The Running Men stared at the large gate at the end of the path. A blue light was then formed on the inside of the gate and acted as a portal. With one leap, all of the participants jumped into the portal and arrived at the next game stage.

Liu and Pala were the first to arrive among their other friends and they were surprised to witness over a hundred Pululus conversing with each other and waiting for the start of the match.

"Wow... so many Pululus,'" Said the amazed impala before Miyo and Kuga lept out of the portal together and arrived next to them.

"Miyo! Kuga!" Shouted the thrilled bug as they all smiled at each other upon meeting up.

"Hey, Liu!" Miyo called out to them as she waved her hand.
"We're the two of you up against each other as well?" She asked.

"Oh, hehe yeah. Pala was pretty hard to beat with his new and improved Materio Vithicus" Said the humble bug as Pala nervously laughed and blushed from the compliment.

"Well... I guess I was pretty impressive" Mumbled the Impala.

"I'm guessing that both of you battled each other as well? Who won?" Asked the curious bug as Kuga tensed up for a second. Shifting his eyes left and right before opening his mouth for a stuttering reply.

"I... I-t... It was Mi-"

"Kuga. Kuga won, of course," Miyo interrupted the tiger as she gazed at him with a secret smirk that only both of them knew. Kuga formed a small smile and nodded before hearing Liu's remark.

"Oh. Hmm... I could have sworn that Kuga would lose seeing Miyo is faster"

"Nope. Kuga won. I didn't stand a chance" Miyo said as she crossed her arms. Still smiling at them before another group arrived through the portal.

It was Yuu. All of them turned to gaze at him with a smile while Yuu looks at them as if he was tired of his life.

His expression confused them all for a moment until another head popped out of the portal and moved next to his. It was Salena. Still clinging on his back with a broad smile before noticing them.

"... Hey guys..." Said the exhausted Yuu while the others awkwardly waves their hands and said; "Hey..."

"Are these the friends that you mentioned?" Salena asked as she turned to look at Yuu, waiting for his response but he only nodded and made the bunny shout in delight and excitement.
"Maeu gippeun! (Delightful!) Annyeonghaseyo!!!" She cheerfully waved both hands as if she was doing the Jazz Hands.

"... Annyo... What?" Pala, Kuga, and Liu mumbled at the same time.

"It means hello in her tribe..." Yuu replied for them as Salena still put out a "w" shaped smile.

"Hello..." All of them waved at her at the same time after saying that.

"Yuu... Who is this person?" Miyo asked him, having the same confused and curious look as the Rest.

"She's Salena, my earlier opponent. She's one of the other Level 5 prisoners in this maze... I think she can help u-" Then, before he could finish, Salena leaned to the side of his face and spoke with an aggressive tone but smiled sweetly towards his friends nonetheless.

"I'm his best friend!" She boldly said out loud. Wrapping her arms around his neck for support.

"No. I'm not..." He quickly denied it.  But Salena ignored him.

"We're practically BFFs!"

"No. We're not..."

"Best friends forever! I'm secretly his most favourite friend amongst all of you...!" She whispered.

"No. You're not... Miyo is" The feline blushes faintly after hearing what he just said. Her eyes expanded and were the size of dishes before a miniature smile was formed while looking away.

"How come I'm not you're favourite?!" The Bunny pouted as she rested her chin on his head again.

The human then rolled his eyes in complete annoyance while Liu and the rest couldn't help but stare at them with awkward smiles.

"A... Are you sure she's a Level 5 Prisoner? She looks so harmless?" Asked Pala.

"Thank you!" Replied Salena with a smile of gratitude from Pala's question.

"Trust me... I wouldn't be carrying her if she was useless..."

"Hey! That's mean!" The bunny complained as she pouted.
"You know I can't walk in my state!"

"Yeah. Yeah..."

"Oh, hey! It's you!" Salena pointed at Liu with a wide smile. Confusing the big and the rest.

"M... Me?" Asked Liu.

"Yeah, you! You're the one I saved earlier. When the Pululus cornered you in every direction!"

"That was you?!" Liu repeated in disbelief.

"Liu, what's she talking about?" Miyo asked the question all of them were thinking of.

"Well... Back in the maze... I was cornered by countless Pululus. I was sure it would be my last until I saw a bright flash of light and before I knew it... everyone single Pululu was defeated... I didn't realize that you were the one who did it!"

"Wait, seriously?! How did you do it?" Miyo asked the bunny directly, looking as if the topic caught her interest.

"With a little zippy-zap!" She said as a small spark of electricity appeared out of her fingers after rubbing them together to create friction. The rest were a bit amazed by what she showed them until Salena's ears perked straight when she stared at Kuga. "Whoa! You sure are big! Are you as strong as you look?!"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Replied the tiger with a proud smile.

"Whoa! Amazing! What's your name?"

"Kuga"

"Nice to meet you Kuga! I want to fight you next! But, before that... I still need to get even with my BFF here" The tiger looked surprised at first with what she just suddenly said but decided to ignore it.

"Again... I'm not your BFF..."

"Sure, pal. Whatever you say~~~" Salena said with a teasing tone before looking over at Pala and noticing his cane.

"What's in that Jar?" She asked curiously.

"Oh! It's my Materio Vithicus Potion"

"Is it any good?"

Then, a wide smirk appeared on Pala's expression and fidgeted his glasses like Liu whenever he comes up with a plan or strategy.

"Any good? Ha! It's the most wonderful substance in the world! One sip will take you on a roller coaster ride! You will get energy beyond your wildest dreams and make you feel like you can move mountains or break even the hardest of rocks or stones!" The impala grimaced at his own remark. Raising his cane as though he was giving a public toast before turning to look at the others. "Right guys?!" Pala asked them for their opinion but none replied. Only having awkwardness carved into their faces until the Bunny made a cheerfully loud remark.

"Whoa! That sounds really amazing! I want to try some! Can I?!" She pleaded as her eyes widened to show that she was indeed eager to have a taste but Pala's excitement quickly burned down along with his straight posture.

"Nah... I'm too lazy to make it..." He lazily said with a sigh. Salena blinked twice after his reply. Speechless and awkward, she turned to look at the final player, which was Miyo.

"Oooh. You have beautiful hair!" Said the ever happy bunny with her forever smile.

"Oh... Why thank you" Replied the cat with a smile of gratitude.

"And your ears... They're so adorable! Can I touch them? Can I?! Can I?!" Miyo leaned back a bit as she was a bit weirded out by Salena's suggestion.

Soon Yuu made a very audible sigh before speaking to clear the topic. "Anyways... Where's Lonky and Popo?" Asked Yuu in order to change their subject.

The others then moved on with the topic as well and just went with the flow.

"They're not here yet. It's still just us" Liu replied for him before hearing Miyo audibly clear her throat as her blush was slowly fading.

"The portal is closing, they better hurry it up or else they'll get eliminated," Said the Pink-haired cat.

Then, just after Miyo said that. The duo, Popo and Lonky, leapt out of the closing portal just in time before it completely disappeared. The Giraffe collapsed, breathless, on the ground. It was clear that Lonky ran to catch up with the portal before it could close on them. The penguin then jumped off from his head and smiled at the exhausted Giraffe.

"Good work, Lonky. I am truly delighted" Said the mighty penguin.

"Of course... Master... I'd do anything for you..." Replied Lonky in-between his breathing. Still have high gratitude towards Popo for not eliminating him.

"It's a good thing both of you made it!" Said Liu as Yuu stood next to the bug.

"Yeah. It's no fun if we aren't complete in this tournament" The Human agreed.

Liu smiled and gazed at the Human next to him before noticing something that caught his attention.

"Umm... Yuu? Where's your friend?"

"Hmm?" Yuu paused for a moment before realizing that Salena was no longer on his back. He was confused and surprised at first before all of them heard Popo's scream from behind.

As all of them turned towards their screaming friend, they could see the Bunny hugging Popo with her tight embrace. Rubbing her cheeks on Popo's round, soft, fluffy head.

"WHO ARE YOU?! LET ME GO! GUYS HELP! STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!" Shouted Popo as Salena couldn't stop herself from her desires. She squeezes Popo even more and buries her face on his cheeks. She proceeded to move her face  side to side to feel Popo's soft feathers (YES. Penguins have feathers, not furs, for those who don't know. They're birds). Her cheeks formed a bright, cheerful, blush before speaking.

"Ahh! OMG, you are super adorable!!! Why didn't you tell me you have such an adorable friend?!" Said the cheerful bunny. Swaying the penguin left and right as she hopped in joy and excitement before Yuu spoke. Sounding annoyed.

"Wait a minute... You said you couldn't walk... Did you lie to me just so I would carry you..?" Asked the human, though, from the sound of his voice, it seems like he was starting to get filled with rage.

Salena stopped hopping for a moment and came to complete silence. After a few seconds of even more silence, she turned over at the bandaged man with a nervous smile.

"Ehe..." Salena rubbed the back of her head in a nervous action as that was all she could say while still holding the penguin on her other arms close to her chest. Her mind went blank and couldn't think of any other excuses or lies.

Yuu was in rage for a moment before realizing that it was part of his fault for not realizing it at first. So he let out a very deep sigh and moved on.

"Seriously... Is she really a level 5 Prisoner?" Miyo asked with doubt as she stood next to him.

"To be honest... I don't know anymore... Maybe I should have taken that Powerful item instead" The Human mumbled while Salena continued to hop in delight with a screaming penguin on her arm.

"Whelp, there's no turning back now," Said the bug, standing on the other side of Yuu with Kuga and Pala.
"I think it's nice to have a teammate with a personality like hers. It makes you feel less stressed with your problems and have nothing to worry about because of her childish behaviours"

"Yeah" The tiger agreed. "Because all our stresses and worries are diverted towards her..." The group gazed at the mischievous bunny as they all let out a short chuckle.

"She gets on my nerves sometimes... And I'm sure she'll get on your nerves as well since I'm guessing that there's still a long journey ahead of us before being able to escape this place" Yuu said to them.

"Then we'll probably get used to her personality by then if she's still willing to join us in winning this game" Replied the bug.

"I'm pretty sure she's just interested in Popo as of now..." Miyo said with her arms crossed and a smile just like the rest.

"I can't get enough of you!" Said the bunny.

"Let me go you crazy, Rabbit!" Exclaimed the Penguin.

"Yuu! What's his name?!" Salena hopped towards them and stood in front of Yuu with a smile of delight after asking him that.

"Oh, he's Popo and he loves being hugged like that" The human replied as the rest tried to held their laughter.

"Really?! Yey!!!" The bunny jumped up and down in excitement before looking down at the penguin and speaking.
"I'm going to call you, Didi-Popo! (Younger Brother Popo) Or Po-bro for short!"

"You will not! Lonky! Help!"

The giraffe then quickly stood up from the ground. Looking like his exhaustion had instantly vanished after hearing his Master's call for help. With one long step forward, the tall Giraffe swiped the penguin away from Salena's grasp by the collar of his jacket and raised him up in the air where he's out of her reach. But the penguin panicked from the height and begged for him to bring him down but Lonky failed to understand.

"Hey! Give Pobro back to me!" Said Salena, sounding angry but Lonky stood brave and tall. Showing her his open palm as a gesture of stopping before responding.

"I cannot let you harm my master! So get out of here you annoying rabbit!" Lonky bravely stood up from the penguin which was desperately trying to get his attention to lower him down as Popo just developed a fear of height unless he uses his flying cards. Salena pouted at first and showed an angry glare until Lonky laughed and patted her on the head.
"Aww look at you, so adorable and harmless. Run along now, you wouldn't want me to get angry little girl"

"That's a Bad Idea, Lonky..." Yuu said to him as a warning.

"Aw come on, Yuu. What is she going to do? Bite me?"

"... Yep..." Yuu replied.

"Huh?"

The giraffe gawked before a piercing pain appeared on his right arm. When Lonky looked to his side, he saw Salena biting his arm with her two large, front teeth. Having a glared towards him as she made "GRRR" noises just like with Yuu at that time.

"OW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU CRAZY RABBIT" Lonky shouted as he swayed his arm left and right to flick her off by Salena bit him tight and refused to stop. Her teeth were burning deeper into his arm and Lonky screamed even more. In his panic, he unknowingly lowered his other hand on the ground and slammed the poor penguin on the floor before letting him go and trying to push Salena off of his right arm.
"AHHH!!! GUYS HELP! THIS HURTS SO MUCH!!!"

The others merely watched them in silence while Popo became quiet and seemed to be unable to get up as he lay to the floor front first. The others guessed that he may be unconscious when Lonky accidentally hammered him to the ground like a toy hammer.

"Yep... This is going to be a very long game..."