Chapter 261 Finals [2]



As soon as Ares was teleported into the maze, he found himself surrounded by towering walls that seemed to go on forever. He looked around but couldn't see any of his teammates. "I guess I'm on my own," he muttered as he began to navigate his way through the maze.

Suddenly, the ominous silence was broken by the distant howls of werewolves, making him realize that he was not alone.

As he made his way through the twisting paths, he caught sight of a horde of werewolves feasting on their own kind.

Sensing Ares' presence, they turned to him with their bloodied mouths, and a fierce growl escaped their throats.

Grrreeee—

AWOOO—

One of the werewolves let out a fierce roar, and Ares could hear the sound of more of them approaching. In a matter of seconds, he found himself surrounded by the pack of werewolves, their menacing growls filling the air.

"....."

"...Things couldn't get any worse, could they?" Ares muttered, trying to keep his cool. He didn't have any weapons with him, but he took a fighting stance similar to the martial arts techniques he had learned from Tania's online videos.

"Come at me, you little shits," he taunted with a grin.

The werewolves began to rush at him from all sides at once, their sharp claws and teeth glinting in the dim light of the maze. Ares was quick on his feet, darting and dodging their attacks with expert precision. 

"These things are strong, but they're slow and stupid," he mumbled to himself. "If I can take care of the first few, then I should be able to finish them off without too much trouble."

With lightning-fast reflexes, Ares landed a powerful punch on the jaw of the first werewolf, sending it crashing into the wall. The sound of its neck-snapping echoed through the maze as it slumped to the ground, lifeless.

Thud—

As the rest of the werewolves lunged at him, Ares grabbed the closest one by the throat and twisted it, breaking its neck with a snap. He then hurled the dead werewolf's body at the pack that was rushing at him, effectively slowing them down.

In one fluid motion, Ares quickly turned around and kicked another werewolf in the stomach that was coming at him from behind, sending it flying across the maze. As the remaining werewolves lunged at him, Ares expertly maneuvered his way around their attacks.

He ducked under one's swipe and delivered a swift uppercut that sent it flying. Another werewolf charged at him, but Ares sidestepped and tripped it, causing it to fall face-first into the ground. As it tried to get up, Ares stomped on its spine, finishing it off with a sickening crunch.

Grrrr—

As the last werewolf, the strongest of the pack, lunged at him, Ares dodged to the side and swiftly countered with a roundhouse kick, hitting the werewolf square in the jaw. However, the werewolf's thick hide protected it from most of the impact, and it retaliated with a swipe of its massive paw.

Ares' instincts kicked in, and he ducked under the werewolf's attack, quickly springing back up with a powerful uppercut that sent the werewolf flying backward. Ares wasn't done yet, though. He sprinted towards the airborne werewolf and used it as a stepping stone, launching himself even higher into the air.

As he soared above the maze, Ares brought his leg down in a devastating axe kick, landing squarely on the werewolf's head with a thunderous crack. The blow was so strong that the werewolf's head snapped back and exploded in a cloud of blood, brains, and gore.

Ares landed gracefully on the ground and, took a moment to survey his surroundings, making sure there were no more surprises lurking in the shadows. The maze was quiet once again, and Ares let out a sigh of relief. 

"Phew, that was intense," Ares muttered as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Time to find some weapons."

As he caught his breath, he noticed a glimmer of light in the corner of his eye. Walking towards it, he found a weapon lying on the ground - a sleek and powerful sword.

Picking it up, Ares smiled to himself. "This will definitely come in handy." And with that, he continued deeper into the maze.

Suddenly, a series of notifications flashed across his wristwatch, each one more alarming than the last.

[One of your teammates has been eliminated by a member of Team Martial Star Academy!]

[One of your teammates has been eliminated by a member of Team Martial Star Academy!]

[One of your teammates has been eliminated by an Orc Lord!]

[One of your teammates has been eliminated by a member of Team Martial Star Academy!]

!?

Ares watched as the notifications flashed before him from his wristwatch, indicating the elimination of his teammates one after another.

"...."

"...Already? We're dropping like flies," he muttered to himself, already anticipating more bad news.

As he turned a corner, Ares stumbled upon a group of five members from the Martial Star Academy. They were attempting to climb a wall to reach a red treasure chest perched on a high platform. Two students kept watch for any incoming threats.

Ares silently observed them from behind cover, his keen eyes scanning the area.

"Hmm...there seems to be a special weapon in that chest," he muttered to himself, his mind racing with possibilities.

He decided to bide his time and wait for them to retrieve the chest before making his move. He knew that nothing of value would be left unguarded in the dangerous maze.

'There might be a monster guarding it,' he mused.

After a minute, one of the students succeeded in reaching the top of the wall. But before the Martial Star Academy students could reach their prize, a colossal monster emerged from the shadows. Its tentacles whipped out, snatching up one student and slamming him mercilessly onto the ground. 

The student was squashed like a tomato and was eliminated instantly.

The monster was a giant octopus-like creature with eight long arms and two legs. Its body was covered in thick, dark blue scales, and its eyes glowed with a deep purple color.

The monster swung its tentacles at the other students, giving them no chance to react and killing three of them instantly with its sharp claws emerging from its tentacles and grabbed the last one and was about to devour him whole.

"Shit!" Ares cursed as he jumped out from his hiding spot, charging at the monster, his sword at the ready. He dodged the tentacles as he ran, finally lunging at the monster and slicing off one of its tentacles, freeing the captive student.

ROAARRR—

The beast roared in fury and turned to face Ares, its eyes blazing with murderous intent.

"You won't get away so easily," Ares growled as he charged forward, readying his sword for a decisive strike.

The monster lashed out with its remaining tentacles, but Ares deftly dodged and sliced through them with ease.

He then leaped and plunged his sword deep into the monster's chest, aiming for its heart. The creature howled in agony as it collapsed onto the ground, its lifeblood oozing out onto the stone floor.

Thud—

Ares was not done yet, he pulled his sword back and stabbed the monster again.

Swash—

ROOARRR—

The monster howled in pain, its life draining from its body. Ares stood over the corpse with a grin on his face.

The opponent student breathed a sigh of relief as Ares approached him, thanking him for saving his life.

"T-Thank you so much for saving me!" the student from Martial Star Academy said gratefully.

"....."

However, the expression on Ares' face quickly turned cold as he swung his sword and ended the student's life in one swift motion.

Slash—

The sound of the student's head being sliced and blood spluttering echoed through the maze as Ares turned his attention toward the red treasure chest on the high ground.

[You have eliminated a member of Team Martial Star Academy!]

"Don't mistake my actions for kindness," Ares sneered, "I only wanted that special weapon."

He then climbed to the top and wasting no time, Ares opened the lock on the chest with a loud clang, revealing a gleaming katana inside.

He admired the weapon for a moment before sheathing it at his side. "Time to put this thing to good use," he said with a grin.