Sorn took a deep breath as he analyzed his situation. It appeared that out of nowhere chains had materialized, wrapping around his body. He was forced to kneel by some unknown force, and his eyes, ears, and nose were completely covered. His arms were pinned to the side and his legs were chained down to the ice. However, there was a part of his leg that remained uncovered. His mind raced as he recalled who the arranger of this test was. Cedric, the chain user. He struggled a bit against the chains, even calling some of his comet power but to no avail. He could move slightly but the chains would only allow themselves to extend a bit before tightening even harder.

Acknowledging the lack of success, Sorn began to panic. It had been over twenty seconds, and he was sure others had already figured out the solution.

Think Sorn, think!

He thought back to what Oden told him. To beat this test as an outlier, he had to think like an Ice Elemental. He remembered the chains were meant to be for sealing, so what could they possibly be sealing?

Ice techniques.

The only parts that weren’t chained were parts of his legs, as only one chain held them down. Sorn deduced this meant that the solution was to create some sort of ice projectile from the legs and cut the ice from below, allowing him to fall. The issue was, he couldn’t use ice projectiles.

His anxiety only increased. What if the only person left was him and he’d remain at stage one the entire time.

But then Keilan wouldn’t kill me.

This initially seemed like a novel idea, he could simply wait in this place and remain safe from the Spears. This was Only by the next thought however, as he reminded himself of Crystal’s anticipating smiles and Oden’s confident grin. No matter what, he couldn’t let them down. He’d prove to everyone he wasn’t a disappointment, even if it meant he’d die in the process.

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If my legs can move a bit, there might be something I can do.

Sorn pushed his legs up slightly, creating green wisps around his legs for increased pressure. He then let the chains propel his legs downward, using the wisps to create a destructive impact, smashing easily through the ice below. The chain was removed from his legs as they dangled underneath, so he kicked around a bit, destroying the rest of the ice so he could fall through.

As he was falling downwards, the chains around most of his body disappeared. His eyes were still enchained, obscuring his vision but they were also removed as Sorn awkwardly landed on the ground below. Looking around, he was in a secluded room with a single opening. A man in a mask sat in front of him. The mask had the insignia of the Dancing Blade, and Sorn remembered this was Freyja’s stage. He began to speak to him.

Proctor: “Congratulations on passing the first stage. I will now explain the next part of the stage to you.”

——

Sorn ran out of the room, gripping the red key wrapped around his neck. He recalled the rules that were just told to him.

* Each participant receives a key (red or blue) on a leather cord. It must be worn around the neck and kept visible at all times.

* The objective of the floor is to obtain a key of the other color, and return to the room with both.

* There were some restraints however. One cannot steal a key of their own color. Additionally, possessing three keys of any color at once results in disqualification.

* Breaking through the floor in this course would result in elimination as well. It was explained however, the ice of this course was extremely thick and would require much effort to break.

He surveyed his surroundings. Immediately the raised walls spread throughout his vision caught his attention. He was in the middle of a labyrinth. Taking a deep breath, he took one last look back at the room he came from. It was necessary for him to recall his way back to this area if he was to make it back.

As he began to walk down the narrow hall, he felt the stillness in the air. The silence was broken only occasionally by his own footsteps and the howling of the wind. As he made a few turns, the maze only seemed to become more complex with more pathways to choose from.

It did not take long for him to enter a room unlike any one he had encountered before. Mirrors were lined on every wall and floating throughout the room. They weren’t any ordinary mirrors however, as different mirrors distorted his reflection to different degrees. Some of them didn’t have reflections and he’d accidentally walk into a wall of ice.

Putting his hand to a wall he just encountered, he suddenly felt an odd shift to his right. He turned to just narrowly be missed by a projectile of ice.

End.