The Dawn Dragon Clan was the strongest under the Aurora Clan's rule.
Their power was made to mimic the horizon as it shifted and changed.
That was why Mikael's entrance was so grand.
He immediately made a break towards August, who turned his attention over immediately.
'Tch!'
August jumped back and dashed towards the 4th terminal. He was barely able to activate it before an entire horizon bashed into him.
BOOOOOOM!
Mikael's thought process was simple.
There were four people left in the labyrinth according to the map. The fourth wasn't here, which meant this was a fight for the top three.
If the two who were here before he arrived were able to do as they pleased, then he'd be stuck in third place.
Like hell he was going to let that happen!
Especially when he saw that there was a 3rd class in the boss room before him?
He was obviously planning to end August in a single move, but he was soon to learn exactly why someone so weak was able to make it so far.
By the time he attacked, August was already gone.
He'd jumped into the air. His arm was already extended and mana had already been mobilized.
BOOOOOOM!
Azure Dragons were rulers of the sea. August could heat and freeze water, he could use it to create projectiles and barriers as well. But, his heritage was always meant to control the waters of the world.
It was strong, domineering, and oppressive.
That was something August had awakened to in the two weeks before the labyrinth challenge began. His previous opponents hadn't forced him to draw it out, and Eris was too powerful for him to even try.
Mikael, on the other hand, felt just strong enough to force August to try harder.
A massive tsunami of water blasted out of August's hand and flooded the nearby area. Mikael was immediately washed away along with his blazing horizon.
August landed on the water. He was able to stand on it easily and run uninhibited.
While his enemy was still struggling to gain his bearings, he checked the terminal once more and did just a small amount of work on its puzzle.
Fighting Mikael was important, but it wasn't the most important thing.
After all, August still felt that he could beat him if they were to fight it out for first place.
Eris was his main problem, and to take care of her, he needed to complete the terminals.
All while not letting her catch on to what he was doing.
Mikael definitely made that easier.
It was as if August didn't have time to think about anything else.
Just a few seconds after his original attack, his attention was grabbed by a shining light at his side.
He didn't look directly at it since that was never a bright idea, but he did spread his awareness to locate its source.
Naturally, it was Mikael's power of light.
There was heat involved as well, but the light was mainly being used as a weapon on its own.
It shot through the air, barely perceptible in August's eyes. If not for his already mobilized awareness, he wouldn't have seen it at all.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
With minute movements, he avoided them, hearing them whizz past him.
'I'll have to at least trap him first.'
August wouldn't have the chance to do anything to the terminal until Mikael had been obstructed.
He could worry about defeating the genius after he'd finished the puzzle.
At that point, Eris would be in a situation where paying attention to his actions would cost her the victory.
'Okay, then, to immobilize him…'
It actually wouldn't be hard at all. The entire central area was filled with traps that would last him ages. It was packed so that if the fighters stepped out of the inner ring, they'd instantly be forced back inside.
Mikael was coming towards him, but he was severely limited in speed by the water that he was traveling through.
After all, water wasn't necessarily the best medium for light.
It gave August the time to locate the nearest traps and activate them one by one.
Just as Eris had suffered upon their first meeting, Mikael was subjected to a rain of arrows, stones, and pitfalls galore.
Everything around him became a weapon aimed only at taking him down.
Instead of charging forward, hewas forcedto push back, protecting himself withbarriers of light.
His steps led him closer to the inner ring, but that was a place heabsolutelydidn'twant to go.
Both Eris and the beast were far above his weight class.
'Good, now…'
August sent his senses into the ground.
For a while now,he'dbeen sensing the presence of an immense water source from underneath thesurface of the earth.
It spanned over a large portion of the maze, but only here was it close enough to the surface for August to feel.
He stomped into the ground and sent mana crashing through its surface.
The tiled floors shattered instantly, and the bare earth belowwas litteredwith cracks.
August'scontrol over the underground reservoir became far more fluid when there were holes that allowed him to access it without barriers.
BOOOOM!
Mikael eventually escaped the traps August set off.
His opponentwasn'tplaying fair, but now thathe'dsuffered twice to trickery, hewasn'tgoing todo it again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four cannons appeared in the air, peppering it with light beams.
They were like turrets that zoned in on August and followed his every movement, making it impossible for him to do anything but dodge.
BOOOOOM!
August erected alargewall of ocean water to block and refract the light beams.
They split into countless pieces and shot into the smooth walls of the room, shattering them and interfering with thestructure'soverall stability.
August looked at his opponent through the wall with a grin.
'Ifinally have an elemental advantage.'
Itwasn'tdirect, but it wasdefinitelypresent.
Mikael could attack August with all the light he wanted, but as long as August could accurately refract it away from himself, itwouldn'tbe able to do any real damage.
That was why he was confident in making another move.
Mikaelwas still focusedon trying to make it through the barrier.
Since hewasn'treallypaying attention to his surroundings anymore…
BOOOOOOM!
August'spower flared, and the underground reservoir burst into the surface world.
August slid across the ground as it turned to ice under his feet.
Behind him, Mikael got stuck in the massive geyser of water.
It had formed something of a vortex cage around him, forcing him to do some puzzle-solving of his own if he wanted to escape.
Arriving at the 4th terminal once more, August glanced at Eris.
'Ishould be fine.'
He made sure to do alittlebit here and there while he was still in combat with Mikael to make it seem like he was slowly putting things together and solving the puzzle. Perhaps Eris would still be a bit suspicious, but shewasn'tin a positionto do anything about it anymore.
The beast was getting more and more powerful. Shewas strugglingto keep it at bay while being limited to the space in the inner ring.
She had tokeep herfocus on the battle athand,lest she embarrass herself in front of everyone.
As such, when August approached the terminal and used the small amount of timethat hehad before Mikael escaped to solve it, shedidn'tsee anything wrong.
It was easy. After solving the third puzzle, August understood the underlying nature of the three-dimensional challengeshe'dbeen presented with.
The 4th terminal wasdefinitelymore difficultthan its predecessor, but at the end of the day, it functioned on the same concept.
BOOM!
August had barely enough time. By the time he finished, Mikael was already charging at him again.
Mikaelwasn'taware of it. His arrival put August in a one versus three situation.
Mikael, the beast, and Eris. All of them were targets that August was planning to eliminate.
But, with his newfound confidence, hewasn'tworried.
He had a plan, onethat would leave him as the last one standing.
And as long as nothing unexpected happened, he wasabsolutelycertainthat it would work.
The Dawn Dragon Clan was the strongest under the Aurora Clan's rule.
Their power was made to mimic the horizon as it shifted and changed.
That was why Mikael's entrance was so grand.
He immediately made a break towards August, who turned his attention over immediately.
'Tch!'
August jumped back and dashed towards the 4th terminal. He was barely able to activate it before an entire horizon bashed into him.
BOOOOOOM!
Mikael's thought process was simple.
There were four people left in the labyrinth according to the map. The fourth wasn't here, which meant this was a fight for the top three.
If the two who were here before he arrived were able to do as they pleased, then he'd be stuck in third place.
Like hell he was going to let that happen!
Especially when he saw that there was a 3rd class in the boss room before him?
He was obviously planning to end August in a single move, but he was soon to learn exactly why someone so weak was able to make it so far.
By the time he attacked, August was already gone.
He'd jumped into the air. His arm was already extended and mana had already been mobilized.
BOOOOOOM!
Azure Dragons were rulers of the sea. August could heat and freeze water, he could use it to create projectiles and barriers as well. But, his heritage was always meant to control the waters of the world.
It was strong, domineering, and oppressive.
That was something August had awakened to in the two weeks before the labyrinth challenge began. His previous opponents hadn't forced him to draw it out, and Eris was too powerful for him to even try.
Mikael, on the other hand, felt just strong enough to force August to try harder.
A massive tsunami of water blasted out of August's hand and flooded the nearby area. Mikael was immediately washed away along with his blazing horizon.
August landed on the water. He was able to stand on it easily and run uninhibited.
While his enemy was still struggling to gain his bearings, he checked the terminal once more and did just a small amount of work on its puzzle.
Fighting Mikael was important, but it wasn't the most important thing.
After all, August still felt that he could beat him if they were to fight it out for first place.
Eris was his main problem, and to take care of her, he needed to complete the terminals.
All while not letting her catch on to what he was doing.
Mikael definitely made that easier.
It was as if August didn't have time to think about anything else.
Just a few seconds after his original attack, his attention was grabbed by a shining light at his side.
He didn't look directly at it since that was never a bright idea, but he did spread his awareness to locate its source.
Naturally, it was Mikael's power of light.
There was heat involved as well, but the light was mainly being used as a weapon on its own.
It shot through the air, barely perceptible in August's eyes. If not for his already mobilized awareness, he wouldn't have seen it at all.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
With minute movements, he avoided them, hearing them whizz past him.
'I'll have to at least trap him first.'
August wouldn't have the chance to do anything to the terminal until Mikael had been obstructed.
He could worry about defeating the genius after he'd finished the puzzle.
At that point, Eris would be in a situation where paying attention to his actions would cost her the victory.
'Okay, then, to immobilize him…'
It actually wouldn't be hard at all. The entire central area was filled with traps that would last him ages. It was packed so that if the fighters stepped out of the inner ring, they'd instantly be forced back inside.
Mikael was coming towards him, but he was severely limited in speed by the water that he was traveling through.
After all, water wasn't necessarily the best medium for light.
It gave August the time to locate the nearest traps and activate them one by one.
Just as Eris had suffered upon their first meeting, Mikael was subjected to a rain of arrows, stones, and pitfalls galore.
Everything around him became a weapon aimed only at taking him down.
Instead of charging forward, hewas forcedto push back, protecting himself withbarriers of light.
His steps led him closer to the inner ring, but that was a place heabsolutelydidn'twant to go.
Both Eris and the beast were far above his weight class.
'Good, now…'
August sent his senses into the ground.
For a while now,he'dbeen sensing the presence of an immense water source from underneath thesurface of the earth.
It spanned over a large portion of the maze, but only here was it close enough to the surface for August to feel.
He stomped into the ground and sent mana crashing through its surface.
The tiled floors shattered instantly, and the bare earth belowwas litteredwith cracks.
August'scontrol over the underground reservoir became far more fluid when there were holes that allowed him to access it without barriers.
BOOOOM!
Mikael eventually escaped the traps August set off.
His opponentwasn'tplaying fair, but now thathe'dsuffered twice to trickery, hewasn'tgoing todo it again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four cannons appeared in the air, peppering it with light beams.
They were like turrets that zoned in on August and followed his every movement, making it impossible for him to do anything but dodge.
BOOOOOM!
August erected alargewall of ocean water to block and refract the light beams.
They split into countless pieces and shot into the smooth walls of the room, shattering them and interfering with thestructure'soverall stability.
August looked at his opponent through the wall with a grin.
'Ifinally have an elemental advantage.'
Itwasn'tdirect, but it wasdefinitelypresent.
Mikael could attack August with all the light he wanted, but as long as August could accurately refract it away from himself, itwouldn'tbe able to do any real damage.
That was why he was confident in making another move.
Mikaelwas still focusedon trying to make it through the barrier.
Since hewasn'treallypaying attention to his surroundings anymore…
BOOOOOOM!
August'spower flared, and the underground reservoir burst into the surface world.
August slid across the ground as it turned to ice under his feet.
Behind him, Mikael got stuck in the massive geyser of water.
It had formed something of a vortex cage around him, forcing him to do some puzzle-solving of his own if he wanted to escape.
Arriving at the 4th terminal once more, August glanced at Eris.
'Ishould be fine.'
He made sure to do alittlebit here and there while he was still in combat with Mikael to make it seem like he was slowly putting things together and solving the puzzle. Perhaps Eris would still be a bit suspicious, but shewasn'tin a positionto do anything about it anymore.
The beast was getting more and more powerful. Shewas strugglingto keep it at bay while being limited to the space in the inner ring.
She had tokeep herfocus on the battle athand,lest she embarrass herself in front of everyone.
As such, when August approached the terminal and used the small amount of timethat hehad before Mikael escaped to solve it, shedidn'tsee anything wrong.
It was easy. After solving the third puzzle, August understood the underlying nature of the three-dimensional challengeshe'dbeen presented with.
The 4th terminal wasdefinitelymore difficultthan its predecessor, but at the end of the day, it functioned on the same concept.
BOOM!
August had barely enough time. By the time he finished, Mikael was already charging at him again.
Mikaelwasn'taware of it. His arrival put August in a one versus three situation.
Mikael, the beast, and Eris. All of them were targets that August was planning to eliminate.
But, with his newfound confidence, hewasn'tworried.
He had a plan, onethat would leave him as the last one standing.
And as long as nothing unexpected happened, he wasabsolutelycertainthat it would work.
