Reluctant to Let Go

Could it be that only by reaching the Warp speed of a Peak Level 4 Civilization could they leave this Rhomboid Lattice Maze? Or perhaps only then would they be qualified to truly enter the Small Universe and obtain what the Precursor had left behind?

A maze, and a speed hint—there seemed to be no other possibility. It was simply too obvious.

But if that were the case, wouldn't any civilization that had mastered the travel speed of a Peak Level 4 Civilization be able to enter, immediately reach the Small Universe, and obtain what the Precursor had left behind?

Then what was the point of this test? Why not simply open it exclusively to Peak Level 4 Civilizations? Why bother with Drift Bottles and maze trials?

If searching for data tested a civilization's intelligence and computing power, then what did thirty-eight times the speed of light test?

And looking at it another way, only a Level 4 Civilization could find the answer. In other words, the minimum requirement for receiving the inheritance was Level 4 Civilization status. This would inevitably cause any civilization that encountered a Drift Bottle without reaching Level 4 Civilization to become trapped in the maze, unable to find a way out, and ultimately die inside.

For example, if a Level 3 Civilization arrived here, once it entered the maze, it would absolutely be unable to leave. There were not enough resources here for it to build an Astronomical-Level Particle Collider. Without advancing to Level 4 Civilization, it would never be able to escape, much less obtain the inheritance.

How was that any different from a trap?

Was this meant to tell low-level civilizations that obtained the key how dangerous the universe was? To tell them so at the cost of risking their civilizations' destruction?

Or