Chapter 71 Traps

"Step back, you idiot!" A loud warning rang through the entire hallway.

The remaining Canine Shedim had yet to be killed and it looked like Liam and the natives were just a few seconds away from victory when the loud warning caused everyone to hesitate.

Liam's movements didn't halt but he knew what the warning was about, to begin with. However, it hadn't been Liam who issued the warning. On the contrary, it was Ludwig, who had shouted out loud when Kian was about to trigger one of the many traps that could be found in the hallway.

Kian halted in his tracks and looked back to Ludwig who stared deep into his eyes.

"What?" He asked, not hiding his annoyance. Ever since Ludwig had grown stronger, he had gotten cocky. Kian didn't like this kind of behavior, even less from someone like Ludwig. Nonetheless, the worry in Ludwig's eyes was apparent and an obvious indicator of the danger he was in.

But instead of shouting out a word of advice, Liam threw a Black Tarthear Needle in Kian's direction, triggering the trap the athlete had nearly activated on his own.

A huge blade whizzed down from the ceiling of the hallway, cutting through the bodies of three Canine Shedim. Kian's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the remains of the guillotine that would have beheaded him easily. He swallowed his saliva after a few seconds, recovering from the shock of his near-death while Liam jumped across the huge blade that spanned across the entire width of the hallway, which was close to seven meters.

[Canine Shedim(Feral Dog) has been slayed]

[+0.5 Arcanium]

[Canine Shedim(Inferior Frost Wolf) has been slayed]

[+1.2 Arcanium]

[+1 Arcanium]

[+0.8 Arcanium]

[...]

[...]

Liam ignored the messages that popped up in the corner of his eyes. All kinds of Canine beasts could be turned into Lesser Demons with the use of certain rituals. Liam knew that the Canine Shedim had once been an ordinary monster that had evolved into the Shedim they were now. The wide variety of Canine Shedim was also the reason for the big difference in the Arcanium he earned from the kills he made.

His gains were pretty decent, much higher than expected, but it didn't really interest him a lot anymore. He was more focused on conquering the third basement and raiding it in its entirety. That was his plan and he wouldn't allow the traps to foul his plan.

Thus, Liam slowly triggered the traps one after another once he figured out what kind of trap had been installed. His movements were quick and nimble, and so was his analytical ability, quick and smooth.

In the following ten minutes, Liam finished the remaining Canine Shedim with the help of the natives, who had gotten a lot more careful while fighting their way through the hallway. Only Ludwig was as enthusiastic as before and was trying hard to keep up with Liam.

Ludwig could detect the traps early and either avoid them or intentionally trigger them as well. However, Ludwig was not as confident as Liam when it came to determining the type of trap. Thus, he rather avoided them while issuing small warnings to his fellow students, and Jennie.

Jennie had already stopped fighting. She couldn't keep up with the pressure and would rather search for hidden treasures than anything else. Doing what she was good at was the best help she could provide, quite literally.

Once they were done clearing the hallway to the center of the third basement's main hall, a handful of Lesser Demons entered their sight. However, Liam didn't even think of paying too much heed to them and he quickly threw a Lumina Needle high in the air, dazzling everyone while simultaneously triggering several traps inside the main hall. Several poisoned arrows shot out from small holes in the walls all around the main hall.

A few five-meter-long and more than one-meter-tall metal blades shot down to the ground, slicing through the Lesser Demons without any resistance, while spikes pierced out of the ground. A few parts of the main hall crumbled due to the impact and broke apart as well, creating a huge hole that was set ablaze.

"That's quite interesting to look at," Liam thought out loud as masses of messages flooded him. Taking a look at the main hall of the third basement, Liam could tell that this floor was mostly related to puzzles and traps. However, as he was not someone blessed with an adventurous spirit, let alone the slightest bit of interest in solving puzzles by putting his brain to test, Liam ignored everything around him.

"Do you guys want to spend some time solving these riddles?" He asked, looking over to Ludwig and Jennie, one being a great talent when it came to Arcane Power, and a smartass, and the other being a little girl who was good at finding treasures.

Ludwig nodded his head in response almost immediately, "I thought that you wanted to ensure that your sister will get angry when she finds out that you took everything of value with you. Let's do that, just give me a few hours and I will have some puzzles solved!"

While Ludwig looked at Liam with the confidence he had amassed within the last few days, Jennie's hands were already filled with treasures. She stumbled through the hallway and nearly fell over a bunch of Canine Shedim corpses before she ended up in front of him.

"If you want to make some easy money, sell these treasures and give me enough time to collect more. I am confident of finding more again!" She said, trying to rival Ludwig and turn him into her competition. However, Jennie failed miserably at sounding confident, but that didn't matter.

"Is your Soultrait related to finding treasures?" Liam asked bluntly instead, just for Jennie to shake her head, "I have yet to awaken my Soultrait. I was not as lucky as you guys…"

Liam didn't expect that Jennie hadn't awakened her Soultrait yet. He thought that every Native would have their Soultrait awoken as an apology from the Arcane System. The apology was about the Arcane System not being able to stop the Arcane Apocalypse aka the infiltration of the Nine Realms.

Thus, it wanted to reach out a helping hand while simultaneously apologizing for troubling the Natives. That was at least what Liam had been told. However, it looked like not everyone's Soultrait was awoken immediately.

The reason behind this was unknown even if Liam was able to make a few wild guesses.

"So you're currently saving up for that, in hopes of finding something that will either negate your fear of fighting, or a means to avoid fighting altogether, right?" Liam guessed, which was approved with a nod. Jennie didn't really want to fight, which was quite obvious.

However, if she had to fight, she would accept it by receiving a great Soultrait that allowed her to feel less disgusted and frightened. Furthermore, she would like a non-combat Soultrait for herself nonetheless.

"We should all hope that you'll receive a noncombat Soultrait then," Liam said, losing interest in the conversation with Jennie. It would be great if she were to awaken a Soultrait related to Support, or a Soultrait that was directly related to finding treasures. That way, she would become a valuable asset no matter how much of a deadweight she was in a battle.

Of course, one would have to utilize a noncombat Soultrait properly for it to be valuable.

But something like that was what Liam was very good at; finding ways to make use of situations, people, and Soultraits to his benefit!