The thought of personal growth and system advancement fueled Fai's determination like never before.
"So, what's the plan?" Johnson's voice broke the silence, snapping Fai out of his deep thoughts. He had been waiting patiently, giving Fai the space to recover and think. Now, it was time to act.
"Do we go looking for opponents?" Johnson asked, offering a bold and direct approach. "Or do we find the exit first, wait by the entrance, and ambush anyone who comes out and collect their coins?"
He was weighing their options, one aggressive, the other more tactical.
"Why don't we do both?" Fai replied, his expression thoughtful. He began outlining his reasoning clearly.
"This stage seems to have two goals: one, to reach the exit before the forty-eight-hour deadline, and two, to collect at least five golden coins."
He paused, making sure Johnson followed. Then he continued,.
"My guess is, just like us, the other participants have formed groups. Most of them are probably attacking others to gather coins. Only those who are extremely confident in their strength would go solo. But regardless, everyone is still inside the maze. So if we just keep heading toward the exit, we'll naturally run into some of them along the way."
Fai's plan was simple and efficient, progress toward the exit and confront anyone they encounter on their way .
It was a passive-aggressive strategy that addressed both mission objectives without wandering aimlessly.
Johnson nodded in agreement. The logic made sense. There was no need to waste energy hunting people down when they could let the maze do the work for them.
With a silent agreement, the two began their journey.
They walked side by side, carefully navigating through twists, turns, and branching paths.
So far, everything had gone smoothly. They hadn't encountered any other participants, nor had they needed to fight, which meant their energy reserves remained untouched.
Nearly four hours passed as they wandered deeper into the labyrinth. The sun's bright yellow hue had started to shift into an amber glow, casting long shadows across the narrow stone paths.
The silence between them remained unbroken, thick with unspoken tension.
That was, until Johnson finally couldn't take it anymore.
He wasn't the kind of person who thrived in silence.
"The sky's changing color," he said, glancing upward. "The sun's gonna set soon."
Hearing his voice, Fai instinctively tilted his head to the sky. Sure enough, the clouds were drifting slowly across the horizon, bathed in a warm golden hue that signaled the coming night.
"You're right," Fai replied. "I almost forgot. Forty-eight hours… means we're out here for two whole days."
"Wait a second," Johnson said, suddenly realizing something that hadn't hit him earlier. "You don't mean we're supposed to survive two days without food?"
"No food, no water... no energy…" he added, his voice rising in panic. Sweat dripped down his face at the thought.
Fai let out a breath and calmly replied, "Relax. Two days without eating has never killed anyone."
Then, with a dry chuckle, he added, "And if anyone should be complaining, it's me. I'm still a regular human. Unlike Mutated Humans, my body doesn't have the strength to keep going without food."
He lied... But still he wasn't exaggerating. When humans mutated, their biology changed entirely.
They weren't just stronger or faster, they became resistant to hunger, fatigue, harsh environments, and even had accelerated healing..
Their cells were enhanced, allowing them to endure situations that would normally break a regular person.
"And also , complaining about it won't help us," Fai said...
"Instead, why don't we use this time to learn more about each other? Like… tell me about your mutant ability. It's unique I haven't seen anything like it before."
Fai said, trying to drift the subject to a new direction. Also he thought that if he knew more about Johnson mutant ability it will be of good use to him, incase Johnson was to go back on his words.
But He was genuinely curious. He had watched Johnson seemingly vanish and reappear when they first entered the labyrinth.
To Fai, it looked like teleportation. But he hadn't heard of any confirmed mutation like that.
Then again, the science behind mutant abilities was still evolving although it was so fast, so fast that even scientists couldn't keep up with every new development.
Still, Fai couldn't shake the feeling that Johnson's power was something rare, maybe even undocumented.
"And since you're my partner in this," Fai added, "it would help if we understood each other's limits, strengths, and weaknesses... Right? I mean, That way we could develop a solid battle strategy and maybe even create some synergy between our fighting styles."
Fai's words were calm, logical, and persuasive. He was trying to get Johnson to open up, even if it meant sharing details he wouldn't normally reveal.
But what Fai didn't know was that Johnson didn't need any convincing. He was already planning to tell him.
The only thing Fai's words did was reinforce his decision.
"My ability?" Johnson said with a half-smile. "It's not as special as you might think."
Fai tilted his head, listening intently.
"My mutation, what I can do, it's not teleportation," Johnson continued.
Fai blinked. He had seen it himself. He hadn't imagined it. They'd literally warped from the starting hall into the maze without even taking a step. How could that not be teleportation?
Johnson noticed the baffled look on his face and chuckled.
"I get it," he said. "It looks like teleportation, but it isn't. My ability is called Blink."
"Blink?" Fai repeated in his mind, confused.
He thought mutations were based on elemental powers, fire, earth, wind, water, lightning, and others. The concept of a non-elemental ability was new to him.
"Yeah, Blink," Johnson confirmed, as if reading Fai's thoughts. "It allows me to move a short distance in a fraction of a second."
Fai frowned. "But… isn't that still basically teleportation?"
"Nope," Johnson replied. "Teleportation lets you go anywhere, across any distance. My Blink only works within a specific range. Plus, I can only use it a few times in a row before I need to rest. There's a cooldown period between uses."
He lowered his voice for the last part, just in case anyone nearby was eavesdropping. In a place like this, secrets could be deadly.
Fai nodded as the explanation clicked into place. Blink wasn't an offensive ability, nor was it strictly defensive.
But it was incredibly useful. It gave Johnson the mobility to dodge attacks, move through a battlefield with ease, and escape dangerous situations in an instant.
It was a power that relied on precision and timing.
But now, a new question crept into Fai's mind.
how did Johnson get his mutation ?