Two extinguished braziers hung on the wall.
Gnaeus stopped in his tracks, seeming to realize they were a clue.
It was hard to imagine that the very first trial had trapped the three of them for two hours.
"..."
Yan Huan slowly rose from the ground, dusted off his clothes, and frowned.
"Seriously, it's this hard?"
He looked disdainfully at Gnaeus, who was still grunting as he hauled boulders in the distance.
"You're even slower than Phainon. At this rate, aren't we doomed?"
During the trial, they could neither eat nor heal their wounds.
Getting held up by a puzzle alone was practically a death sentence.
At first, seeing him daring to enter the festival alone, Yan Huan had thought he was something special.
"Cut the nonsense..."
Gnaeus shot Yan Huan a glance.
"If you can do it, then you do it."
Naturally, Yan Huan would not rise to such provocation.
As a Nameless, mechanisms of this level were no more than pebbles on the Trailblaze—easy enough to deal with.
"No. This is your punishment for running your mouth, friend."
"Because of one thing you said, Castorice and I could die here."
"Hmph... coward."
After insulting Yan Huan, Gnaeus continued studying the puzzle.
It took him a full four hours to open the door to the first trial.
"Let's go."
He turned back and finally spoke to Yan Huan and Castorice, who had been idling nearby.
"I understand. You did not come for this foolish contest."
"That young lady has been suppressing the dark tide within her all this time. There is no need for that."
"You have no interest in the false glory fabricated by that mediocre king. I have no intention of asking about your goals, but these trials are simply too time-consuming..."
"Why don't we put aside