Chapter 76 - The Maze (Part One)

(Back in the Portal)

Lucas was asleep soundly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "The time is nearing. The Maze will commence in a few minutes", came a sweet voice into his ears. He opened his eyes and looked at the beautiful face in front of him. "What time is it?', he asked groggily.

Emilia smiled cutely at him, and she was about to tell him the time when she noticed something. "If we add up the time we rested in between and the time we fought, it adds up to almost sixteen hours. But the watch shows only four hours. What is wrong here?", she asked him. 

Lucas looked at the time on her watch, and he looked at the timer on the hologram. "Seems like time flows differently inside this portal. If I calculate the amount of time taken and divide it by the time that we have taken in our world time, it seems to me that the flow of time in here is four times faster than the normal world", he said.

Everyone was around him when he was speaking. He then looked at everyone and smiled. "Although we have been here only for four hours, we have been here for sixteen hours. And add the fact the rest we have taken, I would say that we have cleared this tower in one hour and forty-five minutes in our time", he smiled.

"But if time can flow faster, doesn't it mean that this Portal could control the flow of time? Then what if it reverses it?", asked Michelle. Lucas was concerned about the same thing. "If it could go back to the point of beginning, then all of this would have been for naught. But let's hope that this would not happen, as we have no ways to counter when it happens", he thought. 

He then looked around at everyone, and at the timer. "If The Maze is just a path to find our way out, then this would be easy. But what does this thing have in store? I know this Portal liked to make things interesting. It's like someone is watching us like we are some chess pieces", he thought. 

He didn't like the idea of being manipulated by someone, but he considered that could also be a probability. And thus, he was cautious around anything that the Tower had given him. The countdown had reached the end, and a buzzer went off, signaling the start of the next round.

After the buzzer went off, the floor rumbled and it moved down to the first floor. The doors through which they had entered were wide open. And beyond that, walls began to rise high. The walls were towering at a height of twenty meters. It was thick, and it looked like nothing could break the wall apart. 

A hologram appeared in front of them.

[The Rules for the Maze will be as follows:

I. Anyone trying to fly above the height of the wall will be warned thrice. After three warnings, they shall be electrocuted to death.

II. The Maze consists of three exits. Should one be unable to solve the maze, they may use the hints. Each person can only have three hints.

III. Any puzzle or obstacle that you face, has to be solved using your wits.

IV. Monsters that are encountered in your way can be killed. The monster cores that have been killed shall be rewarded to you after you have exited the Maze.

V. Should you fail a challenge or puzzle, they will be recalled to The Tower, and shall only be released after the completion of the Maze.

VI. No breaking through the walls. Any attempt to damage them will result in instant death.

VII. Complete The Maze before the timer runs out, or everyone shall be dead.

Good Luck and May the best one win!]

"Wow. Those are some tough rules", thought Lucas. He then read through it again, just to make sure to remember it. After going through it, he smiled. "A race against time, huh? Just what kind of puzzles are you going to throw at me, Portal? Whatever it may be, I will solve them all", he smiled.

The timer was then shown, and on it was three hours. "We only have three hours", he thought. He wanted to ask one thing to the hologram. "Can I have a look at the map before I leave for The Maze?', he asked out loud. Then, a map of the field appeared in front of him.

"Valentine, could you take a picture or snap it from my eyes? Just quick, we will need this. And I want you to analyze the best route I can take to finish this in three hours", he thought. He then heard the sound of a snap in his head, and he smiled. "Thank you", he said as he took his first step towards the door.

After he left through the door, he felt an invisible wall in front of him. "I can't move?", he thought and he turned to look behind him. He saw everyone studying the map intensely, trying to figure a way out of The Maze in the given time.

Lucas sighed. "Come on guys, I have a plan, and I have checked the route", he said. Everyone then left The Tower, and they stood in front of the invisible wall. "Is everything ready?', he asked Valentine. "Yes, everything is ready. I must warn you, the path you're going to take might be a little too risky", he said.

Lucas just nodded his head in affirmation. "A bond becomes stronger only when one is faced with a life and death situation. Although this place is faster than the normal time of our world, I doubt anyone had to clear both The Tower and The Maze together", he thought.

The look on his face was filled with determination, and he stood in a runner's stance. "When I begin to run, just follow behind me. Or I might forget the path", he said. Everyone nodded their heads and Lucas stood, with his legs bent front. "The longer the distance I cover right now, the better", he thought.

There was a buzz, and the timer began its countdown. Lucas took off, running like the wind. Everyone thought he had used some type of enhancement magic, but only Robert understood that this was his pure strength. All of his power, which he had trained for a very long time. "You would have made a good Olympics sportsman if you were born in the past", he chuckled as he followed behind him closely.

Lucas had Valentine show him the way, and he kept his perception open. "Beasts", he thought as he heard a chittering behind him. He turned his head slightly to look at what was making that sound. "What in the world are those?", he thought as he used [Inspect] on them.

[Advanced Tier Beast - Double Headed Lava Hound]

[These beasts are made of the Element Fire. They are aerial beasts and they can shoot fireballs from their mouths. To kill them you will have to face against this, and the ones that split from these. Weak against Ice Magic]

"Wow, these are hard to deal with. Seems like they are unkillable unless we take them down to the bone", thought Lucas. He didn't stop his run, as he needed to get another three kilometers ahead. "Maybe I can do this", he thought as he looked back. "Keep up everyone", he smiled at them.

He then cast [Icicle], but at his feet. The floor got slippery, but it was easy for him to move faster. He began to slide, and Emilia followed suit behind him. Robert smiled and he activated his Wind. Tobias activated his lightning, and Michelle just pulled out a skateboard made from Darkness.

"What in the world?", thought everyone when they saw her do that. Nobody knew how she could do it, or if it was possible with other elements. Lucas smiled as he pulled ahead, and everyone followed his lead.

After he reached the required distance, he turned around and saw ten lava hounds behind him. They were flying right above his head, and they were a bit slower than he thought. "Maybe they have lost their mobility due to their size", he thought. 

He then smiled. "Time to freeze", he thought as he pulled out two [6x Icicle]. He threw it towards two of them, and they were frozen from the inside out. His move made it impossible for them to split up into groups and overwhelming them with their numbers. But there was a limit to which he could do this too.

"Let's look at my stats", he thought as he pulled up his window.

[Status]

[Name: Lucas Heart]

[HP: 350/350]

[MP: 266/350]

[Level: 16]       

[Job: None]

[Title: Defying The Odds, Master Of Stealth]

[EXP: 7950/20,000]

[System Level: 2/10]

[Strength: 46]

[Stamina: 45]

[Agility: 46+19]

[Perception: 43]

[Magic: 43]

[Stat points to be used: 30]

"Well, I can only pull out six more of these", he thought as he smiled wide, revealing a slight smirk.. "Now, let's see how much my control has improved over this spell", he thought as he looked at the hounds in front of him.