August's journey was definitely being followed, but compared to others, he wasn't as focused on.
People wanted to see the nobles, and more than them, Eris Noct.
These were dragons just like them, but people they could never meet in their entire lives.
The noble clans were shrouded in an air of mystery. Despite sometimes interacting with the common population, unlike the Holy Clans, many still didn't understand what exactly they did.
Why did they have a status higher than them?
Why were they meant to be revered?
To see for themselves, most of the audience focused on those geniuses with more status.
August, Valerie, and the other common geniuses were a bit forgotten, but it wouldn't be for long.
The maze was large, but the thirteen geniuses had been positioned in such a way that they would inevitably run into each other.
As August rushed through the maze faster and faster. He took down many beasts that inhibited his path and memorized patterns in the walls, making himself more knowledgeable about the maze's structure.
He was really just focusing on the environment itself. The beasts were merely obstructions that needed to be removed.
August thought himself relatively separated from everyone else. From what he could assume based on the information at hand, the maze was huge enough for them to never meet each other even if they intentionally tried to cross paths.
But, in the end, he also found himself crossing paths with another.
It was a boy roughly the same physical age as him. He strongly radiated the aura of a 4th class, but not one who had been at that level for a very long time.
They met in a long corridor with no exits to either side. They could either turn their backs on each other or fight.
And of those choices, only one was obviously correct.
August took a step back. His opponent took a step forward.
'Terion Blanche.'
A member of the Blanche Clan, a subsidiary of the Ether Clan. Though they also used space, it was to a far lesser degree.
The subsidiaries of the Holy Clans usually focused on the individual concepts within the main element of the clan they followed, but it was different for space dragons, since it was a much more esoteric concept.
Unfortunately, August didn't know the exact details, but he wasn't too worried.
It was good that he was able to learn about his opponents before the round began. Through the explanations those reporters gave, he was able to get a feel for his enemy's power.
This one was a bit tricky since he could teleport, but when it came to space users…
Whether they were human, dragon, or god, they couldn't match up to Damien.
The man who raised him showed him what space could truly do.
Compared to him, what were any of these geniuses worth?
Terion knew who August was. He knew that August used water, and he knew that he was nothing more than a commoner with no backing.
He, Valerie, Lucas, and Ophelia were all investigated by many of the noble clans once they arose. Lucas and Ophelia could be tracked, but August and Valerie didn't have any previous records in the world.
That meant that they were from such backwater places that they hadn't been registered in any way.
Terion wasn't one of those who saw the common geniuses as fodder to be destroyed. He didn't see them as competition, sure, but he didn't look down on August specifically.
It was more that he was confident in his power, especially against someone who had nowhere near his level of guidance or resources.
Terion teleported.
His body flashed away and appeared right in front of August. He meant to end it all in a single attack. With his element of surprise, most enemies couldn't do much against him before they were struck at least once or twice.
And with enemies on August's level, once or twice was enough.
It was enough, right?
Perhaps it would have been, but August was a unique case.
He knew exactly how spatial practitioners functioned.
Especially how they telegraphed their attacks.
The ripples in space were clear to see for anyone who knew how to recognize them.
August saw Terion coming from a mile away, and he was already attacking by the time the other genius left the spatial layers.
BOOM!
A solid punch landed square in the center of his face, throwing him back.
August followed, raising his leg in the air and dropping it down with immense force.
"Tch!"
Terion clicked his tongue and wiped the blood leaking from his nose.
Flash!
He vanished again before August's strike could touch him.
The air behind August rippled. Before he could turn around, Terion appeared in the air and spun, kicking towards August's head.
Bang!
August stumbled forward as he coped with the blunt impact.
A wall of water shielded his back to make sure another attack wouldn't make contact while he was stunned.
Terion tried to attack it only once before giving up.
The water curled around his fist and tried to consume him. It gave off a dangerous feeling, which provoked him to find other angles of attack instead of pushing on.
'He's better than expected.'
His life was more or less public. Everyone knew what Terion could do.
He attacked first not because he was reckless, but because it was pointless for him to try to hide his power.
August, on the other hand, was still an unknown variable.
He was definitely weaker than the rest. It wasn't just because of his status.
In the current arena, August was one of the only 3rd class individuals.
The heir wars were open to anyone under the age of one hundred. That meant that a ten-year-old like August was competing on the same field as people nearing a century in age who'd been training for their entire lives.
Those people were well on their way through 4th class.
Nevertheless, Terion wasn't one of them, and what he saw from August was definitely not a strength that could be ignored.
The two of them made distance from each other, eyeing the space between them warily.
Terion had learned that August could read him. He was also a stronger person than originally expected.
As for August…
'Does he only teleport?'
It didn't seem like Terion knew how to be diverse with his strength.
Perhaps it was the consequence of being a subsidiary space dragon clan, since space was an element that didn't quite work unless it was in its most complete form.
Terion had probably found ways to cope with his weaknesses. If he hadn't, then he would've never been a part of this competition in the first place.
Unfortunately for him, August didn't care about any of that.
If he was just going to teleport and pepper him with physical attacks, then August wasn't worried in the slightest.
'I'll end this quickly.'
The most important thing to remember was that the labyrinth challenge, at its core, was a race.
Battles could be stages for geniuses to shine, but they were also setbacks that prevented them from reaching the finish line in the fastest amount of time possible.
August wanted to win this competition. For that purpose, he needed to score as many points as possible.
So, while it was probably going to hurt his opponent's ego, August was going to finish this battle swiftly and efficiently.
He needed less than ten moves to do it.
August's journey was definitely being followed, but compared to others, he wasn't as focused on.
People wanted to see the nobles, and more than them, Eris Noct.
These were dragons just like them, but people they could never meet in their entire lives.
The noble clans were shrouded in an air of mystery. Despite sometimes interacting with the common population, unlike the Holy Clans, many still didn't understand what exactly they did.
Why did they have a status higher than them?
Why were they meant to be revered?
To see for themselves, most of the audience focused on those geniuses with more status.
August, Valerie, and the other common geniuses were a bit forgotten, but it wouldn't be for long.
The maze was large, but the thirteen geniuses had been positioned in such a way that they would inevitably run into each other.
As August rushed through the maze faster and faster. He took down many beasts that inhibited his path and memorized patterns in the walls, making himself more knowledgeable about the maze's structure.
He was really just focusing on the environment itself. The beasts were merely obstructions that needed to be removed.
August thought himself relatively separated from everyone else. From what he could assume based on the information at hand, the maze was huge enough for them to never meet each other even if they intentionally tried to cross paths.
But, in the end, he also found himself crossing paths with another.
It was a boy roughly the same physical age as him. He strongly radiated the aura of a 4th class, but not one who had been at that level for a very long time.
They met in a long corridor with no exits to either side. They could either turn their backs on each other or fight.
And of those choices, only one was obviously correct.
August took a step back. His opponent took a step forward.
'Terion Blanche.'
A member of the Blanche Clan, a subsidiary of the Ether Clan. Though they also used space, it was to a far lesser degree.
The subsidiaries of the Holy Clans usually focused on the individual concepts within the main element of the clan they followed, but it was different for space dragons, since it was a much more esoteric concept.
Unfortunately, August didn't know the exact details, but he wasn't too worried.
It was good that he was able to learn about his opponents before the round began. Through the explanations those reporters gave, he was able to get a feel for his enemy's power.
This one was a bit tricky since he could teleport, but when it came to space users…
Whether they were human, dragon, or god, they couldn't match up to Damien.
The man who raised him showed him what space could truly do.
Compared to him, what were any of these geniuses worth?
Terion knew who August was. He knew that August used water, and he knew that he was nothing more than a commoner with no backing.
He, Valerie, Lucas, and Ophelia were all investigated by many of the noble clans once they arose. Lucas and Ophelia could be tracked, but August and Valerie didn't have any previous records in the world.
That meant that they were from such backwater places that they hadn't been registered in any way.
Terion wasn't one of those who saw the common geniuses as fodder to be destroyed. He didn't see them as competition, sure, but he didn't look down on August specifically.
It was more that he was confident in his power, especially against someone who had nowhere near his level of guidance or resources.
Terion teleported.
His body flashed away and appeared right in front of August. He meant to end it all in a single attack. With his element of surprise, most enemies couldn't do much against him before they were struck at least once or twice.
And with enemies on August's level, once or twice was enough.
It was enough, right?
Perhaps it would have been, but August was a unique case.
He knew exactly how spatial practitioners functioned.
Especially how they telegraphed their attacks.
The ripples in space were clear to see for anyone who knew how to recognize them.
August saw Terion coming from a mile away, and he was already attacking by the time the other genius left the spatial layers.
BOOM!
A solid punch landed square in the center of his face, throwing him back.
August followed, raising his leg in the air and dropping it down with immense force.
"Tch!"
Terion clicked his tongue and wiped the blood leaking from his nose.
Flash!
He vanished again before August's strike could touch him.
The air behind August rippled. Before he could turn around, Terion appeared in the air and spun, kicking towards August's head.
Bang!
August stumbled forward as he coped with the blunt impact.
A wall of water shielded his back to make sure another attack wouldn't make contact while he was stunned.
Terion tried to attack it only once before giving up.
The water curled around his fist and tried to consume him. It gave off a dangerous feeling, which provoked him to find other angles of attack instead of pushing on.
'He's better than expected.'
His life was more or less public. Everyone knew what Terion could do.
He attacked first not because he was reckless, but because it was pointless for him to try to hide his power.
August, on the other hand, was still an unknown variable.
He was definitely weaker than the rest. It wasn't just because of his status.
In the current arena, August was one of the only 3rd class individuals.
The heir wars were open to anyone under the age of one hundred. That meant that a ten-year-old like August was competing on the same field as people nearing a century in age who'd been training for their entire lives.
Those people were well on their way through 4th class.
Nevertheless, Terion wasn't one of them, and what he saw from August was definitely not a strength that could be ignored.
The two of them made distance from each other, eyeing the space between them warily.
Terion had learned that August could read him. He was also a stronger person than originally expected.
As for August…
'Does he only teleport?'
It didn't seem like Terion knew how to be diverse with his strength.
Perhaps it was the consequence of being a subsidiary space dragon clan, since space was an element that didn't quite work unless it was in its most complete form.
Terion had probably found ways to cope with his weaknesses. If he hadn't, then he would've never been a part of this competition in the first place.
Unfortunately for him, August didn't care about any of that.
If he was just going to teleport and pepper him with physical attacks, then August wasn't worried in the slightest.
'I'll end this quickly.'
The most important thing to remember was that the labyrinth challenge, at its core, was a race.
Battles could be stages for geniuses to shine, but they were also setbacks that prevented them from reaching the finish line in the fastest amount of time possible.
August wanted to win this competition. For that purpose, he needed to score as many points as possible.
So, while it was probably going to hurt his opponent's ego, August was going to finish this battle swiftly and efficiently.
He needed less than ten moves to do it.
