Just then, a group of about a dozen young people entered the area from another section of the maze. They moved with energy and confidence. The youngest looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, while the oldest were probably in their late twenties. So wore cable launcher gear like Annie and Lina. Most had light combat armor fitted tightly to their fras.
"Annie. Lina. Didn’t expect to see you two here," a voice called from above. "You both keep skipping sessions. Rhea’s been asking for you."
At the ntion of the na, Lina frowned and looked up. "That’s none of your concern."
Jaxon followed her gaze. A man in his late twenties stood on a high platform. He looked calm and experienced, the type who had spent years inside this place. His posture was relaxed, but there was nothing careless about him.
His eyes shifted down and landed on Jaxon. "Who’s that? A new recruit?"
"You don’t need to know," Annie replied lightly, brushing it off.
The man let out a short laugh and shook his head. "Still stubborn, I see. Fine, not my problem."
He leaned forward slightly and called down, "Hey, man! You better start running now, or you’ll get hurt."
Around him, the other youths had already begun.
They jumped from rock to rock without hesitation. So climbed straight up vertical surfaces using precise hand and foot placent. Others ran narrow paths along the walls. A few fired their hooks and pulled themselves toward the taller towers, landing smoothly before pushing off again. There was no wasted motion, like people who had done this hundreds of tis.
Jaxon watched for a brief mont, analyzing their routes and timing.
’So this is how they train the special units. And a maze built before the infection... Did they already expect sothing like this to happen?’
The idea lingered in his mind for only a mont. Then he shrugged the thought away, no point thinking about it right now. Without another word, Jaxon stepped forward and began moving, following the flow of the trainees into the shifting labyrinth.
A deep rumble echoed from below. Hidden gates along the walls suddenly opened, and massive boulders, each larger than a person, rolled through the maze paths, crushing anything in their way.
The entire structure began to shift again, walls sliding, paths narrowing, sections closing off one by one. It felt like the maze was slowly tightening around everyone inside little by little.
The trainees imdiately picked up their pace. Jaxon frowned and ran alongside a young man in light armor. "Hey, where are we going?"
The man glanced at him for a brief second, not even slowing down. "Reach the center."
The man spared him a quick glance while keeping his speed. "The center." That was all he said before accelerating and leaping onto a higher path.
Click.
The sound was soft, but his body reacted instantly.
Arrows burst out from the walls without warning.
Jaxon twisted mid-step, the projectiles grazing past his shoulder before embedding into the stone behind him. Before he could even regain his balance, tal spears shot up from the ground where he had just been standing. ’The hell...? That would’ve killed .’
A second volley of arrows ca from a different angle.
"...Tch." Jaxon’s expression hardened as he lowered his stance and moved faster.
Traps were everywhere. Walls, floors, even overhead structures. None of them gave any clear warning beyond a split-second sound.
Ahead of him, one of the trainees misjudged a jump. For a split second, everything looked normal. Then the platform beneath him suddenly split open.
He dropped straight down into the darkness below without even a chance to grab the edge. The opening closed just as quickly as if nothing had happened.
Jaxon’s pupils shrank. ’Did he just... die?’
His expression tightened, and his focus sharpened imdiately. This was not a simple training ground. This place was dangerous enough to kill.
Ti passed in a blur as they kept moving. Running, climbing, turning through shifting paths, dodging traps that triggered from every direction. Jaxon had long lost sight of Annie and Lina, but he didn’t waste ti looking for them. Right now, keeping up and staying alive took all his attention.
His breathing grew heavier as he finally slowed down for a short mont, placing a hand on his knee.
Just as he tried to catch his breath, a low grinding noise echoed again.
Rumble.
He looked to the side just in ti to see another massive boulder burst out from a side gate, rolling straight toward him.
"Damn it."
He pushed off the ground and sprinted without hesitation, heart pounding as the boulder thundered past right behind him, close enough for him to feel the vibration through the floor.
Several more hours passed before the sky finally turned dark.
By the ti Jaxon reached the center of the maze, his legs felt heavy and his breathing was rough. He wasn’t the only one. A handful of trainees arrived around the sa ti, all looking equally worn out.
Ahead of them, a large gate slowly slid open with a deep chanical sound.
Once he stepped through, the environnt changed completely.
Instead of narrow paths and shifting walls, it was now a wide open field with only a few scattered structures. No moving platforms or hidden chanisms triggering every few minutes. It felt less like a course and more like a gathering area. A place to regroup.
More than thirty trainees stood across the field, so stretching their limbs, others sitting on the ground catching their breath. A few simply watched the new arrivals with calm, almost indifferent expressions, as if this scene happened every single day.
Jaxon’s gaze quickly found two familiar figures. Annie and Lina were standing off to the side with a small group, looking completely composed.
Lina spotted him first and waved cheerfully, smiling brightly as if nothing serious had happened.
"Jaxon," she called out cheerfully. "I knew it. You made it on your first run. Incredible as always, congratulations."
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