Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

The other entrants weren't as fast as Derot and Black, but they were newbies to the game. Even without knowing what they were doing, the games ended soon. Zach wasn't surprised to see Nessa and Violina win against their opponents. He also wasn't surprised to see Oria win. Find your next adventure on empire

When he thought about all of the matchups, it almost seemed rigged. Nessa and Violina, who were both smart, strategic thinkers, and who had been heavily involved in the second Trial against the twins who hadn't done much of anything during their adventure in the Labyrinth.

Oria, an accomplished mage from a renowned household against Jones, a no-name, potentially muscle-headed swordsman. And Derot, the son of a reputable merchant household with a history of producing great merchants against the son of a pirate.

Of course, based on how he had stomped Black, it seemed Derot would have won against anyone. But it seemed like all the four winners had been favored. It was like the Labyrinth wanted the best four to advance instead of pitting them against each other and letting a sub-par entrant move on to the next round.

[Five remaining entrants confirmed. Trial (9/12) complete. Determining next Trial. Trial (10/12) set. Preparing…]

The tables and chairs sank into the ground. Zach reacted in time so that he didn't end up on his behind and embarrassed himself. Then, the furniture was replaced with five new tables. Zach and the other entrants were shuffled over to their respective workbench-like tables as five different objects appeared on each of them.

The five fruit-like objects were lined up in front of a set of scales. There was also a kitchen knife next to the fruits.

[Cut each object in equal halves.]

After all the Trials that required perseverance, wit, and skill, the tenth Trial was to cut fruit? Zach wasn't the only one in disbelief. The other Trials had been pretty clear about what they were testing.

Was the tenth Trial testing their ability to split things equally? Was having siblings something the Labyrinth of Syst valued highly?

Since he had siblings, Zach considered doing the Trial himself. But then he remembered who his siblings were.

They would cut off a corner of an apple, give him the rest, and, with straight faces, tell him their part was just denser. Or, they would give him the corner and take the rest of themselves saying it wasn't as big of a difference as it looked.

Zach was not confident in his ability to split things precisely in half. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who could do it.

His familiars were part of his strength. He looked at Yanael and Alzara. Yanael was a knight, and her sword was precise. But for something like this that took a dagger and scales…

"You can do this, right?" He asked Alzara.

She nodded, almost a little offended that he had to ask. She was an expert at using daggers, and daggers were basically the same as knives. She was also an alchemist. For some potions, the ingredients had to be precise down to the smallest grain of fine sand. Splitting a fruit in half was too easy.

Alzara quickly finished the five objects. Ten equal halves were lined up in front of the scales. She didn't need the scales to confirm what she already knew. But the scales were needed to complete the Trial. So, she weighed the objects and, as expected, all of them were perfectly equal.

One by one, the other entrants also finished.

Oria had used magic to assess and cut the objects in half. Violina had frozen the objects and through her mastery over ice, determined how to cut them in half in order to make it perfectly equal.

Nessa and Derot…Failed.

They did their best, but their best wasn't enough. Their skills and luck that had brought them to the tenth Trial were not enough to bring them to the eleventh.

It was a disgusting feeling. After everything they had been through, the one thing that stumped their journey through the Labyrinth of Syst was their inability to cut fruits in perfect halves.

It wasn't quite like they had been through hell or any other great suffering. The other Trials could have been worse. But they had been stressed, and they had been in trouble on multiple occasions. They had struggled to get where they were, and they had risked their lives. More than a dozen people had died.

Since they had failed a Trial that wasn't dangerous, Nessa and Derot wouldn't die. But with their current emotions, it was easy to say that they would have rather died than fail at such a ridiculous Trial.

But they could only complain a little before the Labyrinth booted them the same way it had done with Black, leaving Zach, Violina, and Oria.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[Three remaining entrants confirmed. Trial (10/12) complete. Determining next Trial. Preparing…]

Before Zach could exchange a single word with Violina about the failure of their friend, they were all shut off in their own cube-like rooms again. The workbenches with fruit, scales, and the knife disappeared into the ground only to be replaced by a desk and chair with pen and paper on top.

[Write something.]

Zach looked around just to confirm that this was it.

The eleventh Trial was to write something.

It was disgustingly ridiculous. It was even worse than the last Trial. It was even more arbitrary. It was loose. It was unclear.

'It is perfect!'

Zach enthusiastically sat down and grabbed the pen.

He had been waiting for a chance to complain about the Labyrinth. Since the Trial was to write something, the Labyrinth had to read or otherwise assess what they read to determine whether they should pass or fail.

Naturally, Zach wanted to pass. He hadn't thought the Syst Labyrinth would be this easy, so he might as well try to clear it.

But it wasn't as important as voicing his complaints regarding the Labyrinth. Even if just to vent his frustrations, he had to write it down.