Griffins.
A unique hybrid type of creatures that were introduced to the world in the fourth calamity as quasi-mythical deities.
To the dwellers of the world, griffins weren't mere hybrids of the lion and eagle; No, they held much more weight to their existence.
Rumored to be the beasts that were the closest to the existence of gods, griffins were worshipped as the messengers of the gods that delivered the prayers of the living beings to their destination.
Since their birth, each individual held the blessings of the worldly laws that were directly passed onto their bloodline, making them grow to their fullest potential without much worry.
But since the world too had its own capacity, there was a limit to how many such creatures it could handle.
Thus, to compensate for their powers, it had become a tradition in themselves to give birth only when the previous griffin's powers had begun to diminish, passing it onto their blood while silently accepting their end.
'But the worst part is that as of now, there numbers are simply too fucking much... Even in the world of the fourth calamity, only 14 griffins could live at a time...' Kai narrowed his eyes as his speed unconsciously began to increase.
One after another, his eyes followed each and every curve on the walls below while his feet continuously leaped from one wall to another, maintaining their pace.
'but... They look different as hell — their personalities, their movements — everything looks dang opposite of what I have seen...'
It wasn't just a mere speculation, but a hardened belief.
Although it was true that not once in his lifetime of playing the game had he ever come close enough in terms of powers to even get a glimpse of such creatures; but even now, it was hard, for him to believe that those he heard stories about, the embodiments of pride and elegance could act in such an unsightful manner.
'Surely, I'm not the only one thinking about this as of now... Every second, the number of humans is shrinking dramatically, and yet, not a single one of us can do anything except for running.'
Kai tightly clenched his jaws as he, silently and slowly, gulped down his frustration and anger.
He found it strange, too strange in fact.
His feelings for others hadn't changed as he still found dealing with others nothing but a waste of time and troublesome — even more so after what he had witnessed in the last trial.
But still, for some reason, hr just couldn't get over the things that were happening around him.
Truthfully speaking, the feelings that emerged from his heart back when he saw the last moments of the old man and the things that happened after that, he felt as though he had finally gotten the chance to change his life...
But at the end of the day, he was put at the mercy of others multiple times...
Despite feeling something special about his own existence, he was humbled so many times.
This had all left a deep mark on him and his beliefs as he could not hold onto his thoughts any longer.
Lost in his thoughts, he kept on running over the maze walls for several minutes while continuously eyeing the creatures nearby.
While for a fact, it wasn't just the players who had climbed upon the walls but even those who didn't were suffering just as much by the poison laced booby traps and goblins that lurked around their presence, waiting for the right moment to initiate the attack.
Fearful screams of the dying, twisted cackles of the killers, and the thick metallic stench of blood — all filled the air like a gigantic block of smog over the Maze.
As time passed by, more and more Griffins began to descend and gather around one another, lurking above humans, killing them as they pleased while after bursting out into laughter.
Even after a long 30 minutes of just running at the highest possible speed accompanied by his widespread senses, he couldn't seem to get a glance at anything noticeable enough to be called the centre of the maze.
Gradually, seeds of doubts started to sprout in his mind as he began wondering — whether he was going in the right direction or not...
His eyes darted left and right, noticing the numbers of players having been shrunk down exponentially low while the small bits of moonlight that made it possible for everyone to see started to get obstructed by the descending numbers of seemingly infinite griffins.
"Time is ticking down faster than I thought..." He said in a low voice as his gaze shifted slightly towards his left.
At roughly an arm's distance, the system window floated constantly as if it were travelling alongside him while matching his own pace.
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[Current Time - 35:00 minutes]
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"...and yet I do not know if this path even leads to the destination. Well, not like I could know about it in the first place." He let out a short sigh as he continued, "No wonder this place felt somewhat weaker than the last two trials."
"Why complicate things with monsters when you've already complicated it enough with the challenge and terrain..."
No matter how Kai looked at it, he found the predicament eerily funny.
But now at this point, he couldn't back down after so long and decided to double down on his choices.
'Now or Never!' the thought rang inside his mind like a never-ending echo as he jumped once more.
Suddenly, he heard a sharp sound coming toward him at a speed so fast that even he couldn't realise the situation till his feet touched the ground.
His eyes instantly turned grave as he saw a blurred silhouette approaching him from ahead, most likely aiming for him.
Without wasting even a fraction of time, with all the present strength lying dormant in his body, he threw himself to the left side as quickly as possible.