Frederick slowly woke up after a few hours, surprised that the sentient labyrinth didn't attempt anything during his rest. 'Now that you mention it, it's been a while since anything happened.'
Checking the resources left in his bag, Frederick quickly concluded that he could stay in this place for a few more days at most. Without wasting more time, he continued his way, armed with his newly acquired crossbow.
As the hours passed, nothing noteworthy occurred. No spiders or other creatures appeared, and there was not even a single trap. Frederick began to suspect that his journey was becoming easier, but he knew that the labyrinth would probably not make it so simple.
A sudden realization struck Frederick, halting his advance. 'Something doesn't seem right. It's been way too long since anything happened. I don't believe that this place would suddenly act kind out of nowhere. So why is nothing happening?'
After pondering for a while, Frederick arrived at three logical conclusions. 'Either this maze has limited power and used all its energy at the start.' However, Frederick doubted that this was the reason.
'Another theory is that something is preventing it from creating more traps; that would explain why it stopped trying to trap me.' This idea was, however, also quickly discarded by Frederick, deeming it too easy for a side story with the "highest difficulty possible for the candidate."
He had grown accustomed to how the Chronicles proceeded and was sure it wouldn't be this straightforward.
'And lastly... I am getting further from my destination, so it stopped attacking me.'
After thoughtful consideration, the last conclusion seemed the most logical. The maze attacked him at the start to prevent him from approaching something, likely the safe zone. However, the moment Frederick left, it simply stopped caring.
If you add this to the fact that the maze is aware, everything seems to align.
To put his theory to the test, Frederick decided to backtrack. Much to his dismay, he soon realized that the way backward was closed off. With limited choices, he reluctantly continued in the original direction.
Still uncertain about his conclusions, he eventually decided to explore an alternative path, attempting to return to the starting point.
Frederick could have chosen to end his own life and reset to the starting point, but he was resolute in conserving his "forgotten times" as a last resort. He wanted to at least collect some intel on this place even if that meant suffering.
The moment he attempted to backtrack, invisible wall traps began to reappear. This confirmed Frederick's theory that the maze was indeed actively working to prevent him from going back.
However, Frederick observed that while the maze exhibited sentience, it lacked the intelligence to be creative or flexible in its plans. Given that it repeatedly attempted to shoot Frederick to death through invisible walls, he deduced that its only method of preventing his retreat was limited.
While these arrows posed a significant threat, their danger diminished considerably when anticipated. He even collected some along the way.
Yet another problem surfaced: Frederick was lost. Although he had a general sense of the direction toward his starting point, he couldn't recognize it, as every part of this place looked eerily similar.
Soon, he started wandering around while trying to find his way, completely disoriented and unable to recognize anything.
After aimlessly walking for a while, he came across a crossroads. Instead of finding another branching path, he saw an unexpected sight. Before him was an opening to a large room with an entirely different layout.
Instead of the usual featureless passageways, it was a square room. Frederick didn't directly enter and carefully inspected the surrounding walls for traps, but there weren't any. 'It seems to be empty.'
Moving forward, Frederick remained cautious at all times. A part of him was suspicious, thinking it might be some sort of trap. However, finding nothing amiss, he proceeded into the chamber.
Honestly, he did not want to go inside, but he felt he had no choice. It was either risk it or continue in the maze, possibly facing death from starvation.
However, the instant he entered, the space behind him shifted, and the path he came from disappeared, entrapping him in the cubic room.
Frederick was already half expecting this but still, he did not anticipate getting trapped like this so easily. As he quickly surveyed his surroundings, a shadow emerged in the center of the chamber.
He swiftly detected it from the corner of his eyes. Directing the crossbow at the shadow, he immediately pulled the trigger without bothering to inspect its identity.
However, much to his dismay, the bolt he had loaded did not fire. At first, he assumed that it was just broken, but then the crossbow simply crumbled to dust in his hand along with every bolt he had.
'What? Don't tell me that the maze just ...'
Before Frederick could finish his thought, he saw the shadow from the corner of his eyes, revealing its form. It was a monster he hadn't encountered before.
It was a humanoid creature covered in black fur with two horns. It had a broad face with a nose that appeared as if it had been flattened many times over, and two fangs that peeked out over its thick lower lip. Its face had no sign of a neck or even a chin and was more of a square that had simply been carved into the fur and black flesh.
Frederick was confused at this strange creature but knew that he didn't have enough time to examine it, given its rapid approach.
As he prepared to utilize his Blood Dominion, the monster opened its mouth and released a roar that echoed in the enclosed chamber.
Frederick dropped his bag and immediately activated Sanguine Infusion, using every ounce of energy he could muster. His perception and body seemed to slow down, while everything around him became even slower. At this moment, he could feel his heart pumping his blood through his veins at a rapid pace. At the same time, he also saw the creature's every motion become much slower.
Using this chance, Frederick managed to narrowly dodge its charge. 'It's slower, but still very fast.'
This monster was significantly faster than any opponent Frederick had encountered. Its swiftness was incomparable to candidates he previously faced. Even in the enhanced state provided by Sanguine Infusion, dodging this monster's charge required his entire focus.
Frederick's time in this form was limited, and he couldn't linger for too long. Before his body started breaking down, he needed to find an opening. Observing the beast change direction and turn its back toward him, Frederick formulated a plan.
The moment the creature completed its turn to charge again, he propelled himself at the monster, maneuvering his dagger to stab it right in the leg.
"This should at least slow it down a bit," he thought.
However, much to Frederick's surprise, the attack didn't injure the creature in the slightest. His initial plan was to restrict the monster's movement but failed.
Before he could fully react to the unexpected outcome, the creature swiftly spun around, swinging its horned head with tremendous strength and force.
Frederick had to leap back rapidly to dodge, but to his dismay, he discovered that his right leg had been injured. It appeared that he was a bit careless with his timing while trying to dodge.
Sighing to himself, he shifted his body into a low position. Although the injury was only light and he could still move, it was still enough to hinder his speed.
With only a bit more time to remain in this state, he was left with no other option but to risk everything in a last attack.
Seeing the monster open its mouth to let out another deafening roar, Frederick once more dashed toward it, ignoring all thoughts of self-preservation. As he got close enough, Frederick propelled his dagger forward with every ounce of strength he could gather, targeting the creature's eyes.
The dagger penetrated the monster's left eye, and at the same moment, he was swept away by the monster's head swing. The force of the strike hurled Frederick backward and smashed his back against the wall with an unpleasant cracking noise.
Frederick was in agony and had a few of his bones broken but still somehow gathered the strength to stand up. However, he was immediately greeted with the sight of the beast charging toward him, albeit slower and with only one functional eye.
Frederick felt the situation had become more complicated than before.
The moment it came near, Frederick collected everything he had left to leap sideways to evade and saw the monster continue toward the wall instead. The monster then slammed into it with a dull thud reverberating throughout the chamber.
However Frederick couldn't hold anymore, and his sanguine infusion stopped as he fell heavily on the ground. He couldn't muster an ounce of strength anymore.
In a desperate attempt to fend off a monster, Frederick utilized his sanguine infusion ability. However, the prolonged use of this power resulted in severe physical consequences. The intense pain made each breath torturous, resembling punctured lungs and a pierced heart. His bones were severely injured, and internal bleeding occurred because of his own authority.
At this instant, he knew that he would likely die but with a last final effort, he kept staring at the monster despite the pain. He needed to collect as much information as possible for the next time.
Yet, the monster stood unmoving for a short moment, and in the next instant, its massive body also tumbled heavily to the ground as a sudden notification appeared
-Constitution + ( 10 -> 11)
-Mind + ( 10 -> 11)
-Perception +( 10 -> 11)
-Dexterity + ( 10 -> 11)
'... what?'
Examining the monster's body, Frederick comprehended what had occurred. The creature, in its charge, had impaled its own head on the dagger lodged in its eye by colliding with the wall.
'Ahah...Stupid.' was his final thought before everything went black.