Chapter 79 - The Maze (Part Four)

He then began to think about every possible option in his mind. "Whatever the case may be, poisonous snakes are never an option. With water, there might be a chance to survive", he thought. He then looked at the board and saw a line below the question.

He did the same and wrote the answer with his blood. The path to his right opened up, and he began to run. "Seems like you have taken a shortcut, kid", said Valentine. Lucas smiled, and he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. The countdown was down to two hours, and he didn't know how much of The Maze he had completed.

"Around twenty-five percent. You will make it in time", said Valentine as he read Lucas's mind. "Alright, take a right up ahead", said Valentine. And Lucas took the right, and he felt something crash into his stomach. He went flying back, and he held his stomach in pain. "What kind of a blow is that?", he thought.

He then looked up and saw three Minotaurs. One of them had manipulated its hands into hammers. 'So that's what hit me?", thought Lucas as he looked at the Minotaurs. The Minotaurs huffed out, and smoke was seen coming out of their nostrils. "Well. I was wondering where were the beasts", smiled Lucas as he got up from the floor.

Robert and Michelle moved in sync and killed the Minotaurs in a single blow. Emilia shot through the head of the last one, and they began to move again. "This will save us some time", he said as he turned to look at Lucas. 

Lucas smiled at their effort, and he knew what they did was crucial. He then stood up and began to run again. This time, his run was slower than before, as he felt extreme pain whenever he tried to take deep breaths. "Seems like that one hit broke a rib", he thought.

He then saw a vine that was growing on one of the walls, and he tore it out. He then took a deep breath and identified the spot in which the pain occurred. He tied the vine right underneath his rib, near his diaphragm. He then took a breath and felt the pain was much better.

"No time to use healing magic. Need to run", were his only thoughts as he was running in a straight line. "Now, turn left", said Valentine. Lucas turned left, and he saw a dozen goblins. "Ah, this sucks!", he thought. He pulled out his Dual Blades, and he slashed at the nearest goblin.

He then moved in a flow, as he cut down every goblin in sight. "Let's move", he said as he resumed his run. The pangs in his chest grew, but he hid it quite well. "I have to guide them out. After that, I can recover", he thought.

[Broken Bone detected]

[If left unattended, will take away -2 HP per minute]

"Oh wow, really had to do that huh?", frowned Lucas, Now his time had gotten much shorter. He wanted to run when he remembered the potions he had. "Will those work?", he thought. "Sadly, no. Unless you find a healer or heal yourself, it will not work", said Valentine.

"Alright. Guess I'm going to have to stop for a few minutes", he thought. He was feeling extreme pain now, and he saw his HP go down slowly. "Anyone here knows Healing Magic?", he asked. Everyone nodded their head sideways, indicating that they didn't have any knowledge in that aspect.

"Well, seems like I will have to make this faster. If I lose almost 2 HP points every minute, then I have less than two hours", he thought. He was in a dire situation, and it seemed like nothing could aid his injuries at the moment.

"Alright, there is only one way to deal with this. To be as fast as I can", he thought. He then began to run once again, with the pain still hurting him. Every minute that passed, he was losing his HP. But he never stopped to think about it. "We've reached fifty percent of the maze", said Valentine.

"How much time left?", he asked again. "About an hour and forty-five minutes", said Robert as he looked at the time. Lucas smiled. "No time to stop", he smiled as he pulled his thoughts together again.

He felt himself getting slower as he was losing his HP. He had begun to pant now, and his face was covered in sweat. "How much left?", he asked Valentine. "You're almost there. You've reached eighty percent", said Valentine.

Lucas smiled wide, and he sat down in a meditative state for a few minutes. He felt a little better from before, and his breath had stabilized. "What are the obstacles that will come now? It seems like it has been going too smoothly", he thought as he looked at the path ahead. There was no riddle or anything. Just a plain old-fashioned door.

He smiled as he got up and went towards the door, and he pushed it open. It opened with a creak, and the room inside lit up when it was opened. "Why do I feel like I've seen this somewhere before?", he thought.

He then looked at the center and saw a beast resting. It was in a state of sleep. He proceeded to use his [Inspect] and was astonished at the information he saw. 

[Legendary Tier Beast - Twin-Headed Python]

[This beast is said to be an offspring of the Medusa. It can use poison, and its breath can make someone into stone, although partially. It isn't as powerful as Medusa. Weaknesses: Unknown]

"Woah, we're facing with an offspring of Medusa? If the offspring is the Legendary Tier, just how strong will Medusa be?", he thought. A laugh sounded in his head. "Don't worry kid. If you meet her, I'm sure you will be beaten down in twenty seconds given your pathetic stats", said Valentine. 

Lucas wasn't surprised. Instead, his heart was fired up again. He looked at the beast that was asleep, and he steeled his nerves. "Well, by defeating you, I will have moved further in my journey to become strong", he thought as he smiled. He pulled out his Exploding Ice Sword, as it was more high-tiered than the dual blades.

He was about to move when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You're injured, and you need some rest. We'll handle this one", said Robert and he looked at everyone. He then sat down in a meditative state again, and he looked at his stats.

[Status]

[Name: Lucas Heart]

[HP: 266/350] [-2 HP every minute]

[MP: 312/350]

[Level: 16]       

[Job: None]

[Title: Defying The Odds, Master Of Stealth]

[EXP: 7950/20,000]

[System Level: 2/10]

[Strength: 46]

[Stamina: 45]

[Agility: 46+19]

[Perception: 43]

[Magic: 43]

[Stat points to be used: 30]

"Well, seems like I still have quite the remaining HP. If I take a potion, will I be able to extend the period?', he thought. He thought back to Valentine's words. He remembered him saying that it will not be able to heal the injury. "But it can surely increase the duration of the time", he thought. 

He was about to down the potion, and he saw everyone fighting against the beast. Robert was keeping it distracted, and Emilia was slowly gathering damage by shooting at the beast. Tobias and Michelle were waiting for their turns. "Seems like they have a solid plan", he thought as he saw the coordination between them.

He then saw them both jump back, and Tobias and Michelle moved forward. Tobias punched through one of the heads, while Michelle chopped the other head off of it. "Even though I need rest, it's such a waste of EXP", he thought. 

He had recovered enough stamina for him to run towards the end of The Maze. He got up from the ground, and he began to follow the route said by Valentine again. They reached the ending in ten minutes, and they stood in front of an enormous gate.

"What do we have here? A gate, but with no keyhole?", he thought. He looked around and saw nothing that indicated there was a method to open the door. He looked at the gate, and around it to make sure that his search was thorough.

"Then how in the world are we supposed to escape this maze?", he thought as he looked around. Nothing was making sense to him now. "Think Lucas. There must be a way to escape this place", he thought as he began to feel the gate.

"The gate is smooth, and there seems to be no keyhole. There are also no riddles or anything that is indicated in opening it. Maybe it has something to do with Magic?", he thought. He then activated his [Mana Vision], and that's when he saw it. 

"What in the world is this?", he thought as his jaw dropped.