DON'T ASK ABOUT MY PAST

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.”