The sun beat down mercilessly as they emerged from the Mirage Labyrinth's exit, the distant oasis still a shimmering haze on the horizon. Alexander pulled his water canteen from his inventory and shook it gently, frowning at the minimal sloshing sound.

  "Water check," he called, his voice rasping slightly from the dry air.

  One by one, they reported their supplies, each report more concerning than the st. The byrinth had taken longer than anticipated, and their reserves were dangerously low.

  "We need strict rationing," Alexander announced, his expression grave. "Half portions, effective immediately."

  Riva groaned. "Half? I'm already running on empty."

  "We don't have a choice," Alexander replied, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Based on our current supplies and the distance remaining, we won't make it otherwise."

  He calcuted each person's allocation, adjusting his virtual inventory to separate their remaining water into precise portions. "Three sips every two hours. No exceptions."

  Lyra was already examining her map. "There might be underground water sources," she said. "Some desert pnts tap into water tables too deep for casual observation."

  "Can you find them?" Alexander asked.

  She hesitated. "Maybe. Desert pnt presence could indicate water, but it would take time to dig and extract."

  "Let me try something," Elijah said quietly. He closed his eyes, concentrating in the way that had become familiar during their time in the byrinth. "The whispers... they change near water. They sound... clearer, somehow."

  Alexander nodded. "It's worth investigating. Lead the way."

  By midday, the effects of dehydration were becoming apparent. Their pace had slowed, conversation had ceased, and every step required deliberate effort. Riva stumbled occasionally, her usually fwless bance compromised by the ck of fluids.

  "We need to rest," Elijah said, his medical training evident in his concerned assessment of the team. "Body temperature is rising too fast without enough water to cool through perspiration."

  They found meager shade beneath a rocky outcropping, rationing another precious sip of water as they rested.

  "I've never been this thirsty before," Alexander admitted, leaning his head back against the sun-warmed stone.

  Lyra gnced at him with an unreadable expression. "On Sector 17, we had water rationing seasons. Three months every year when each person got one cup per day."

  Alexander was silent for a moment. "I... didn't know that."

  "Of course you didn't," Lyra replied, but without the bitterness that might have accompanied such words earlier in their journey. "VitaCore controls water purification for Architect sectors. You never had to think about it."

  Alexander nodded slowly. "You're right. I never did."

  The simple acknowledgment hung in the air between them, somehow more meaningful than any apology could have been.

  That afternoon, Elijah stopped suddenly during their march, his head tilting in that now-familiar listening posture.

  "Here," he said with unexpected certainty, pointing to an unremarkable patch of sand near a cluster of small, withered-looking pnts. "The whispers are... bubbling? It's hard to expin."

  Alexander immediately ordered the team to halt. "Let's investigate."

  Lyra approached the pnts, examining them with careful attention. "These are water-seekers. Their roots can extend up to twenty feet down to reach moisture." She pulled a small colpsible shovel from her inventory. "Worth trying."

  They took turns digging, creating a narrow shaft beside the pnt cluster. Two feet down, the sand became noticeably cooler. At four feet, it felt damp.

  "Keep going," Lyra encouraged, though the effort was clearly draining their already depleted energy.

  At six feet, the shovel broke through into a small pocket of muddy water. It wasn't much—perhaps a few cups at most—but it might as well have been a ke for how the team reacted.

  "Careful extraction," Alexander ordered, working to contain his own excitement. "No waste."

  Lyra produced a filtration cloth from her inventory, demonstrating how to scoop the muddy water and filter it into their containers a few precious drops at a time.

  "It's not enough to replenish our supplies," Alexander said honestly as they finished, "but it might just be enough to keep us going."

  The next morning brought a new challenge: a dust storm visible on the horizon, moving swiftly toward them.

  "We need shelter," Alexander called, surveying the barren ndscape desperately.

  "There," Valeria said, pointing to a formation of rocks about half a kilometer away. "Potential wind break."

  They reached the rocks just as the storm hit, ducking into a narrow space between two boulders that provided minimal protection from the swirling sand. Alexander instructed everyone to cover their faces with cloth, preserving moisture and preventing sand inhation.

  For hours, they huddled together as the storm raged. The forced inactivity meant they weren't losing water through exertion, but the hot, dry wind seemed to pull moisture directly from their skin.

  When Riva began to show signs of severe dehydration—confusion, cracked lips, sunken eyes—Elijah intervened.

  "She needs water now," he said to Alexander. "More than her ration."

  Alexander hesitated only briefly before adjusting the distribution. "Take mine," he said, transferring his next portion to Riva.

  "No," Elijah countered. "We share equally from everyone. One extra sip from each person's ration."

  The team complied without protest, even Valeria, who had thus far maintained her distance from such communal decisions.

  The storm finally passed, leaving them trapped in pce until nightfall as the midday heat reached dangerous levels. Their situation had become critical—supplies wouldn't st another full day at their current rate.

  "We need options," Alexander said, his voice rough from dryness.

  Lyra had been quietly working throughout their sheltering, constructing something using materials from her inventory. "Sor still," she expined, showing a contraption made of clear material stretched over a collection vessel. "It captures moisture from the ground using heat. Not much, but something."

  She set up three such devices around their shelter, positioning them carefully. By evening, they had collected almost a cup of water total—a small victory that lifted spirits immeasurably.

  As night fell, bringing blessed relief from the heat, Elijah ventured out briefly, following the whispers. He returned with a thick, pulpy desert pnt. "Moisture reservoir," he expined, demonstrating how to carefully extract the liquid from its core. The bitter fluid wasn't pleasant, but it contained precious water.

  "We should travel at night," Alexander decided as they shared the meager fluid. "It's cooler, and we'll lose less moisture."

  Their fourth day after the byrinth brought them to a breaking point. Riva could barely walk, Elijah's medical monitoring reported dangerous dehydration symptoms in everyone, and even Alexander's careful rationing couldn't stretch their supplies any further.

  "Emergency protocol," he announced grimly. "We trade non-essential inventory items for speed boosters."

  Each team member sorted through their virtual inventory, selecting items to sacrifice in the game's conversion system. Equipment, materials, and tools they'd carefully collected were exchanged for temporary movement enhancements. The psychological impact of abandoning hard-earned items was substantial, but the speed buffs would help them cover more ground with less physical exertion.

  That evening, they encountered another group of pyers—desert scavengers with the desperate look of those equally water-starved. Tense moments followed as both groups eyed each other's supplies, but neither had enough to justify the energy cost of conflict. They passed with wary nods, each continuing on their desperate journey.

  "Did you see their eyes?" Riva whispered after the scavengers had passed. "That's us in another day or two."

  Alexander didn't respond, but his expression acknowledged the truth of her observation.

  Salvation came unexpectedly that night. Elijah woke from a fitful sleep, the whispers unusually loud in his mind.

  "Water," he said simply, moving with purpose toward a specific dune formation.

  The team followed, too desperate to question. Using their remaining strength, they dug where Elijah indicated, finding nothing but dry sand for the first several feet.

  "Keep going," Elijah insisted, his eyes closed in concentration.

  At eight feet, Alexander's shovel broke through into open space. A moment ter, the unmistakable sound of water echoed up from the hole.

  "An underground pocket," Lyra breathed, her scientific mind still functioning despite her parched state. "Probably fed by the same water table as the oasis."

  They worked carefully to widen the hole, then took turns extracting the precious liquid—cool, retively clean water that tasted better than anything they'd ever experienced.

  Alexander ensured equal distribution, monitoring consumption to prevent the sickness that could come from drinking too quickly after dehydration.

  As they replenished their supplies and their bodies, Valeria silently produced a specialized viewing device from her carefully guarded inventory. Through its magnification, the distant oasis resolved into a clear image—a substantial settlement surrounded by greenery, perhaps a day's journey away at their current pace.

  "We'll make it," Alexander said with quiet confidence, looking at his team with something approaching pride. "Together."

  Later, as they prepared for another night journey with their replenished supplies, Elijah found himself next to Lyra.

  "How did you know about finding water from pnts?" he asked softly.

  She gave him a small smile. "When resources are scarce, you either learn how to find them, or you don't survive."

  Alexander, overhearing, nodded thoughtfully. Their journey through Floor 11 had taught him more about resource inequality than his entire privileged upbringing. It was a lesson he wouldn't forget.