“We are now at the third jump. The next one is back to the [Snowy Region] to complete a full rotation,” Ren explained.

  “I see,” Lin muttered, a few simulations running through his head as he contemplated Ren's plan. Just as his thoughts raced, a soft voice interrupted.

  “How did the fight go? You guys don’t seem half as dead as I imagined. Maybe we can fight back?” a blonde-haired woman asked, seated atop a small rock directly opposite Lin. However, as his eyes landed on her, he noticed her gaze wasn’t on him. She was directing the question at Roben.

  From an outsider's perspective, there didn’t seem to be any visible damage on either of them, making it appear as though the fight with the Minotaur had progressed much easier than expected.

  “If you’re okay with getting a few fractured bones, then we can do it,” Lin cut in before Roben could answer. His remark caused the woman, Sera, to glance at him briefly before turning her attention back to Roben, seemingly dismissing Lin’s words entirely.

  “He’s right. We were only able to outmaneuver it with speed. I imagine killing it would require us to pin it down somehow, which would take a lot of manpower,” Roben explained, stealing a few worried glances toward Lin. His statement fueled the already existing suspicion among them—that their collective power was the only way to successfully kill the beast. The others listening close by wore stiff expressions, clearly dreading such a task.

  “Ren’s strategy is already working as we speak. We won’t need to fight anymore, right?” Sera said, turning to Ren, who nodded in agreement.

  “Y-yeah, that’s the idea, unless there—” he began, trying to explain further, but Sera immediately cut him off.

  “…Don’t ask this prick for an opinion. Trust in yourself a little bit more,” she said naturally, though a few people didn’t even catch the first part. Lin, noting this, looked at her curiously, but it didn’t seem she had any intention of retracting her statement. She calmly met his gaze, staring back.

  “R-right,” Ren muttered afterward, not wanting to start an argument, effectively ending the conversation.

  A minute later, as the silence grew deafening, another voice rang out from their side.

  “Almost done here! Prepare for the next jump!” one of the individuals in the rocky region called out, alerting everyone. Those who had been sitting quickly stood up, getting ready for the next rotation. Ren cautiously stepped toward them, ensuring they were properly directed.

  Seeing this, Lin smiled faintly and turned his attention back to Sera as he spoke.

  “Sera, was it?” he said.

  The individual in question tilted her head with a puzzled expression, prompting him to continue.

  “You seem to have a lot of trust in this plan. Do you even understand how it works?” Lin asked, causing a frown to appear on her face as though he had insulted her. Still, Lin didn’t change his words, remaining quiet and waiting for an answer.

  “Obviously. It’s because I understand it that I trust it this much,” she replied firmly. Lin couldn’t blame her—Ren’s plan was just that good, and anyone who could fully grasp its intricacies would naturally recognize why it inspired such confidence.

  Curious, he continued. “So you also know the huge flaw in this plan?” he asked.

  Sera shook her head, straightening her posture.

  “Flaw?” she asked, genuine concern starting to show on her face.

  There couldn’t be anything she had overlooked, but because it was coming from Lin, that in itself was a bit ominous. Rather than fearing what the flaw might be, it seemed more like she was afraid Lin’s existence could be the ‘flaw’—a prospect that many of the onlookers briefly shared.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I guess not. How about we go through the plan together? Maybe you forgot something,” Lin said, a provocative smile appearing on his lips as he looked at her.

  She paused, wondering if he was trying to trick her somehow or if he was simply messing with her. However, the potential danger of not hearing him out seemed to outweigh her skepticism.

  “I think I remember everything,” she muttered, prompting Lin to nod while still watching her, encouraging her to continue.

  “The first part was drawing the Minotaur away from the ‘center’ while everyone else in each region gathered there,” she said, glancing at Lin as if waiting for confirmation. He simply nodded. As one of the two responsible for the task of drawing it away, he was the most qualified to speak on that aspect of the plan. (center refers to the center of all four regions)

  “After everyone gathers at the center, we play around with numbers,” she said.

  At the same time, a few individuals began walking toward them, stepping into the [Snowy region]. One by one, their expressions showed relief as they regained their sight. Altogether, ten individuals entered, leaving two others in the rocky region, who immediately joined Sera in the [Swamp region.]

  It was a visual representation of what she was describing.

  “Currently, there are 13 people stepping into the Snowy Region, meaning that, as per the [Majority Rule], the Minotaur will now be transported to the center of the Snowy Region in the next five minutes,” Sera explained. Lin nodded again, once more confirming her statements.

  “And since it will be teleported to the center of the region, it will take around 10 to 15 minutes for it to reach us here. But instead of waiting,” she continued, pointing toward the Swamp Region behind her, “we’ll immediately send 13 people into the Swamp Region. As the Minotaur is still trying to reach us from the Snowy Region, it will be forcefully teleported to the center of the Swamp Region after five minutes of running toward us.”

  Her tone held a hint of admiration, as if hearing the plan aloud made its brilliance even more apparent.

  “The plan is to keep doing it every five minutes and always cut its chase mid-way,” she concluded, glancing at Lin and waiting for his response.

  [Majority rule] — If a single region has more than 60% of the participants for more than 5 minutes, the beast will automatically spawn in the middle of that region (if it isn’t already within that region).

  The idea behind the rotating center strategy was to take turns triggering the Majority Rule, exploiting the distance between the center of each region and the central point where all regions collided. Using the Majority Rule, they could forcibly redirect the Minotaur to different regions every five minutes, ensuring it never reached the center.

  The journey would require at least 10 to 15 minutes—an extremely rounded down estimate based on the information provided by the goddess regarding the Minotaur's physical abilities.

  Hopefully, we did enough damage to its legs, Lin thought, recalling the Minotaur's injured right leg. Although not explicitly part of the strategy, Roben and Lin, as experienced martial artists, had taken it upon themselves to inflict as much damage as possible aimed solely at restricting its movements.

  A destination that could never be reached.

  The strategy would trap the beast in a never-ending loop, failing to reach them while buying more and more time to burn through their 75 minutes and win via the first condition—survival.

  A perfect plan.

  “So you still don’t see any flaws?” Lin asked. Curiosity and unease spread across their faces as everyone held their breath, waiting for Sera’s response. Some of them had hoped Lin’s skepticism stemmed from a lack of understanding of the plan. Yet, even after going through it and acknowledging its potential, Lin still seemed unconvinced.

  “I don’t,” Sera admitted, still seeing nothing wrong with the plan.

  The only way it could fail was if the individuals involved didn’t play their part. That realization seemed to heighten the group’s caution, their attention focusing more sharply on Lin, who was considered a wild card.

  Noticing their alertness, Lin let out a quiet chuckle.

  “Then maybe I’m overthinking things,” Lin said simply, though his words only deepened the dissatisfaction etched on everyone’s faces.

  Ren, standing a short distance away, had already considered asking Lin for clarification but decided against it. He remained silent, opting to scrutinize the plan on his own, hoping to identify any potential flaws. Yet, with how things appeared, finding an issue felt like an impossible task.

  The plan seemed flawless.

  “Do you mind sharing those worries? Maybe we can explain it to you,” Sera suggested.

  Lin glanced to his side, his eyes briefly flicking to the timers above everyone’s heads, which he had been using as a makeshift watch. Without turning back to her, he muttered,

  “I do.”

  His calm reply left the group visibly conflicted. They exchanged uneasy glances, struggling to discern whether Lin’s behavior stemmed from unmatched intelligence or outright insanity. Despite their efforts, they couldn’t reach a conclusion.

  Let’s just hope I’m being paranoid.

  Contrary to their assumptions, Lin wasn’t as composed as he appeared on the surface.