Chapter 78: Directions
Thane remembered the cheering. He clearly remembered people shouting his name.
He remembered the feeling of throwing Etno out of the arena. After that, everything became dark.
His thoughts ran wild, unable to come to terms with reality for a long moment, long enough for him to finally give in to the pain, the bleeding, and depleted stamina.
He had suddenly become unconscious, before celebrating, before reacting to the cheers...
When he opened his eyes again, a white ceiling greeted him.
His body felt like it had been beaten by ten different people using ten different weapons.
For a moment, he simply lay there. Slowly, a memory returned.
The final against Etno Kamsi, the throw, and the victory. A grin appeared on his swollen face. "I won."
"You did," a voice answered from nearby.
Thane flinched and turned his head. A healer sat beside the bed.
The old man looked utterly unimpressed. "Congratulations."
The giant grinned wider. "I knew it."
The healer snorted. "Good. Now get up."
Thane narrowed his eyes. He was getting angry at the healer’s tone. "What?"
"Get up."
"No, my body hurts."
"I know."
"Then why should I stand?"
The healer pointed toward the door. "The Third Trial begins tomorrow."
The smile vanished from Thane’s face. "Why, it’s so soon. Wait, how long was I asleep?"
"Two days. They extended a day for you because the audience wanted it. If you fail to report, you’ll be disqualified."
"I see." Thane was starting to lose interest.
"If you’re late, you’ll be disqualified."
"Even if it’s a minute late?"
"If you oversleep, you’ll be disqualified."
"Will you wake me up in time, old man?"
The old man stared. "I’m not your wife."
Thane stared back, his face frowned. "I’ll kill myself if I get such an ugly wife."
The healer could not continue. He sighed. "Just go eat."
The next morning arrived far too quickly. Thousands of candidates gathered once again.
Though not as many as before, many had already been eliminated.
Others were injured. Some had simply given up. Donovan was absent.
The beating he received from Thane had left him confined to the infirmary.
Conor was absent as well. Though conscious, he still had not fully recovered from the injuries sustained during the tournament.
Neither would participate. The crowd whispered when Thane appeared.
The champion of the Second Trial. The giant who defeated Donovan. The giant who defeated Etno.
The giant who somehow became the most talked-about candidate in the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Thane yawned. He was still sleepy. The officials eventually stepped forward.
One of them raised a hand. "The Third Trial will now be explained."
The noise gradually died. "The trial consists of survival and navigation."
Several candidates nodded. Simple enough.
Then the official smiled, which immediately worried everyone. "You will be placed inside a maze."
Groans spread through the crowd.
"The maze contains forests, rivers, cliffs, caves, and artificial obstacles. The objective is simple."
The official held up a small bronze token. "Protect your token."
Everyone received one. Thane inspected his. It looked unimpressive. "Reach the central hill within twelve hours."
More nods. Still simple. The official’s smile widened. "And collect as many tokens as possible."
The crowd became restless. Now things made sense. Candidates would hunt each other.
Steal tokens, form alliances, and then betray those alliances.
Fight, run, hide, and survive. The real test had begun.
Thane entered the maze through a strange tear in the wall. It was created by a blessed.
He felt a fresh cold breeze kissing his body. Trees surrounded him immediately.
A dense forest with twisting pathways. It had tall bushes and strange rock formations.
Within minutes, he was lost, completely and utterly lost.
The giant scratched his head. "This all looks the same."
It really did. Every tree looked identical. Every path looked identical. Every bush looked identical.
The academy had somehow created a nightmare specifically designed to torment people like him.
Thane picked a direction and walked for an hour. He found a river and crossed it.
Then discovered the exact same river thirty minutes later.
The realization hit him slowly. "I think I’m walking in circles."
He was. Very impressive circles.
Unlike the combat trials, this challenge rewarded cunning.
Thane possessed many qualities, but cunning was not among them.
Several candidates spotted him throughout the day.
Most immediately ran away. Some surrendered their tokens without fighting.
Others attempted ambushes. Those usually ended badly. One unfortunate candidate jumped from a tree.
Thane instinctively punched him. The candidate woke up three hours later missing his token.
Another group tried surrounding him. The giant accidentally walked through their formation.
One surrendered, and the other two fled. By midday, Thane possessed several tokens.
Unfortunately, he had no idea where the hill was.
Hours passed as the sun moved steadily overhead.
Candidates began heading toward the center, toward the objective and victory.
Meanwhile, Thane found another river. The same river. Again.
He stared at it. The river stared back.
"This test is stupid. It’s a shitty maze, damn irritating."
The river offered no defense.
Near sunset, frustration began replacing confidence.
For the first time in days, Thane genuinely felt worried.
Not about fighting or beatings, but about directions.
Directions were terrifying. He climbed a tree and fell out of it. Climbed another but saw nothing useful.
Eventually, he found a candidate running toward the center.
Thane followed him. A kindling of hope returned. Then the candidate deliberately ran into a swamp.
The giant lost sight of him. The kindle of hope died immediately.
The final horn sounded as the sun touched the horizon.
Its deep cry echoed throughout the maze. The trial had ended.
Candidates froze. Some celebrated. The majority cursed.
A few collapsed from exhaustion. Thane stood beside a large rock.
Confused. Very confused.
Because there was no hill. No giant landmark or finish line.
An instructor soon arrived. He looked at Thane, then looked around, then looked back at Thane.
The instructor’s expression became strange. "You didn’t reach the hill?"
"Where the heck is that hill?" Thane retorted.
The instructor was surprised. "You never found it?"
"No." Thane shook his head.
"You got lost, or what was the problem?"
Thane, after a brief pause, replied. "I think... I was lost."
The instructor covered his face. For several moments, he said nothing.
Finally, he lowered his hand. "The Third Trial requires candidates to reach the hill before time expires."
Thane nodded. "I know."
A pause followed. An awkward one.
The instructor sighed. "Therefore, you have failed."
The words hung in the air. Thane stared. The giant looked genuinely devastated, as though the possibility had never occurred to him.
Then he looked toward the distant horizon. Somewhere beyond the trees stood the hill.
The finish line. The place he had spent twelve hours unsuccessfully searching for.
A slow grin appeared on his face. The instructor frowned.
"You failed."
"Yeah, you just told me."
"Then why are you smiling?"
Thane looked at the hill. "Because next time I’ll find it."
The instructor did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Far away, atop the central hill, Etno sat quietly among the successful candidates.
When he heard the news, he simply shook his head.
Of course.
The only man capable of defeating him in combat had somehow lost a fight against directions.
For some reason, that felt perfectly natural. He was, after all, Thane.
