Void Evolution System

The labyrinth challenge began.

All thirteen geniuses shot forward through their individual hallways, making a rush for the center of the arena.

August didn't do much thinking before he started. A challenge like this didn't need more explanation than what the announcer said.

As he dashed through the halls, his eyes darted from side to side, taking note of everything around him.

'There's no point memorizing paths in a place like this.'

The announcer already told them that the labyrinth would be ever-changing. The paths he discovered would be ruined by the time he left the area, so it didn't matter if there was anything he missed.

What mattered more was patterns.

A giant moving puzzle like this couldn't operate autonomously while maintaining true randomness. Every wall and structure had been given a set of rules to follow which dictated their movement.

When combined together, these many different patterns created an image of randomness, but in reality, it was all methodically planned.

Finding out the nuances behind these patterns, if even just one or two, would be massively helpful as one got deeper into the labyrinth.

When nothing seemed to make sense, these patterns could be lifesavers.

'Left…right…another left…let's go straight now.'

There wasn't a method to August's movements. He couldn't do much in that regard, so he just moved instinctually until he hit a dead end.

And that was what he eventually did, as would everyone who moved through the maze without direction.

August faced a solid wall in a short corridor. He could go back and move in either direction, but first…

RUMBLE!

The walls shook slightly, causing a great commotion as the sound bounced off of them and echoed.

The ground was doing most of the rumbling.

Something was approaching, and every single one of its footsteps spread tremors that were registered in August's body.

'Well, I could run, but in a situation like this, it's better to fight.'

He was currently being watched by millions who were judging his qualifications. If he ran now, what kind of image would he create in their minds?

He stood his ground as that being turned the corner. It was large, one-eyed, and barbaric. It wore only a rag around its waist, leaving its grotesque upper body visible for all to see.

August had to look up at it. It was at least triple his size in both height and breadth.

But…

'It's not as strong as it looks.'

August's senses were hardly alerting him of the beast's danger. That meant that it would only be able to do something to him if he dropped his guard and gave it a large opening.

'Since I have the opportunity, I'll just put on a little show.'

Power was important.

Without power as a prerequisite, people wouldn't even stop to consider his character and other traits.

For a Dragon Emperor, a person who ruled over all dragons, strength was key.

Dragons were, at their core, a society that worshiped strength.

August planned to dominate, so he didn't give the giant any time to attack. Hell, he barely gave it time to register his presence.

He dashed forward, covering the few meters that separated them in a second.

He jumped, spun, and pushed his foot forward. His sole slammed into the giant's knee, and mana immediately burst forth.

BOOM!

August used ice often because its piercing power usually surpassed water, but after feeling the ocean currents, he changed his opinion.

Water could also become a force capable of piercing and destroying.

He just needed to move it fast enough and make it extreme enough to do what it needed to do.

A laser-like jet of water blasted through the giant's knee, sending an explosion of blood into the floor behind him.

ROOOOAAAAAR!

The giant immediately roared in pain. It saw August, but he was too fast for it to do anything before the first attack.

However, it was already swinging its giant club before its knee was injured.

It smashed downward with all of its power. It wanted August to be destroyed in a single hit.

But, again, he was just too fast.

A being of that size wouldn't be able to properly use its power against a smaller opponent until it gained sentience and strength.

At its level, the giant wasn't able to follow him in the slightest.

August was already gone by the time its club reached his previous position. And, as a result of its extremely low intelligence, its attack actually slammed into its own leg instead, making the wound August created far, far worse.

BOOM!

ROOOOAAAAAAR!

It happened again in the same order. The attack hit the same spot as well, and the giant dropped down to one knee.

Its right leg was completely useless after those two strikes.

His left still worked, but he was forced to land on that knee, since landing on his right would only cause more pain.

Its range had been limited to only the space in front of it, and that made it the easiest possible target it could be.

August was already behind it.

He held a blade of water in his hand, a staple of his at this point.

However, unlike the blades he used in the past, this one was moving, swirling at a speed so fast that the water blade looked more like one made of pure white light.

He rushed forward.

The giant heard his steps, but it couldn't turn around.

ROOOOAAAAAR!

It used its voice to try to scare him and brought its club up to try and hit where it thought he would be.

It crashed down, but its speed and power were nowhere near enough to be effective.

Instead, it became a ledge that August could use to support his step.

He jumped onto the club and ran up its length, jumping once more as he neared the giant's head.

One strike.

That was all he needed.

His water blade slashed out. It made a line in the air as it cut through the wind and continued cleanly through the giant's neck without any resistance.

Skin, muscle, bones; none of it could stand the pure heat and vibration of the water blade August wielded.

The giant's head slid off of its body and thumped against the ground below.

Its arm continued to swing weakly as its body carried out the final few commands that the brain had given it before its connection was severed, but in the end, the body fell as well, crushing the head beneath its weight.

August landed next to it, his blade sheathed.

He looked at the giant's body for a second before turning to the halls around him.

'Now, which way do I go?'

He looked left and right curiously, but before he could decide, he heard a strong rumbling behind him.

It was far more significant than the giant's entrance. It seemed to come more from the maze itself than the beings within it.

August turned around with a raised brow, just in time for him to see the dead end behind him change.

The wall that cut off the corridor was moving horizontally.

It was relatively fast, but gave August more than enough time to register what was happening.

There was another wall moving along with it that would soon close the dead end again, but between them, there was a small gap, just enough for a small person to fit through.

And on the other side, August saw the corridor continue, branching off into the rest of the labyrinth.

'That's the first.'

A "pattern."

If they were moving in a line like that, then there were several walls in a circular pattern that spanned the entire labyrinth that moved along with them.

If the pattern was continued in other rings…

August shook his head.

He had remembered the pattern. That was all he needed to do.

And since he'd found such a path, he didn't need to ask himself which way he was going anymore.

He rushed towards the dead end and contorted his body, just barely squeezing through the gap.

It closed behind him in the next second, and he was left in a position similar to his start, with a wall behind him and a corridor in front.

'Nice.'

August smiled.

He continued forward without an ounce of hesitation.

If he continued at a pace like this, he'd finish before anyone else had a chance.

That was the goal he was aiming for.