By Zephyria “You cannot steal other people’s Tokens or combine the numbers of Tokens before moving 10m from the starting point. Now, 20 people here, let’s enter.”
Participants were still lined up in front of the other entrances. Since only a certain number of people could enter at intervals, the waiting time had become quite long. Still, the group that had been fourth in line from the back was now just stepping into the maze.
Since the match lasted for eight hours based on the ‘entry time’, being late didn’t put them at a disadvantage compared to those who entered earlier. On the contrary, there was a strategic advantage in that they could infer the situation inside by listening to the sounds coming out, or that the strong might have already escaped the maze.
Most of the remaining participants were those who had deliberately endured, expecting such advantages. And as they wished, the entrance to the maze was now eerily quiet.
Thump—
Just as only about three groups were left to enter, a mysterious vibration echoed from within the maze. The heavy tremor spread through the ground in all directions, making its presence known beneath the participants’ feet.
“What’s that?”
“Why?”
“The ground is shaking?”
At first, only those with sensitive senses noticed it, but gradually the wave grew stronger. Participants, sensing something was wrong, began to stare into the entrance. The staff controlling them were no exception.
“Next five lines forward….”
Thump, thump—
Two Council members who were guiding at the entrance stopped talking and turned around. Initially, they thought it was a shockwave from a battle or a phenomenon caused by the maze’s mechanisms moving, but the frequency increased and the intensity of the vibration grew.
Eventually, the two members exchanged glances. The threatening rumble shook the maze’s walls, causing accumulated dust to fall in a flurry. Pebbles scattered on the ground rattled and slowly moved sideways. Something was approaching.
Sensing an ominous sign, the staff moved the participants back. Then, as they pressed the button on the radio to assess the situation inside, it happened.
Kwaaaang―!
“Aaaagh!”
About 7 meters from the entrance, a massive explosion sent debris flying in all directions. The walls were so hard that it was difficult to even scratch the surface, so the sight of the fortress-like wall being half-destroyed was somewhat surreal. The members and participants stationed nearby all ducked their heads.
Beyond the hazy dust, a dark shadow, seemingly the one who broke the wall, was visible. At the same time, a low growl of an animal rumbled. It was an eerie, low-frequency sound that momentarily paralyzed everyone.
The shadow seemed to be at least 3 meters tall, making it look nothing like a person to the participants.
It was as if a Minotaur from the labyrinth had escaped. Frozen by the sudden appearance, they cautiously backed away.
But then, Beatrice jumped out from above, holding a leather Leash in her hand.
“I’m in first place!”
She grabbed her fluttering hat brim and raised the other hand holding the Leash. The end of it was wrapped around the neck of a monster panting in the dust. Beatrice grinned and looked back at Gillian, who had grown huge, and Morbuan, who was sitting on his shoulder.
“I’ll win the bet easily, won’t I?”
Soon, Morbuan also lightly jumped down from Gillian’s shoulder. In his hand was an umbrella with a pattern similar to Beatrice’s dress. Thanks to the umbrella blocking the debris and dust, Beatrice and Morbuan were only slightly disheveled.
However, Gillian, with hair sprouting from his skin and black eyes covering the whites, resembling the uncanny valley, was no different from a beast, even standing on two feet. The sharp claws on his fingertips and the thick tail sticking out above his pants were proof of that.
Two Council staff members, drawing their swords and preparing for battle, hurriedly stood in front of the participants. Then, they shouted at Beatrice, who looked the most human.
“Please return to the competition area immediately! This is not an escape route!The two people who had wonderfully broken through the wall, or rather, the three pairs of eyes including Morbuan, turned to look at them. Beatrice put her hand on her hip and drawled, as if asking what they meant, “Huh?” Gillian’s eyes, covered with expanded black pupils, scanned the faces of the frightened participants.
Soon, a thick beast’s palm tapped Beatrice’s back. He murmured in an even deeper voice.
“I guess this isn’t it.”
“What!?”
Usually, when you encountered someone in the maze who attacked first, it was when their Token count was 10 or less. And these numbers mostly belonged to participants who weren’t skilled enough to steal others’ Tokens or who had wandered around for a long time without finding the exit.
Leonardo and Ero classified the types of participants they encountered in this way and inferred the exit while avoiding the paths they had taken as much as possible.
One participant, bound by vines and leaning against the wall, glared at Ero as he took Tokens from his pocket. The plant vines wrapping around the participant’s body were also Ero’s work. Today, he was reaping the benefits of his weapon. He had subdued most of the competitors he met in the maze alone, without Leonardo’s help.
“Hehe, there’s one more here―.”
The Token’s surface consisted of two sides, A and B. Ero brought the newly acquired Token’s A side to his Token’s B side. The two Tokens combined and stuck together like magnets.
Afterward, the combined two Tokens decreased in volume, becoming the same thickness and weight as the original Token. On the other hand, the number increased by the sum of the Tokens. Even Tokens with a number of 0 due to all movement opportunities being exhausted would have their number increased by +1 if someone else took the Token and combined it. It seemed that the player’s life was worth something.
The further they went inside, the more participants had exhausted all their opportunities and were sitting blankly on the floor. Meanwhile, there were also those who maintained a 5m movement restriction and aimed for the Tokens of other passing participants without giving up. As a result of diligently collecting even those Tokens, Ero’s Token now had the number 82 marked on it.
“Heh, with this much, I’ll have enough even if I go around in circles.”
To him, who was constantly grinning, the bound participant suddenly sneered.
“You’re just a small fry who won with a weapon and you’re so happy. How long do you think that’ll last? You’ll get robbed soon too. Do you know who’s in this maze right now?”
His tone was quite arrogant, not befitting his situation. Ero, who was about to get up after settling the Tokens, paused.
“Weapon?”
‘He’s not wrong.’
He quickly agreed and asked with a nod.
“But, who’s inside?”
“Thanatos, who advanced to the main league two years ago.”
“What? Thanatos?”
Ero looked shocked. The participant, seeing that the reaction was quite satisfying, smiled bitterly.
“Yeah, he’s in here right now. One guy already had his ribs broken trying to fight him. The rest all wanted to get out with all their limbs intact, so they offered their Tokens and barely survived.”
“Wow… then what happened to you?”
“I used my superior brain to find a gap and barely escaped. I’m probably the only one who survived after encountering him. If you want to live, you better run away quickly. His Token count is already in the triple digits. He’s probably already escaped or is nearby.”
“Hey, you….”
Ero, who had been listening with admiration, covered his open mouth with his hand. Then, he bent down and sat in front of him. He gathered up the emotional acting he had been richly displaying until just now and continued dryly.
“You escaped with such a good brain, and now you’re just whining about being robbed by me and blaming it on the weapon?”
“You little―.”
As the participant flared up at the obvious mockery, Ero chuckled and got up again.
“Whatever, Thanatos or Thanos. Even if Kajard from the Council came and fought, my older brother is stronger. Oops, I shouldn’t say things like that.”
After muttering that, Ero crouched down and pushed his body into a hole in the lower part of the nearby wall. The number on his Token decreased to 71, but he didn’t care at all anymore. Rather, just crossing one wall, the energy was intense.
“Brother!” Recovery complete, ugh!”
Right in front of the dog hole, there was a huge body sprawled out. Startled, Ero tripped over his foot and rolled ungracefully to the floor. Groaning in pain, he raised his head, and an unusually bright light poured in from one direction. Squinting at the glare, he saw a golden Magic Circle spread out on the far end of the dead-end wall. But its size and majesty were truly extraordinary.
The Magic Circle, majestic and even sacred, rippled in the air like a mirage beyond the heat haze. On closer inspection, it seemed that the source of the constant heat was that Magic Circle.
Beneath it, the hem of the cape of the strongest Mage of this era, probably the caster of that Magic, fluttered.
“Wow….”
Ero’s eyes, who had scrambled to his feet, sparkled with the golden color emitted by the Magic Circle. But belatedly realizing it, the path leading to the Magic Circle was also unusual.
Looking around, he saw at least a dozen participants lying unconscious. The huge body that had startled him seemed to be one of those participants.
‘When did he take care of all of them?’
He definitely didn’t hear anything, so he didn’t know what had happened. Ero purely admired and dusted off his clothes. He had seen his older brother instantly knock people unconscious by breaking their necks in the first part of the game, but taking care of them so quietly was also a skill.
Rolling his eyes, Ero suddenly shifted his gaze to the nape of the neck of the huge body lying next to him. There were letters engraved there like a tattoo.
“Tha…na…tos. Thanatos?”
It seemed that even that fearsome guy had become a sacrifice to Lion. Perhaps because of the previous build-up, he felt that the older brother was great again, and the end of the loser was very anticlimactic. Feeling proud as if he had fought and won, Ero left the main league entrant from two years ago behind and hurried to the winner of the new era.
Around that time, Leonardo, who was adjusting the route using the wind, felt a presence and glanced back.
Ero smiled brightly and held out the Token he had set aside for Leonardo.
“Brother, this is for you.””
Gold Eyes looked down at the outstretched palm. The number 17 was engraved on the Token.
Leonardo turned his head again and said nonchalantly.
“You keep it.”
“Huh? But… we should still share half and half to stick together!”
“I have a lot.”
Leonardo took out a Token from his pocket and showed it. The number ‘543’ caught his eye. It was such an overwhelming number that it was embarrassing to even compare, and Ero was speechless. He quietly retrieved the Token he had held out.
“I got quite a few after catching all these guys. From now on, you keep everything you catch.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you….”
“And, there’s something I want to say.”
His tone was quite serious, so Ero immediately tensed up, worried that he might tell him to go separately. Leonardo, placing his hand on his shoulder, lowered his voice and said.
“I think we’ve already been here before.”
“…Huh?”
“We’re lost.”