Diya thought, ‘Jin, Mei, come. Your aunty is waiting for you.’

  *At the same time when Yuta & Himari fell into Net Trap…*

  Jin and Mei were heading towards Diya between the trees when Jin, noticing Diya was turning to the opposite side, said, “Hey, wait! Let's go back!”

  Mei, confused, asked, “Huh? Why?”

  “See there,” Jin pointed towards Diya.

  Mei looked, then said, “Huh! Let’s go back.”

  As they slowly turned, a voice called out, sending chills down their spines, “Hey, if you don’t come, you will be disqualified.”

  “Huh?” Jin thought, ‘How does she know? She turned the other way… Did she see before and turn that side? ….No doubt, it’s possible.’

  Mei asked, “Aunty, we are going to another trap. It’s our choice, right? Why would we be disqualified?”

  With a smirk, Diya replied, “My dear, cute Mei, didn’t Haruki, I mean, your master, didn't tell you the rules?”

  “Huh? What rules?” Mei asked.

  “He must have told you,” Diya teased. “Well, didn't he mention that there are instructors at some traps?”

  “He told us,” Mei responded.

  “Then, I’m the ruler here. You have to finish this or stay here until tomorrow’s start.”

  “Huh! It's unfair, aunty! It’s our choice!”

  With a closed-eyed, faint smile, Diya said, “Mei, this is not my rule. We instructors are here for this. If anyone comes here first, they can't go back. Of course, I can set my own rules.” She smirked, “Jin, you probably already know that when you listen to the rules, Haruki just can’t tell you that you can’t use your powers, but the rules are already made 90% of the time, you can't use them.” She smiled cunningly, “I think it will increase.”

  “Tell aunty what we have to do!”

  “Huh! You already saw in front what is there. Why are you asking again?! Well, you just have to take the crystal by crossing the stones.”

  There was a flat water pool, 20 meters long and 10 meters wide. The crystal was in the center of the pool.

  Rows: 7 rows of stones.

  Per Row: 6 stones.

  Spacing: 1.5 meters vertically and 0.5 meters horizontally.

  Coverage: The stones were covered in thick tangled branches and leaves—only the edges or gaps showed the stone surface, making visual judgment difficult.

  “Tell the rules, aunty!” Jin asked, eager.

  “Jin, why are you in such a hurry? Can we talk for a bit? Didn't you agree, Mei?”

  With boldness but nervousness, Mei replied, “Aunty, please, can we talk after that?”

  “Mei! You also tch…” Diya sighed, “There are five types of stones: 1. Stable, 2. Slippery, 3. Crack, 4. Wobble, 5. Sink. If you touch the water due to the stone, you must start again. I’ll give you 3 shurikens each.”

  With a smirk, she added, “Of course, they’re not usable in most situations.”

  Jin asked, “Is that all?”

  “For you, that’s all, because you don’t know your type… Wait, why are you asking? Do you think I’m cruel?” Diya teased. “Well, if you think so, I will be.”

  Quickly and nervously, Jin responded, “No, no, I didn’t think that. Why would we think that, aunty?”

  “Do you think I’m a kid? I know you, Mei, but I’ll keep it simple. You can’t understand me.”

  Mei said, “No aunty, well… we think, but not in a bad way.”

  “Aunty, are those the only rules?”

  With a sigh, Diya said, “I know you’ll ask. I didn’t say it all, You can’t jump over two stones, you can’t go in the water, only on stones. There must be at least two stable stones in every row. Aside from the shurikens, only one of you can go on the water and touch just one stone in front of your row. Then come back, stand on your stone, and jump.”

  “Huh! Aunty, we haven’t even gotten one crystal.”

  “So?” Diya smirked, “This is easy. You just have to step on 7 stones correctly and take the crystal. That’s it.”

  Mei acted innocently, “Aunty, you know which are the stable stones, right?”

  “I won’t tell you. I asked Haruto for my purpose, not for you.”

  “At least tell us about the first row, the stones we need to stand on, right?”

  “Huh? Mei, you can’t understand. I’ll only give you three shurikens each, then six total. In the end, you have to guess... well, I’ll tell you one, the third stone is stable, that’s it. I won’t talk now.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Mei stepped on the third stone and stood.

  “Jin, how are you able to come?”

  “Aunty, you said there must be two stable stones, but you didn’t say only two.”

  “Huh? I don’t know. He told me that only. So what if there are more than two? I want just one path. He said. I won't ask further.”

  With anger, Jin said, “Aunty, are you crazy? You didn’t know?!”

  “Huh!” Diya smirked challengingly, “You’re getting angry with me? Well, I won’t tell even if I know.”

  “Now, you said you didn’t know, and now you say you won’t tell even if you do,” Jin retorted.

  Mei chuckled. Diya saw her , “Hmm... What’s the use of knowing everything? I don’t know. If you want the crystal, play. If not, stay here.” She teased with a grin, “I have a mini screen, I’ll show you. We can talk all day, Is that ok?”

  “Hey, Jin, stand on any stone. If you touch the water, you can start here again. We have so much time. Aunty is just teasing us. Come quick.”

  Diya said “See, I told you, It’s easy.”

  Jin stepped on the sixth stone, and nothing happened.

  Mei scolded “See? Just wasting time by arguing.”

  “Neesan, you’re telling me that?”

  “I’ll kill you!”

  Diya thought, ‘Did that idiot not say that to me? Are all the stones in the first row stable?’

  With a teasing grin, he asked, “Neesan, now tell me which stone we’ll step on? I’ll follow your orders.”

  “I will kill you, idiot. Think”. Jin pulled out one of the three shurikens. His fingers tightened around the cool metal. With narrowed eyes, he considered trying the fifth stone in the second row of tangled, branch-covered stones. The thick leaves made it almost impossible to judge their surfaces.

  “Let’s test this…” he murmured to himself.

  With a quick flick of his wrist, the shuriken sliced through the air. *Swish…*

  The shuriken slipped through the tangled branches with a soft slicing sound, carving a narrow gap and revealing a small patch of the surface beneath it through the torn foliage.

  *Shhk… thmp*. The sound was soft, like metal skidding, but it didn’t come out. Jin threw it like that to stop the force of the shuriken.

  Mei’s eyes widened. “Huh! Nothing happened!”

  Jin's expression was that of a ‘you’re so dumb’ look. “That’s not a stable one. Didn’t you listen to the sound? See the algae, It’s a slippery stone.”

  “Huh!” Mei whispered.

  “Well, there are still five left. Two must be stable, and the other three could be stable or different.”

  With confusion, Mei asked, “But how can we find them? Should we throw another shuriken?”

  “Huh! Neesan! Aunty already said there are only six, so for the other rows we have to keep spare, we need to rely on touch. We’ll have a chance to see another stone that way.”

  Scratching her head, Mei said, “Hey, I don't want to complicate things. I’ll just step on any stone, and if it’s not stable, I’ll start again. Why do we need to bother? We have so much time.”

  “That’s also correct, but how many times will you jump? It’s not just a few feet, it’s five feet. And that too, only for similar stones—1 to 1, 2 to 2. Not 1 to 3. Then you’d have to jump further. For a few times, it’s okay, but then you’d need to rest and do it again. Is that fine? If so, I have no problem.”

  “Jin, you have so much time. Mei’s right. Why complicate things? Just go with the flow.”

  “Aunty, I still don’t understand. Why are you both different? You just don’t want to think, right?”

  With a smile, Diya said, “Hey, I’m calm and chilling. So what? Tell Mei—am I right or wrong?”

  “Ummm... well, first we’ll try. Why waste energy?”

  With a sigh, Diya said, “Well, if you don’t have a problem, then I don’t either.”

  Jin stepped on the water and moved to the second stone, dipping his finger into the branches. “Huh! It doesn’t feel like anything.”

  “Go back. You already touched it.”

  “Okay, okay, Aunty,” Jin went back and stood on the sixth stone in the first row. “Neesan, jump to the second stone.”

  “Are you sure?!”

  “Just jump. It’s only the second row. If it doesn’t work, start again. We just have to check our opposite two stones and the stone in front of us if we’re in the middle.”

  Mei circulated the flow into her knee and ankle nodes, crouching slightly, her eyes narrowed toward the barely visible surface of the second stone, covered in a chaotic mess of twisted branches and leaves. Mei sprang forward and stepped on the stone.

  *Crack.*

  A sharp sound echoed as the stone split beneath her weight.

  “Aah!” Her leg slipped through the crack, plunging into the cold water below.

  Diya raised her hand, her voice stern yet oddly calm. “Touched water.”

  Water splashed sharply as Mei’s leg went through. “Neesan! Are you okay?” Jin asked.

  “I’m fine,” she muttered. She went back and stepped on the third stone. “Well, now it’s four, right? Then I’ll try the first and third stones, and you can try the fourth and sixth.”

  Jin jumped to the sixth stone in the second row. Nothing happened. “Uff… try, Neesan.”

  “Shit, why are you lucky every time?”

  “Just jump, Neesan. You’ll get lucky too.”

  Mei jumped on the third stone in the second row. Nothing happened. With energy, she said, “Yeah, we finally got it!”

  “Neesan, we’ve only reached the second row. There are still five rows left.” …‘Are the stones in a straight line stable? But that’s too easy to recognize. Well, if the third row is the same, we can confirm it.’

  Jin threw the shuriken onto the sixth stone. The shuriken grazed through the branches and struck the surface.

  *Trrrk.*

  A soft, uneven creak responded.

  Mei muttered, “Now it’s nothing…”

  “Neesan, it made a sound. It’s not visual. I observed that it wobbled but didn’t fully tilt.”...’So it’s not in a straight line.’

  “Neesan, just check any stone from the first three.”

  Mei stepped on the water, slowly moving to the first stone and dipping her finger. “Uff, it’s slippery. So, four stones—just need to jump out to the nearby stones.” Mei went back and stood on the third stone. ‘God, I’ll jump on my instinct. Please make that stone stable.’ Mei jumped to the third stone in the third row. With an energetic smile, she said, “Yeah, God saved me.”

  “Huh! Neesan, God didn’t make that stable. It was stable from the start.”

  With a sulky face, Mei said, “Huff... who asked you?”

  He sprang forward onto the fourth stone. *Splash.* His foot sank deep into the water as he landed on the stone. It sank beneath his weight immediately, and his body lurched as the stone disappeared beneath him, dragging him into the cold water with a force he wasn’t prepared for.

  Diya sighed, shaking her head. “Back to the start, Jin.” Jin went back, then moved again to the sixth stone in the second row and sprung forward to the fifth stone in the third row.

  “Okay, we’ll try like this. It’s easy... wait! Neesan, step on the second stone beside it.”

  “Huh! Why?”

  “Just step one leg. It’s less than two feet. If you feel anything, just lift your leg.” Mei stepped on the second stone. Nothing happened. “Huh! Why?”

  “So, more than two stones being stable is possible.”

  Diya was shocked. ‘That idiot didn’t tell me…’

  With a teasing grin, Jin asked, “Aunty, you didn’t know, right?”

  With anger, Diya replied, “So what? You idiots, complete this quickly!”

  Jin threw the shuriken onto the fifth stone in the fourth row. It struck but made a normal sound. “Huh! Is it stable or does it sink or crack?”

  Mei jumped onto the third stone. “Yeah, my guess is correct.”

  ‘Huh! She didn’t even try to touch it and just jumped!’... “Well, Neesan, now check the second and fourth stones. It’s easy.” Mei stepped on the second stone. It tilted to the right side, but her leg didn’t go into the water. She lifted her leg and got back. Then, she stepped on the fourth stone, which cracked into two. She lifted her leg and got back. “Jin, now there are only three stones left. What should I do?”

  “Just touch the first stone and tell me. I can choose between five or six.” Mei went to touch it. “It’s slippery.”

  ‘Then I’ll try six.’ Jin jumped onto the sixth stone and stood firmly. Nothing happened. “Just three now.”

  Mei jumped onto the third stone in the fifth row. “Yes.”

  ‘Huh! Again the same. Wait… aunty said it’s the third stone at first. Does she know all the third stones are the same? Or…..’ “Neesan, jump onto the third stone again.”

  Diya was stunned. “Hey, why so fast?! What if she steps on the wrong stone? She’ll have to jump three times again!”

  With a teasing grin, Jin said, “It’s okay, Aunty. Mei will handle it. Why are you shocked? Were the stable stones in the same order?”

  Mei jumped onto the third stone again. In the sixth row, nothing happened. “Aunty! Did Jin say the correct thing? You knew from the start?”

  With a sulky face and tone, Diya said, “I didn’t think you’d just jump on all the third stones without thinking. Well, just finish it.” Mei jumped. “Neesan!” Mei landed, slipped, and fell into the water.

  “Neesan! Why did you jump?”

  Diya laughed. “Poor Mei. Do you think all the third stones are the same? Now go back and start again.”

  With a sulky face and tone, Mei said, “Huff... you intentionally said it right? Tch... I won't talk to you.”

  “Hey, I said finish quickly, but I didn’t say they’re the same stone. You misunderstood and blamed me?”

  “Tch... Don’t talk to me.” Mei again started, jumping five feet from stone to stone, using her Kairo energy. She reached the 6th row. “Jin, tell me what I need to do now.”

  “Huh! ……Just throw three shurikens and use the touch option. The third one is already eliminated... Well, if one shuriken doesn’t give a clue, throw another and deduce one by one.”

  Mei went to the first stone, touched it, and felt it wobble. She quickly returned to the third stone in the 6th row. “Now, 2, 4, 5, 6 stones... Three shurikens. But what if none of them give any clues?”

  “Huh! Mental Neesan, two of those four stones are already stable. Just throw two shurikens onto the same stone, then we’ll know for sure.”

  ‘This idiot didn’t go and is just giving her instructions,’ Diya thought. “Mei, wait, I—”

  Innocently and nervously, she said, “Aunty, please don’t add any rules. Please, my Bujji aunty, right?”

  (*Bujji is used as a term of endearment. It can mean: Cutie/cute, Sweet, Dear one, Baby, It’s commonly used for children, close friends, or loved ones, and the tone can be playful, affectionate, a loving or playful nickname*)

  With a faint smile, Diya responded, “Ayy, don’t butter me up, idiot. ……Well, just finish quickly and come.” Diya walked over and sat under a tree.

  Mei threw the shuriken onto the 6th stone, but nothing happened. “Huh! Nothing happened. Jin, what do I do now?”

  “Throw another one, but the same one onto the shuriken.”

  Mei threw another one with precision, making sure it touched the first. She applied pressure, and a crack sound echoed, though the stone didn’t crack. “I heard the crack sound!”

  “Then it’s 2, 4, 5. Just use the last one on any of those. I think on

  e is a sinking stone. Or, if we're lucky, all three stones are stable.”

  Mei nodded. She threw the shuriken onto the 5th stone, but again, nothing happened. Just the usual sound.

  Author's Note:

  How’s the chapter? Please respond so I can know if you like it or not.