WHOOSH!
The fiery ball neared Derek at extreme speed.
It would have been impossible for someone like him to promptly respond to such a surprising attack.
’It’s a good thing I was prepared...’ Derek had already finished chanting another [Splash] Spell by the time the flame was about to hit him.
The two interacted once again, turning into a sizzling cloud of steam.
"Ouch... it burns!"
Derek stumbled backward and accidentally returned to the door he came out of.
Once he did so, he found himself in the starting room yet again.
’Seriously?’
With a look of disbelief, he could only advance while paying careful attention to his surroundings.
Once again, he noticed a change.
’The traps seem to have adjusted to their previous position. The new Rune on the wall has also vanished. I see now...’
Derek smiled.
He had figured out the mechanisms of the Labyrinth.
Picking the wrong door in a new room would lead the examinee to the starting room, with the traps changing slightly.
Conversely, picking the right door and returning would also lead the examinee to the starting room. The difference was that the traps would revert to their previous iteration.
’I wonder if there will be any other interesting changes... Ah, but I don’t have the time to run these kinds of experiments. I have no idea how long it’ll take to find the exit. I need to increase my pace... or maybe this is what I’m supposed to think.’
[Host, I have a suggestion.]
’Oh?’ Derek’s eyes lit up in surprise. ’Let’s hear it, Max.’
[We could use Spell #35 to easily detect all traps in an area and avoid them without needing to waste time thoroughly searching for them.]
"I also thought about that, but that Spell drains too much Magia. What if we need a Spell after we avoid the Rune traps? There could be natural traps that need to be overcome with Spells."
[I can recover Magia quickly. In fact, this could work to our benefit.]
’Eh? How so?’
[The Magia in this space is very limited. It’s likely because it is an artificial environment that is isolated from the outside world. That means the more Magia I absorb, the less Magia will remain in the environment.]
’How will that help us? It means my recovery speed will drastically reduce.’
[Yes. But that also means the Runes will not have any Magia that allows them to activate. They will be effectively disarmed.]
"A-ah!"
Derek’s eyes widened at the realization.
He hadn’t even thought about it, but Max was absolutely right.
Normally, Runes were made effective by inscribing special symbols and infusing them with Magia for an effect. Runes used for traps had a way to delay the absorption of Magia until certain events triggered them.
’But if there is no Magia left to absorb, the Runes will not activate!’
Since Derek had a limited Magia pool, he had to empty his accumulated Magia before he could absorb more.
Thus, Max’s suggestion to use [Trace] was actually genius.
’I’ll be able to save time by detecting most traps while also taking in Magia to disarm them. So if I were ever to return to an earlier room, I don’t have to worry about the traps working.’ Find the original chapter at g.com.
With this advantage, Derek was assured a faster clear time compared to most other examinees.
’Let’s try it out!’
Just as the Magus Codex suggested, Derek used [Trace] and easily picked up on every single trap in the hallway.
Then, Max began to rapidly absorb the ambient Magia.
Before long, his Central Path was full.
[The remaining Magia is quite limited. I suspect it won’t even be sufficient to fill your Central Path once more.]
"That’s fair." Derek smiled.
He didn’t intend on ever returning to the starting room.
Once he entered the second room and saw the two doors, he went for the right one. But, right before he opened it, an idea appeared in his mind.
’What if... I use [Trace] here?’
Derek decided to try it out, and he was met with an astounding discovery.
’The left door has a lot of accumulated Magia and an effective Rune. It’s no surprise, since entering it will send me to the starting room...’ Derek turned his focus to the right door.
It had an unactivated Rune, which was also as expected.
It didn’t trigger any traps, after all.
’But, once I leave this room, that Rune will activate and it will send me to the starting room as well.’
Derek opened the right door and used [Trace] again.
Not only was he able to detect all the traps in this new hallway, but he also confirmed his earlier suspicions.
This new discovery made him realize something even more astounding.
’I can use Trace to find the right door.’
All he had to do was see which door had an active Rune with accumulated Magia.
That was the trap door.
By choosing the other door, Derek would be on the right path.
After successfully evading all the traps in the hallway and entering the next room, he found an unexpected situation.
There were three other doors this time.
’Right, left, and forward.’
Which one was correct? Derek could only use [Trace] to start his deductions.
Once he activated the Spell, he noticed something peculiar about each door.
The one on the right had an active Rune with accumulated Magia. It was definitely the trap door.
The left door, just like the previous room’s right door, had an unactivated Rune.
’What does this mean?’
Derek chose to test it out.
After all, unlike before, he had a way to drastically shorten the time required to pass this test.
’Let’s try the one in front first.’ Derek opened the door and found himself in yet another hallway.
He used Trace and found a series of traps, as per usual.
But... something was off.
Derek couldn’t put his finger on it, so he returned to the room.
This time, there was no change.
It didn’t come as a surprise to him, since the Rune that would have caused the supernatural effect wasn’t present on this door.
That was, in fact, why Derek chose it.
’Since I already know what the door to the right will do, let’s try the left one.’
Once he opened it, he was met with yet another trap. This time, a huge stone charged at him with terrifying speed.
Thankfully, he was prepared.
"Spell #6: Gust..." Derek promptly sent a powerful burst of wind at the incoming projectile.
However, similar to the double trap before, there was another trick this time.
The rock changed trajectory before the gust of wind hit and charged at Derek once more.
If he hadn’t been cautious, this would have been extremely detrimental.
Thankfully, he was prepared.
"Spell #10: Lift."
He was able to stop the imminent projectile by using Magia to control its movements.
’As long as it weighs less than the caster, [Lift] is effective on any external object.’
Derek heaved a sigh.
He also confirmed the source of the odd feeling he had earlier.
[The correct door will have an unactivated Rune as well as a trap waiting on the other side.]
Nodding slowly, Derek let out a chuckle.
"Most examinees won’t have access to a Special Tier Spell like [Trace], but they should be able to spot the unique aspect of a trap after opening the correct door."
What did this mean?
Apart from the door that led the examinee to their previous room, it was easy to differentiate the correct door from the extra but likely misleading door.
[If you open a door and you find a trap waiting, it’s the correct one. If not, you should return to the room and look for the door that has this component.]
"Exactly."
Thankfully, Derek didn’t have to go through this strenuous process.
He already had [Trace] and Max’s help in absorbing Magia. As long as he kept making progress, he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of Magia, entering the wrong door, or falling for any Magia-based traps.
"Let’s advance..."