2155 Problems in the Maze
After some time since the start of the maze competition, Sarah and Kendrick encountered a number of traps along the way and failed on their first attempt within the first 30 minutes of the event.
As they ran down a long corridor in the middle of the maze, Sarah felt something strange and made her brother stop moving just as the maze paths began to change.
Everyone in the maze felt the same thing at that moment and stopped moving, paying attention to the changes in their surroundings.
The long corridor Sarah and Kendrick were in suddenly shrank to half its length, with four new exits appearing in its vicinity.
The same thing happened around the maze, with participants who thought they understood some of the paths available to them losing all their progress so far.
"Shit!" A level 85 Sage shouted as he stood very close to the last piece of the maze.
Now that all the paths had changed, there was a high probability that he would choose a path that would take him away from the end of the maze!
Many others reacted the same way, while groups that had been fighting for resources found along the way were forced to stop and reconsider their options.
"Fuck! The damn Saint-grade medicine that was here is gone!" A woman shouted as she noticed that the item that had caused her duo to fight with other competitors had disappeared with the change in the maze.
None of the participants in the dispute had collected it. The medicine had been moved to another part of the maze, something that would happen every time the sentient being behind this place changed the shape of the maze.
Meanwhile, other groups saw valuable items appear near their location, some preparing to fight immediately because of the witnesses in the area, while others had better luck getting things without their opponents noticing.
Sarah and Kendrick saw a spatial ring appear in front of one of the new passages in their path and immediately looked at each other.
"This contest is really interesting." She commented with a serious look on her face. "Even if we don't look for trouble, trouble will come to us!"
"What should we do? Should we take that ring or ignore it?" Kendrick asked.
He and Sarah didn't need the resources of the Continental Tournament. But they were both young people who, on rare occasions, had been able to fight for what they wanted.
They both felt great about fighting for things for themselves, even if they didn't need those items or resources. Seeing this ring, Kendrick couldn't help but feel the urge to grab it and fight for it if necessary.
His heart beat faster, and he unconsciously smiled, feeling good about the situation.
Sarah felt the same way as her brother but had more experience and control over herself. "If we come across interesting items when we decipher the paths of this maze, I don't mind letting you take what you want. But for now, we must continue our mission."
Kendrick clenched his fists but accepted his older sister's decision, then ignored the 3rd-grade ring and took an alternate route while Sarah led the way using her gravitational ability.
...
Meanwhile, Minos and his group were following Kendrick and Sarah's race, with a few individuals outside the room where they could watch all of the Continental Tournament competitions.
Rowan, Lily, and Hollie followed the competition in the maze of the grandstands, getting a close look at their older siblings' journey.
Meanwhile, George and Hannah's group was paying attention not only to the maze competition but also to other events taking place simultaneously, as well as to the tournament rankings so far.
'Minos is rising rapidly in the main rankings.' Hannah looked at the table with the names of the bettors competing for the most valuable prize in the competition.
Minos had started in 49th place but was now in 15th place, just a few days into the competition. Even though he was one of the experts with the fewest candidates and relatively weak candidates, he already had a score that put him ahead of organizations that had brought in high-level Sages to compete in the tournament.
Considering that most of his bets would only earn him points in the next few days, Hannah became increasingly confident in him.
She wasn't participating in the main ladder, as she was only betting on the side events of the tournament in search of other types of winnings. Still, she was excited to see that Minos' chances were not small.
On the other hand, George was competing in the main event, having already benefited from his state's partnership with the Black Plain Empire, and was currently ranked 21st in the main rank.
He was paying attention to the competition his wife was involved in, watching Kendrick and Sarah run through the maze corridors with excitement.
"No! That's the wrong way!" He muttered as he saw them running down an endless corridor that would lead them into a trap.
Meanwhile, Minos was watching another group that was getting closer and closer to those two.
'It looks like those two are going to have a fight soon.' Minos thought as he sensed that a meeting of duos in this maze could be very tense and easily lead to a conflict.
Ruth and Isabella thought the same as they watched the area where Kendrick and Sarah were.
They and everyone else following this race could see the maze from the top, from where they could see the ways out of the maze and also what was happening around the whole area.
That was also the situation for the people watching the maze from the grandstands.
While they were watching, Sarah and Kendrick fell into the trap at the end of the dead-end corridor they had been following.
They were a little surprised by the trap. Still, with Sarah's gravitational powers, they escaped the worst of it after acting almost instantly.
That sent them running in the opposite direction, a path that would inevitably lead them to another duo following that dead end!
After more than 50 minutes from the start of the test, Kendrick and Sarah finally encountered the first enemies in their path.
...
Coming face to face with two Sages, one level 82 and the other level 84, Kendrick and Sarah stopped with their weapons in their hands and looked at the two in the same way they looked at them.
"So? What do we do?" One of them asked after a few moments of absolute silence.
