"The testing method has been adjusted this year. Please be patient and follow the guidance of the staff."
Standing outside each black tent is a guide who is responsible for guiding new students or newly joined faculty and staff.
They called out the names one by one in order of name, dispersing the crowd into different areas.
There were about a dozen newcomers queuing in front of each tent, waiting for the so-called test.
"What the hell is going on this year? Haven't we always taken the test together in the past?"
Jobtran heard a newcomer who had obviously asked the old student for relevant information complaining to himself. He thought that the current arrangement made the information he had bought at great expense worthless.
As Joet Brown's name was called, he was called into the tent alone.
The decoration inside the tent was not what Joet Brown had originally imagined. There were no numerous instruments or complicated scenes. There was only a table, two chairs and a crystal ball on the table.
"Relax your mind and body, then touch this crystal ball."
A hooded woman said hoarsely.
"Excuse me, has the test started now?"
"Jobutran looked at the lady who was deliberately creating a mysterious atmosphere and asked.
"Relax your mind and body, then touch this crystal ball."
The woman did not answer Joet Brown's question, but repeated what she had just said.
As the woman repeated herself, the crystal ball seemed to begin to emit an alluring scent.
Joe Butran frowned, then smiled with relief and closed his eyes.
He opened his mouth and whispered,
"Under normal circumstances, I would have rejected you."
The woman looked at Joet Brown strangely. He remained alert but slowly reached out to the crystal ball.
"Relax your body and mind, and then... um"
The next second, Joet Brown's hand directly grabbed the woman's neck.
"Prosecutor, why don't you come out?"
Joet Brown suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the shadow behind the woman.
"Let it go, you passed this test."
An old voice came out from the darkness and said approvingly,
“Knowing how to resist temptation is a required course for everyone at Miskatonic University.
You have done a good job in this regard. Next, please do not make things difficult for the actors in our drama department.
Following her guidance, I can complete other projects.”
After hearing this, Joet Brown increased the strength of his hands, and the hooded woman seemed to have trouble breathing under Joet Brown's grip.
"How can I verify your identity as a prosecutor? How can I believe that what you say is not a trap?"
“…This is my ID card.
I’ll show you.”
The prosecutor walked out from the shadows reluctantly, then placed his ID card in the palm of his hand and tapped it a few times, then showed the contents of the ID card to Jobtran.
After Joet Brown confirmed it, he let go of his hand, and the actor coughed several times and glared at Joet Brown fiercely.
"Please, if it weren't for the credits, I wouldn't do this job."
"I have offended my senior sister. What should I do next?"
Joet Brown apologized sincerely, then asked sincerely.
"Relax your body and mind, and then... forget it, you know."
The hooded woman simply pulled the hood back, revealing her true face.
It was a face so ordinary that you would not be able to find it in a crowd.
She made a face at Joet Brown, then folded her arms angrily and leaned back in her chair.
Joet Brown smiled awkwardly and then touched the surface of the crystal ball.
After a flash of light, the scenery that came into view was no longer the scenery inside the tent.
There was no sound coming from all around, it was completely quiet, so quiet that it was even a little creepy.
The strange thing was that he was not sitting in a wheelchair, but standing.
Full sensation was felt in both feet without any pain.
Looking around, the place where I was sitting felt like I was in a maze.
The maze in front of me was not a metal wall or cement, but more like a bush planted here by humans.
There was a darkness behind him that was slowly approaching him like a tide, and there was a clear sign on the ground, pointing to the only entrance nearby.
In order to create a sense of reality, a little rabbit that looked extremely innocent was placed in the darkness. Then, after some hair-raising chewing sounds, some remains of flesh and skin were spit out by the darkness.
“The illusion in my consciousness is worthy of Miskatonic University.
It's a luxury to use such a large amount of spiritual spells and illusions just for a test."
Jobtran exclaimed in admiration, then walked into the entrance of the maze.
He calmly picked up a long branch and marked the places where he had walked, and also used some leaves broken off the wall to spread on the ground to record his walking traces.
He knew very well that if this maze would not change, there would be no need to go to such great lengths to create an illusion.
The markings made now won't play any role in his estimation, but Choate-Brown believes someone is watching.
On the other hand, on the big lawn, the mages of the academy divided the live test into different areas and projected them onto the screen on the stage.
Joe Butran's previous unconventional behavior had already attracted a lot of people's attention, and even the square he occupied on the screen was larger than that of others.
The old students were all amazed. No one knew the content of this test in advance, and the student union focused their attention on Joet Brown.
"This new guy is not simple."
The student union president was standing next to two maids holding umbrellas, holding a cup of black tea, and spoke quietly.
“In every way, he acted very sophisticatedly.
It's not the thinking or logic that ordinary students would use.
Does the president want me to send someone to check it out?"
Vice President Hull flattered.
“No, I already know who he is.
I'll leave the following observations to you, I'm going to go and prepare."
The president put down his teacup and stood up.
At first glance, you would think that the president of the student union is a woman, because she looks so beautiful, even delicate.
That pair of jade-white hands and slender fingers like green onions are even more beautiful than some girls' hands.
The tall figure and slightly feminine temperament can easily charm some crazy girls.
If it weren't for the protrusion in his throat and his slightly deeper voice, it would be difficult to determine his gender.
"President, what are you going to prepare? Why should we ask you to go there in person?"
The maid holding an umbrella nearby asked in confusion.
The president turned around, frivolously lifted the maid's chin with his finger, and said slowly,
"obedient."
The maid was teased and her face instantly turned red. She subconsciously clamped her legs together and answered in a mosquito-like voice,
"Understood, President."
The other woman's face was full of envy, and she hated herself for not seizing this opportunity to have close contact with the president.
——
Turn, turn, and turn again.
This maze seems to have endless turns and there is no end to it.
All the newcomers were spinning in the same maze, except Joet Brown.
He paid no attention to the darkness slowly approaching from behind.
He had seen many terrifying scenes, so how could a small piece of moving darkness scare him
What made him stop was not because he was giving up, but on the contrary, he believed that the secrets hidden in this maze were just the beginning.
At first he thought that what he heard was just the sound of his own footsteps. After all, when walking, there would be friction between clothes and limbs, and there were many leaves on the ground.
When he stopped, he could still hear the rustling sound.
The sound came from far away, but when it reached the area where he was, it seemed to have encountered an obstacle and went around it, then came back to the entrance again.
The repetitive rustling sound seemed to reveal a pattern to Joet Brown.
Perhaps the end point of the sound was the exit of the maze, but Joet Brown did not have enough evidence to confirm this fact.
Instead, he boldly walked back a short distance along the path he had previously marked.
“All the marks are gone.”
Jobtran knew this very well, for when he passed the corner he broke off two branches from the bushes and placed them in a cross shape in the middle of the road.
Now, whether it is the broken branches or the places where the branches were originally broken, they all look like new.
Are the trees growing back
No, if the tree grows again, the branches on the ground will not disappear out of thin air.
Although this is an illusion, there are some necessary physical laws in the construction of the illusion, otherwise the illusion will simply not be able to be maintained.
After reaching the above conclusion, Joet Brown understood what those rustling sounds were.
"This maze is alive."
Joet Brown muttered to himself.
The "alive" here does not mean that this maze is a living entity with life, but that this maze knows how to repair or even change the environment.
If you blindly follow the path of the maze, you will only go around in circles forever without being able to get out, and then be swallowed by the darkness that invades the maze.
After the thought came to him, Joet Brown smiled confidently.
He closed his eyes, followed the direction of the sound, and walked towards the wall.
The bushes with thorny barbs failed to stop Jobtran's body, and his actions broke the laws of the maze.
Although there was a slight pain, it could not stop him.
His body looked covered with wounds, but when Joet Brown opened his eyes, he was already standing outside the maze.
——
“Isn’t the design of this maze too ridiculous
If I were designing it, I would definitely put some traps and monsters in it."
"You're not a mentor, what are you talking about
Do you know the purpose of the mentor designing this maze?"
"Bah, what are you pretending for
Don't scold me. If you understand the mentor's thinking, why don't you become a mentor?"
The senior students stood in front of the screen and "friendly" discussed this new test.
They originally thought that the test was over, after all, many newcomers had been eliminated in the maze, but they didn't know that the test had just begun.
——
After walking out of the maze, Joet Brown opened his eyes.
In front of me is an endless grassland. The green grass on the grassland is thriving and growing well, some of it even reaching the height of the calf.
The maze behind him was swallowed by darkness, but it was followed by an earth-shaking collapse.
The bushes throughout the maze collapsed, raising a lot of dust.
The wind blew on the grassland, and suddenly the sky was filled with sand.
This wind was not like the gentle caress of a lover, but the roar of a giant.
A mixture of sand and brush debris rose into the sky as the hurricane howled.
A salon roll was born.
The tornado seemed to accelerate slowly as if it had consciousness, and headed towards Joet Brown's position.
Joet Brown took a casual glance and guessed what was to come.
He gently pushed his hair back and then ran away.
This is obviously a physical test.
The previous maze was a test of brain power, but now all you have to do is race against the wind.
In the illusion, he had no way to cheat with Holy Light spells to increase his movement speed, but after the trip to Iceland, his escape skills and endurance had improved a lot.
When he ran, he moved his center of gravity forward, with almost his entire body leaning forward at forty-five degrees.
His legs were as fast as lightning, and with every step he took, only his toes touched the ground, and then he continued to exert force.
Even though he ran very fast, how could he outrun the wind
A huge rock came crashing down on him with its deadly weight and the force exerted by the strong wind.
Jobtran did not dodge or evade, but instead punched the stone hard.
He heard the sound of his hand bones breaking, but he successfully smashed the stone in front of him.
But before he could relax, pieces of stone hit the back of Joet Brown's head in an extremely strange way that even violated the principles of physics.
Joet Brown's eyes suddenly went dark and he fainted.
——
"Oh! This hurts so much!!!"
"This freshman is really exaggerating. He smashed such a big rock without any hesitation.
This is totally a life-threatening situation.”
"I was wrong, I said the test was easy.
I can’t even get past this level.”
"Oh, don't mention it. Didn't such a fierce newcomer also fail?"
"Huh? But the screen is still on?"
"No way, no way, no one really thinks this is the end, right?"
“You’re so annoying, just watch carefully.
Maybe we will have to retest it according to this routine next year?"
When the senior students heard this, they stopped joking with each other and began to watch this innovative test seriously.
——
The pain in the back of Joet Brown's head brought him out of his coma.
What was strange was that he found himself locked up in a dark basement with a pair of handcuffs on his hands and a shackle on his right foot to restrict his ability to move.
"Isn't this over yet?"
Joet Brown smiled bitterly.