Fuuma’s group. To be precise, they were the only group that accepted Ye as an instructor.

Asagi Hasegawa was the instructor of Rinko Yamamoto’s group. Sakura Hasegawa was supervising Asuka Hasegawa, Kousuke Sato, and Ying. Murasaki Kubo was leading Long Kai, Ying, and Michael Simmon. He was a student from Magicular Academy. At first, you would think that he was using magic. However, he was from a knightly family. Which meant he was a magic knight.

Qian Li was the instructor of Rias Escarlata, Zhu Nai (朱乃), and Philip Phoenix. Rias Escarlata was the daughter of one of the demon kings in WuJi. Philip Phoenix was a normal demon who obtained a drop of Phoenix’s blood. After gaining the regeneration ability for their bloodline, their status skyrocketed.

The last instructor was called Adam William. He was a black, bulky, muscular man. He had an army haircut and was in an army battlesuit. He was leading the remaining students. 

However, Zhu Nai requested to switch to Ye’s team. She would like to let the female student in Adam William’s team fill the spot. The female student was called White Cathty. She was only comfortable with females and was afraid of strangers. Zhu Nai posted a question to the instructors. If only one team had a cross-member. Then, why did they need this collaboration in the first place? This question stunned the instructors.

After the incident, the team had been finalized. Ye manipulated the status for those levels higher than ten. Everyone was preparing to enter the maze. 

***

Upon entering the maze, they felt dizzy, and a voice sounded in their mind.

‘Welcome to the Land of Bliss. You can achieve any dream and desire. Find the statue and say the wish.’

Thanks to Sakura Hasegawa, they knew that this maze was similar to a game. Thus, no surprise for anyone.

The sky was the same as the WuJi, where the air was purified. The buildings were built with cement, concrete, and bricks. The buildings were arranged in a town-like manner. It gave the impression that humans inhabited here. However, the town was silent. They were unable to find a single being in this town. 

In common, the first town in a game should be an introduction. Nonetheless, they were giving no clue in this town. Additionally, the first town would normally be in a friendly environment. Based on the first notification, it should be a role-playing game vibe. Instead of a mysterious vibe, there were no people and no sound in the town. 

Based on those thoughts, Ye had a weird feeling. Even though he knew the maze was artificial. Ye couldn’t get the idea of building the maze. At the same time, Ye would like to figure out the mechanism behind the maze.