The Demon Monarch System

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As the grand doors to the next trials opened, a scene surprising to all took place. Instead of them entering the doors themselves, a suction force of great magnitude originating from the inside pulled all 300,000 participants inside. Unbeknownst to every single individual, the labyrinth's interior was actually located in another space.

While they were unable to see the academy staff located high above, the same couldn't be said about those peering down. The entire situation was present before their eyes. All of the youths were placed inside the labyrinth at random positions. There was no order or pattern to the way they entered. 

However, what remained true was the fact they all were divided into groups of 10. Surprisingly, those among Apollo's group were a few familiar faces. Of course, the term was used loosely as he didn't truly "know" them. They were simply part of his examination batch. 

As for who they were, there was both Leone as well as Nadida. In other words, when it came to overall talent, his team was by no means lacking. In fact, in comparison to the over 30,000 teams that were made. The talent present in his group as an average was capable of entering the top 1 percentile.

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While traveling throughout what seemed to be a spatial tunnel, Apollo glanced to his sides, finding Nadida clinging to his arm. It was a rather odd thing to experience; the way she was holding him, it was as if she was frightened.

"Nadida...can you...let go of my arm?" Apollo asked, trying to pry his arm away from her grasp. Unfortunately, his attempts proved to be useless; it was like she was glued to him. the way her vice-grip grasp wrapped around his arms was shocking!

"N-NO!!! We're not on the ground. No way..no way… NO WAY!" Nadida panicked, shaking her head back and forth frantically. Apparently, she was deathly afraid of height. Although her character was tough, it seemed she suffered from her weaknesses as well.

All Apollo could do was sigh in return. Since he couldn't get her off his arm, Apollo simply let her be. In the meantime, he examined the spatial tunnel. In truth, it felt as if he was staying stagnant but the layout around his the thing undergoing constant movement. Now that he was giving his undivided attention, it was quite an odd sensation. 

However, while it was odd, it was also beneficial to him. His violet eyes shimmered, an obscure half-rune forming in his eyes. When it appeared, spatial winds, as well as ripples, were picked up by his eyes. At first, it seemed vague but the more Apollo decrypted them, the more he felt he could replicate what was taking place.

Thus, with his free hand, he attempted to do so, 'According to Xezym, you must make the elements docile to you. My Affinity with the Spatial Element is only Level 3 but I can perceive these ripple. This should mean it's within my grasp to attempt this.'

Following his thought, Apollo waved his hand back and forth while also moving his hand in an obscure pattern. Albeit slowly, small amounts of the Spatial Element vibrated. Although it was part of Natural Essence, it appeared to possess its own set of rules.

This assumption came from the fact Apollo's increased Essence Affinity didn't affect how he interacted with the element. Additionally, there was also the fact Elemental Resonance possessed a tab in and of itself.

Amid being engrossed in this learning attempt, a light appeared on the other side of the spatial tunnel. For all 10 of them, it felt like gravity was multiplied tenfold for an instant. But, Apollo thought this to be rather comfortable. Inside the Lesser Cultivation Room, the super-compressed gravity left an impression on his body.

In a sense, he retained a nimble adaptive ability towards the change in gravity. Regrettably, that couldn't be said about the rest of his teammates. During that single instant, they were disoriented, slamming above the cold, hard floor of the labyrinth.

Luckily, Leone was comparable to Nadida in talent. Thus, he was able to regulate the change in gravity by manipulating the heat around him. In light of this, he landed safely, unlike the 7 others.

"This… why is the atmosphere like this?" Leone muttered, taking in his surrounding. To sum up the environment, it could only be described in one word—murky. From the outside, it appeared majestic and well kept. But, now that they entered, they learned it to not be the case.

The colossal walls of the labyrinth were filled with thorned vines, thick dew, and overgrown moss. Furthermore, the moss seemed to dampen the surroundings' ability to create Natural Essence. In other words, this place was lacking Natural Essence.

"So this is why that old man said that. Speaking of which, who was that old man?"Apollo muttered, before looking down and continuing with a hint of annoyance, "Okay, NOW you can get off. We're standing on solid ground, you no longer have that as an excuse."

In response, Nadida opened her eyes before letting go with a whimper.

"Why are you so mean!? Can't a girl cling to you? What is wrong with a beautiful lady looking to you for support? Gosh! DUMMY," Nadida spat, throwing a tantrum while stomping her foot with a huff.

Meanwhile, Apollo paid her no mind, directing his attention elsewhere. Much like them, other teams were falling out of the sky in odd places. Some of them found it easy to manage against the change in the environment while the others didn't.

Be that as it may, Apollo didn't have the opportunity to mind others' business for long. Once everyone was inside, they could hear the grand stone doors close with a resounding boom. 

In fact, the resulting shockwave nearly knocked them off their feet. This only left them questioning the material the door was made out of and why a simple action such as closing was so devastating.

Nonetheless, other matters presented themselves.

"So, what is the plan? I'm sure the academy leaders won't make this easy for us. How do we proceed forth?" Leone asked, dragging his hand against the grimy labyrinth wall. Surprisingly, when he did so, he felt his body weakened for a moment.

"Hmm?" Apollo looked in his direction, noticing Leone's words fall short. The silence was oddly placed. But, when he saw Leone's paling countenance, coupled with him sniffing his fingers, Apollo put two and two together.

"It appears there's a time limit placed upon us by this environment. You just touched the wall, didn't you?" Apollo questioned.

"Yes," Leone nodded, color once again appearing in his face. However, he didn't seem to be at his full capacity anymore.

"My guess is the moss on these walls is poisonous to us. I'll even go as far as to say it was placed there to add difficulty to our challenge. We'll have to monitor our Natural Essence usage. Without a proper source, it'll be dangerous to fall below a certain threshold," Apollo warned.

Afterward, he fell silent for a moment. A question dawned upon him causing him to touch the wall as well but the results varied from Leone's. Unlike him, Apollo didn't fall pale nor did he feel any weakness.

 However, he did gain more information on his surroundings.

〈System Alert! You have resisted Grade 3 Toxin «Sordid Ameliorate Moss». Your Demonic Anima reserves are unaffected.〉

After this message appeared, Apollo's eyes widened. It was even worse than he estimated. At first, he believed the moss to just provide physical fatigue but based on what he was told, it was actually devouring the Natural Essence reserves.

"Do not touch that moss under any circumstances," Apollo grimly warned, before continuing, "Furthermore, we need to move. I believe the moss is growing."

Upon entry, the moss barely covered the surface of the wall, but now, it has advanced at least 1 cm. Although it was a small movement, Apollo's sharp sense was able to pick up on this fact. 

"Let's go, I'll listen to your warning," Nadida nodded, "It would do you all well to heed his warning as well.

Naturally, the others were aware of Apollo's results, thus, they obliged without much contest.

However, before they could take a single step, two towering wolves appeared. Their disheveled hides his rippling physiques that impacted the floor with great vigor.

"What the…" Apollo's eyes narrowed.