AJ took out a notebook and pen and scribbled something on its pages before showing the four others.

  From now on, we communicate through paper. And for god's sake no one fucking break any of those rules, unless you want to end up like that group.

  The others understood quickly and pulled out writing utensils of their own. April scribbled something and pointed at the words.

  What’s going on? Nothing’s like what the scouts said!

  AJ fought down a frown upon hearing the scouting party, but his professionalism won out and he responded without any of his personal biases.

  Info’s bogus. That guard the others fought’s something that I’d even struggle with, that’s no mid-tier threat. However, they only seem to get that power boost when a rule’s broken. Hell, I don’t think they’ll even attack if we behave, so let's just stay on our best behaviors. The rules don't seem unreasonable at least.

  One of the frontline peons wrote next.

  But you can win against one, right? You’re the strongest Aspirant!

  AJ had to really suppress a frown now. How can this man be so goddamn stupid?

  Yes, I can, but unless it's working by itself in this huge facility, then its friends will come before long, and if you need to ask why that’s problematic, then I’ll throw you at one and see how that goes.

  The chastised man didn’t respond. AJ made sure that everyone understood the severity of their current situation before writing further.

  Once again, we follow the rules going forth and stick close together. Fighting will get us killed real quick, so we avoid it at all costs. Treat this like the third Trial. If we follow the rules, we’ll be fine, and once we get out of here and reestablish contact with sponsors, I will fucking level this goddamn hospital to the ground, points be damned.

  The others nodded and huddled closer, their weapons now fully stashed away. They knew it as well as AJ by now; there was no winning a fight when they were all separated and vulnerable. AJ paused and made one last note.

  Anyone have any noncombat abilities here?

  They all shook their heads, with the exception of April.

  I can do some rudimentary surveillance; I have the basic clairvoyance skill. It’s not much, but I can look through some of the doors if I concentrate enough.

  AJ nodded and waved her over.

  Then you’re with me at the front. Everyone else stays behind us and is on overwatch.

  The five started to shuffle positions, an agonizingly slow process given the limited amount of room they had to work with, all the while trying to minimize the noise. The men, thankfully, were trained well enough to go without incident. AJ checked their formation one last time, but he noticed something strange.

  On the walls, right above one of the no-named idiots, was some kind of… black, wiggling sludge. No, upon closer look, it was a tentacle that seemed to be made out of fine hairs. It was creeping out of one of the vents and from the looks of it…

  It struck the man at lightning speed,

  Shit! AJ barely contained his own frustrations, but he used his own skill to divert the tentacle’s trajectory. Whatever creature that tentacle belonged to must have been stronger than anything that AJ had ever faced before because that simple gesture used up close to a third of his mana. His telekinesis could move literal buildings, so what kind of force must be behind that strike for him to struggle so much to simply divert the blow?

  What the fuck happened to not attacking the guests? Then again, there were never any rules that said otherwise... shit!

  The others noticed the huge fluctuation of mana and peered over. The tentacle had drilled a hole through the floors, and it started to retract back into the vent. Fear or curiosity must have driven the team mad because they stood still to see what had caused the commotion. Gloomy eyes reflected off the light at the entrance of the air vent, and soon, a wiggling creature, about the size of a cat and almost comically fat, flew out of the opening.

  It looked like some kind of strange lizard with three mouths and two pairs of wings. Aside from the wiggling hairs that covered its body, the thing didn’t look at all threatening, especially with its six stubby feet. It looked like a child’s pet, yet as it slowly approached the five Aspirants, AJ’s body felt almost paralyzed with a primal fear. This thing was deadly.

  He tugged on the shirts of the other four, breaking them out of whatever spell that creature had put them under, and gestured for them to run for it. As if noticing the shift in its prey, the creature opened its largest mouth, and a blinding mass of needle-like shards spat out of its maw. April was the first to act then; she made a rapid gesture with her hands and a huge wall of ice materialized to block off the corridor. Unfortunately, the solid wall was disintegrating by the second, and AJ had to help stabilize its integrity with his own abilities.

  Move, you morons! He wanted to shout, and thankfully, his expression must have shaken the other idiots out of their daze, and they booked it out of there. Not a moment later, the wall of ice shattered and the needles continued to hurl into the group. AJ was able to deflect most of them, while April did her best to absorb the others with balls of ice and fire. He didn’t have time to see if any more got past their defenses as the group dove into a bend in the corridor.

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  One of the peons, finally having a good idea, enlarged his arms and brought down a portion of the walls, sealing the terrifying needle creature on the other side of the collapsed hallway.

  “Guests are reminded to treat the hospital with respect! Damage to the facility will be compensated!”

  As the voice from the speaker faded, the man who brought down the walls went wide-eyed and stifled a horrible scream. He brought a cloth to his mouth and bit down hard. The others went over, but could only watch on in horror as half of the man’s face atrophied into nothing. His eyes decayed and hollowed out, and his left arm turned into a shrunken, withered thing. He spat out a mouthful of blackened blood, barely alive. Well, if nothing else, at least AJ found out what kinds of compensation the guests were expected to pay if they damaged the building. Shit!

  Potion! Quick! He scribbled.

  April pulled one of the elixirs out of her inventory and fed it to the dying man.

  But before even a quarter of the potion could enter the man’s system, that horrid voice came back on. “All guests are to consume food and drinks only in the allocated areas! That is twice that guest number 1022 has broken the rules! You are forced to exit!”

  And as the voice faded, the dying Aspirant seemed to dissolve into the ground, his face a horrible mask of fear and pain. It was quite clear that “exiting” meant exiting your life here, because there wasn’t even a security personnel to come this time, the man had simply vanished. AJ had never seen such a thing, he couldn’t even begin to think of a way to counteract that. What the hell was this hellhole that he’s found himself in? Worse, until the group finds the cafeteria, then their healing options are next to nonexistent, and any wounds or use of mana would stack.

  That was when AJ realized that he had grown complacent even since his deal with his god. The Trials lost its edge and survival became something that he only tangentially thought about. When was the last time that he had been stripped of all of his abilities, and had to hide to simply survive until the next moment? Too long, much too long, and AJ could only hope that he retained those much-needed skills he had almost forgotten about.

  Move faster. He wrote quickly. Conserve mana when possible, and if you see any other group or staff, ignore them. Our safety is the only thing that matters until we escape.

  The remaining 3 survivors nodded and picked up their pace, although AJ hardly needed to warm them. The rubble might have brought the group time from that flying lizard thing, but the gnawing sound coming from the other side of the collapsed concrete was a worrying concern. They only slowed the thing down.

  The group turned and half ran toward the only remaining direction open to them. AJ and April were still in the lead, white the other two trailing not too far behind. They passed through corridor after corridor, sometimes encountering other Aspirants like them, but the group had learned to ignore the others. There was no helping some, and AJ wasn’t willing to risk others joining them as one of the first rules that the fucking creature behind the speakers said was that they could only travel in a maximum group of five.

  They continued down seemingly endless doorways when AJ noticed that the other no-name soldier - a Bill or Phil or something - had slowed down drastically. He was lagging behind the others by a few paces now, and abnormal amounts of sweat was pouring down his face. Even if this individual was considered weak among Atlus’ soldiers, there should be no way that he’d be worthless and that he’d be unable to follow at a brisk jogging pace. Something was wrong.

  AJ hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to slow down their pace and figure out what was wrong with him. It would cost them a few moments of precious time, but AJ needed to gather intel about this siege, and maybe the weak man’s condition could tell him more about the Trial.

  What is going on, soldier? AJ wrote, all but shoving the piece of paper in front of the panting man.

  The man, half delirious at this point, seemed reluctant to tell him but relented when he saw that there was no point hiding things further. He pulled up one of his sleeves and the others saw that a small pin-prick hole was on his skin. Around the tiny wound, horrible, tendrils of hair-like substances wiggled beneath his skin, spreading up into his chest and other areas.

  AJ frowned. You got hit.

  He nodded.

  Can you still move?

  He nodded again.

  We can maybe do something if we reach the cafeteria, but we can’t afford to slow down on your account. You either suck it up and follow, or you die. Do you understand?

  The poor man gritted his teeth and nodded for the third time. He knew his fate was most likely sealed, but at least the prospect of a cure kept him going. AJ wasn’t doing this out of the goodness of his heart, of course, but he was curious to see if any of the various curatives that the party had would work on whatever infection was afflicting this man. One of the rules mentioned patients and diseases, and he was willing to bet that finding a cure for this would be a major priority if he wanted to clear this mission.

  AJ gave the man a few moments to collect himself, but he made one final note and showed it to the others, while the infected man’s back was turned.

  We don’t know what the sickness is, but if he shows any signs of corruption, we end him. Is that clear?

  Jose and April gulped down a retort but didn’t deny the need for such extreme measures. There were too many unknowns when it came to dealing with curses or supernatural diseases, and the group could take no half-measures against such threats.

  And so the four of them continued down the long, blood-soaked hallway, doing their best to ignore the screams and pleas of those they passed. Those who didn’t understand the nature of this Trial were the first to die, but as AJ moved further along, he saw more and more groups who moved silently and purposefully toward where the exit should be. None of them acknowledged the other party’s existence.

  And as the number of survivors increased, so too did the number of staff. At first, AJ only saw a few wandering nurses hurrying past, but before long, the hospital seemed to come alive with activity. It made sense because these same staff were carting away familiar faces who had succumbed to whatever diseases lingered or were busy picking up the pieces of Aspirant that were left on the ground after the security detail was done with them.

  The sheer chaos and suffering permeating every inch of the hospital was nauseating for AJ, but the worst feeling of all was the helplessness he felt. He desperately wanted to fight back, and perhaps he could now that so many others had gathered around, but he saw the dead, hopeless eyes of his fellow Aspirants. The silence and endless rules they had to follow had worn down their nerves and their will to fight, and AJ knew that the only thing on anyone’s mind was to get out of his abyss. For now, they could only press onwards in neat groups of 3 - 5 individuals, each pack careful not to linger too close to one another.

  They moved like herded animals.

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