Black Faction
The female Player at the front took the brunt of the impact. Even after using a Defense Artifact to absorb the force, she was still thrown back more than ten meters, landing behind Xu Huo and Big Tiger, who were moving at a slower pace.
"This is the little surprise?" Big Tiger asked, dodging the Mutated Plants' attacks. "They're way too dense. Can any wall just open up into a giant one?"
"Is there anything special about the first card?" Xu Huo asked as he watched a vine branch lash toward them. "Can we open one anywhere?"
"Of course the first card is concentrated near the entrance," Big Tiger said. "What if someone else opens a good card?"
A "good card" referred to the effects described in the fifth and sixth rules of the game.
The twelve face cards let Players enter the nearest correct passage. That was equivalent to choosing the right route outright and skipping the initial trial-and-error stage.
The fifth and sixth rules stood alongside each other, implying that some of the other numbered cards had effects similar to the face cards that could help Players clear the game.
So the sooner you grabbed a card, the greater your chance of getting a good one.
As he spoke, Big Tiger casually touched the passage beside him. A huge "17" appeared, along with the Black Faction.
Of the three walls they could reach in their current passage, Big Tiger had triggered one. The first Player to go had triggered the wall visible around the bend ahead, as well as another maze wall in the passage, which had produced a Mutated Plant. That meant Xu Huo and the two remaining Players could only trigger their first cards after they passed the first bend.
The other male Player