"See!!! I told you we took the wrong way, but you didn't even listen to me!!!"
"Now it's my fault!?!? Weren't you the first one who supported my decision!?"
"Yeah, and now I am regretting it!!!"
"You fool!!!"
A heated argument was unfolding somewhere within the maze, involving two couples, Noah and Bella.
Earlier, Bella had taken the lead, confidently pointing the way forward despite her notoriously terrible sense of direction. Unfortunately, this had led them in circles for the third time, as they once again found themselves passing the same spot.
However, these couples were not alone.
"Hey, shouldn't we intervene?" one of the onlookers asked.
"Relax, it's just a couples' quarrel. They'll likely make up in the end," came the casual response.
Observing their dispute with emotionless expressions were Job and Jack. This group had been relatively fortunate since the beginning of the test. They had all woke up together and had yet to encounter any hostile individuals.
"I've had enough now!!!" Bella suddenly shouted, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Bella..." Noah called out, his voice softening as he witnessed Bella's tears.
"Look. The heroine unleashed her strategic move!" Job exclaimed while pointing at the couples, speaking to Jack with great interest, as if they were watching a TV drama.
As Job had predicted, watching Bella's teary eyes melted Noah's heart, just like it did for every other protagonist in a movie.
"Bella-!!!... I-I am... sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you," Noah finally admitted, unable to control his emotions after seeing Bella cry. He set aside his ego and offered an apology.
Upon hearing his words, Bella immediately leapt into his embrace, hugging him tightly despite calling him a fool earlier. Her tears continued to flow as she clung to him.
"See, I told you," Job remarked, having anticipated this outcome.
"How did you know that?" Jack asked, surprised by Job's ability to predict the ending.
"Hah, experience."
"What?"
"I, too, have had my fair share of such moments."
"Okay..." Jack, somewhat dense, gave him an odd look.
"Forget it. It's a long story. Wait here," Job said, rising from his seat and making his way toward the bickering couple.
"Now that you guys are fine, can we move now?" he asked them.
"That's fine, but... tell me if I'm wrong, or did I hear someone talking about 'the heroine's strategic move'?" Bella narrowed her eyes, glaring at Job.
'Scary!! I forgot about this part!' Job flinched when he saw her fierce glare. But he pretended to be ignorant and awkwardly replied, "Eh? Haha, you must be hearing things."
"Humph."
"Did you think of something good?" Noah asked Job.
A grin spread across Job's face as he said, "I was waiting for you all to ask me!"
He then called Jack over to join the conversation and continued to explain his plan.
"Up until now, our formation has been terrible. If someone attacked us, everyone would be at risk. So, I propose that I'll take the front position to watch for threats ahead, with you couples behind me providing cover, and finally Jack at the rear to watch out for ambushes from behind," Job explained the roles each of them would play within the team.
He further explained that he and Jack were equipped with spears for close-range combat, while Noah and Bella would support them with their arrows. It formed a rhombus-shaped formation.
"That's not a bad idea."
"It seems like you've got some tactics."
"Did you study battle formations before?" Jack asked Job with curiosity.
"What study? All I know are the battle formations I used in video games," Job replied.
They all looked at him with deadpan expressions.
"Are you stupid!?"
"I want my praise back."
"You should just sit down."
They all angrily rebuked him.
"Hey! It still works well in real life too!" Job defended himself helplessly.
They continued to scold Job for minutes, but they ultimately decided not to change the formation, realizing that something was better than nothing.
After the bickering, the group proceeded deeper into the maze, with Job leading this time. Although they might complain about his approach, they still found his idea reliable, and they could see they were no longer going in circles with his lead.
They ran for several minutes without stopping for rest until suddenly, Job, who was in the lead, stopped and asked in a low voice, "Do you guys hear that?"
"I think I can hear people talking..."
"Yeah! I hear it too; it's coming from that way."
Their faces brightened a little at the thought of finally encountering someone in the maze after a long time. Despite their optimism, they remained on high alert, knowing that they might come across people who could attack them.
"Prepare yourselves." Job and Jack tightened their grip on their spears, while the couples nocked arrows, ready to shoot.
They waited patiently for the approaching group to emerge from the corner ahead.
"Man, that scene was horrible. Good thing we ran away before that reaper could see us!"
"Yeah, I still get chills whenever I think about those poor souls."
"Damn it!! Don't talk about it!!"
The voices of three people engaged in conversation echoed from around the corner. While the presence of only three individuals initially eased Job and other's minds, they remained vigilant.
"Hmm... another turn?"
"Hah... How long do we have to keep running away..."
"We didn't encounter any person for so long, so I think this way is also safe..."
Contrary to their expectations, as the trio turned the corner, they found Job and the others, weapons aimed at them.
"F***!! There are people up ahead!!!" one of them exclaimed as they came face to face with the Job's group.
Seeing tags above their heads, showing their low Ranking, eased Job and other's tension since their opponents didn't seem strong, but they still didn't let their guard down.
However, the same couldn't be said for the trio they encountered. Anxiety and nervousness were evident on their faces, and they immediately surrendered, showing no intention to fight.
"Please, we don't have any bad intentions. Just let us go."
"Yeah, we barely have enough Kill-counts, so it would be a waste of time for you all."
"We'll decide whether or not you have ill intentions toward us," Job told them. He and the others were inwardly relieved that they didn't have to engage in a useless combat.
But then, something unexpected occurred.
"Wait! Look at that guy's ranking!" one of them suddenly pointed at Noah's tag.
"A Ranker!"
"Not only him! Look at the others too!"
Job and his group gripped their weapons tightly upon hearing this. If there were any suspicious movements from those three boys, they wouldn't hesitate to defend themselves.
However, what happened next took them by surprise.
"****!!! Run!!"
"Curse our luck for running into not just one, but a whole group of psychos together!!! This is all your fault!!!"
"W-Wait for me!!! Don't leave me behind!!"
As soon as the trio realized the rankings of Job and the others, fear erupted in their hearts, and they fled as if they had encountered devils rather than fellow humans.
"What... just happened?" Job asked in bewilderment.