The real fear is the DEADLINE.

📍 Somewhere in the depths of the illusion

Marcus woke up in the fog.

Marcus:

— Okay. Either I died, or this is a very lazy arthouse movie.

📢 System:

— Welcome to the "Illusory Labyrinth"!

For your convenience, it was generated based on your deepest fears, traumas and... taste preferences.

Marcus:

— Taste?

Then a bipedal slime in an apron emerged from the fog, carrying a plate with the inscription "Surprise from the chef". It began to hiss and wink.

Marcus (jumping back):

— Oh, no! It's you again!

The slime threw the food, and Marcus ran. Ahead were corridors, stairs, changing walls and doors leading to nowhere. He ran, stumbled, wandered... and talked to himself, as usual.

At the same time - the outer arena

📢 Herald:

- The first participant completed the labyrinth in 11 minutes 32 seconds!

The crowd gasped. A coldly collected young man dressed in a dark blue uniform emerged from the portal. Ash-colored hair, steel-colored eyes.

📃 Name: Alrik von Dirstein

📍 Status: Margrave's son.

📊 Diagnosis: too smart to suffer.

He nodded silently to the examiners and sat down on the bench. Not a single scratch. Not a single emotion.

In the labyrinth

Markus made his way through a room where the floor was made of springy cushions, the ceiling whispered offensive things, and the walls narrowed like a loan agreement.

📢 System:

— Hint: you can leave this room if you admit one mistake.

Marcus (thoughtfully):

— I... once wrote a harem fanfic and posted it under my own name.

🚪 The door opened with applause.

At the same time

📢 Herald:

— The second participant has completed the labyrinth! Time: 19 minutes exactly!

Illia came out as if from a walk in the garden. Calm, like after yoga. Only one curl was out of place in her perfect hairstyle.

The crowd sighed.

📢 System (admiring):

— Her inner fear turned out to be... a bad manicure. Scary.

The labyrinth, after an eternity (it felt like)

Marcus (crawling):

— I think I walked around the same tree... seven times. And it seems that it is not a tree, but a biology teacher.

📢 System:

— Time limit remaining: 7 minutes.

Stress level: boiled sausage.

He reached the finish line. In front of him is a giant door. But next to it: a huge library, and on the wall is an inscription:

> "To get out, write the ending of this story."

Marcus (horrified):

— AAAA, NO! NOOOOOO! I'M A WRITER IN CRISIS!!

📢 System (dryly):

— How lucky. This is your fear.

He screamed. But three minutes later, wrapping his head in a pen and surrounding himself with books, he finished writing:

> "... and the hero, having overcome the labyrinth, came outside, slightly rumpled, hungry and with one thought - "never again.""

🚪 The door opened.

📢 Herald:

— The seventh participant has completed the labyrinth! Time: 47 minutes and 13 seconds!

Marcus fell out of the portal like a sack of potatoes. Covered in dust, with a book in his teeth, and bread in his hand.

He stood up, caught his breath, and went to the bench. Illia nodded slightly. Alric looked at him silently. And then... he held out a handkerchief.

Marcus (surprised):

— Thank you... you... um... Alric, right?

Alric (calmly):

— You have ketchup on your face. Or blood. Or both.

📢 System:

— The labyrinth is complete. 13 participants — completed. 5 — left in tears. One — stayed forever, of his own free will.