Chapter 800: Maze [GT Ranking Bonus Chapter]
William Canestane walked through a stone corridor with a stern expression. He had appeared in what seemed to be a stone maze, and since he appeared here, he had been walking around aimlessly. It was a maze after all, he didn’t know the exits or anything, he could only hope he walked out within today as he was tired of being within this place.
’Tsk... with Finch’s absurd luck, I’m sure he landed in a Positive Zone, possibly one with a bed and a set of food right next to it,’ he thought to himself in jealousy.
Although he was in thought, he was extremely sensitive to any shift in his surroundings as he raised his guard to the highest level he could. Since he had entered here, he had only encountered two Monsters, which were Minotaurs, both at the Viel-class, beings he had killed with a couple of attacks, earning him three hundred (300) points.
He stared at Asher’s ranking and sighed, choosing not to think about it. He had seen Finch hold first rank for a few minutes, which was why William was sure that guy had landed in a Positive Zone.
’Sigh, if only I could find a Positive Zone too,’ he thought to himself as he walked.
As William walked, a stone plate he had just stepped on sank inwards, activating a mechanism, and the next moment, the ceiling above him collapsed. But William wasn’t bothered, he simply blurred forward, dodging easily. Throughout his time within the maze, he had experienced one trap after another. He had been cautious at first, but later he stopped being cautious about the traps. For one, they were weak, absurdly so. Number two, he had no way of knowing which stone plate was a trap.
If the traps were activated by something like a tripwire, he could find them and avoid them. Hence, the reason he shifted to being sensitive to his surroundings, in case a trap activated, rather than wasting energy being cautious of each step.
After walking for a couple of minutes, he stepped into another trap, but this time, spears that were on fire were shot towards him from ahead. An attack that he didn’t even bother to deflect as he simply weaved through them with great speed and finesse.
After that, he simply turned a corner to the left as what was in front of him was a dead end where the flame spears had been shot from. But the moment he cut the corner, he saw a silver gleam racing towards his head.
William’s reaction was instantaneous. He swiftly raised his Claymore as he parried the attack and immediately jumped backwards, creating distance between himself and the Monster. The moment he stepped back, the Minotaurs which were hiding around the corner finally stepped out into the open.
They were five Viel-class and one Fang-class Monster.
William simply smiled, happy that he had finally found a way to gain points.
The moment the Monsters appeared, they immediately went into motion as they moved to attack, the five Viel-class Monsters closing in first. But William didn’t pay them any attention, he simply dodged one attack, and with a single swing of his Claymore, he decapitated it.
He stepped backwards, dodging a slash attack from the side. The moment he dodged, he split the Minotaur in half from the waist in one smooth motion. As William moved, his eyes never left the Fang-class Monster, that was the strongest one, and he dared not be careless.
The remaining three immediately channelled their Astra energy to use their abilities, but William simply blurred forward, his Claymore flashing into various silver arcs as he bisected the three of them instantly as he didn’t want them to use their abilities on him.
William wanted to leave the maze as soon as possible. His Copy ability had a twenty-four-hour limit, and he had copied Asher’s affinities in order to get ahead. If twenty-four hours elapsed without him leaving here, he would have to fight with only his Astra energy.
And the worst part of this Inter-Empire competition was that he couldn’t go around asking students how old they were as his ability was limited by age, he couldn’t even ask what abilities they possessed. Meaning he would have to fight them to find out whenever he encountered someone. His only wish was to encounter someone from the Star Academy.
But at least, the good thing was that the bracelet couldn’t restrict his Copy ability, meaning he only needed to acquire four thousand points (4000) for Astra energy. Which wasn’t going to be easy, given his current meagre pace.
The Fang-class Minotaur immediately went into action. Astra energy surged through its feet, then it stomped on the ground with great force. William felt it in real time, a shockwave erupting outwards and slamming into him as the earth below his feet immediately cracked and shattered.
He immediately lost his footing for a moment as the Minotaur’s ability destabilised him. Before he could even react, the Minotaur closed the distance in a burst of speed, and with a snort, it swung its double-edged axe with immense force.
William couldn’t dodge, he had been destabilised, he had no choice but to block. He immediately raised his Claymore to defend. The moment metal kissed metal, a resonating clang erupted as William felt the power behind the Minotaur’s swing blast him sideways.
With booming force, his back slammed into the stone wall, the wall shattering as he crashed into it. The Minotaur didn’t pause, it moved with even greater speed as it closed the distance, axe raised to end William where he stood. William immediately dodged to the side as he didn’t dare block this time around.
The Minotaur’s battle axe immediately carved a diagonal slash across the wall with a booming sound, stones and dust exploding outwards.
William immediately stepped forward as he tried to take advantage of the moment, his Claymore singing towards the Minotaur’s body, aiming to kill it where it stood. But the Minotaur was battle-hardened, it simply snorted and unleashed a burst of Astra energy from its body that slammed into William with point-blank accuracy.
William felt the impact despite bringing his Claymore to his chest for a block. His hands rattled as he held his sword, not daring to lower his guard. But the moment he took his eyes off his opponent, it closed the distance again, his senses screaming as he heard the sound of the wind being split apart.
William simply moved according to what Asher had taught him, he read the flow of the wind and simply moved with it, the moment he did, another slash tore into the earth. But the Minotaur simply smirked and activated its stomping ability yet again as it moved to destabilise William once more.
But William simply leaped into the air as he dared not remain on the ground, he couldn’t be caught off guard twice by the same skill. But the Minotaur seemed prepared, as though it had witnessed various people dodge its stomping ability by leaping into the air. With that, it grabbed a huge stone slab and flung it towards William with great force.
William didn’t panic, he simply punched outward, his left fist shattering the slab into dust and rubble as his right hand swung his Claymore to the opposite side to meet the Minotaur’s axe attack as he already knew the slab throw was just a distraction, which seemed too obvious for someone of his intelligence.
The moment both William and the Minotaur landed on their feet, they turned into blurs as their weapons crashed into one another, with William on the losing end as once in a while the Minotaur unleashed a swing of even greater power, which seemed to be an ability it possessed.
The stone corridor trembled from the repeated collisions, cracks spreading across the walls and floor as both combatants exchanged blow after blow. Dust continuously rained from above, and fragments of stone were launched in every direction whenever their weapons met. Yet neither of them paid attention to the destruction around them, their entire focus remaining locked onto one another.
But still, William was determined not to give up. If he couldn’t win, he would use a technique Asher had taught him; pouring sand in his opponent’s eyes.
He just needed to survive using his family’s Sword Technique and Asher’s Movement Technique until he found that opening.
But the Minotaur wasn’t giving him that opening as it excelled in speed, strength, battle acumen, and even possessed a measure of intelligence. Every movement it made was deliberate, every attack calculated, as though it understood that William was searching for a single mistake. Unfortunately for William, the Fang-class Monster seemed intent on making none.
