Chapter 164: Race Through the Maze

As the countdown neared, Yenir silently channeled his willpower into agility, surging past 30 points in one swift breath.

Clearly, the Agility trial was designed to test an Awakener’s dodging skills and the ability to pinpoint the optimal route in record time.

Yenir felt no concern about his dodging ability.

After all, he had fought hordes of mutated creatures in his past life.

The sheer intensity of those attacks was beyond what an ordinary Awakener could imagine.

In this era, no Third-Stage mid-level could boast experience like his—especially considering his expertise came in the aftermath of the Great Catastrophe, a battlefield swarming with mutant meat grinders!

Dodging close-range strikes in a maze was nothing; even amid a swarm, he managed to evade the bulk of the attacks.

Whenever there was even a sliver of an opening, his battle-honed skills allowed him to dodge flawlessly!

It was hardly surprising.

In countless large-scale battles, if his dodging were subpar, he would have perished hundreds of times.

“Beep! The trial begins! Find the exit as quickly as you can!”

A minute of preparation vanished in an instant.

Without hesitation, Yenir’s legs sprang into action as he raced straight toward the maze entrance.

A feint, a swift change of step!

Barely seconds in, the first small mutant struck, yet he moved like clockwork, dodging with precision as he brushed past the creature and surged forward.

Every move was executed with perfect efficiency.

His vast combat experience had ingrained these evasive maneuvers deep into his bones.

Using minimal energy and the slightest motion, he sidestepped the deadliest attacks—a nearly instinctual skill that bordered on superhuman.

“I wonder if I can clinch first place in the Agility trial…”

Evading a deadly claw swipe from above, Yenir calculated rapidly while maintaining his high-speed run through the maze.

“My dodging is solid, but my speed and burst are a bit lacking…”

“Without any talent enhancements, my current stats barely equal S-rank for agility.”

“Besides, without a burst speed skill, the final stretch will surely work against me…”

Glancing at the leaderboard on his right, Yenir felt a tinge of pressure. Although a top-three finish would have been enough, he was determined to aim for first.

“First place: Miyamoto Fujiyama from the Eastern Battle Zone with a record of 1 minute 09 seconds…”

“That name sounds familiar. His talent seems to allow him to fuse with objects—he barely needs to dodge, simply melding with the maze walls to keep sprinting.”

“With no energy wasted on dodging, his speed pushes the very limits of an Awakener.”

“Second place goes to the Awakener from the British Battle Zone, Gaosi…”

“I encountered him once during a global instance… his talent…”

“Combat Calculation…”

“He can compute the perfect dodge and movement routes, all while unleashing explosive speed.”

He mumbled under his breath.

The leaderboard’s top ten were almost all SS-rank Awakeners, and his reliance solely on will conversion left him at a disadvantage.

Thus, Yenir paid no mind to whether his chosen path was infallible or if he might hit a dead end in the maze.

To capture first place, he’d need to forge an entirely new route.

Talent is talent—no matter how much he honed his skills, he couldn’t match these monsters. In inherent ability, he was no match for Miyamoto Fujiyama, nor for that eagle-nosed fighter from the British Battle Zone when it came to charting the optimal course.

So the only option left was to cheat…

“To surpass them, I must charge straight into the maze’s most intricate central zone!”

“That section offers the shortest route, even if it’s likely a dead end. But with Dimensional Slash on my side, it might just tip the scales in my favor!”

Determination steeled his heart.

After running through every scenario in his mind, Yenir chose to maximize his Dimensional Slash.

Not as an offensive maneuver, nor as an escape.

During Dimensional Slash, he could ignore the maze’s obstacles and head straight for the exit! In that one second of spatial movement, it all depended on how far he could surge within Dimensional Space!

Boosted by his enhanced attributes, he could cover hundreds of meters in one second. At such a breakneck speed, it was practically like teleporting.

If he could clear that final barrier in one go, first place might be his.

However… there was risk involved.

Yenir spun around, planting his foot on the wall for extra momentum, and shot like an arrow between two mutated creatures, his eyes constantly gauging the thickness of the wall.

“About a meter thick… a bit too hefty…”

“If I get trapped in the wall or plummet into a monster swarm, it’s game over…”

Sighing inwardly, Yenir knew he could only bet on his luck now.

Fortune favors the bold—no victory comes without risk.

He hoped he wouldn’t be undone by a wall in that final meter.

In a maze as complex as this, a mere meter could hide the exit behind it; missing that gap might condemn him to a lengthy detour.

…….

“Hurry up! Increase your speed even more!”

Across the trial arena, Huang Lingyu dashed through the blockade of four mutated creatures like a sudden gust of wind.

After barreling around a corner, her face turned pale—her strength clearly waning.

A thin wound on her chest kept oozing blood steadily.

Though her talent granted her incredible dodging abilities, letting her transform into a gust of wind in an instant, she reserved its use for only dire moments due to limited activations.

Biting her lip and with each step growing heavier, she clung to the maze’s right wall as she sprinted relentlessly onward.

“Monsters won’t slow me down, but my calculation skills are seriously lacking…”

Anxious frustration bubbled within her.

Even though she knew her speed wasn’t slow, she had already covered nearly half the maze in just thirty seconds—and she could feel her chosen route was flawed.

Unable to judge the optimal shortcut based on monster positions, she resorted to the clumsiest method: sticking to the right wall.

In any maze, if you follow the right wall, you’ll eventually find the exit.

While this approach might be circuitous and expose her to more attacks, it was the best plan the girl could muster.

Her mind raced as she sprinted, balancing perfect dodges with continuous route planning—a task nearly too demanding.

Rather than scatter her focus, she chose to channel all her energy into maintaining speed and flawless evasion!

Fortunately, the maze wasn’t overly complex; the system didn’t require excessive brainpower.

“I’m clearly faster than Yenir and the others right now, but I need to widen the gap to truly shine!”

“If I can break into the top ten—or even the top twenty—I might secure a spot in the second series!”

With steely determination replacing any hint of frailty, the girl took a deep breath and sprinted with all her might. Despite her injuries, she was hell-bent on conquering this trial!