After Zero stepped in to help, the air got less tense, and they could finally walk the city with ease. But regardless of all the beautiful places they saw, their hearts still raced as the time drew near. And not long after, night came, with only a few hours left.

Aren stood on the street. He looked up at the starry skies. "We should enjoy a meal under this sky before we leave," he said, then looked at Kira. "We don't know when we'll have the time to focus on beautiful things again."

For some reason, what he said made her blush slightly. She nodded. "Yeah, let's get something," she replied. "I know a nice place." She said and started walking.

"You are pretty smooth," Zero said beside Aren.

"Can it," Aren replied and started walking. Right now, he was just going with the flow and doing whatever felt right to do.

She led them to a small restaurant, but it seemed very aesthetically pleasing. Two warm, glowing crystals hung outside, illuminating the doors, but not shining into the eyes of people.

She slid the wooden door to the side and walked in, so they followed and found their way to their table. The place was very calm and peaceful, and their seat was close to a window, where they had a clear view of the sky to see the stars.

Not long after they sat, a waiter walked up. "Can I take your order?"

When Aren heard the voice, his neck snapped up, and he saw Aiden standing there with a cheeky smile and a waiter's uniform on.

"Aiden," Aren exclaimed.

"Good to see you, Aren," Aiden said.

"Bro, what the hell are you doing here?" Aren asked.

"I came here to learn how to cook for the most part, and there was a free way to learn by serving one shift daily. So after hunts, I rush back and serve. It has only been a few days, but I have learned a lot," Aiden explained.

"I met Aiden here yesterday, and he told me," she said. "He said he didn't want to have to rely on long preserved foods and whatever to survive inside the trial, so he wanted to make his own hot dishes whenever he could." She explained.

'Damn, that's actually pretty smart. But Aiden?' Aren thought as he looked at him.

"Don't look at me like that. I have better hobbies than just slashing around," Aiden said.

"Sorry," Aren chuckled.

"I've been learning how to use unprecedented ingredients to cook, and how to tell toxic from not. It was a lot to cram in a few days, but I managed to, and now I can cook in whatever situation the trials throw at us," Aiden said with a smug look on his face.

After that, he served them food, but ended up talking to them the rest of the time. His boss did not do anything because he knew the trials were coming soon and wanted the kid to unwind before that time.

Aiden got to learn who Zero was, and he was reasonably fascinated by her.

After some time passed, they entered the final hour left to the second trial. They finished eating and stepped out of the restaurant. They already had everything they needed. System items were in their inventory, personal items were inside their rings.

They looked at the skies together as the time trickled by, and soon the counter hit zero. The moment it did, it was as though all sound vanished, and then they vanished. Every awakened for the trials vanished.

When their eyes opened again, they were standing on a large rocky platform that stretched for kilometers without end. But that was the least of their issues, as there was a massive wall that stretched far into the dark sky above. It was a black wall made of pitch dark marble, and on it was a massive gate made of metal that stretched as far as the wall.

Everyone watched with stunned expressions, looking around and staring at the wall. Aren, on the other hand, had only one thought when he saw it.

'It's the maze.' He clenched his fist. He had a map to the maze.

Not long after they appeared, three angels manifested. At the center was Elton. To the side was a female angel, and the last was a male-looking angel.

The moment they appeared, everyone paid attention, looking at the three of them. Everyone could see them no matter where they stood, and as soon as Elton started speaking, they could all hear her.

"Welcome, Awakened, to the second trial. I'll not waste any time and will get straight to it. This trial is called Loki's Maze.

"You will have to make it to the other side of the maze. The path is straight ahead. It does not change at all, but other things do.

"The maze will try to deceive your perception, confuse you, and bring you to your knees, but you must keep standing to survive. There are many smaller trials that can be done within to gain resources and information.

"There is also something called Maze Points. Certain activities increase it, so do well together as much as possible. You will use them to get rewards after, so whatever reward you gain is what you earn.

"The maze will get increasingly difficult every day that passes. The monsters come harder, the traps swing faster, and every day that passes, the more difficult it gets. Your systems will show a timer of twenty four hours to help you know the time, a small help from us.

"Another thing, Maze Points can be stolen."

When she said that last line, Aren frowned. She was doing it again, pitting them against each other to cause more deaths.

"This is a merge between three sections, so your numbers are great," she said, and then a smile formed on her face. "Among this huge number, there are six people who have maps of the entire maze, and every day their location will be revealed to everyone for one hour.

"That's all. Now, good luck." She spread her hands, and the doors of the maze began opening with a loud grinding sound.

'She wants to use this to kill me. Tch, I should have known it was too good to be true,' Aren thought after hearing about the maps. But regardless, he was not scared. He would come out on top.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.