As August learned only a few minutes after his fight with Terion, traps were also a very important element of the labyrinth.
he had been fortunate enough to avoid most of them, but others weren't as lucky.
Most of the geniuses had been struggling more against the labyrinth itself than they did with beasts or other competitors.
They all seemed simple, the most primitive traps that could possibly be placed in a structure like this.
Walls that closed shut with people in between them, floors that gave way to spike pits or pits filled with vicious beasts, minefields that would reveal harrowing consequences to those who didn't tread carefully; looking at these traps, one might be confused as to how they could actually harm these draconic geniuses.
Well, they'd been prepared for that exact purpose, so it wasn't much of a question.
The walls weighed hundreds of thousands of pounds. Mere geniuses weren't enough to move them. Leaving the maze was something disallowed if for longer than a few seconds, so that also wasn't an option.
It wasn't stated in the rules only because it was a very clear violation that didn't need to be stated.
That trap was unavoidable. There was always a way to escape, since it was a challenge and not a real death trap, but if the challenger didn't find it quickly enough, their fate would be sealed.
The other traps were similarly scaled so that they'd do their jobs.
The spike pits had gravity magic imbued that would forcefully slam geniuses into the serrated tips of those spears. The minefields, the pitfalls, the hidden machinery, and everything else were perfectly enabled to kill these geniuses if they so desired.
But, again, the goal was not to kill.
Anyone close to death would be extracted before it could actually happen, so the audience could watch the festivities without worrying about real consequences.
August himself ran into a runaway wall. He got trapped in a dead end while he was waiting for the wall to move so he could slip through.
The walls had other plans for him. As if the labyrinth got tired of him exploiting its functions, it shifted and tried to crush him into a paste.
Perhaps it would have worked on another genius, but August knew how to exploit rules.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He climbed the walls and jumped out of the maze.
He wasn't allowed to spend more than five seconds above the walls. This was to prevent people from just walking across them and reaching the center without any effort.
However, it was never stated that they needed to land in the same position as they started, as long as they didn't touch any of the walls.
August vaulted over the moving wall that he had been originally waiting for because he was confident that there would be a corridor on the other side.
In most cases, they would be impossible, but this one was special.
No, rather, this specific trap was designed so that it could be exploited in such a way.
August became mindful of traps from that moment forth. He was able to detect and avoid them relatively easily after he got used to it, but he did get to experience every kind at least once.
It wasn't all bad, though.
The traps actually turned out to be quite convenient when others didn't know that they existed.
He was able to trick three or four beasts into killing themselves, and though he didn't meet any geniuses to test it on, he surely wanted to.
The universe was indeed planning to answer his wishes. August would have no small number of encounters in this labyrinth.
However, as he moved towards the next one, the crowd focused on those in more exciting predicaments.
For instance, Eris Noct.
Her screen was perhaps the most boring of them all. There was no excitement whatsoever, no challenge that could ever halt her progress.
Still, it was precisely this lack of challenge that made it impossible for the crowd to take their eyes away.
Eris Noct. She was twenty-seven years old this year, but she had already progressed a long way through 4th class.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})She hadn't reached the nine revolutions yet, but she woulddefinitelybe well within them by the time she was fifty.
This labyrinthscaledto match those who fought in it.
August's enemies matched his strength, which was why he could take them down so fast.
And Eris was able to do theexactsame thing, just at a much higher level.
Seeing creatures that were stronger than anyone they'd ever met before, creatures that could destroy their livelihoods with a flick of a finger, be destroyed as if they were made of paper was more than they could ever hope for.
It was mesmerizing.
There were two geniuses who wereunfortunate enough to run into her.
What happened to them didn't need to be exclaimed.
Along with Terion Blanche, the two of them had become guaranteed failures, people who would not score a single point in this round of the challenge.
Everyone else had been guaranteed a point now that three had been eliminated. Even if they were defeated, they'd still be able to gain at least one point.
Still, they were fighting for the top three places.
August had gotten used to being around people who were participating in the heir wars for the experience.
Onthis stage, however, everyone was aiming for the throne.
Whether they deserved it or not, whether it was theirpersonaldesire or something pushed by their families, all of them wanted to see themselves above all dragons.
They wouldn't concede, even if the opponent was a Holy Clan genius.
Many others had been defeated by their peers, but none of them had been knocked unconscious.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})They stood up as soon as possible, ignored or healed their injuries, and continued their rush to the center of the maze.
It was a simple thing.
Left, right, or straight. Every choice individually was easy to make and mostly brainless.
However, when out together, they became an unsolvable riddle.
Everyone was aiming for the center. That part was true.
But, really,only five of them were headed in the right direction.
Another three were moving sideways, staying practically in the same place, and the last two were moving towards the edges of the labyrinth.
They were already counted out of the competition.
Valerie was one of those who was moving in the right direction.
She'd had a calmer experience than most others thus far. Beasts and traps assaulted her the same as they did others, but she didn't run into anything that could seriously stop her.
At the moment, she wasactuallyfurther into the maze than August was.
But, she was about to face a challenge that might halt her progress entirely.
She was coming up on a genius who was regarded on the level just below Eris Noct. That person was the second most dangerous genius in the labyrinth right now.
Valerie was strong. Unlike August, she had reached 4th class already.
But…Valerie came from a clan that had been cast out of Arulion.
When faced with a genius from a real noble clan, how would she react?
