Quinus was sleeping soundly when he felt someone shaking his arm.

"W-What? What is it?"Quinus asked as his eyes snapped open.

"It's time to eat, Your Highness," Thomassaid.

Quinus sat up from his bed roll and stretched.

"Man... I can't wait to sleep in a real bed again. These blankets can only do so much," Quinus complained.

"You'll get to enjoy one soon enough,Your Highness.But we should eat first," Thomas said.

Quinus stood up and stretchedout his back.

"Did anything happen while I was sleeping," he asked.

"It's been quiet, Prince Quinus. Thomas didn't senseanything strange," Geraltanswered.

Quinus looked over and saw John still passed out. He was sprawled out with a bit of droolhanging from his mouth.

"He sure knows how tosleep," Quinus laughed.

"Let him be.I don't need John making any smartassremarks about the food,"Geraltsaid.

"Yeah... John's been acting weird ever since we arrived for the trials,"Thomas added as he grabbed a bowl of oatmeal from Geralt.

Quinus grimaced, "I hope he isn't trying to pull one over on me. If he does, he'll pay the consequences."

Geralt and Thomas looked at each other withthe same worried look.

"And what price will that be, Your Highness," Thomas asked.

"Depends... It's his choice if he wishesto find out."

"Y-Yes, Prince Quinus."

Quinus noticed the two looked a little scared. He wanted to lighten the mood afterthe serious talk they just had.

"Hey... Relax. You both have proven your loyalty to me. But John hasn't... And I know he's your friend, but I can have him questioning mein front of our enemies."

"Yes, Prince Quinus," Geralt and Thomas said simultaneously.

Quinus grabbed a bowl of oatmeal.

"This looks good...Too bad we couldn't add milk," Quinus said.

Geralt and Thomas laughed, "Good luck with that. It would be a pain to carry gallons of milk into a labyrinth just for some breakfast."

Quinus nodded, "Well? Maybe I can find a way to dehydratethe milk."

Geralt and Thomas gave Quinus the 'you're joking' look.

"Don't give me that! It's a great idea! It would be perfect for going on long journeys. All you need to do is add hot water to it and you have milk," Quinus said.

"You have some of the strangest ideas, Your Highness," Thomas said.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean my idea wouldn't work.I mean you don't question jerky, right? So, why not do that for milk?" Quinus asked.

Thomas just shook his head.

"Alright, let's eat and then we'll leave," Geralt said.

They enjoyed their oatmeal and washed it down with water.Quinus stood up after cleaning his bowl.

"That hit the spot. You two go and wake up John. I need to go take care of some business, and then I'll be right back," Quinus said.

"Understood, Your Highness. We used the corner over there," Thomas pointed out the spot where they have been relieving themselves.

"Gotcha... Thanks," Quinus said.

When Quinus made it behind the rock, he undidhis pants and startedpeeing in a hole in the ground.

"Damn... I hate peeing on the ground," Quinus mutteredas he tried not to get any splash backon his boots.When he was finished, he was fixing his pants, but he noticed something move in the distance.

"The hell was that?" Quinus squinted andlooked into the shadows. Quinus thought he saw a boy in the shadows but he couldn't sense anyone or anything.

'Must be my imagination.'

Quinus walked back towards Geralt and Thomas who were kicking John's feet.

"Come on John! Get up!" Thomas said as he kicked his friend's foot again.

John didn't stir.

Quinus grabbed his water skin and poured some on John's face.

"Aaaaahhh! The hell man!" John cursed as he bolted up from the ground and wiped the water off his face.

"Wake up. We're goingto leave in 15 minutes. Make sure you are ready," Quinus said as he walked past John.

"Why the hell did you pour water on my face?"

"We had no other way of waking you.Plus I thought Water Mages could sensewhen they are being attacked by water,"Quinusjoked.

Johnglaredat Quinus and didn't say anything.

Quinus just shrugged his shoulders and looked at the two.

"Alright, you two. Let's clean up and get ready."

"Yes, Prince Quinus," They both said.

With that John quickly ate his food while the others gathered their things.

***

Quinus finished packing his stuff and slung his packover his shoulder.

"Ready to go, Thomas," he asked.

"Yes, Prince Quinus," Thomas said.

"Hey... Why are you guys looking at me like that?If you woke me up earlier then you wouldn't have to wait for me," John said as he adjusted his pack.

"But we didn't want to disturb you... I know how much you like to sleep, John," Geraltsaid.

"Shut up," he retorted.

Quinus ignored them and lookedaround the fifth floor one last time to admire the glowing pillars of ether.

'I still find it hard to believe that I'm living in a world of fantasy and magic... Well, let's get out of here. I just hope John isn't dumb enough to try something on the ascent.'

With that Quinus started walking to the staircasethat would lead them to thefourth floor.

"Whoa!? Wait for us!" Thomascalled outas he quicklywalked up next to Quinus.

Geralt was following close behind while John brought up the rear.

"I hope the chalk you used earlier wasn'twashed away by thelabyrinth," Geralt said.

"We'll see... But I have a feeling thatit's still there," Quinus said.

As Quinus stepped out onto the fourth floor, he lookedaround the maze hoping to see all the chalk marksstill there.

"Oh? They are still there. Nice! Getting out of herewill be a lot easier,"Thomassaidas he poked his head aroundQuinus.

"That was the plan. Hopefully, we can speed run the next four floors and exit the labyrinth in a day," Quinus said.

"If that happens then we'llneed to pick up the pace, Prince Quinus," Geralt said.

"We shouldn't let our guard down. Those portal traps might have moved on us. It wouldbe stupid to underestimate the labyrinth,"Quinussaid.

"Then lead the way, my prince," John said with a smart-asstone.

Quinus glanced back and said, "But of course... I was bornto lead."

John rolled his eyes and the group continued onward.

Geralt and Thomas didn't want John and Quinus arguing the whole time, but they didn't know how to prevent it.

They traveled through the maze and avoided thetrapson the fourth floor, keeping an eye out for any chalk markings. It wasn't long before they came up to the three-way fork.

John knew this was his last shot to knock Quinus into the portal trap that still had a monster in it.

'Okay, I saved up all my mana so I can use my Water Wave spell.I just need to move around him to his right side and cast it,' John thought.

As they started crossing the three-way fork, John slowly positioned himself on Quinus's right side.The prince was leading the way so he didn't notice John coming up on him.

"Shit! Prince Quinus! What's thatnoise?!" John called out.

Quinus stopped andlooked at Johnathan before turning his head in the direction he was pointing in.

'He's distracted! Now!'Johnquickly channeled his mana into his hand andprepared to cast his spell.

"John? What are you—" Geralt was interruptedwhen John cast his water magic.

"Water Wave!"

The wave of water formed from John's palm, and he thrust it into the unsuspecting Quinus.Thomas and Geraltwere surprised when they saw a wall of water coming at them. They got caught in the crossfire of Johnathan's spell and were swept away with Quinus.They were trying to swim out of the wave while being pushed towards the hallway with the portal trap. It suckedthem up before they could even try to resist.

"Hah, hah, hah... I-I did it... Now Marcus will have to let me join the academy," John panted as he stared at the portal trap. He felt a little guilty sending his friends into the trap with Quinus, but he tried to justify it.

"And those two idiots deserve to join Quinus. Nothing butfucking sheep following their prince," John was laughing at the sight of the three of them disappearing into the portal.

"Hahahahaha! That was easy... Now I need to get out of this place and come up with a convincingstory," Johnathansaid as he continued laughingwhile walking down the middle hallway as he continued through the fourth-floor hedge maze.

He didn't notice the person hiding in the shadows who was running towards the trap and hopped in the portal. The figure disappeared just like Quinus and the other two.

'Stupid bastard.All those threats meant nothing. Good luck fighting a monster with no weapons.'

John was grinning ear to ear. All he needed to do was get to the surface and pass the trial.

***

Everything was swirling around Quinus as he was warping througha vortex.

"What the fuck is happening!?" Quinus screamed as the pressure and force were almost crushing him.

Then his vision turned dark,and then he felt solid ground. He was dizzy from the ride, and he was soaked from the water. Heslowly got to his feetwhen he heard two more groansbehind him.

"W-What happened," Thomas said.

"I-I can't believe John knocked us into the portal trap... Uh... I think I'm going to be sick," Geralt growledashe held his stomach.

Quinus was having trouble seeing anything in thedark room, but hehad a magical torch in his backpack that he didn't need to use until now.He quickly found it and pulled it out.The torch was a small glass container the size of his thumb with a crystal in the center. When he twisted the crystal, the touch emitted a bright blue glow.

"Ah!... Whoa... That's bright," Thomas said as he shielded his eyes from the light.

"Shh! I don't think we are alone," Quinus said as he felt a presence inside the cave.

He held the torch up to help the light travel further in the cave.

"Do you sense anything, Thomas?" Geraltasked.

Thomas shook his head, "Nope... The only thing I can sense is you and Quinus."

Quinus was focusedon therocksand walls of the cave.

"It seems like we're in a natural cave, not an area of the hedge maze... We might be on the first floor," Quinus observed.

"Do you think there's a monster in here?" Thomas asked.

"I don't know... But I think there has to be one in here,"Quinus said.

"Are you sure?" Geraltasked.

Quinus looked back at him, "Yeah... Because John wanted us to go down that right side of the fork on our descent... Which meanshe knew something about thistrap...This has my cousin'splan written all over it... Keep your eyes peeled."

Thomas's face turned pale when he saw a glowing eye in the shadows.

"P-Prince Quinus," Thomas was trying not to panic, "I-I see an eye watching us."

Quinus saw the panic on his face and quickly turned his head to see whathe saw.

"Oh... Shit," Quinus muttered in a low voice.

Geralt looked over and was startled.

"W-What the hell is that?" Geralt was also scared.

"A Cyclops," Quinus said witha serious expression.

TheCyclops was a giant of a monster that stood well over eight feet talland could shoot a laser out ofits single eye.Quinus knew the Cyclops would be toughas he got a better look at it once it was illuminated by the torch. This monster was staring at them with this broken horn on top of its head andhad scars all over its body.

'This doesn't look good... This isn't an infant or a baby Cyclops, but a fully grown one.I need to protect the others.' Quinus thought.

"Guys, make a run for-"

"RRAAAAWWWRRRRR!!!!!!!"

Quinus's orders were cut off by the roar of the Cyclops. It wasn't long before the one-eyed freak started charging towards them.

"Runlike hell!" Quinus yelled.

"What about you," Thomas asked.

"I'll distract it. Don't worry about me," Quinus said.

Geralt and Thomas didn't need to be told twice asthey were already sprinting away from the charging monster.

"Shit," Quinus said as hequickly channeled his mana into the magical torch andthrewitat the monster.

The Cyclops didn't have time to dodge the thrown object as the bright torch hit its face and exploded on contact. The explosion of light caused the monster to roar in pain. It took two steps back before everything went back to pitch black.

Quinus was able to run to a stalagmite before the lightwent out and hid behind the rock formation. He was hoping the Cyclops would charge right by him.

"RAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRRR!!!!"

The cave started glowing red as the Cyclops's eye lit up andwas shining bright red.

"Fuck!" Quinus yelled as he quickly rolled out from behind the stalagmite.

*SSSSSSSCCCCCC!*

A second later a laser blasted out of the Cyclops's eye and blew up the stalagmite.

'What the fuck can I use to hurt this thing!?... Crap, this is all I got!' Quinus thought as he was rummaging through his pack until he pulled out a rectangular box.

"Found it! Take this you piece of crap!"

Quinus opened the box and channeled a lot of his mana into it, causing the yellow stone to igniteand burn with a bright blue flame.He then threw it underneath the Cyclops and watched the flames shoot up.

"RAAWWRR! RAARRRR!!!"screeched themonster as the fire burned hisleg.

Quinus didn't waste any time and ran towardssome more stalagmites that were 20 feet away, but just as he was about to get behind them a large boulder came flying in and smashed intothe stalagmite.

*BOOM!*

'The fuck?!'

Quinus was stunned by the dust and debristhat was blown back at him.

"RAAWWWR!"

The cyclops was looking straight at him with third-degree burns all over his legs as it started chargingat Quinus.

'Shit!'

Quinus could only stare in horror as the monstercamecloser.

*THUD!*

The Cyclops's foot got stuck in a hole.It screamed in pain as the third-degree burns dug into the rock floor.

Quinus didn't need to think twice. He scrambled away as fast as possible.

'Move! Move! MOVE!' Quinus thought to himself as he was having trouble seeing where he needed to go and was kicking loose stones.

"RAARRRRRR!!!!"

The cyclops tried pulling his leg free but the third-degree burns on its leg were keeping it from getting leverage.

'I fucking can't see shit! I need to avoid the Cyclops's line of sight. Before-'

The cyclops' eye was glowing bright red as it was about toblast its laser again.Quinus wasn't anywhere close to cover and the one-eye freak had him dead torights.Quinus shut his eyes as he waited for the laser to tear him apart.

'I hope I get a third chance at life!'

Just as the Cyclops was about to use its laser eye an arrow came whistling through the air and striking the eye.

*SPLAT*

"RAWR?! RAWRR!!!"

The cyclops started flailing its arms as blood was gushing from its eye.

"MY LORD!... CATCH THIS!" Yelled a familiar voice.

Quinus's eyes snapped open, "PERCY!?!"

He looked over to see Percy's silhouette, andhe threw a sword in its scabbard.Quinussaw it coming in quickly and reached his hand out to catchthe sword. Qunius didn't waste any time unsheathing the bladebefore herushed the blinded Cyclops.

"RAAAARRRR! RARRRRRR!!!!" The Cyclops roared in pain.

'I need to use that Maja technique that can make my blade cut throughalmost anything,' Quinus thought as he started channeling his mana into his swordwhich caused the blade to light up.

The Cyclops's one eye was shut tight as blood was pouring out.

'Gotcha!'

Quinus ran right up to the blinded cyclops and slashed its exposed throat.

"HAAAAAHHH!"

*SLASH!*

*SQUIRT!*

The blood poured out like a fountain. The monster was trying to breatheas its lungs were filling with its own blood.Quinus stabbed his sword into the chest of the Cyclops before he jumped off the monster and watched it collapse onto the ground.

"Hah... hah... That was too close..."

"You okay, myLord?" Percy asked as heranup to Quinus.

Quinus wiped the sweat off his forehead, "Yeah... I'm fine... But... Where did you come from?... I thought these trials were forten years olds only?"

Percy smirked and scratched the back of his head.

"Well? Lady Nelumbo thought you might get in trouble. So we came a day early, and I snuck in. I was watching you from the shadows from the beginning... But the water mage kid almost shot me with a water bullet... What I would give to loosen an arrow intothat bastard."

Quinus let out a chuckle and smiled, "I see... Well,I'm glad you're here.I just hope I don't get disqualified because I use a weapon."

"I can always grab your sword so no one knows youused it," Percy suggested.

"That's true...Haah... Johnathan has probably already made it to the surface... I wish there was a way for him to fail the trial..."

Percy smirked at Quinus.

"Hmm? What did you do?... Percy?"

"Oh? Nothing too bad... But I don't think he'll pass the test without this," Percy said as he pulled out a large green ether crystal thatwas the size ofa golf ball.

"W-Where did you find that?!" Quinus was surprised to see such a large ether crystal.

"Iswiped it from that jerk when you two were sleeping on the fifth floor.It was pretty easy. He never noticed a thing," Percy chuckled.

"You were able to sneak past Thomas and Geralt?... Wow, you've improved, Percy," Quinus was genuinely impressed.

"I almost messed up at the beginning when that Thomas guy sensed me. But Imanaged to hide my presence.Mother has been drillingthose techniques into me ever since I wasfive," Percy grinned.

'Huh? His mother? I didn't know she knewhow to teach stealth and sneaking... Maybe I should ask her-'

"My lord," Percy handed him the ether crystal, "Here."

"Hmm? You hang on to it, Percy... You took it, so it'syours," Quinus said.

Percylooked at the ether crystal that was brighter in his hand compared to when John hadit in his possession, "Uh... Okay... Sure.So, what's the plan?"

Quinussheathed his sword and handed it back to Percy.

"You hold on to this and follow us froma safe distance," Quinus said.

"Will do, my Lord," Percy said as hetook thesword and strapped it on his backbefore running off to the shadows.

Quinus waited for a moment to make sure Percy was out of sight before he ran around a stalagmite and undid his trousers.

"Damn... Mana Rush! F-fuck!" Quinus grunted as he took care of some personal business.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com