'Something is wrong,' Instructor Horvey thought with a frown, and he wasn't the only one. He could hear some of the other instructors talking about the matter.
However, he was not in charge of the event and did not have any authority to make any changes during the event either.
He could do one thing though and with that thought, stepped out. He then accessed his device and called the principal.
A few seconds later, the principal answered. However, the words she spoke ended the call before it even started.
"Part of the event."
The reply came and the call ended the next moment.
Instructor Horvey had a confused expression on his face when the call ended, but he did get the message, just not the why.
'Hm…'
His thoughts raced theories as to why this was happening and after coming up with a few reasoning ones, he sighed in acquiescence.
'Why won't they leave the kid alone…' He could only pity Alex.
He returned to the lounge a few seconds later. He was still curious about what could happen, even though he was against it.
...…
Three hours later, most of the students were able to reach the third floor.
But it was also the place where the majority lost their lives, elites included. The students who qualified through the battle royale had no one left as Julia also lost Abigail a few minutes after reaching the third floor of the labyrinth.
While unfortunate, Julia could do nothing when one creature was proving to be more than she anticipated.
Only a few seconds of delay was all it took for Abigail to meet her end when she couldn't react in time to an incoming attack.
Even after being the only one left and having a difficult time dealing with the void creatures, Julia was slowly being pushed to her limits.
Her dwindling mana and mental state made matters worse, both for herself and any unfortunate student who came too close to her.
She needed her anchor, and fast. But that was not happening, at least not now.
Ross, on the other hand, managed to rest and treat his injuries. And after recovering from the strain of pushing himself, he began moving again.
This time, however, he moved slowly and tried as much as possible to avoid confrontations while making his way through the labyrinth after choosing his path carefully.
His mana level was already low, and wasting time fighting would decrease his chances of making it to the last floor.
Of course, the shifting walls made things difficult, but it was nothing he couldn't solve with his physical speed.
Slowly but surely, they were making their way to the top floor of the labyrinth where they could finally leave the dreaded place.
...….
Alex sat down with his eyes closed for the most part of the remaining time. No more void creatures had made an appearance, and while appreciated, almost drove him mad.
He had been trapped in the damned place for hours!
His frustration and irritation were over the roof. He wanted so badly to explode in anger and only held himself back due to his restraint and to avoid unnecessary loss of stamina.
"Haa…"
Forty minutes before the end of the Convergence Maze event, Alex picked up the sound of incoming void creatures.
He instantly got to his feet and retrieved his spear. And unlike the ones he faced a few hours ago, he could tell there was going to be a lot of them as the screeches and roars were coming from all three paths!
"Fuck…"
He cursed his bad luck when the amount of mana he could channel was only enough to infuse his weapon for a few seconds, and that was if he played it sparingly.
But stingy wasn't going to cut it. It would require more mana to kill just one of the void creatures he faced earlier.
He didn't know how strong the incoming ones were, and if the previous ones were any indication, they could be similar in power or much, much stronger.
He gulped as his spine chilled at the implications of his thoughts. His heartbeat increased and sweat began to form on his brows.
His eyes moved from one path to another, trying to not miss anything. He was out of ideas as without mana, killing the void creatures was next to impossible.
Physical attacks could injure them, but without mana, it was all pointless. In mathematical terms, it was cos ninety, a waste of stamina.
A few moments later, the void creatures appeared from the paths and at a glance, Alex counted twelve void creatures.
TWELVE!
Where the hell were they coming from?! He barely had mana for one, and that was if he was facing the weakest kind he faced at the beginning of this rite of passage.
His eyes opened wide in shock and trepidation. He could try running, but there was nowhere to go!
He'd only be narrowing the space he could manoeuvre. His best bet was to make a stance in the large hall and pray he came up with a solution; something he knew was impossible, given his current situation, he could only hope.
Although he felt fear when he saw the void creatures, his resolve only strengthened. He had no plans of dying in this place.
'One way or another, I am making it out of here alive!'
He cried out inwardly as his eyes burned with determination and fierceness, his emotions raging.
Unbeknownst to him, his real body in the VR pod began to leak subtle traces of void/origin energy. His survival instincts were manifesting a reaction he had never experienced before as this was the first time Alex felt real danger.
Hunter Zol who was in the lounge with Principal Seraph watching Alex about to face the void creatures sensed the void energy coming from the combat systems Alex was.
"Hm?" He muttered and looked in the direction of the combat systems, his gaze piercing through the walls and instantly locking on Alex's pod.
The next instant, he disappeared.
"Hunter Zol?" Principal Seraph was taken aback by his sudden disappearance. She felt something was up and went after him a moment later.