Master Kjeld had placed many small brown flat stones around the group in a neat circle, and the women were careful to protect the areas with their fronts. In the middle sat Master Kjeld, sketching with his quill on a piece of paper. When he finished his drawing, he placed the paper on one of the stones and struck it hard with his hammer, making it ring loudly. He kept his right hand on the paper and pulled out the drawing of a large rose, which floated in his hand. Removing the paper, he quickly placed the rose in the stone. A thick golden wave shot up into the air, outwards, and at that moment, the army of skeletons appeared. They screamed sharply, howling and hissing at the group as they attacked.

The group defended themselves as best they could with the last of the Holy Water they had, and the women took turns rotating with short breaks while the men tended to their wounds as best they could.

Mai gritted her teeth and felt useless.

Frustrated, she struck her fist against a skeleton's head and shouted, "Why can't you fight?"

"The skeletons are virgins buried alongside King Christian. If we touch them, we'll be infected." Liam replied from behind her, observing the situation as he had run out of Holy Water.

Master Kjeld had reached all 20 stones and stopped. He wiped the sweat from his brow, exhaled slowly, and began muttering a lot of words as he gripped his hammer with both hands.

"Gate 1!" he suddenly yelled, and the hammer glowed.

He slammed it hard into the stone, and a large golden beam shot up into the sky, hanging there.

He continued to the next stone and said, "Gate 2."

He struck the stone hard, emitting a loud clang. A large golden wave shot out to the sides, hitting many skeletons that disappeared upon its touch. The wave rushed upwards towards the sky and hung there like the previous one.

Master Kjeld moved to the next stone and repeated the same method. "Gate 3."

Mai furrowed her brow at the sight and counted the 20 stones, realizing it wouldn't be fast enough at that pace.

She bit her lip nervously and asked, "How many gates are there, Liam?"

"Master. My time is up!" Hilda suddenly shouted, kneeling with clenched fists in the grass, her breathing slow.

"There are 10." Liam immediately replied, looking at Master Kjeld who was in the process of opening the 5th gate.

"Gate 5." said Master Kjeld, and a golden sphere formed around each stone, enclosing them.

He continued to the next stone with very slow steps. He was drenched in sweat, his face was red, and his breath was slow as he clutched the hammer with trembling hands.

Suddenly, Freya screamed loudly, her scream muffled by an army of skeletons overwhelming her in a large pile.

Another woman screamed as she was drowned in a sea of skeletons, meeting the same fate as Freya.

As King Christian swung his scythe again after Hilda, Karen suddenly ran towards them, roaring loudly. Her gauntlets clashed with the scythe, and she gritted her teeth. King Christian gripped her throat with his left hand, blood splattering out. Her head was torn off, and a strong smell of blood spread in the maze. Hilda got Karen's remains on her, bathing in blood. She watched Karen's lifeless body being dumped in front of her, landing with a loud thud on the grass.

"Karen." she whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Heh. I told her or everyone. Now it's everyone. I'll save you for last." said King Christian, looking at Mai and winking flirtatiously. He suddenly licked his black teeth, sending shivers down her spine, and in response, she furrowed her brow.

More women's screams were drowned out by more incoming armies of skeletons, and they grew fewer with each passing second.

Mai struck and kicked out at more skeletons, feeling a terrible pain in her knuckles, but she endured the pain. She was tired, sweat running down her back.

She had been standing for over an hour, dreaming of a nice warm bath and a soft bed. It kept her going amidst the smell of blood, which had become stronger, mixed with a putrid stench.

When she saw three women screaming as something corroded their legs, it dawned on her that if all the women died, they were screwed. They wouldn't have been here if she hadn't asked for their help.

"It's my fault we're here," she mumbled, feeling a knot in her heart.

"Liam, how do you use a tattoo?" she asked, looking at him as she struck out at a skeleton backing away and rushing towards the woman beside Mai.

"You draw, pull it out with your energy, and place it on something." Liam replied immediately, handing her a stack of paper and giving her his quill without question.

Mai immediately sat down, but as she was about to draw something, she suddenly stopped and looked up at him.

"Why are they flowers?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"Healing is healing. Poison is poison." He cryptically replied.

Mai thought of ginseng, but it wasn't a flower.

She gritted her teeth. "Fuck it."

She was reminded of a Dwarf ginseng, not well-known, and imagined a Chinese ginseng from fantasy novels with healing abilities mixed with the white flower of a Dwarf ginseng, resembling a delicate screen of small petals. She quickly drew several of them and approached the nearest woman, who was lying down and resting on a cart. Mai placed her hand on the flower, shot out her energy, and suddenly felt something warm from the paper. She moved her hand back, and the flower suddenly moved out of the paper as she moved it onto the woman's right thigh. She placed it on the skin, forming a small, thin pattern of a Dwarf ginseng flower.

"Now what, Liam?" she asked.

The woman stared at Mai with wide eyes, speechless.

"Speak the name of your rune." Liam replied, having moved behind her and seen everything.

When Mai saw Master Kjeld standing at the 10th and final stone, she snapped out of her concentration.

He's almost done!

When she saw his sweaty, wrinkled face, she was immediately reminded of their situation.

I don't have a name for my flower! Fuck!

"Flower Dwarf!" she suddenly shouted, surprised by her own words. What the hell?

Suddenly, the flower lit up, and the wound on the woman's leg and her body began to heal at the speed of light.

Mai's eyes widened, and she hurried around to the other injured women as she heard screams and grunting around her. The men had taken long tools, poking at the skeletons if they came too close to the center of the group. Mai reached all the wounded and suddenly heard a thud. She looked over at Master Kjeld, who had dropped his hammer, and he was enclosed in a golden sphere.

"Master, you have to strike the last gate!" Liam suddenly shouted, biting his lip.

Master Kjeld grunted and slowly opened his eyes as he fumbled in the grass for his hammer.

"Last gate." he mumbled in a hoarse voice, his eyes now closed.

"Why can't you do it?" Mai asked, adrenaline pumping high in her ears. She bit her lip, frustrated.

"We're still just apprentices. Only Master can use that hammer." replied a man who was helping a woman heal.