The battle between Valerie and Mikael was entertaining, but not nearly as much as what August was doing.
People watched it because it was quite even at first, but the gap started to show itself as the minutes flew past.
Mikael had a domain out as well. The entire forest was backed by a rising sun that enhanced Mikael's power.
The problem was that Valerie stole his energy and used it to enhance her own as well.
It wasn't something he allowed. As they fought, Mikael realized that his control wasn't anywhere near Valerie's level. He tried to stop her, but he really couldn't do anything about it.
He had to go home and train specifically to fight people who had elemental advantages against him.
He knew how to deal with dark dragons and he knew how to deal with water dragons, but he'd never interacted with wood dragons before in his life.
The fact that her clan had been cast out of Arulion gave Valerie an unexpected advantage, and as she exploited it for everything it could give, she took the edge over Mikael.
Her every attack made him more weary. Her every attack drew away just a little bit of his vitality.
It wasn't much in the moment, but with the passing of time, it stacked up and created a massive gap between them.
Mikael was tired. Not because he ran out of energy, but because Valerie kept stealing it.
Mikael tried to fight, but no matter what he did, Valerie always maintained the upper hand.
Towards the end, it became a bit depressing to see him continue to fight.
Even Valerie felt the same.
That was why she ended it fast.
She appeared right in front of Mikael, who could no longer use light to increase his speed.
She bashed his head in with the trunk of a dead tree, and when she saw that he was barely standing, she wrapped him with roots and buried him in the ground.
At that point, it didn't even matter if Mikael was still in the competition.
Valerie had already left him and the first as a whole.
She arrived near August, who was pushing himself to finish the sixth terminal, and put a massive wooden barrier around him.
August didn't look up from the terminal, but Valerie could feel his gratitude.
He also wanted them to win together, so Valerie being here was perfect.
'It's all been set up.'
August had a lot of ups and downs since he entered the central area, but everything was put in place before Mikael ever arrived.
He just needed to finish the terminals to activate everything he set up when he was at the third one.
And though the sixth terminal was also nuanced like its predecessor, August didn't need to think anymore.
The maze had been completely dissected by him. Everything it did and everything it could do was within his expectations.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rang out as Eris kept fighting the beast, which, by the way, was still trying to get to August.
Valerie also held it back, creating barrier after barrier to completely separate it from him.
August did his best to move as fast as possible, but he was currently half-crippled. His speed was naturally slower, especially when he couldn't enhance it using mana.
BOOOOOM!
The beast crashed against one of Valerie's barriers.
Eris was somewhat leading it to them to put pressure on them, but she was making sure it didn't get too close.
After all, she needed August to finish too.
Subtly, he was being supported by both other active players in the central area.
Maybe that was why he was able to do it without inhibition.
The sixth terminal had a challenge similar to the last. August was forced to raise the society he created in the fifth terminal and help them thrive.
It was hard to be a ruler, but through the terminals, August was able to gain a little bit of practical experience.
And since he completed each and every one of them, he showed everyone that he was worthy of the throne.
No, he showed them that he was born for it.
There was a subtle beep as he finished the sixth and final terminal.
It sunk into the ground as August and Valerie watched on.
The entire array shined. A mechanism was activated, though very few knew what it was meant to do.
"What now?" Valerie asked.
She felt rushed, but August had a relaxed demeanor that didn't originate from his injuries.
He actually looked relieved, like he'd already won.
August grinned as if to confirm her suspicions.
"Now, we fall."
But those words did anything but.
"...!"
Valerie didn't have time to respond. The ground opened beneath them and swallowed them whole.
It was an abrupt change, one that nobody in the crowd was expecting.
Wasn't this the final portion of the labyrinth?
Why had they been transferred elsewhere, and why weren't the screens showing what happened to them?
A commotion spread through the onlookers, but theyreallywere the only ones confused.
Eris immediately felt the change.
The beast halted for just a second, and a red aura covered its entire body.
She knew exactly what that meant.
It had entered its final phase.
For most beasts, that would be the most threatening part of their transformation.
But for this one…
BOOOOM!
The sea of darkness broke through all of Valerie's barriers.
And what was revealed when they fell…
'They're gone.'
Eris grinned.
It seemed that not only August but Valerie had also been caught in the trap mechanism connected to the terminals.
'This is my win.'
She glanced at the beast.
Its aura was far more massive than it had ever been before, but that aura came at a price.
All of the tiny wounds that it had accumulated were now bleeding profusely.
The beast was huffing furiously as it finally felt all of the wear it had gained during the battle thus far.
Eris clapped her hands together.
'Emptiness.'
She released the entirety of her power.
The central area went dark.
It was pitch-black, even to the viewers outside.
They only understood what was happening when Eris lit a small light to illuminate herself and the beast.
It was frozen in time, unable to move or even think.
Its flaming eyes were filled with emotions that nobody expected to see, emotions that could only present themselves in conscious entities.
Confusion, panic, terror.
Nobody understood why it was showing them such emotions.
And nobody would get the chance.
The small light that Eris created illuminated that thing.
A blade bigger than the entire length of the central area.
It swung down in the silent room, melding in with the darkness.
And the instant it made contact with the beast…
SHIIING!
A sound like metal whizzing through the air.
With it as the only indicator of what happened, the beast's head fell to the ground.
The darkness cleared, giving the crowd full visibility again.
They saw Erisa standing over the fallen beast's corpse, and, in the next second…
…she disappeared as well.
The screens went black and disappeared before being replaced with only two projections.
One showed Eris.
And the other showed August and Valerie.
The only question was…
Now that they'd all left the central area, just what were they doing?
The battle between Valerie and Mikael was entertaining, but not nearly as much as what August was doing.
People watched it because it was quite even at first, but the gap started to show itself as the minutes flew past.
Mikael had a domain out as well. The entire forest was backed by a rising sun that enhanced Mikael's power.
The problem was that Valerie stole his energy and used it to enhance her own as well.
It wasn't something he allowed. As they fought, Mikael realized that his control wasn't anywhere near Valerie's level. He tried to stop her, but he really couldn't do anything about it.
He had to go home and train specifically to fight people who had elemental advantages against him.
He knew how to deal with dark dragons and he knew how to deal with water dragons, but he'd never interacted with wood dragons before in his life.
The fact that her clan had been cast out of Arulion gave Valerie an unexpected advantage, and as she exploited it for everything it could give, she took the edge over Mikael.
Her every attack made him more weary. Her every attack drew away just a little bit of his vitality.
It wasn't much in the moment, but with the passing of time, it stacked up and created a massive gap between them.
Mikael was tired. Not because he ran out of energy, but because Valerie kept stealing it.
Mikael tried to fight, but no matter what he did, Valerie always maintained the upper hand.
Towards the end, it became a bit depressing to see him continue to fight.
Even Valerie felt the same.
That was why she ended it fast.
She appeared right in front of Mikael, who could no longer use light to increase his speed.
She bashed his head in with the trunk of a dead tree, and when she saw that he was barely standing, she wrapped him with roots and buried him in the ground.
At that point, it didn't even matter if Mikael was still in the competition.
Valerie had already left him and the first as a whole.
She arrived near August, who was pushing himself to finish the sixth terminal, and put a massive wooden barrier around him.
August didn't look up from the terminal, but Valerie could feel his gratitude.
He also wanted them to win together, so Valerie being here was perfect.
'It's all been set up.'
August had a lot of ups and downs since he entered the central area, but everything was put in place before Mikael ever arrived.
He just needed to finish the terminals to activate everything he set up when he was at the third one.
And though the sixth terminal was also nuanced like its predecessor, August didn't need to think anymore.
The maze had been completely dissected by him. Everything it did and everything it could do was within his expectations.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rang out as Eris kept fighting the beast, which, by the way, was still trying to get to August.
Valerie also held it back, creating barrier after barrier to completely separate it from him.
August did his best to move as fast as possible, but he was currently half-crippled. His speed was naturally slower, especially when he couldn't enhance it using mana.
BOOOOOM!
The beast crashed against one of Valerie's barriers.
Eris was somewhat leading it to them to put pressure on them, but she was making sure it didn't get too close.
After all, she needed August to finish too.
Subtly, he was being supported by both other active players in the central area.
Maybe that was why he was able to do it without inhibition.
The sixth terminal had a challenge similar to the last. August was forced to raise the society he created in the fifth terminal and help them thrive.
It was hard to be a ruler, but through the terminals, August was able to gain a little bit of practical experience.
And since he completed each and every one of them, he showed everyone that he was worthy of the throne.
No, he showed them that he was born for it.
There was a subtle beep as he finished the sixth and final terminal.
It sunk into the ground as August and Valerie watched on.
The entire array shined. A mechanism was activated, though very few knew what it was meant to do.
"What now?" Valerie asked.
She felt rushed, but August had a relaxed demeanor that didn't originate from his injuries.
He actually looked relieved, like he'd already won.
August grinned as if to confirm her suspicions.
"Now, we fall."
But those words did anything but.
"...!"
Valerie didn't have time to respond. The ground opened beneath them and swallowed them whole.
It was an abrupt change, one that nobody in the crowd was expecting.
Wasn't this the final portion of the labyrinth?
Why had they been transferred elsewhere, and why weren't the screens showing what happened to them?
A commotion spread through the onlookers, but theyreallywere the only ones confused.
Eris immediately felt the change.
The beast halted for just a second, and a red aura covered its entire body.
She knew exactly what that meant.
It had entered its final phase.
For most beasts, that would be the most threatening part of their transformation.
But for this one…
BOOOOM!
The sea of darkness broke through all of Valerie's barriers.
And what was revealed when they fell…
'They're gone.'
Eris grinned.
It seemed that not only August but Valerie had also been caught in the trap mechanism connected to the terminals.
'This is my win.'
She glanced at the beast.
Its aura was far more massive than it had ever been before, but that aura came at a price.
All of the tiny wounds that it had accumulated were now bleeding profusely.
The beast was huffing furiously as it finally felt all of the wear it had gained during the battle thus far.
Eris clapped her hands together.
'Emptiness.'
She released the entirety of her power.
The central area went dark.
It was pitch-black, even to the viewers outside.
They only understood what was happening when Eris lit a small light to illuminate herself and the beast.
It was frozen in time, unable to move or even think.
Its flaming eyes were filled with emotions that nobody expected to see, emotions that could only present themselves in conscious entities.
Confusion, panic, terror.
Nobody understood why it was showing them such emotions.
And nobody would get the chance.
The small light that Eris created illuminated that thing.
A blade bigger than the entire length of the central area.
It swung down in the silent room, melding in with the darkness.
And the instant it made contact with the beast…
SHIIING!
A sound like metal whizzing through the air.
With it as the only indicator of what happened, the beast's head fell to the ground.
The darkness cleared, giving the crowd full visibility again.
They saw Erisa standing over the fallen beast's corpse, and, in the next second…
…she disappeared as well.
The screens went black and disappeared before being replaced with only two projections.
One showed Eris.
And the other showed August and Valerie.
The only question was…
Now that they'd all left the central area, just what were they doing?
