"This maze is really weird...we've hardly come across any dead ends. Though, it might feel like we're making good progress, but for all we know, we could just be going around and around in circles," Sighed Akila, looking around with a wary frown.

"Well, it's not like there are any hints or indication as to whether we're going to right way, so our only real choice here is to just keep going," Responded Ravella, as the pair made their way through the maze.

"Yeah, I suppose you've got a point there."

"I don't disagree with what you said though, it is strange that we haven't encountered any of the other teams since that first woman we ran into, though. But, then, we have no way of knowing how big this maze really is," Replied Ravella with a grimace.

The two of them had been walking for a while, making their way through the long, winding corridors of the large maze.

"It really sucks that I can't phase through these walls, we might have already been done by now if I could. And there's a barrier above that blocks my intangibility too, so we can't climb over them either," Akila sighed wistfully.

"That isn't your fault, how were any of us supposed to know that your Magic wouldn't work on these walls?" Pointed out Ravella, patting his arm with a smile.

"Thanks, appreciate you saying that. And I guess there's no point in dwelling on it, I'll just to make sure I contribute where I can," Declared Akila, a determined look on his face.

"Mhm, I'll be counting on you," Responded Ravella with a thumbs up.

"I'll do my best to-...hm? Hey, over there...is that...is that the center of the maze?"

"Huh? No way...we really made it! Let's go, quickly!" Exclaimed Ravella, taking her whip out before rushing forward, Akila right alongside her.

As they sprinted through the corridor and reached the end, they stepped out into a large, open space, with an altar in the middle, a blue gemstone placed on top of it. There were several paths leading to the area, the paths spread out evenly in a circle around the center.

"Alright, let's-...!" Grinned Akila, starting to race towards it.

"Watch out!" Yelled out Ravella, as two groups came into sight from a couple of the other paths, one group of two and the other with three people.

A roaring wave of flames came shooting towards Akila from one of the groups, followed by a barrage of lightning bolts from the other.

"Cover me!" Exclaimed Akila, turning himself fully intangible as he rushed towards the gem at full speed, the other two teams starting to sprint in too, before Ravella unleashed fierce volleys of light arrows towards them, forcing them to halt.

Akila strained himself and gritted his teeth as he sprinted as fast as he could, drawing closer and closer towards the altar.

Ravella continued to keep the other two groups at bay with her barrage, before grimacing as one of the members from the three-person group flew up and unleashed a drilling blast of wind towards her.

She leapt forward and rolled across the ground, the blast slamming onto the spot where she'd been standing with immense force as she narrowly evaded the attack, grimacing as the two groups rushed in towards the altar.

But none of them would be able to reach it before Akila would, he'd gotten enough of a head start, thanks to Ravella keeping their opponents occupied.

Several attacks came shooting towards him, phasing right through his body as he maintained his intangibility, gritting his teeth as the backlash from using his Magic continuously began to set in.

As he closed in on the altar, he leapt forward, his right hand outstretched as he reached for the gem, his hand getting within inches of it-...suddenly, he let out a startled yell of pain as something pierced through the middle of his palm, dragging his hand up before he could reach the gem.

He quickly phased his hand free of blade, but it was too late, as the gem then floated up off the altar, right as the air shimmered slightly, before a figure came into sight, a young woman.

"Nice, looks like my team wins. That was close, you almost beat me to it...seems you can turn yourself intangible, but I knew you'd have to turn your hand tangible to grab this stone," She smiled triumphantly.

She was in the same team as Ariodred Phoenix, she'd wandered in around the same time as the other two teams, and while Ravella was keeping them occupied, she used the opportunity to make a dash for the gem.

She was about a step behind Akila, but she had the element of surprise since, in his rush, he'd completely failed to notice her.

Right before he could reach the gem, she extended her own reach with a sword, stabbing his hand right in the nick of time, and grabbing the gem in the brief instant he paused before phasing his hand off the blade.

"Huh?"

"Wait, it's over?"

"Shit...guess there's no point in fighting anymore."

"Damn it, we should've moved through the maze faster!"

"Well, this sucks. But it's fine, winning this tournament isn't our main goal, we're here to survive. So a loss isn't the end of the world for us," Ravella thought to herself, letting out a slow exhale to relax.

"I...I was so close. It was right there, so close within my grasp! But I let it slip away, if I only I'd been more alert," Frowned Akila in frustration, as he collapsed onto his knees and slammed his fist against the ground.

"Alright, that's the second competition done, congrats to the winning team, you get fifteen points! And to the losing teams, tough luck, give it your best in the next contest. Alright, with that, round two is over, so I'll be teleporting all of you back to your respective waiting rooms right away."

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