The exam took longer than anticipated since some examinees took longer to recover from the shock, which was caused by the explosion. Those who were close to the site were brought down to the infirmary.
"Should we hold that boy accountable for causing such a ruckus?" one of the older teachers said as he looked at the line of students currently placed on infirmary beds.
"Then does that mean we should also punish the examinees who instead of attacking golems end up attacking other examinees?"
Rudwick looks at Adolfo not liking his words however the person who receives his gaze remains nonchalant.
"So whom should we punish the aspiring students who started attacking other students, or a boy who just did what the rules say" the female professor said who was apparently the examiner of this part of the exam.
"Shane, are you just going to let that boy run havoc on the exam? I think Professor Rudwick is right we must punish him" A professor named Gabriel said.
"If we are going to punish Apollo Lionheart we should not exclude those who excessively injured and attack others. If we are making a decision we should not make any exemptions"
"But those two are different things!" Professor Rudwick kept insisting however some professors were skeptical about his reasons.
"Professor are you sure you just want to punish an unruly child or is it because Edmond got knocked out twice by the same person on the same day" Adolfo said making the old professor look at him in disdain.
"Whether we are punishing or rewarding an examinee" a cold feminine voice began to shut the mouths of the other professors.
"That will all be mine to decide, after all, I am the examiner"
She then looked at Rudwick and Gabriel as if telling them to shut their mouths.
Amidst the fight among the professors Apollo and the rest of the aspiring students continue to venture the maze.
"I suddenly recognize the pattern of the maze"
Apollo said as he walked across the passage.
There are 200 passages that will connect to the end of the maze, each passage will have golems waiting to attack. The first half of the maze has the first three golems in the list however as you draw near the end you will meet the remaining golems in the list. In short, the golems were put to the weakest to strongest. Also, the reason for the existence of strong golems was to force the other examinees to work together, gradually creating friendship and companionship among them.
[You destroy that sequence Creator]
"Shut up and how am I supposed to know that"
He said trying to defend himself.
However, due to Apollo, the plans put up by the professors were destroyed.
"Let's just get out of here"
He walked through the moving passage and trap-bound corners.
"This is getting boring" he groaned looking at the map of the huge maze.
[What do you plan to do then?]
"I'm going fast" Then he crouches down, with his one foot set forward while the other position back. His arms are extended forward and placed on the ground.
Slowly his hair began to rise as lightning currents surged up to his entire body. Sparks of white light ignited.
Soon his entire body was engulfed with white lightning.
"Hoo!"
Apollo gathered his breath and with the increasing build of power inside him, his senses began to heighten. The floor and walls began to melt due to the increasing heat brought by the lightning. Apollo using its power pushes his feet forward accelerating at speed that yet again shocks everyone.
A fast-moving white ghost crosses the passage of the maze. This causes a slight panic among the other examinees because they can feel the heat even though Apollo is meters away from them.
"What kind of spell is that!" Rudwick exclaimed seeing the might of a spell that seemed unrealistic for a 13-year-old kid.
"Professor Rudwick look!" Gabriel pointed which made Rudwick follow his finger, as the old professor shifted his gaze back to the maze he went immediately pale.
"What is this!"
From the walls to the floor, everything suddenly melted, turning the mighty maze into a withering candle. The towering walls turned into a melting wax while the floor was filled with burn marks and still burning holes.
"How can he melt a wall like that!" A professor exclaimed.
However, despite their previous surprise expression Adolfo, Shane and some newly hired professors find the situation quite normal.
Each generation has different breeds of monsters and unfortunately for the others, Apollo is one of those kinds of monsters. What he did was only the tip of the iceberg, some genius prodigies would do excessive stuff to show off. And that is why some professors are expecting many things from Apollo.
"Another dead end"
Niko exclaimed when their team bumped into another wall again.
"I think we should have taken the other route," Samael said however while the two boys discussed their next move a shout surprised them.
"You two get over here!" shouted one of them.
Immediately the two boys ran back to their team however as they ran, sweat began to slide down their faces as the intense heat came to them.
"Hurry!" as soon as the two boys arrive seven mages raise their staffs to cast a defensive spell. A burning sensation seeped through their skin as the figure of a beast appeared before them.
"Reinforce the barrier!"
"Everyone hold on!"
Fifteen students began to run as soon as the barrier was erected, however, no matter how long they ran they couldn't escape the scorching heat, that began to melt the walls around them.
Then it came, a flash of white light trail passing through the other side of the wall, behind it were the melted walls and burned floors of the maze.
"What just happened?"
It happened so fast that they couldn't tell if it was just a strong gust of wind or if someone really did pass by through the other side of the wall.
"No matter what that is we should hurry towards the end" a black hair boy said trying to walk out of the barrier. However, as soon as he did so a burning sensation penetrated him.
"Hey Alicia look!" said a boy with sapphire hair and brown eyes.
The rest of the team stared at the direction he was pointing and there they saw the wall slowly melt like butter, which created another path for them to take.
"We should follow the trail he left behind perhaps following him would lead us to the end of the maze"
"Why not I think"
And so when they all agreed to such a suggestion they continued to walk forward however they couldn't get out of the barrier yet since the heat persisted.
Back to Apollo who was suddenly hit by a dilemma.
"Damn it! I forgot how to stop myself from this speed"
[Haven't I told you to revise the spell more]
Apollo groaned as he heard Jeremiah's scolding.
However, to Apollo's surprise, the end of the maze was already there, unfortunately, he didn't know how to stop the spell not even slow it down.
"Nah never mind"
Instead of stopping he poured mana onto the spell and made his speed escalate.
[I hope you don't plan on killing someone with this]
"Nah it should be fine"
Apollo zoomed in and went straight to the exit causing a loud boom sound.
.....
On the other side of the exit, another room was located there. It was a huge hall filled with tables and chairs, the scene is similar to a school cafeteria with three more floors similar to the other. The only difference it has from a normal cafeteria is that it doesn't have a roof. Each floor has an open space in the middle that starts from the ground to the fourth floor. That is why if you look up you will see the clear sky reflecting the time of the day.
"It's been three minutes no one other than us finished the maze immediately" a blonde-haired boy said as he continued to play the flower pot on top of the table.
"That is to be expected your highness after all defeating a magma guardian must have been heavy for some of the students"
"Indeed your highness and it's not like anyone can single-handedly defeat those three types of golems"
Three individuals with high standings within the empire have their harmonious conversation however a sudden change happens when a massive heat strikes them.
From all the corners of the room, fighter mages came out and set up a barrier, putting up a defensive formation against the unknown entity.
"BOOM!'
Along the scorching heat was a gaping speed of an unknown being. They didn't see what it was, all they could know was a silhouette of a white ghost-like being. Whatever it was, they found someone to look out for, that speed after all was frightening.
"Your Highness are you alright?" asked one of the professors who was also a secret guard of the prince.
"Yes thank you sir I am okay "
However, their conversation halted when a huge storm hit the vast city of Sidus.
"ZAP!"
Lightning pierce the sky as dark clouds envelop the city.
This phenomenon made three strong individuals grow more interested towards the culprit of this situation.
"Apollo"
An old man sitting on a wooden chair said as he looked at the sky filled with lightning.