Kael's heart beat loudly against his chest as he, Eryn and Jorik made their way through the arena's chaos, Mara's claws clicking beside him on the floor.
The crowd's roar faded behind them, canvas tents and shouting villagers giving way to the canyon's edge, where the maze gate loomed—a rusted iron slab carved with hawk-flame runes, almost twice Kael's height.
Well, Kael wasn't your typical gigolo.
Wave 3's teams, fifty candidates in clumps of three, milled about, their beasts growling and skittering around them. Eryn's mistviper, Syl, slithered at her heels, its scales glinting green, while Jorik's skitterclaw lagged, its legs twitching like it wanted to bolt.
Clearly, it wasn't in for this.
Kael's System sounded in his mind: Quest active: Clear the Survival Maze. Reward: 100 XP, +1% sync.
He exhaled, Mara's gold eyes meeting his, fierce and steady.
A scout—a broad woman with a B-rank ironboar grunting at her side—stood by the gate, her voice like tearing through the din.
"Wave 3, line up! Ten seconds!"
Kael's team stepped forward, Eryn muttering, "Stay sharp, Ardyn. This kid's gonna trip us." Jorik flinched, taking a glance at his skitterclaw, but Kael ignored her, kneeling to Mara.
"Ready, Mara? Scout ahead." She yipped, her tail curling, her 50% sync flooding him with her senses.
Eryn's 40% sync with Syl was pretty solid too, but Jorik's skitterclaw, probably at around 10%, was a total mess.
The gate creaked open, revealing a dark tunnel that was lit by flickering mana torches, the air around it stale and thick with mana's buzz.
At least they chose to keep the place mana rich, that was kind of them.
The scout bellowed, "Begin!" and Wave 3 surged, Kael's team jostling with others.
The Stone walls seemed to close in, jagged and cold, its paths splitting like veins.
Shouts echoed—other teams already hitting traps—and Kael whistled low, scout.
There were hundreds of patterns across the maze, and that was more than enough for every member of the teams to get lost.
In a heartbeat, the teams had all separated.
Only the first few teams to complete it would be chosen, that's cutting down the number of the candidates by over 50 percent.
Mara darted ahead, her smoky fur blending with shadows, her nose twitched, trying to pick up whatever scent she could. "Mara, slow," he called, keeping Eryn and Jorik close.
Syl slithered beside Eryn, hissing at a fork, and Jorik stumbled, his skitterclaw skittering sideways.
"Watch it, kid!" Eryn snapped, grabbing Jorik's arm. "You fail, we're all screwed." Jorik's face paled, mumbling, "S-sorry,"
"You would be sorry if we lose!" Eryn muttered coldly, already annoyed.
Kael cut in, his voice low. "Eryn, ease up. It's no use fighting amongst ourselves now."
"Tsk!"
He felt Mara's senses, and he nodded, pointing to the path that slithered left. "That way. Trap's right."
Eryn raised a brow but followed, Syl's tongue flicking.
"She can smell the traps?" Jorik asked, his voice low.
Kael shook his head, "not really. Just the physical ones, she can see that much."
Eryn nodded. She understood. They all had to keep alert, Mara wasn't going to be able to see mana traps.
A scream rang out ahead, another team's beast caught.
Kael's eyes narrowed, spotting a shimmer—a mana net, strung across the tunnel, it was faintly glowing with blue sparks.
"Wait," he whispered, raising a hand. His mana warmed, and he sparked a Blazeweave fire 30 meters away, a thin arc that hit the net, burning it to ash with a crackle.
Eryn's jaw twitched, impressed but silent, and Jorik gasped, "How'd you—?"
"Move," Kael said, pushing forward.
Eryn stared at him as they walked, he was clearly not the weakling who had been scrapping for meat any longer, he was stronger now, a lot more powerful.
The tunnel widened, but Mara was still walking ahead of them, a pet sized ashfox that was scouting ahead.
He was able to see through her eyes, albeit it was hazy and dark.
Mara's foot clicked on something, and the fox paused, looking curious.
Kael felt it too, and he paused, Mara glanced down at it and he saw it—a pressure plate.
"Everyone, ready!" he shouted, but the danger was going to erupt already, he was more concerned about Mara.
Pressure plates worked to release a number of traps within a certain radius, but the spot where it was activated would be the most dangerous place to be, and that's exactly where Mara was.
Tag.
He swapped with Mara, and landed 20 meters ahead as spikes suddenly shot from the floor all around them.
It was spreading very fast and mama nets were being thrown randomly downwards from god knows where.
Jorik yelped, his skitterclaw bolting behind him, and Eryn cursed,
"Damn it, Ardyn, warn us a bit faster!" She jumped, her mistviper slashing at the spikes that sprang out from underneath them, it coiled over, catching Eryn and protecting her.
Eryn ducked as a mana set fell towards her, she pulled out a dagger and slashed at it, sending her own mana through the dagger and destroying the mana net.
She jumped away, falling out of the effect range of the traps, but then she glanced back, and saw Jorik there, a mana net about to fall on him.
"Crap, that kid!"
But Kael swooped in immediately, he flung a fireball at the net, carrying him out of there.
"Phew…" Eryn sighed, relief washing over her.
"T-thank you…"
System: Traps evaded. +20 XP (370/1200).
Kael gritted his teeth, why couldn't it warn him of the traps instead?
The maze grew darker, torches sputtering off, and Mara's ears twitched, growling quietly.
Kael froze, he was in Mara's senses….and he knew exactly what was coming.
beast.