Jungkook gave Namjoon a thumbs up to boost his morale when answering the game. He wanted to bring Soobin next to them but the Sphinx yelled at him to just sit in his place.
"Let's start the game show now!" Sphinx said happily, proud at her own invented show. She handed Namjoon a questionnaire, bubble sheet and a pencil. "Encircle your answers."
Namjoon nodded in response.
"Which band has won over the most daesangs?" Namjoon read the first question in the paper. "BTS!" he instantly answered, though he got confused after it.
Beside him, Jungkook took a look at the paper and spoke the words that he's been thinking, "That's not even a riddle!"
"Quiet down, bunny boy. I run this game show!"
Jungkook slumped on his seat, annoyed at how the Sphinx lied to them. He let Namjoon answer the rest of the "riddles" the Sphinx gave him.
On the other hand, Namjoon stared at the pencil he was holding. He didn't like how the Sphinx thought of these random trivias as riddles, it made him feel like the Sphinx was insulting his intelligence - that's how easy it was for him. However, on the thirteenth question, Namjoon finally looked up from his bubble sheet.
"What is it?" Jungkook asked curiously
"Oh it's a riddle now" Namjoon showed him the paper.
This thing all things devours. Birds, beasts, trees, and even flowers.
Gnaws iron, bites steel
Grinds hard stone to meal.
Slays kings, ruins towns
And beats high mountains down.
Jungkook read the riddle, his face slowly scrunching at how the words confused him. "A god? Maybe?"
Namjoon placed a hand over JK's mouth. "Don't speak if you're not sure of your answer! The Sphinx might betray us again if she considers your answer instead of mine."
Jungkook only nodded, removing his friend's hand off his mouth. Sighing, he checked on how Soobin was doing at the corner of the room. Luckily, the boy's still alive but his wound's still fresh and bleeding.
We need to take him out of the maze already. Jungkook thought to himself. Namjoon hyung, hurry up! Use that brain of yours! He wanted to yell at Namjoon but he couldn't. He didn't want to pressure his friend, especially when he can't even think of the right answer.
"Well? Have you given up yet, boy?" The Sphinx asked impatiently.
And then Namjoon raised his pencil, "I got it!"
"What? What is it?"
"Time. The answer's time." Namjoon said as he fill in the bubble on the sheet to mark his choice of answer.
If the son of Athena got the right answer, the Sphinx didn't react.
"Great!" Jungkook cheered on his friend. "Now, next riddle please."
"Just check on Soobin, make sure the Sphinx doesn't touch the boy before I ace this game."
"Wow. Confident." Jungkook raised an eyebrow at his friend, who was now concentrating on the next question
Namjoon felt the mockery from Jungkook's tone, and said, "JK, do your part. Will you?"
"Alright, alright. Eyes on Soobin. I got it."
For the next riddle, Namjoon read it out loud to see if Jungkook can understand it too.
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters
Toothless bites
Mouthless mutters
Jungkook made a face, not really understanding the riddle. Namjoon gave his friend another ten seconds, giving Jungkook a chance to at least answer one riddle.
"I really don't get it." Jungkook waved his hand in front of him. "Just answer it on your own, Joon. Let Athena be proud of you."
Namjoon just shook his head in disbelief. How can this dude be so lazy to analyze this riddle when he, himself, experiences this the most, he thought as he wrote his answer on the paper. "The answer is wind, airhead."
Jungkook didn't even react with the teasing, he knew that his hyung was just making fun of him for being lazy.
Namjoom passed his paper to the Sphinx, who then placed it in the scoring machine made by Hephaestus himself.
After awhile, the machine spat the paper out, revealing the score Namjoon got.
"I don't believe it.." The Sphinx was staring at the paper she held out in awe. "You got a perfect score..."
"So will you let us go now?" asked Jungkook.
"You may..." The Sphinx was still looking at Namjoon's paper, probably taking it all in that for the first time, someone can make it out of her classroom alive.
Jungkook and Namjoon took Soobin away from the Sphinx, who was still preoccupied with the piece of paper. However, when they were already at the other door of the classroom, Jungkook stopped walking and said, "I forgot something."
"What?"
He points his index finger to the only light bulb inside the classroom and channeled his power. As a son of Zeus, Jungkook can control electricity although doing so can drain him out; it was his secret weapon, after all. And since the Sphinx got him pissed because of hurting a new camper and for killing anyone who doesn't answer her stupid riddles that he believes only children of Athena can answer, he zapped the monster. "There. Got it."
The rest of the boys didn't see what happened next to the Sphinx because before they knew it, the walls of the maze shifted once again.
After a new maze was formed, Namjoon asked the new camper. "Were you inside that room all this time?"
Soobin shook his head. "I was with Lisa noona. She tried to protect me from that other lion monster but the maze moved like what it just did now."
"Lisa?" Jungkook almost broke his neck with how fast he whipped his head to face Soobin. "You were with her? And she faced a monster? All alone?"
Soobin nodded this time. "But I gave her the cape you gave me before. It was really helpful to me before I saw her so I figured it can protect her when she's fighting the monster. I just hope she's okay right now.."
Namjoon could only place a hand on Soobin's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Your noona's a tough demigod. I'm sure she's already defeated whatever monster that was. You mentioned something about a cape?"
"It was the Nemean lion's pelt. I gave it to Soobin before he went away with Mr. D." Jungkook then realized that Soobin's still bleeding. He immediately fished his jean pocket and held out an ambrosia. He noticed Namjoon looking at him questioningly. "Hoseok gave me three before we got inside the maze."
He nodded, fully understanding what the pelt and ambrosia were capable of. "Let's not waste time now and find a place to spend a few hours to sleep. I'm tired already."
"Here, Soobin." Jungkook gave the boy the food that demigods eat to heal their wounds faster. "Eat this. It'll heal you."
Eventually, after bandaging Soobin's wounds (thanks to Namjoon's bandages in his backpack), they found an empty tunnel to sleep in, somewhere narrow enough that monsters can't come in, with JK and Namjoon taking turns to watch over Soobin.
---
Namjoon woke up after hearing voices coming from outside the tunnel.
"I told you, we need to find another exit leading to Texas! They might be in trouble!"
"Our friends aren't that stupid, Jisoo. They're probably done fighting that Geryon dude." The boy stopped talking. "Jisoo! Why the hell are we crawling in this tunnel when we can choose the other way?!"
"I can hear snores!"
Namjoon woke Soobin and Jungkook up at the sound of his friends' voices. The two younger boys stirred in their sleep until Namjoon pulled their ears to wake them up before the maze moves again.
"Aw! That hurts!" Jungkook struggled to take Namjoon's hand from his left ear. "Alright, I'm up! Let go now!"
"Jungkook?" Jisoo suddenly appeared, her eyes owled up as she found familiar faces once again. "You're all safe!" The girl hugged the three boys at one, keeping herself from crying.
Then the ground began shaking. The walls were shifting outside once more.
"Let's get out. We're not sure what happens to rooms and tunnels after the maze shifts." Yoongi said, pulling Jisoo out, their other friends following them.
Once the maze stopped moving, the five of them tried to say their own sides of the story.
"Irene and Jeongyeon already left the maze with Jin and the hunters, huh?" Namjoon repeated what Yoongi said. "I guess that's good, less people to worry about."
"And Lisa?" asked Jisoo
"She got separated with Soobin."
Jisoo frowned, getting more worried about her best friend.
"Someone probably rescued her, Jisoo. Don't start sulking again." It was Yoongi's best way to try to cheer the girl up, and it's what Jisoo needed, even with that kind of way.
"Soobin's wounds still aren't healing." Jungkook said, "Jisoo, can you?"
"Lady Artemis said she shouldn't use her healing powers too much. She's already helped some hunters a few hours before." Yoongi intervened.
"I can help him.. But I can't use all my strength anymore." Jisoo managed to say.
Yoongi was about to complain; he's seen her walking a little slower than her usual pace, she only has two normal arrows left in her quiver, and with her remaining strength, she can't really use her dagger that much for close combat. However, when he saw how determined Jisoo looked, he just stood behind Namjoon.
As Jisoo healed Soobin, Namjoon took that time to talk to Yoongi.
"Let's find another exit. I'll go take Soobin back to camp. I just have to signal my Pegasus to fetch us. It won't take long, I guess."
"You're leaving us? But you're the best strategist here." Yoongi argued in a hushed tone.
"You'll have Jungkook, and Jisoo. I know they're a bit inexperienced in quests but you know they're both helpful in their own ways. Give them a chance."
Yoongi looked at the younger ones. He, Namjoon, and Hoseok were only a year older than them but they really were more experienced than them. Chiron doesnt give Jungkook and his two other friends lots of quests compared to their group because of how reckless the younger boys were.
Still, Yoongi thought of how strong both Jungkook and Jisoo can really be, especially at how driven they are to save Lisa and the others. Hell, Yoongi only stayed because he can't seem to want to leave Jisoo alone.
"JK and Soo need you. Don't even think of coming with me." Namjoon added.
"Alright. But send an Iris message once you're back in camp!"
Namjoon nodded and relayed his plan to the others, who also agreed since Yoongi's still with them to guide them in the maze.
With their luck, it didn't take them long enough to find a crevice, which leads outside the maze. Namjoon and Soobin bid their goodbyes to their fellow campers before the son of Athena called his Pegasus, Koya.
After walking the maze for an hour or so, Jungkook was finally done. "gods, I hope we'll find the others soon too. I want to get out of this sinister maze already.", he protested. "Lisa! Where are you!" He shouted as if the daughter of Tyche could hear him.
Jisoo and Yoongi shushed him, afraid that he'll attract another horde of monsters in their way. They've already fought too many various minor monsters, and they can't risk eating ambrosia anymore.
"Well, well, well." They heard a woman's voice from a distance.
Then another voice spoke, someone just beside Jungkook but the three of them can't see anyone other than themselves. "Looks like someone's missing someone."
Jungkook's eyes widened, his ears getting red. Behind him, Yoongi and Jisoo exchanged knowing glances.
---
A/N: Votes and comments are highly appreciated :> I hope you guys leave comments because I want to know your reactions :<