26. Next Target 1.

A fire pit and a crock pot made of stone have been set up by Jasmine to cook a meal.

I looked into the bowl and I could see various vegetable cuts and mixed expertly to cook a celery soup.

I used my injured hand to hold the bowl, feeling the warmth of the meal underneath the bowl, while my right hand was used to take a scoop of the meal.

But then, everything turned silent between us.

Just as the soup entered my mouth, my taste buds were in utter glee at how mesmerizing it felt to eat such a meal which reminded me of Sophia's cooking.

Initially, the aroma of the soup triggered my mind to recall my mom's cooking, but now, with the taste I felt in my mouth, I couldn't hold back the solitary tear dripping from my right cheek.

Jasmine took notice of my silence, and this made her worried that I might not like the soup.

The tears coursing down my cheek made her a bit puzzled but after seeing how I impetuously ate my meal without a care in the world even though the meal was really hot, she smiled wholeheartedly and couldn't help asking.

"How is it?" She shifted closer. " It's delicious, right?" I could sense pride in the way she spoke and a bit of relief as well in enjoying her food.

But my mind was too preoccupied, and I wanted to avoid responding to what she was asking.

However, it didn't look like she was bothered by this.

Since I was genuinely enjoying her meal, she could understand why I chose to remain silent while savoring the feeling of eating something edible after what seemed like centuries since I had something this good.

Still, she reminded me, seeing as how the food was about to finish.

"You can have more if you want, but in the next few hours, we'll be heading to the labyrinth to kill the Minotaur,"

"What?!"

____

A few minutes later,

In the middle of a forest, there was a wide circular expanse of grass inside the dense forest and right in the middle of it, there was a house.

It was more like a cabin. It was neat, though not very big, with a well and several neatly arranged logs of wood gathered for burning woods in the chimney and placed right beside the house.

We both sat on a massive log, staring at the fireplace, where the crackling sound of burning firewood was heard.

I had just finished my third round of meals for the day. This much was expected.

I had to eat extra portions for the 48 hours I didn't eat.

There was no way I couldn't ask for a second and third round.

I'm not a glutton. I was just filling the empty space left behind two days ago.

The meal kept on hitting the right spots and filling me with a sense of nostalgia and excitement.

This girl will make a great wife in the future.

Well, that's if she doesn't kill her partner, that is.

After all, you can never really trust a killer now, can you?

I rubbed my bloated stomach and cautiously drifted my gaze to see a pleased Jasmine willingly helping me to pick up my plates, together with hers.

Her face looks like she's been lonely for quite some time and was finally happy to see someone she could share a meal with.

But? Could that be the case?

It's been five days already since the game started, right? She possibly couldn't have been lonely until now.

Well, she should, but feeling lonely should be the last thing on any survivor's mind right now.

Anyone could die at any moment, so our utmost priority should always be our safety.

If she's feeling lonely, then maybe she's just homesick.

If this is so, then I wonder what she did to make her incarcerated in the first place.

Well, since I had eaten to my satisfaction, which happened to be the first time in a long time, I could finally try to make sense of what Jasmine said earlier.

"What do you mean by killing the Minotaur?" I asked, then added. "Didn't we kill the Minotaur when we fought against it?"

"We did, but that was one out of a possible five lingering in the labyrinth,"

One out of a possible five? I don't get it.

Jasmine noticed my discombobulated expression, she wanted to say something, but I asked first.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like this, the Minotaur spawns from a labyrinth, and in a labyrinth, there are five different Minotaur in them,"

"..."

Okay, that seems easy to understand.

"If one dies, it re-spawns in the labyrinth as long as the remaining four Minotaur remain alive. It's just like a cave with kobolds,"

She continued. "A cave contains five kobolds and once all kobolds are dead, the cave releases a treasure chest before it vanishes,"

"A treasure chest?"

"Yes, several caves continue to vanish every day, but so far, the labyrinth is the only one I've laid eyes upon,"

This means so far, there's only one labyrinth she's seen in contrast to the many caves scattered around the forest.

"But why is that?" I asked.

But Jasmine shook her head, indicating she wasn't certain why this was so.

I guess this much was to be expected.

We're both players in this messed up game, it's not like anyone could know anything about what we are to expect like a beta tester.

" I think it's because the labyrinth houses five level 4 Minotaur, making it difficult for anyone to conquer it," Jasmine assumed.

I understood what she meant by this. In the caves, she spoke of, which houses the kobolds.

The kobolds were level 2 monsters, just like the wolves, so players should be able to take them out, but barely.

After my battle with the Minotaur, I've come to understand just how important the levels in this game are for a player and even a monster as well.

_________

The total number of players currently in the game: 78,678.

The number of deceased players: 19.

The total number of deceased players: 1,322.