The test begins, and unlike the majority of the students, who start running at a low speed to carefully scout for traps, Haiven runs at an insane speed, overtaking everyone by a considerable distance from the very beginning!
Taiga narrowly avoids a metal net that nearly drops onto his head.
He looks toward Haiven, who is already getting far ahead of them.
His eyes widen, and he speaks to his friend, who is running beside him:
“What the hell is he doing?! Can’t he even realize how dangerous it is to speed up from the very beginning?!”
Renta leaps over one of the pits and replies:
“More likely, he realizes that perfectly well, but he still prefers to bet on his abilities and speed up from the beginning.”
Taiga falls silent for a moment, his expression tightening slightly.
“What arrogance.”
Renta’s shout suddenly pierces his ears:
“Taiga! Watch out!!”
Taiga finally notices that he has stepped onto a patch of dark-colored grass!
For a moment, he hears the faint sound of a spring.
Then, directly afterward, within a fraction of a second, a spear shoots out of the ground at an angle, less than a meter away!
His pupils contract to their utmost.
With great difficulty, he manages to tilt his body and evade the spear.
He barely catches his breath when the sound of the same faint spring pierces his ears.
Another spear immediately emerges at an angle, less than a meter away!
He instantly plants his right foot and throws himself to the side, barely avoiding the spear!
But his balance is thrown off, and he nearly falls, had Renta not quickly supported him from his right side and asked him anxiously:
“Are you alright?!”
Taiga ignores the question and simply stares at Haiven, who is getting farther and farther away, thinking:
“I barely survived one trap, even with Renta’s help, and at this modest speed…
“while he has already passed at least three or four of them at a higher speed, where the difficulty is several times greater!”
“And strangely…”
“He’s still incredibly calm…”
“So this is talent…”
“I was the fool for calling him arrogant…”
Meanwhile, Haiven was thinking:
“Since we have no idea how long the path is, nor how many traps there are or how difficult they are, the most logical option would be to start at a low speed to conserve energy while also focusing on avoiding the traps. Once I adapt to the difficulty of the traps, I can gradually begin increasing my speed.”
“And although this is the rational and most logical choice, things are different with this type of insidious test, where the logical decision is the shortest path to elimination!”
“That was obvious from the very beginning, with them setting up four paths and making the gap between the first and fourth paths so shocking and deceptive at first glance.”
“And even so, my decision may not be the best one for everyone, but I have complete confidence in my body’s ability to endure exhaustion and unexpected situations.”
As time passed, Haiven encountered many traps, some obvious and others insidious enough that he could barely notice them.
As a result, he was often forced to slow down.
At one point, Haiven was passing over a familiar ground trap, leaping over it.
But immediately, an iron chain shot out of the ground, nearly catching his foot!
His eyes widened for a moment.
He twists in midair, lands on his hands beside the chain, then forcefully pushes off the ground with both hands, using the momentum to propel himself forward before quickly landing back on his feet.
He barely regains his balance when he hears the faint sound of a spring.
His eyes narrow as he thinks:
“Damn it!…
“I haven’t even gotten past one before another comes at me!”
Three spears rush toward him at high speed!
He tilts his body and avoids the first…
He leaps to the right and avoids the second…
The third comes straight at him!
He draws his sword.
With precise timing, he intercepts the third spear and redirects its trajectory!
He lands on the ground and catches his breath as he thinks:
“That was close…”
He looks behind him and sees that his nearest competitor is still far away.
“The strategy has paid off. Even though I slowed down considerably at the last trap, I’m still maintaining the lead…”
He notices a huge sign with the words Third Quarter written on it and continues thinking:
“So I’ve completed more than half the path. No wonder the traps have become more difficult.”
“In that case, I’ll move on to the second part of the strategy.”
“Moderate speed while barely maintaining the lead.”
“There’s no need to widen the gap any further.”
“The risks outweigh the benefits.”
“Especially now that we’ve passed more than half the path and are approaching its end. The students’ mentality will shift toward feeling reassured about the traps, as well as panicking over how far behind they are from the lead—and that concern will only become more important the longer the path becomes.”
“After all, the competition includes the other three paths as well, and the third and fourth quarters are the designer’s best opportunities to place the most treacherous, dangerous, and devious traps.”
“In fact, I can already sense a disaster coming…”