The maze feels alive. Walls ripple with each thunderous step as the Teacher's Pet chases us, its limbs carving through the narrow corridors like scythes. Every step I take feels like running on the edge of a collapsing bridge, the ground trembling under its weight.
"Faster!" Seo-yeon shouts, her voice strained. Lightning flickers between her fingers, ready to strike if the creature gets too close. "That thing's not slowing down!"
"Neither am I!" Min-ji snaps, hurling a desperate burst of purple fire behind us. The flames twist and roar, momentarily engulfing the Pet, but it barrels through the inferno without even flinching.
The sound it makes—half a screech, half a growl—hits me like a punch to the chest. It's more than noise. It's a reminder: we're not running from something human.
[Basic Information Sight]
Target: Modified Human
Name: None Registered
Threat Level: SS
Status: Teacher's Pet
Distance: 5m
Basic Traits: Pure Evolution
Current Action: Final Test
Warning: RUN
"Great advice, system!" I yell between gasps, my lungs burning from the sprint. "Got any other tips? Like how to outsmart a killing machine?"
"Less sarcasm, more running!" Ji-ho barks, clutching his injured arm as he stumbles ahead. The wind around him falters, his power barely keeping pace.
The Pet slams into a corner behind us, splintering the walls as if the maze itself were made of glass. For a moment, the debris slows it, but it only gives us a split-second lead.
"We're not gonna make it!" Seo-yeon shouts, her lightning crackling in frustration. "It's too fast!"
"No," I say, my voice shaky but certain. My ability hums with data, my mind scrambling to process the flood of information. "We just need to slow it down."
"How?" Min-ji's flames flicker around her fists, the light casting her face in sharp, desperate shadows.
"There!" I point to a series of jagged pipes protruding from the wall, veins of purple light coursing through them. "Hit those! They're part of the maze's power grid!"
Min-ji doesn't hesitate. Her flames surge, striking the pipes with a deafening roar. The impact sends a shockwave through the corridor, and for a moment, everything freezes.
Then the pipes explode.
Purple energy cascades outward, the walls trembling violently as the maze struggles to stabilize. The Pet screeches as the ground beneath it collapses, sending it tumbling into the void below.
The force of the blast throws us off our feet. I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me. For a moment, all I can hear is the faint hum of the maze resetting itself.
"Did we get it?" Ji-ho asks, his voice hoarse.
"No," Seo-yeon says, helping me to my feet. Her lightning dances weakly around her hands, the sparks dimmer than before. "It's not dead. But we bought time."
I glance at the gaping hole where the Pet fell, my ability flashing warnings I can barely read.
[Basic Information Sight]
Target: Teacher's Pet
Threat Level: SS
Status: Regenerating Below
Action: Resuming Pursuit
Warning: ESCAPE UNLIKELY
"It's coming back," I mutter, the taste of copper filling my mouth.
"Then we keep moving," Seo-yeon says, her tone steely. She looks at the rest of the group—Ji-ho clutching his arm, Min-ji breathing heavily, Professor Lee pale and leaning against a wall. "We don't stop until we're out of this nightmare."
We nod, picking ourselves up and sprinting toward the unstable section of the maze I spotted earlier. The walls pulse faster now, as if sensing the chaos. The Pet is still out there, and we're running out of time.
The ground shakes again, and I know—it's not just the maze trying to stop us anymore. The Teacher's Pet is back. Whatever momentary advantage we had, it's gone. It's not chasing us. It's hunting us.
We stumble through the maze, the walls pulsing with that sickly purple light, like veins running through flesh. Every step is heavier than the last. Even with Seo-yeon pushing us forward, her lightning barely crackling now, I can feel the weight of the whole world pressing down on us.
"We can't outrun it." Min-ji's voice is strained, her flames flickering weakly in the darkness. She's spent. We all are.
"We don't have to outrun it," I say, trying to sound confident. "We just need to survive long enough to get to the next sector. There's gotta be something."
Professor Lee, who's been too quiet for too long, finally speaks, his voice raw. "The maze… it's evolving. Changing. This isn't just a test anymore. We're not part of some lesson. We're the prey."
His words land like a punch to the gut. I've been thinking about the tutorial as a game. A sick, twisted game, sure, but a game nonetheless. But now—now it's real.
[Basic Information Sight]
Target: Modified Human
Name: None Registered
Threat Level: SS
Status: Teacher's Pet
Distance: 5m
Basic Traits: Pure Evolution
Current Action: Pursuit: Final Test
Warning: FINAL CHALLENGE COMMENCING
"Run," I mutter, already knowing the answer before it even fully sinks in. "The test has changed."
"We're all gonna die," Ji-ho says, barely more than a whisper, his voice cracked. He can barely keep his wind going; his breaths are ragged, his power taxed beyond reason.
The maze shifts again, the walls warping like they're made of rubber. I hear the sound of something moving—no, climbing—through the metal framework above. The Pet is learning, just like the system warned us.
It's no longer just a physical creature. Its mind has adapted, evolving faster than any of us. The walls themselves seem to be part of it now, as if it has merged with the maze, using the environment against us.
"We need to get out of here—NOW," Seo-yeon demands, electricity sparking wildly from her fingertips.
She pushes forward, but we're running out of places to go. The walls are closing in, and the floor feels like it's buckling under our feet, the very foundation of this twisted game starting to collapse.
"We can't escape," Min-ji says, her voice breaking. "It's everywhere. The walls, the floors—it's all part of the trap!"
I turn to her, heart pounding in my chest. "We're not running away. We need to fight back. We can't let it take us one by one."
Ji-ho's wind kicks up around us, a last-ditch effort to keep the Pet from closing the gap. But the force is weaker than before, the air barely pushing against the creature's forward momentum.
The Pet's form appears above us, its limbs twisting and contorting in ways that no human body should be capable of. It's everywhere now. Its presence feels suffocating, like the air itself has been warped around us.
"MOVE!" Seo-yeon's voice is raw, but it snaps me back to reality. Her lightning surges forward, crackling through the air, but the Pet barely flinches. It absorbs the energy, the light, as if it's part of the very thing that's attacking us.
I've never seen anything like this. It's not just a monster anymore. It's a force of nature. A predator that has become the maze.
"Sung-min!" I shout, my voice desperate as I look around for the one person who's still standing. The last I saw of him, he was slamming into the walls, trying to break free.
"He's down," Seo-yeon says quietly, her voice betraying her exhaustion. "It's just us now."
I can feel the tears threatening to well up in my eyes, but I push them back. There's no room for emotion. There's only survival.
[Basic Information Sight]
Target: Teacher's Pet
Threat Level: SS
Status: Pursuit: Final Test
Distance: 5m
Basic Traits: Pure Evolution
Current Action: Closing In
Warning: ESCAPE IMPOSSIBLE
"We fight," I say, pushing the words out through gritted teeth. "We use everything we've got, or we die."
Min-ji's flames flicker back to life, her hands shaking with the effort. Ji-ho's wind surrounds us like a protective barrier, though it's losing its strength with every passing second.
But the Pet isn't alone anymore. As if on cue, the maze responds. Creatures—mutations we thought we'd escaped—start to emerge from the walls. They're smaller, weaker, but they're fast.
"This is it," I mutter, the weight of the moment crashing down on me. "This is the end. It's all us or them."
The Pet lets out another screech, and the maze around us seems to breathe, its walls curling in on themselves, preparing to form an arena.
We have no choice now. We fight to the death, or we are the entertainment.
The walls collapse behind us, closing in like a pair of jaws, and I know, in that moment, this is the last chance. There's no escape, no more running. The maze has fully transformed into an arena, and we are the final contestants.
The Pet advances toward us, its every movement deliberate, calculating. It's studying us. Learning.
I can feel its gaze—cold, calculating, and filled with pure, predatory hunger. But this time, I'm not just running. This time, we stand our ground.
"Sung-min's not here," Min-ji says, voice trembling with both anger and fear. "He's gone. We're all that's left."
I nod, trying to keep my focus sharp. There's no time for mourning. There's no time for doubt.
"Keep it together!" Seo-yeon snaps, the electricity surging around her hands. Her eyes are filled with desperation, but there's a hard edge to her tone. "We fight together, or we die alone!"
The Pet's limbs twist, reforming and reshaping in ways that shouldn't be possible. I swear I can see it thinking, calculating its next move. It's anticipating.
[Basic Information Sight]
Target: Teacher's Pet
Threat Level: SS
Status: Final Test
Distance: 3m
Basic Traits: Pure Evolution
Current Action: Final Stage
Warning: UNSTOPPABLE
It strikes first. The speed at which it moves is incomprehensible. One second, it's standing there, analyzing us. The next, its massive arm slashes toward Min-ji, its blade-like fingers cutting through the air with a sickening crack.
Seo-yeon reacts first. Lightning erupts from her fingertips, a raw burst of power that lances through the air toward the Pet. It connects—barely. The creature stumbles back for a moment, a fraction of a second, before it recovers and shifts its form again, adapting to the assault.
"That thing—!" I shout, unable to finish the sentence. My mind is scrambling, processing every single detail, every single movement.
"Now!" Seo-yeon commands.
Min-ji releases a controlled burst of purple fire, but it's not enough. The flames lick the Pet's skin, but it absorbs them like water, twisting its form to resist.
It's a monster, but worse. It's learning from us. It knows our patterns, knows how to fight. And every time we hit it, it gets stronger.
"Ji-ho!" I yell, my voice breaking. "Wind barrier! Now!"
Ji-ho summons what's left of his strength, a desperate gale that howls through the air. The Pet's limbs slam against the barrier with a deafening sound, shaking the ground beneath us. But it holds—just for a moment.
We're running out of time. Running out of options. The maze is closing in on us, the walls shifting and contracting like a living entity, trapping us. I know the Pet is part of that. It's the reason we're here.
[Basic Information Sight]
Target: Teacher's Pet
Threat Level: SS
Status: Final Test
Distance: 3m
Basic Traits: Pure Evolution
Current Action: Counterattack
Warning: DO NOT ENGAGE
I hear the warning flash in my head, but it's already too late. The Pet is already here.
Seo-yeon steps forward, her eyes blazing with resolve. "We need to take it down NOW. Everyone—everything—on my mark."
I glance at the others, and for the first time, I see the glint of determination in their eyes. This isn't just about surviving anymore. This is about fighting back.
We charge.
Min-ji's flames surge forward, more intense than before. Ji-ho's wind picks up the pace, propelling us forward. The maze itself seems to part as we push ahead, the walls bending in unnatural ways, but we don't care. We have one chance, and it's now.
The Pet lashes out with its limbs, slashing at the air. I barely dodge, the jagged edges of its blades grazing the side of my arm. Pain shoots through me, but there's no time to think. No time to feel.
Seo-yeon unleashes a torrent of lightning, blasting through the air like a storm contained in a single strike. It hits the Pet square in the chest, and for a moment, I think we've won. But then it shifts again.
It absorbs the lightning, the light flickering as its form adapts once more.
"Faster!" I shout, my breath ragged. "We've got it on the ropes—keep attacking!"
Min-ji's flames surge even higher, wrapping around her like a cocoon of power. The air crackles with intensity as her fire clashes against the creature's newly adapted form. But the Pet is relentless. It's not just a monster—it's a concept.
We strike again.
Sparks fly as Ji-ho's wind slashes through the maze, knocking debris into the Pet's face. For a split second, it stumbles—just long enough for me to see the opening.
There. The weak point.
I don't even think—I just act. My ability fires off, processing the split-second opportunity, and I throw myself into the strike. My hands are shaking, the blood loss from earlier making every movement feel heavier than it should. But I can't stop now.
With everything we have left, we pour everything into the attack—lightning, wind, fire—all of it converging into one final blow.
The Pet howls as the attack hits, its body disintegrating under the force of our combined powers. For a moment, it seems like time has slowed down, the creature's form splintering, its twisted limbs breaking apart like shards of glass.
Then, with a final, deafening scream, the Teacher's Pet collapses.
For a long moment, there's silence. The walls of the maze stop shifting. The air is still.
But we know this is only a brief reprieve.
We stand there, breathing hard, the exhaustion and relief crashing down on us all at once.
"We did it," Seo-yeon says, her voice barely a whisper. "But it's not over. This is only the first test."
The maze rumbles again, louder this time. We know what comes next. The Scholar made it clear—this is just the tutorial.
We've survived this, but we're far from safe.