— — — — — —
Standing once again at the maze entrance, Kamio remained silent for a long time before finally breaking into a relieved smile.
Not because she'd truly let it go. More because she had no choice.
Tom's complete lack of a moral bottom line continued to redefine her understanding of humanity. It was genuinely hard to believe someone like him existed.
Who puts a teleport scroll back to the starting point inside a reward chest?
Was that something a normal person would ever come up with?
And it wasn't over yet. A deep rumbling echoed from inside the maze. Right before her eyes, the entire layout of Entrance Four began shifting and rearranging itself.
In other words, every path she'd explored and every trap she'd already encountered had become completely irrelevant.
"He really thought of everything, huh?"
Kamio ground her teeth in frustration, baring her cute little fangs.
She'd never cared much about the competition or winning in the first place.
But now? Now she was annoyed.
For all she knew, this was another one of Tom's schemes. He knew she always picked the middle option whenever she had a choice.
Watching her storm back into Entrance Four with murderous determination, Quinta nearly felt a flicker of hope.
Kamio had already completed the first stage of the maze, been sent back, and started over.
Meanwhile, Jauncey and Nassim had already entered, but Quinta's penalty time still hadn't even expired.
How was anyone supposed to compete under these conditions? Unless the other contestants also stumbled into some catastrophic trap that sent them back to the start, she had no chance of winning.
Quinta hoped they had the worst luck possible.
...
..
"What a shame!"
Bagman's voice rang throughout the theater.
Though he sounded regretful on the surface, most people could hear the barely concealed excitement underneath.
"Opportunity can also be a trap! Miss Kamio selected the most dangerous treasure of the bunch, and her previous lead has completely vanished!"
"At the moment, the fastest contestant is Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons! She was fortunate enough to discover a hidden invisible doorway that allowed her to skip directly into the middle section of the maze. We'll have to see how long she can maintain that lead!"
"We can also see Miss Ariana Dumbledore rapidly approaching the second layer of the maze. Unlike the other contestants, she hasn't encountered any serious obstacles. Every trap and magical creature blocking her path has been dealt with effortlessly."
Compared to everyone else, Ariana's journey could practically be described as a leisurely stroll.
Among all the competitors, her magical reserves were probably the greatest.
Even Kamio and Daphne couldn't match her in that regard.
Kamio relied primarily on the inherited magic of the Tamamo-no-Mae lineage rather than sheer magical depth.
As for Daphne, her natural foundation had never been particularly strong. Tom had practically raised her on magical supplements over the years, but mental strength and willpower weren't things that could be improved so easily.
Her thoughts jumped around too much. Maintaining the intense focus required for certain spells wasn't her strong suit.
Purely in terms of personal ability, Ariana was already far ahead of the other champions, even without factoring in her Obscurus.
From high above, Tom could see that Ariana's thoughts weren't really on the competition at all. She looked almost absentminded.
Ariana already knew about Tom's uneasy premonitions that something might happen soon.
Plus, Jeanne, who joined the study space after her, had already established a city capable of influencing two continents, while she was still here playing tournament games.
Honestly, she felt completely useless.
With a quiet sigh, she raised her wand. A series of floating platforms appeared across a stream, allowing her to cross the obstacle with ease.
Moments later, she conjured a sturdy shield that blocked a giant iron fist bursting suddenly from the wall.
...
In the audience, both Dumbledore brothers wore proud smiles.
Ariana's talent for Transfiguration was obvious to anyone watching. She truly lived up to the Dumbledore name.
...
The competition continued.
By the time the drowsy Quinta finally earned permission to enter, she immediately sprinted into the last remaining entrance, Entrance Seven.
This challenge tested far more than magical skill.
Contestants needed to use everything they had learned to overcome countless obstacles, but it was also a test of endurance, concentration, and willpower.
Simply navigating the massive maze required a tremendous amount of time.
...
..
It wasn't until two and a half hours later that someone finally entered the core region.
The ordinary traps and magical creatures weren't actually the hardest part. The truly terrifying things were the special surprises Tom had hidden throughout the maze.
Step on the wrong brick, and you might find yourself floating helplessly in midair, forced to spin one hundred and eight times before being allowed to land. Or you might end up like Kamio and get handed a return scroll straight back to the starting point.
At this moment, Daphne drew a "Rocket Scroll."
Everyone thought it was a good thing—something that would send her straight to first place—but… it actually launched her into the sky, carried her on a complete lap around the entire stadium, and deposited her neatly back where she'd started.
Seeing that, Kamio suddenly felt much better.
Right. Tom wasn't targeting her personally. He was equally awful to everyone.
Of course, where there were unlucky contestants, there were lucky ones too.
Take Nassim from Uagadou, for example. He first found a map of the outer maze inside a treasure chest. Every route, trap, and shortcut had been clearly marked.
Thanks to it, he rapidly cleared the outer section and closed the gap with the leaders.
Then, while traversing the middle section, he accidentally discovered one of the invisible doors and bypassed countless dangers in a single stroke.
As a result, the first two contestants to reach the core area were him and Ariana.
Even Tom was surprised.
Did Nassim drink a Felix Felicis? How could his luck be this ridiculous today?
The items inside the treasure chests had been scattered completely at random by Tom himself. Even if someone asked him which chest contained the good rewards, he wouldn't have been able to answer.
There was no favoritism involved.
...
..
Inside the core region stood a passageway leading directly to the exit.
Anyone who crossed it would enter Dalaran.
Guarding the passage were three dangerous magical beasts: a Graphorn, an Erumpent, and A dangerous horned creature known as a Poisonhorn.
The Poisonhorn was something like a Fwooper-horned… or a full-grown Unicorn-horned beast? Something in between, it looked dangerous and poisonous.
Luckily, the champions weren't required to defeat these three creatures. They simply had to break through the blockade and run the length of the corridor.
Ariana considered her options.
In the end, she chose not to use excessive force.
Instead, she cast a Stinging Jinx on the easiest target to provoke: the Erumpent.
Then she subtly guided the charging creature into the Poisonhorn.
Instant chaos erupted. The three massive beasts tangled themselves up in confusion.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Ariana quietly slipped past.
She hadn't used particularly powerful spells, so the creatures would recover soon enough and continue blocking whoever arrived next.
Amid the thunderous cheers of the crowd, Ariana crossed the long passageway.
At the far end stood a fireplace. Green flames crackled within it.
To proceed to the next stage, contestants would have to use the Floo Network. And with that, Ariana became the first champion to clear the maze.
.
.
.