A young Starfall Academy student jogged toward the four children with a proud grin, almost tripping on his own robe in excitement.
"Congratulations on clearing the Maze of Stars," he announced, slightly out of breath. "You are among the first to pass. Please accept this proof of qualification."
He handed each of them a small bronze token shaped like a star wrapped in swirling mist. The metal glimmered subtly, matching the cheers swelling around them.
Ethan held the token up. "That is it? No fireworks?"
Aimi pinged inside his head. "Host, fireworks are a fire hazard."
Ethan pretended to nod wisely.
Together, Ethan, Kael, Temari, and Ruth walked back toward the VIP stands with hundreds of eyes glued to them. The crowd whispered and pointed. Some applauded. Some tried to decode how the Vales succeeded. Most were convinced Ruth dragged them through.
Ruth paused when they reached the noble seating area. She gave Ethan and Kael a polite nod.
"I will see you at the duels," she said, then disappeared into the Dravencourt section like a shadow melting into the dark.
Lady Lyra flew toward them with the power of a mother who had aged twenty years in the last hour. She hugged Temari first, then Kael, then Ethan high enough to lift him off the ground.
"My brave children," she said, beaming.
Ethan's spine cracked in several places, but he smiled anyway.
He slumped down and gulped a glass of water. "Aimi, did the maze bend time or something? It felt so long."
AIMI answered immediately. "Host's biological clock shows you experienced approximately five hours. Outside, only one fifteen minutes passed. Yes, the maze altered perception of time significantly."
Ethan stared into the distance, deep in scientifically baseless wonder.
"If Earth had this kind of time-stretching tech, imagine how many extra hours I could have played PUBG."
AIMI chimed in immediately, "According to recorded gameplay memories, you mostly died before the first circle even began."
Ethan straightened, face dark. "We do not talk about that."
Kael approached slowly, gripping his token like it might float away. His face was unusually serious.
He cleared his throat. "I have something to confess. It is important."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Stole another peach?"
Kael glared. "I am being serious."
That tone made even Lyra straighten up.
They moved into a quieter chamber in the VIP building. Kael stood in the center like someone about to admit to murder.
"I am the reason you two had to suffer ridiculous illusions," he declared with dramatic weight.
Ethan blinked. AIMI blinked digitally.
"What are you talking about?"
Kael exhaled shakily. "You will not believe me, but I think… I think there is a ghost living inside my head."
Everyone stared with identical blank faces.
"I am serious," Kael insisted. "In the written exam, I could not answer a single question. Then the old man spoke. He said he would help. And suddenly half the answers were written. Correctly."
Lyra frowned. Temari leaned forward.
Kael continued, "Then in the maze… I saw dead soldiers. Torn bodies. Ruins. They called me liege, commander, even family. A cracked little girl called me daddy."
Ethan gagged. "Gross."
"Shut up and listen," Kael snapped. "I forgot it was an illusion and tried to attack them. I lost control. Then the same old man spoke inside me again. He said it was not the right time. Everything vanished."
Kael looked directly at Ethan. "You said illusions show our subconscious. But I have never seen war. Or monsters. So those memories cannot be mine."
He pointed at his own head.
"They belong to the old ghost. I am convinced."
Ethan kept a calm face while his brain screamed.
"AIMI, is this the old-man-in-a-ring cliché? But Kael has no ring. Do not tell me it is old-man-in-underwear."
AIMI replied, "I have detected no foreign mana signature on his body. If you want, we can run an underwear scan just in case."
"No, thank you," Ethan whispered.
Lyra pulled Kael into a gentle hug. "It is alright. Whatever happened, we will seek answers. Tomorrow morning, we go to the Church of the Seven Gods."
Temari patted Kael's shoulder. "We will fix your ghost problem."
Kael nodded, relieved but still pale.
Outside, the crowd roared as another group stumbled out of the maze looking like they had aged several years. Tears in eyes, one boy screaming about being chased by giant chickens. Their illusions were clearly not as dramatic.
Marine Arkwright frowned at the magic crystals powering the maze.
The depletion was alarming.
Almost all the crystal energy was consumed during the illusions for the first four children. The others drained barely anything.
Her gaze slid to Ruth Dravencourt seated gracefully in the VIP area.
Shadow affinity. A rare one.
The Maze of Stars used a sophisticated manipulation of light, wind, temperature, illusions anchored in subconscious memories. Shadow magic likely clashed violently with the system, forcing excessive power consumption.
Her eyes sharpened.
"I must recruit that girl. No matter what." This way she can contribute to the Dreamcraft department and get some benefit for herself as well.
A total of 132 participants passed the second trial.
Marine declared its conclusion and permitted the remaining trapped students to be rescued manually. She announced the third trial would begin the day after tomorrow as the arenas will need some time to be set up.
A full day to rest.
Lyra gathered the children and returned to the villa at the edge of Fogward Town. On the way, Kael bought talismans, prayer beads, and a charm shaped like an onion.
Ethan whispered, "That onion better repel ghosts."
Kael whispered back, "Shut up, it gives good luck against negative energy."
After dinner, everyone retired to their rooms.
Ethan did not sleep.
He had a day.
One single day.
He asked the guards to carry crates into his workshop room.
The villa's workshop smelled faintly like burning metal and maybe also burning Ethan.
He wiped his hands and grinned at the crates stacked like technological treasure chests.
"Let us upgrade humanity."
AIMI projected the blueprints into his vision.
"Host, we have all required components. Proceeding with mark upgrades."
The Magitech Energy Core Mk II hummed inside its casing. Actually, five of them hummed. Ethan had never felt so rich.
Metal frames slid over his arms, clicking together with magnets and bolts.
Reinforced pistons lined the right gauntlet for hydraulic punch amplification.
"Warning," AIMI said, "right gauntlet requires two seconds to charge each punch. However, estimated impact force: enough to send a cow to lower orbit."
"Perfect," Ethan said, tightening a screw like he was arming a nuke.
The left gauntlet opened with a playful bzt-bzt crackle.
AIMI announced proudly,
"Introducing: Hand of Thor, mark three. A taser calibrated for 300 volts, 10 amps. Non-lethal for most species."
He attached two cylindrical launchers to his shoulders.
"What were those?" he asked AIMI.
"You designed them, Host. Smoke bomb launcher on right. Stinky bomb launcher on the left."
Ethan nodded solemnly. "The ultimate crowd control system."
Next: the boots. Heavy, reinforced springs built inside thick armor plates.
"Jump test," AIMI recommended.
Ethan hopped.
He launched straight into the ceiling.
BONK.
"I regret nothing," Ethan groaned from the floor.
AIMI floated a 👏 hologram just to be supportive.
They continued through the night.
Cables snaked across the workbench. A socket wrench clattered. Sparks danced across alloys as Aimi helped fine-tuning circuits.
"This would have taken me a decade without you," Ethan whispered.
"And now it only took eight reckless hours," AIMI said proudly.
A knock.
Temari peeked inside.
She saw Ethan adjusting shoulder weapons while yelling:
"No AIMI, if I increase amperage it might fry my entire circulatory system!"
"Yes. That is why I recommend not increasing it."
Temari stood frozen.
Ethan whirled around.
"Give me the flux input! Quickly!"
"W-who are you talking to?" Temari asked.
Ethan glanced at the air. "Her."
A beat of silence.
Temari slowly stepped back and closed the door.
Then sprinted away.
"Lady Lyra! Ethan is speaking to invisible spirits again!"
Lyra sipped tea without looking up.
"One thinks there is a ghost in his head, the other actually talks with one all day long. Sigh…As long as he is not summoning them, let him be."
Back in the workshop…
The suit was complete.
Gauntlets gleamed with too much ambition.
Boots promised broken physics.
Shoulder launchers whispered mischief.
Ethan put everything on.
Clank.
He took a step.
Clunk.
He hit a wall.
"This is fine," he grinned through pain. "Everything is fine."
Ethan raised his right gauntlet dramatically.
A sudden whump fired a tiny pressure blast.
A vase exploded.
Ethan froze.
"We never speak of that again."
Aimi saved footage to the blackmail folder.
The day of the Duel Trial arrived.
The arena buzzed with excitement. Children bragged about training. Nobles boasted about bloodlines. Scholars argued predictions.
Ethan clomped into the stadium in his iron boots and gauntlets, each step a loud metallic thunk.
Temari covered her face with both hands.
Kael poked the mechanisms. "What does this piston do? And that wire? Can I try it?"
"No," Ethan said.
Lyra stared with the look of a mother who was supportive but mentally questioning every life decision.
Ruth watched from a distance, eyes gleaming with interest.