Chapter 5: Is it possible to escape the labyrinth?

“Figure it out on your own,” she said coldly.

“Come on… you know how to do this don’t you? Why can’t you just teach me?”

“I’m busy.”

“Take a break for once!”

“No. I’m going to tell mom and dad if you’re not studying.”

“Just stop studying for a second…”

Slam! The book crashed onto the table. Her glare was that of a poisonous snake, a forewarning before the strike.

“This is what happens to those who interrupt my studying…”

She slowly slithered forward, maintaining her glare. I could only back up while apologizing frantically, but I felt a wall behind me.

I can’t escape from her glare…

“Gah!” I woke up to a trashed room. My friends all fell asleep on the tables, and Maya was on the floor. It seems we were too exhausted to continue working.

2:00 am??

How long have we been out for? I smiled as I looked around. We made significant progress last night. Tomoko and Jisen had each found different paths between three chests, but Toshiro had found a faster one than both of theirs. Even Maya sat down and found a path between two chests. We even did some simulations to practice in pairs. One person would be blindfolded while they navigated through the labyrinth through ‘forward’, ‘backwards’, ‘left’, and ‘right’. The other would check the map and inform them if they made a misstep.

The labyrinth itself was 100 tiles by 100 tiles. If we assume each tile to correspond to 1 meter by 1 meter, which would be the most likely, then it’s definitely possible to run through every tile in the labyrinth, 10 kilometers, in 60 minutes. However, that’s not necessary at all, as many tiles are river and wormhole tiles that automatically take you somewhere else in the labyrinth, saving you time and energy. The most we could do was memorize the paths between chests, and one path from a chest to an exit.

There were over ten thousand individual grids, so it was obviously more than impossible to memorize every detail in the entire labyrinth. We decided to leave it to luck to find our first chest. From there on we should be able to navigate to all the other chests, before returning to the chest that takes us to the exit.

Mhm… they’ve developed a good plan. I’m interested in how it’ll play out. This school has some strong opponents, and I really want to beat them at a game.

Little did they know… I’ve been planning myself as well… I’ve twice offered a faster route between two chests to contribute to the group, but I had found a few more alternative routes that would make me faster than them… hehehe… they’ll never know how they lost…

“Katsu-kun!”

“HUH?”

WHACK. A plastic cup hit me straight in the face.

“Ow! WHO-”

“Ahahahahahaha” Tomoki rolled over on the ground laughing. “You should’ve seen your face! Bahahahahahahaha!”

“Shhhhhhhhhhh you’re going to wake everyone up…”

“I’m sorry Katsu, you were just whispering some strange things into the air and I just wanted to snap you out of it.” She was tearing up from laughter, was it really that funny? I tried to be serious too…

“Ah… I was just… fantasizing.”

“Of course! We’ve already found the optimal routes. Don’t worry Katsu, you’ve contributed enough to the group, don’t feel down.”

“Thanks Tomoki…” Who am I kidding? As if I was going to beat them…

“Alright! Let’s start cleaning up before getting some more sleep at our dorms.”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

As we were silently cleaning, our friends started waking up one after another.

“Ahhhh. HUH? K-katsu-kun??? W-what are you doing here???”

“Shhhhhhhhhh I’m just cleaning up the area around you Akio.”

He got the cue and lowered his voice. “I see, I see. Let me help too.”

After ten or twenty minutes, the room was almost spotless. Whew, that was tiring. I’m going to need a few more hours of sleep when I get back to my dorm. I don’t even have the energy to check my phone…

“Alright, let’s head back and get some more sleep for tomorrow!”

Precisely, Tomoki. I suppose I do need some more sleep. With the exceptions of the two girls, we left the room like zombies, dragging our feet across the floor while we tried not to fall asleep. I was awake enough to clean up, but fatigue has declared round two of war with me: I was fighting to stay awake.

Hopefully our preparations were enough.

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There was a lot of talk in the hallways about the test tonight. Much more so than yesterday. The classes today were also easier to follow than yesterday, but I suspect Hachiroka-sensei is just being considerate. At around five, we went out to eat dinner before starting to walk back to our rooms to prepare ourselves mentally. Tests are only nerve wracking for those that had studied but were not confident in their preparations. But I was different, since I didn’t usually study. I felt nervous for the first time during finals in my last year of junior high, and now I’m getting that same feeling of anxiety. I should take some deep breaths, maybe do some square breathing.

“It’ll be alright, Katsu-kun.” Akio comforted.

“Thanks Akio. You’re not nervous?”

“I am… but not as much as you are Katsu-kun, you’re shaking.”

“Am I? Aha… I’m probably just cold.”

Akio smiled. “It’s okay Katsu-kun.”

“Hah?… okay you got me,” I sighed. “But don’t worry, I’ll be fine in a few minutes. Best of luck to you Akio! I plan on beating you this time!”

“H-huh? Alright! G-good luck!”

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Katsu was acting nervous while we walked back to our dorms, but Akio seemed to have sorted things out with him. I had prepared all I could, so unlike them, I’m not actually that nervous. After all, it’s just a diagnostic exam.

“I’m home!” I opened the door to an empty dorm. “Right, no one’s home.” I’m still not used to coming home to anyone. Mother was always ready with dinner after I finished my clubs. However, I don’t have any recollection of my father even though my mom tells me that Tomoko and I used to get along with each other. I wasn’t even told that I had a twin brother until very recently, I just knew my mom was divorced. Nevermind that, I’ll have plenty of time to make up with Tomoko now that we’re in the same school. We’re twins joined together by fate from birth, after all.

It’s a surprise we grew to appear so similar. When I first saw him on the ferry it was as though I found a male version of myself. He has an agreeable personality, and we had a wonderful conversation about ourselves. I was somewhat of an outcast in junior high. Even though I try my best to be as friendly and kind as possible, they always treated me differently. They tried to hide it, but I could tell. To my delight, I sensed none of those feelings of hesitation from Tomoko. It was a relief.

I’m so glad that my brother is so talented, but I’m going to have to work harder to stay ahead. It’s my duty to be sharper, because I’m a few seconds older than my talented little brother.

*click* The dark world appears again before me, and I cover my ears instantly to withstand the loud voice that welcomes me.

“WELCOME to the Virtual World of Kaino High!”

“Is it… over?” I slowly opened my eyes to the bright bubbly words that glistened in front of me.

“Ayami Tomoki, please stand by to be transported into the labyrinth.”

“It’s not like I can do anything else except that… jeez.”

“Generating world. Teleporting students. 220/364, 257/364, 291/364…”

My vision blurred. I saw a bright flash, and before I realized what happened I regained my vision. I could see a tall wall in front of me, but I was frozen in place. The walls were black but dimly illuminated from the inside by a navy blue light. It was at least 4 or 5 meters tall, and connected to a ceiling of the same color. Likewise, there were two walls to the left and right of me as well. So this is the immense size of the labyrinth that we were to navigate.

“You have four hours. The test begins... now!”

I spin around and start dashing forward. My sight appears to be limited to about two tiles in front of me maximum, so I’m going to have to remember which paths I’ve taken where.

Tsk. I still can’t figure out where I am in the labyrinth. I’ll have to turn left at the next few intersections and see where that gets me. After running around for a while, I found a few anonymous profiles running beside me. Their appearances were randomized so I didn’t pay attention to them.

“Ah!” When I turned the corner, I saw a boy at the same time. I closed my eyes for the collision, but it never came. The boy stood up, realized what had happened, and ran off. What happened? Did we run right through each other? Tsk. That wasted so much time, I’ve got to keep moving. It makes sense that we can’t physically block each other, since that would imply the possibility of violence. Not that it wouldn’t ever be possible, but since the goal of a diagnostic exam is to test individual abilities I won’t have to worry about anyone else.

I used to be a long-distance runner on the track team, but racing against boys has always been troublesome. No matter how hard I train, I can’t figure out where they get their energy from. I refused to believe my biological physiology is that far behind theirs, but reality is harsh.

“Huh? AHHHHHH!” I screamed as I slipped right into a rushing current of water and sped forward as if I was on a water slide. Where did the water come from? It wasn’t visible until I stepped on it.

I see, you’re not warned when you approach river tiles. I close my eyes and feel the motion and speed of where I’m going. Rivers in particular are a distinct feature in this labyrinth that can help you distinguish where you are. However… I don’t remember a river like this one…

Whoosh. After a few more turns, I was suddenly flung out of the water. I barely managed to land on two feet, and when I started to pat myself down, I realized I was already dry. But the water felt so real…

Thank goodness, running around drenched would’ve been awful and indecent.

I barely get a catch of breath when I’m suddenly teleported.

Ah? A wormhole?? But that was instant teleportation??? No special effects whatsoever????

But wait… there’s only one river that leads to a wormhole after moving one tile forward and two tiles left… and that one is…

The one top left corner! Yes, I know where I’ve been teleported to. I shouldn’t be that far away from a chest. Tomoko and I have been paired up practicing making our way through the labyrinth, so I’m pretty sure it’s just a few turns away from here…

One extra step forward and I could be teleported or carried away by water.

I don’t have time to tread carefully, I’ll have to start running as fast as I can now.

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Hah… hah…

Finally… I found my way to the treasure chest I recalled. It looks like I’m late; there are already twenty students huddled around the chest. It wasn’t until I got here that I suddenly recognized my surroundings. Now I just need to finish these problems.

There’s still 3 hours and 50 minutes left. Let’s see…

Twenty questions worth a total of 50 gold coins? The first five questions are worth one coin each, the next five two coins each, the five after three coins each, and the last five are worth four coins each.

The subject of this chest is… chemistry, I see. I’m only going to have 30 minutes to finish them… hm… I might not be able to finish them.

Question 1 (1 coin): What is the ionic charge of oxygen?

Aha, that’s an easy gold coin in the pocket. Oxygen has eight electrons, and only two of them are unpaired, so its ionic charge is -2.

“Correct!” The AI voice cheered.

Faster, I’ve got to solve these faster.

It seems that nobody can see my questions, and I can’t see theirs. I’m glad that there’s not going to be any cases of cheating on this test, since teachers always make sure to give our entire class an unpleasant lecture afterwards. I don’t want to see Hachiroka-sensei disappointed.

Question 15 (3 coins): What are ALL possible oxidation states of Ni, and which one is the most common?

Nickel? Heh, as if that’s going to make me falter. I noticed the word ‘all’ enlarged. Usually, nickel alone is seen with a +2 or +3 ionic charge. However, oxidation states can also refer to elements when they are in molecules as well. Therefore, 0, +1, +2, +3, and even +4 and -1 are possible oxidation states. Obviously, the most common one seen is +2.

“Correct!”

Back in junior high, we were given a periodic table for reference when tested on elements any further down than the second row. However, I’ve committed the entire table to memory all the way back in grade three, and by the looks of it, everyone doing the questions around me has memorized it too. It’s not that impressive but it does take time.

Finally, I reach the last five questions. I only have 3 hours and 30 minutes left. If I take 30 minutes to reach and solve the questions for each chest. I’ll have 30 minutes to find my way out. However if I take even 35 minutes on average I won’t have any time leftover.

I take one look at one of the last five questions and decide that it won’t be worth the time. Just from a glance I could tell it was a tedious calculation question requiring a few systems of equations. Although I’m able to draw with my finger alone, which leaves behind a trail of light while the space in front of me itself serves as scrap paper.

30 gold coins is good enough, I suppose. Now then… the path to the next chest…

I rush through the next five treasure chests, securing 38 gold coins from the biology chest and 30 gold coins from each of the rest of them. The last chest I found ended up being the physics chest. I still have around 40 minutes left, and physics is my most able subject. To think that the laws of our universe are described by physics, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the subject at first sight.

Question 18 (4 coins): A stationary feather at the coordinate (0,0) is picked up by the wind and blown 1 m/s North and 3 m/s East. Assume acceleration in each direction to be 1 m/s^2. You may assume there to be no air resistance throughout the feather’s journey. The feather is also blown upwards by the wind at 2 m/s^2. Determine the position of the feather after 10 seconds in polar cartesian coordinates. If the wind stops after 10 seconds, using the acceleration due to gravity = 10 m/s^2, how much additional time will it take for the feather to reach the ground? (r = 100, theta = 36.87 degrees; 6.9 seconds)

Ah, a comprehensive question that covers just about everything we’ve learned so far in physics. I was troubled at first because I required a calculator, but right when I said the word a virtual one appeared in front of me. I honestly don’t think anyone has been crazy enough to do trigonometry mentally.

35 minutes left.

I finish the next four questions with relative ease.

15 minutes left.

Perfect. I remember the way out from this chest. If I get back to the location of the Math treasure chest in 10 minutes I think I’ll make it out in time. It’s going to be close.

5 minutes left.

It’s a sprint from here on out.

1 minute left.

Almost… there…

20 seconds le-

“Congratulations on finishing the exam!” The AI voice cheered. I haven’t been happier hearing that voice.

Fu… fu… I walked around amidst the other anonymous profiles, taking in deep breaths. I wonder how high I’ll be able to place.
From my guess, the top 8 will likely all be third year students.

I wonder how Tomoko did…

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, I had approached a few senior students before this exam asking for a few tips. They weren’t hesitant to give me advice on the exam, but they were all hesitant when I mentioned their ranking.

Perhaps it’s because it’s a personal matter, but most students tend not to reveal their ranking on the leaderboards. Is it tradition or culture? Whatever the reason, I think it’s rude to ask about rankings in these anonymous tests.

“The exam has ended, you will be sent back to your room server in just a moment. Your rankings will be released in a few minutes.”

*zip* With a flash, I was teleported back to the dark void with the bright bubbly letters.

Power off.

I checked my phone to check the group chat. We had decided to meet up at Tomoko’s room after the test, despite it already being 10 o’clock.

Ayamo Tomoko: “Is everyone out?”

Eito Jisen: “Yep.”

Kawari Maya: “YES!”

Ayamo Tomoko: “I’ll see you all here in a few minutes then.”

Just as he sent that message, I received an email. The results have been compiled.

Top 8 students. 1st: Hakara Shinomiyu. 2nd: Nimiya Ryokuben. 3rd: Hisa Hanaka. 4th: Hanako Sakura. 5th: Sudamana Byokyushu. 6th: Maka Manakyu. 7th: Hiru Mime. 8th: Su Kentemo.

I don’t recognize any of those names, but it's safe to assume they’re all third years.

Student: Ayami Tomoki

Gold coins: 238.

Time: 3 hours 59 minutes 41 seconds

Gold coins score: 729

Time score: 503

Total score: 616

Average score (year): 458.4

Average score (school): 693.7

Ranking (year) : 12th

Ranking (school): 164th.