Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Test of knowledge(2)

The other judges noticed Sir Gideon watching #601 intently. One of them chuckled softly.

"It seems #601 is quite unlucky to get the Maze of Wonders," he said, shaking his head. "That place is not kind to those who struggle with riddles."

Another judge added, "The Maze of Wonders has sent many participants to their doom. Even if they solve the question, there's no guarantee they'll make it out."

Sir Gideon didn't respond to their comments, his eyes still locked on the screen. He watched as Seojun took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm himself.

Seojun thought hard about the riddle, the words echoing in his mind.

"Four legs in the morning... two at noon... three in the evening..." he muttered to himself. Then his eyes lit up with realization. "It's talking about a person's life."

He carefully stepped onto the rock with the word "Man" carved into it. The rock stayed solid beneath his feet. Encouraged, he continued forward, stepping onto "Child" and then "Old."

Sir Gideon allowed a faint smile to show as #601 crossed the last rock safely. "He did well,"

The other judges glanced at each other but said nothing.

Seojun breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped off the last stone safely, having answered the first question correctly. He looked around, scanning the dim surroundings.

The labyrinth had been full of strange tasks since he and the other participants arrived, but the first task hadn't explained much. It only stated,

"Pass the test." Yet, no one knew exactly what that meant.

To make things worse, shortly after the tasks began, Seojun's familiar, Sui, had vanished without a trace. He wasn't the only one; the other participants had lost their familiars too. It was as if the familiars had been spirited away, leaving them to face the labyrinth's challenges alone.

Seojun's eyes caught a faint glimmer in the distance—a door. Without hesitation, he walked over and pushed it open. The door creaked loudly as it swung inward, revealing a dark room with nothing but emptiness inside. The moment he stepped in, several torches on the walls flared to life, casting flickering shadows across the space.

In the middle of the room, countless glowing letters floated in the air, shifting and swirling. They seemed random at first, but then, as if guided by some unseen hand, the letters began to align, forming a question.

"What is the creature that heals others with herbs by day and hunts with fangs by night?"

Seojun furrowed his brows as he read the question. The answer seemed linked to the previous riddle somehow. He thought back to the first question about a person's life, comparing it to this one about a creature with two distinct roles. There had to be a connection.

The room was silent, except for the crackling of the torches. Seojun considered his options. He remembered studying rare beasts that used herbs to heal during the day but became predators at night.

"Could it be a Moonshadow Fox?" he wondered aloud. The Moonshadow Fox was known for its dual nature, healing others by day and becoming a fierce hunter under the cover of darkness.

With confidence, Seojun spoke, "Moonshadow Fox."

The letters in the air flashed brightly, then slowly faded away. The torches dimmed slightly, and a soft rumbling sound echoed through the room as another door appeared on the far wall.

Seojun walked to the new door and took a deep breath before opening it. He was sure now that each question was related, forming a chain of tests. Whatever lay ahead, he needed to connect the answers and find the final connection.

As Seojun walked through the new door, his system suddenly spoke up in his mind, its voice echoing with curiosity.

[How did you know the answers, Host? You answered the questions so easily]

Seojun stopped for a moment and thought about how to explain it.

"There's a pattern here. Each question is connected, and the answers build on each other." Sёarch* The nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[Then, how did you figure out the last answer?]

Seojun began to reason it out, not just for the system but also to organize his own thoughts.

"The first question was about life stages—something that changes over time. It made me think about how things aren't always what they seem at different times," he explained.

"So, when the second question asked about a creature with two roles, I connected it with the idea of changes over time too."

He continued, "The Moonshadow Fox fits the description because it behaves differently depending on whether it's day or night. During the day, it uses herbs to heal, which is gentle and caring, but at night, it becomes a hunter with sharp fangs. It's like two different stages of life in one creature."

The system was silent for a moment before speaking again. [You're amazing, host! You don't need my help at all.]

"Nah, It's thanks to Alex and Alexa. They gave me books about Beast to read,"

As he continued down the dark corridor, he wondered what the next question would be and how it would connect to the ones before. He knew that in order to open the final door, he would need to find the common thread that linked all the riddles together.

Each step was bringing him closer to the heart of the labyrinth and to the truth about the missing familiars.

Seojun continued down the corridor, and soon, he reached a large door at the end. It was different from the others—taller, thicker, and covered in strange carvings.

As he stepped closer, the carvings began to glow softly, and the door slowly opened on its own. He stepped inside, finding himself in a huge, dark room.

The room was empty except for a large stone pedestal in the middle, with letters floating above it. Several torches lit up around him, casting long shadows across the walls. The letters swirled together, forming the final question:

"What is the true nature of a healer who carries the soul of a beast?"