Capital Metropolitan and North City here.
The two groups finally realized something was wrong after walking for nearly ten minutes.
Elysia Xander from Capital Metropolitan took the lead in organizing an array-breaking search.
They became the second team of students to successfully leave the Mirror Genesis Array and reach the hall.
Seeing the empty hall, Elysia Xander’s eyes revealed determination. A student next to her, who always followed her lead, immediately said,
"Looks like we’re the first ones to leave the Mirror Array, thanks to Elysia. If she hadn’t immediately recognized the Mirror Genesis Array, we’d probably still be wandering in the mirror building."
"The Family Head of the Xander Family truly values Elysia and even let her view the Xander Family’s ancient texts, in the future..."
Before finishing the sentence, Elysia coldly interrupted,
"Don’t say useless things; I’m not interested in future matters like that."
She continued,
"The Family Head is diligently nurturing me, and what I must do is not disappoint their effort."
Some people looked at Elysia’s attitude with indifference, while others showed full admiration. Someone, with an intent to start trouble, deliberately mentioned Gregory Xander,
"I just wonder when that other Xander Family member will get here. After all, since he’s also from the Xander Family, Gregory must know the Mirror Genesis Array too. Let’s hurry upstairs to find the bottle." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
This remark was widely supported by the group.
Elysia glanced over the staircases on both sides of the building and quickly chose the one on the left.
As soon as the six of them stepped onto the stairs, suddenly, it felt as though they had stepped on something.
Elysia and the others quickly reacted, jumping back in unison, only to see a little paperman with a ghost face jump out in front of the stairs, grinning maliciously at them before turning and softly landing on the ground.
One of them noticed writing on the back of the little paperman and immediately went to pick it up.
However, upon seeing the writing, the person’s facial muscles twitched violently.
Others rushed over to see, and they all turned dark-faced afterwards.
[This way was marked first by Gregory Xander from our academy.
If you value your reputation, don’t follow our senior brother’s steps to take advantage.]
The two staircases could lead to different arrays, and if the ones who went first broke the array and it didn’t repair itself in time, those who came after wouldn’t have to break it, which is what "taking advantage" implied.
But what genuinely enraged Elysia’s group was the other layers of meaning this note carried.
First, they had smugly thought they were the first to leave the Mirror Genesis Array and reach here, only to find Sea City Academy students had ascended even earlier.
At best, they were ranked second.
Secondly, if you value your reputation, don’t take advantage, meaning anyone who came after and followed this path would be considered shameless for taking advantage.
Lastly! The note specifically highlighted Gregory Xander’s name.
Everyone knew Gregory and Elysia didn’t get along, so this note seemed less like it was meant for the teams following them and more tailored for Elysia.
In short—
Elysia, though you were a step slower, don’t trail behind me, Gregory, to take advantage of my efforts~
The Capital Metropolitan team all reacted differently upon seeing the note, with Elysia turning red with anger.
She stretched out her hand, grabbed the little paperman from someone’s hand, and shredded it to pieces.
Despite her extreme anger, she maintained a calm and arrogant demeanor, instructing,
"We’ll take the other path!"
Her pride wouldn’t allow her to follow behind Gregory and take advantage, even if it might be a trap!
However, as they changed course to the other staircase, another paperman jumped out at the stairway entrance.
Not only was the cutting technique identical, but the writing on the back of the paperman was also the same.
Elysia’s group: ...
This is a proper academy competition! How can they deliberately cause trouble for the teams coming after them?"
"Exactly! They don’t have the skills, only knowing how to perform these little acts!"
Some were indignant, but a relatively rational student said,
"Although this round requires us just to grab the bottle and leave the building successfully, which team first gets the bottle, and how long it takes to grab the bottle are also assessment criteria.
Since it’s a competition, ensuring one’s path to success while disrupting the opponent’s rhythm is a reasonable tactic."
"That’s right. Not to mention the little papermen they deliberately placed at the two staircases to confuse, Scarlett repairing the door’s previously destroyed array is her right.
After all, without them, the following teams would still need to break those arrays to proceed; you can’t say she’s making a petty move just because the ones behind can’t take advantage."
"Am I the only one curious about how Scarlett managed to repair the previously destroyed array so quickly?"
"I specialize in the Five Elements Array, and let me tell you responsibly, Scarlett not only repaired the destroyed array but damn well modified the array’s logic!"
"Modifying the array’s logic? What does that mean?"
A curious freshman asked inquisitively.
The person explained,
"It means she made modifications to the original array. If the ones coming up follow the original solution, they are most likely not going to solve it..."
"..."
Scarlett Jennings, are you some kind of demon?
How are the teams following supposed to play?!
As if to verify the onlookers’ concerns, the footage showed Elysia’s group arriving at the third floor door.
The person in charge of breaking the array swiftly approached, and their previously confident expression gradually crumbled into frustration and panic,
"This... the array pattern is different from what the teachers taught us?!"
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