Mai was roused early in the morning by the cacophony of loud chatter, pots clanging against utensils, and the relentless sound of a knife chopping on a cutting board. A sharp ray of light pierced through, prompting a grumble from her as she pulled the blanket over her head and buried herself in the pillow. Just a little more.

"Now you can't sleep any longer, miss. We've been trying to wake you, but you slept like a log." said a young woman, poking her head into the tent and peering at Mai.

She opened the tent flap completely, revealing a scorching sun that had been eagerly awaiting its chance.

Mai sighed deeply, grunted again, and bit her lip.

"I'm coming now. Give me a moment." she said in a muffled voice from her pillow.

She wasn't a morning person and firmly believed that the blanket and pillow were among the best inventions in the world.

As she stretched, she noticed no pain in the lower part of her back, which surprised her, eliciting a smile.

"Even their tent mattresses work wonders. I could get used to this." she remarked, now looking forward to sleeping again.

Her hands still bore the white cloth Lind had wrapped around them.

She furrowed her brow and muttered, "What is he doing? I wonder where his group is now?"

During breakfast, Mai inquired about the logo of the golden fist and recounted some of her experiences from the previous day.

"It's the magistrate's logo from Labunagaan. They were after the core of the wyvern. They probably mistook you for a priestess because your dress smelled of spirits. It's lucky you weren't sacrificed." explained Liam, his gaze falling on her hands.

His words shocked Mai, causing her heart to skip a beat.

"So that's what the woman was hinting at." she mumbled, feeling incredibly fortunate that Lind had helped her escape.

She regretted not having more time together to get to know each other and sighed deeply.

It was a five-day journey to Korral, but it could be shortened by taking a detour through The Enchanted Maze.

They stood before a vast expanse of tall, dark green bushes, forming a hedge that stretched as far as the eye could see. The bushes were three meters tall and thick, impenetrable by anything. Occasionally, a sour and sweet scent wafted from the maze, accompanied by a loud rushing sound of water cascading over everything, resembling thunder. A thin white line of stones lay alongside the bushes, with white dust floating upward. At the top of the bushes, waves of black smoke floated up, evaporating into the air. The sour sweet smell suddenly stank horribly, now smelling rotten in Mai's nose. She furrowed her brows at the sight, wondering if the others could see the same as her.

"Master Kjeld, does this Enchanted Maze have a history?" she asked, attempting to comb through the bushes with her eyes, but giving up as it was impossible to see through them.

"Once, it was a dam for a king. The sound you hear is the water. Unfortunately, he angered a fairy, so she cursed him to live in the labyrinth for eternity. Even after death." Master Kjeld replied, suddenly producing many small vials of white elixirs, which he began distributing to them.

Mai only received one.

She studied the vial in the sunlight, seeing a transparent substance sparkling like stars, almost blinding her. It looked like mercury.

"What is this?" she asked, furrowing her brows.

"Holy Water. Use it only if you truly feel in danger." Master Kjeld replied, raising his hand, and gesturing with his fingers.

In response, the group immediately began to move, with the men positioning themselves in the middle alongside the horse-drawn wagons, while the women stood on the outside.

Master Kjeld looked at a woman with dark brown pageboy hair to her ears, freckled, and said, "Hilda, a maximum of 15 tattoos and no more."

He looked around at the other women and gave them orders, "Laila, keep yours hidden. Use it only when I say so."

"Emilie, 3 Speed, Freya, Karoline, Kamilla, you're all on purify. Karen, you just strike. Remember to use a maximum of 10. The rest of you focus on keeping the men protected. Find the locks quickly, but remember to conserve your energy. If we don't reach it before the sun reaches its zenith, we'll be trapped."

His words startled Mai, causing her to jump, feeling her heart crawl up her throat. She felt a very hard lump in her throat and swallowed something acidic.

"W-why have I only been given 1 Holy Water when everyone else has more than 20 on them?" she stammered nervously, feeling sweat embrace her hands.

Master Kjeld looked at her, raising his eyebrows and replied in a flat tone, "Why would the undead attack you? You're a woman."

His words made her very scared now, and she felt her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Women hate other women. There were also men who hated women. There were monsters that hated women. She bit her lip and nodded as she cast her gaze on the labyrinth. What lurks in there?

They began to walk quickly towards the entrance to the maze, and the sound of the wagon wheels creaked loudly, sending shivers down Mai's spine as she became aware of their surroundings.

"He said a king. Even after death." she mumbled and squeezed tightly the Holy Water in her right hand.

That means the king is alive.

As they stepped into the entrance, everything around them suddenly became dark, and there was a tingling sound from the sides and behind them. The bushes closed tightly, and there was a loud clicking sound. Suddenly, a white glowing path formed in front of them.

Master Kjeld made a gesture to the right, and they started walking into the darkness instead of the path.

"Isn't this a detour?" Mai asked in a low voice, feeling very nervous.

"Do you think the first choice is always the best?" Master Kjeld asked, smiling.

He approached Karen, who was leading the way, and nodded at her.

Karen clenched her fists together, and suddenly, red silent sparks erupted, and she muttered softly, "Absorption."

A small glow appeared on the left side of her neck, resembling a flower pattern. She broke away from the group and moved to the very front while clenching her fists together.

"Come to mama." she murmured.

Mai suddenly noticed that the other women also had flower patterns lighting up in different places on their bodies.

"Tattoos!" she exclaimed softly, and her heart beat faster.

Suddenly, there was a loud shrill scream echoing through the ground, and something heavy came running towards them. It rumbled loudly, and Karen ran to meet it head-on.