The Grid Maze

"Why?" Lucinelle questioned, still doubtful. 

Aleandro stared at Lucinelle who gave a lackluster response to him. "… I wasn't informed. But I'm taking the two of you regardless." Displeased with the disregard of respect, the barrier lifted both of them.

The two swordmaiden's in turn drew their sword and tried to break free. The barrier cracked under the strikes a few times, but would quickly be restored under Aleandro's gaze.

At some point, Serika inhaled deeply and expelled a dark light aura, piercing through the barrier, Lucinelle followed up with a series of slashes to widen the barrier, traced with faint green light.

They both dashed out at the same time, only to land in a soft ground, submerged up to their waist. However, they didn't attack, as the familiar magic brought a familiar voice.

"Oh my, these two cuties are still as doubtful as ever."

At some point, another instructor had come. Serika and Lucinelle turned to the woman who had just arrived. 

They flinched upon seeing her, especially Serika. Had this been any time apart from wearing their dark armor, they would've cheerfully rushed over and hugged her.

"Instructor Celine. You are late." But the other instructor wasn't so pleased.

"Yes, Aleandro. I had a good sleep last night, so I inevitably slept for an extra few minutes."

"… You are two hours late. I had to preside over all of the entrants over your negligence."

"I see! Aleandro sure is capable, hmm?"

"This will be deducted in your performance rating and pay."

"Ehhh!? No waaayyy! That's so mean Aleandro!"

"Sis, it's miss Celine!" While the two instructors bickered, Serika, nudged Lucinelle who was also slightly perturbed. "Shh, Seri. Were on duty." She was a figure they missed. 

Just like any other prospects of various families, the two of them were no different. Sponsored by the Duke's household, they entered the academy to learn and strengthen themselves. 

Back when they were still student's, Celine was an instructor who helped them in various ways and acted as their guardian. Protecting them from those who sought to destroy their reputation and bring them down from the rankings.

The said miss Celine stopped arguing with Aleandro and turned her eyes towards the two girls. She took out a colorful stuff decorated with what seemed to be a cat's head at the tip. 

"Ey!" The two girls got ejected from the ground as her staff emitted magic circle with a strange color of pink that passed through them. With that, their armor's got turned into furred clothes with stomach exposed, matching cat ears and paws.

"Gyaa! Miss Celine! Noo!"

"Ghk!"

Serika screamed in fright, shivering as she recalled the days when they were punished to walk in this embarrassing outfit. Lucinelle grunted, but took it silently as her face reddened.

"You two are still the same kittens as before hehe, so lively."

"Miss Celine, I have been tasked to take them to the headmas—"

"Yes, yes, Alea. Let's do that later, I have something to say to these students of mine."

"Alea… Please refrain from referring to me as such…" Aleandro with his veins bulging and brows twitching complained.

"Okay! If you say so! In the meantime, wait until out conversation is over okay?" This time, Miss Celine's gaze was a bit more serious as she spoke. "There's still some time until the examination is done anyways. I'm just going to do my duty as an instructor. These two unpolished gems finally came back in our academy after all,"

"… Do as you wish." Sighing, Aleandro gave up. He could just take the two girls later. At that Celine expressed her gratitude before facing the students.

"So, you two. What's with leaving the academy and your studies behind, hm?" Behind that sweet smile was something both the swordmaidens feared. They didn't want to risk being turned into puppet dolls for a whole week again.

The sense of hunger, sleep and relieving oneself was all taken away. They had to adjust to normal life for a few days after that.

"Miss Celine we…" This time it was Serika who spoke. Lucinelle was never good with answering questions and kept her mouth shut.

…

As the two swordmaidens were caught in a predicament of their own, Xian found himself in a room. Perfectly gray, with four walls, one roof and a ground to stand on. His things were gone, even the hidden weapons in his body. 

Only his clothe's remained. Around him were scattered weapons and supplies.

'So it's this one. The Grid Maze.' It was literally as he said. A maze that works like a grid, where you can choose any of the four direction. But no exit will be found even if you walk straight. Instead, you will be stuck in an endless loop.

From the supplies, he got a potion each for HP and MP. He chose to pick the longsword as a weapon and daggers as backup weapon tucked and hidden behind his back. But he didn't stop and took a hammer with him too.

Once he was done, a note hovered in front of him.

It was the list of rules as follows.

Find the exit within two hours

No killing or fighting fellow Entrants

Use of magic is allowed as long as the maze isn't destroyed

Failure to comply or find the exit is equivalent to failing the exam and participation for the next round of tests is forfeited regardless of expenses.

'They really had to elaborate on the expenses part.' As far as Xian is concerned, the academy loved money so much it's crazy. They will exploit nobles for as long as they can milk them.

'Well, the money are always well spent.' Besides, it wasn't his money anyways.

Xian began to walk while thinking. To get out of the grid maze, there is a certain pattern one must follow. He purposely took wrong turns for the first few minutes in order to not appear suspicious.

'I need to start thinking about my own money.' If he's going to stay in this world for a long time, he had to gather money even if he can regress. He couldn't always rely on the Duke's household or Carmillia. 

While his salary as her butler is plenty, it won't be enough to support his stat doping plan and activities.

'I can't believe I have the same problem to solve as those regressors in the novels I read…' Like any regression protagonist, he had to ensure a steady funding first. Luckily, with his game experience, he knew just who to approach.

After one turn, the room had changed. It now had a soil instead of solid rock, with some walls made of rough stone. As the room changes, meant he's going in the right direction. And when that happens.

"There you are."

Small summons as monsters are encountered. They gave an abysmally low exp and didn't have much effect, but they attacked and swarmed aggressively.

'Cube slimes' Xian smirked at the absurd mob before him. This was a really bad prank by the devs.

At first these harmless little creatures appeared in the maze. But after the fourth room change, it becomes a cluster fuck of swarms of different monsters that took more effort to get rid of.

He realized that he's going to blitz the maze if he didn't want to deal with all those useless monsters. They only took energy and didn't give anything anyways. They just existed to tire out dumb entrants and distract them. 

The real challenge was reaching the seventh type of room. There was a chance he'd get first but… who cares? He could use the reputation a bit in the future.

Xian recalled his knowledge about the maze. Since someone might be watching, he deliberately stood in front of random directions for a while before proceeding with the correct one. 

It wasn't much, but it served as an honest enough disguise, lest the instructors think he was cheating. Gradually, the room began to change. The soil turned to lush grass, vines crept up the walls, and the ceiling morphed into a fake blue sky.

Although, there was another thing he had to be careful of.

"Oh-ho! What light through yonder hallway breaks?"

Encountering other entrants.

"Aha! Another valiant challenger! Praise the stars, for I feared I had wandered this cursed labyrinth alone!"

She was a girl he didn't want anything to do with.

"Good sir! Might I inquire, what region of this twisting realm do we find ourselves in? Mine path hath become naught but a spiraling torment!"

'This is crazy.' Xian grimaced, he wanted to slap the protagonist for being too slow. His expression have no effect on this obnoxious girl before him.

He remembered that one of the heroine's scenes occurred in the Grid Maze. One of his curious playthrough and it made him press Alt F4 eventually.

A hopeless heroine when it came to direction and only knew brute force. Only the protagonist could save her in the Grid Maze.

Ruminaria, from the 'Hero's Village'. She was here, perhaps due to her high luck stat that he remembered, but the protagonist was nowhere to be found.

'Maybe meeting me was also part of her luck…' It wouldn't be impossible to think of it that way.

"Art thou deafened, good sir? Shall I raise my voice and cry out into this maze most cruel?"

"No. Don't speak."

She made muffled sounds with one hand clapped over her mouth, while the other gestured in frantic, theatrical mimicry.

'What the hell.' Xian thought. He didn't understand why she took him seriously, but he moved on anyway.

Upon entering the next room, he noticed the girl had followed him.

'Tsk. Is she getting second with me?'

"Haaah! Mine breath dwindles… but please, forgive this gallant soul! For silence is a mighty task, most valiant stranger!"

She gasped, hands on her hips like she'd just run a battlefield lap.

"Ah! A most grievous error I've committed—forgetting to ask thy noble name! What appellation doth my rescuer bear, brave knight of these sacred halls?"

"Hmm? The room doth shift again! That meaneth I treadeth the righteous path beside my benefactor!"

"Ohh! Leave these vile creatures to me, that I may repay thy gallant favor, noble stranger!"

Finally, after a series of lively reactions, the distracted wench saw the swarm of small monsters and rushed at them. Xian took the chance to shake her off.

Once again, he encountered a heroine he wasn't familiar with. She was even the last one in his list and the one he didn't like the most. Just the way she talked with her high pitched and exaggerated tone was grinding on his ears.

'Good luck with you, Hero's descendant. May we never cross paths again.' He might actually take measures not to cross paths to her specifically later on.

'That protagonist needs to up his game.' He blamed the protagonist for taking too long to find Ruminaria.

…

'Hm? We have our first finisher?' A professor who wore glasses and had a thick square beard looked over the book he's reading.

'Who's this guy?' He failed to recognize Xian, who wasn't any of the top anticipated entrants this year. He's also not in the secret dark horse candidates list he painstakingly acquired.

"Name?"

"Xian."

"Hmm. There, participant number 879. You may proceed to the next examination grounds."

"Don't I need to wait for the others?" Xian asked just in case. Since in the game, after an exam, there's usually a gathering and possible scenes.

"No? Why would you do that?"

"… Alright then." Recalling that Ruminaria might catch up to him, he went to the next examination grounds.

Later on, the second finisher has come. The professor felt her presence but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Remove your tricks, so that I can record you."

Slowly, a girl was unveiled with half lidded eyes, wearing a blue ornate robe with runes.

'Now that's what I'm talking about.' The professor recognized this student as one of the special individuals. He took out two booklets, one to write in and one as reference.

'Top 4 eh? She's quite high up there.' He was looking at the list on his person once again.

'But in terms of strength… She's top 3? Hoh.'

"Participant 14. You may proceed with the second examination. Or, stay there should you somehow want to…"

She passed by him yawning and disappeared. He didn't mind the rudeness much and was about to read his books again when another participant came, panting.

"Hah, hah, I made it." After breathing, she noticed the professor and jumped on her feet. "Am I first!?" One moment, she's catching her breath, the other, she excitedly asked her standing.

'Top 7 contender… she came 3rd huh?'

"Third."

"What!?" her shoulders limped down as she cursed internally. Her perfect streak was broken and two others went ahead already.

"Ah! This won't do, sir, I'm going to the second examination right away!"

"Ah yes, just go through that door…" Not even finished with speaking, the girl dashed away, leaving dust in her wake.

"Candidate number 7. Third place…" He muttered writing the results.