A week passed before the end came in sight for round 3. Over half of the competitors were removed from the mazes but no one aside from Lind had been declared a winner. As time passed and more arenas emptied, Lind began to suspect he was right about the purpose of the round.
It was a race but not against the opponent, so much as oneself. The idea of an opponent was to invigorate the cultivator to push themselves. It puts pressure on them to try and overcome the challenges in the maze.
"Genius." His whisper drew his wives' eyes but they did not ask. Only his name glowed on the list of winners but the context was not listed. All with people still competing, whether inside the mazes or not, all were on edge to learn how the round would be graded.
A few more days passed but no one reached the center like Lind had. A few seemed to have come close as the difficulty of their advance seemed to melt before the last person was teleported out.
