Genius Chapter 153: We Won’t Bring Healers

Chapter 153: We Won’t Bring Healers

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

The Five Elements Palace’s five labyrinth regions each had strange buffs, and the arena’s victory condition was to eliminate the opponent. This move left everyone baffled—what was going on? Wasn’t this an arena match? Why was FireworksAndLanterns running away as soon as they met, especially after summoning so many creatures? Couldn’t they engage in a direct fight?

FirstUnderHeaven exclaimed, “Damn it. How come this team is so good at running away? Did they all get perfect scores in endurance tests or something?!”

“Really? Are the others also good at running?” SkilfulEmptyHand, who hadn’t been aware, continued, “Not to mention, FireworksAndLanterns not only ran but also controlled the bear to block CloudTraveller’s line of sight…”

FirstUnderHeaven asked, “Huh?”

“Don’t you get it?” SkilfulEmptyHand explained, “It means this was a planned retreat.”

FirstUnderHeaven said, “I’m not too interested in their running skills.”

The audience couldn’t help but start critiquing, and the two commentators even considered discussing the topic of running away in depth.

Only CloudTraveller, upon seeing this situation, quickly killed the summoner’s bear and asked his teammates, “From which direction did FireworksAndLanterns enter?”

“From the last door on the left front,” array master kawaii immediately responded.

CloudTraveller asked, “Is there a quicker route to block him?”

“Hold on,” kawaii said as they looked at FireworksAndLanterns’ position, “Let me check.”

In the center of the Five Elements Palace was a round platform with five doors. Their respective spawn points were inside two of these doors, leaving three more doors. Entering these would lead back into the labyrinth-like maze area with ever-changing buffs. Each area was like an intricately woven net, seemingly leading to either all paths being viable or all paths being dead ends. During the preparation period, kawaii had already mapped out the way out of the maze for CloudTraveller. However, now that kawaii was observing FireworksAndLanterns from the god’s perspective, they couldn’t quickly provide CloudTraveller with accurate directions.

“Kawaii?” CloudTraveller asked.

“It’s not right…” kawaii frowned slightly, “The maze has changed.”

The Grand Debate of the Realm was a team-based competitive event, and the arena had a complex, integrated format. Veiled Cloud Sanctuary had never underestimated the quest arena maps; they had paid close attention to the map scenarios in the previous rounds of the qualifying matches.

In a quest arena, there were primary and secondary aspects: the primary was player competition, and the secondary was environmental competition.

The arena had a two-hour time limit. The map could be complex, but methods were employed to reduce the complexity of the map from the side, aiming to meet the goals of player competition. For instance, in a maze-like terrain like the Five Elements Palace, which was a buff map, players in the arena relied on their teammates’ instructions to navigate the maze. Teammates had to give directions to players inside the maze from the complex labyrinth, fitting the team competition mechanism and enhancing player competitiveness while lowering some of the map’s difficulty.

But now it seemed that the Five Elements Palace maze was not as simple as they had imagined.

In the presence of so many people watching, the maze’s area obstacles had silently changed.

CloudTraveller frowned, “Is the maze changing continuously?”

“Possibly… but it’s somewhat similar to before. I noticed that a mirrored version of the maze you just traversed has appeared in the opposite area,” kawaii said with a heavy tone. “Ah Yun, the maze’s mechanism isn’t that simple. I might need some time to decipher the mechanism.”

CloudTraveller looked at the direction where FireworksAndLanterns had disappeared. “FireworksAndLanterns wasn’t intentionally running away.”

Kawaii then looked at the unmoving warrior in the center of the Five Elements Palace. “What do you mean?”

“The opposing commander is Momo. He’s testing the map mechanism of the Five Elements Palace,” CloudTraveller clarified.

“Give me directions. We need to kill FireworksAndLanterns immediately,” CloudTraveller said.

Compared to the tension in Veiled Cloud Sanctuary’s team voice chat, the advertising team was chattering away, updating FireworksAndLanterns on the situation.

“Little Firework’s running well!”

“CloudTraveller hasn’t caught up. He seems to be looking for a route.”

“Damn, I just looked again, and the maze really has changed.”

“The official had mentioned that the map difficulty would increase, but this difficulty is so much higher than what we faced with the Platform of Sorrow and Joy.”

[Elements of Yin and Yang (Overcoming): Metal, Wood, Earth, Water, Fire]

At this moment, a similar prompt suddenly appeared again in the arena. ScarletFruit immediately noticed the reminder, and the next second, FireworksAndLanterns said, “I’ve got a status effect. It’s the same as what I tested with my summons earlier. The status is green immobilization, also lasting 10 seconds.”

The teammates were surprised. FireworksAndLanterns had moved from the previous maze to this one to investigate other maze areas’ negative status buffs. The status in the area he had been in was slow movement, and he had tested the surrounding areas with his summons. Besides the debuff he had, the two adjacent areas had tested immobilization and defense reduction.

“Same type of buff?” Su Mo hesitated. “Can it be dispelled?”

“It can,” FireworksAndLanterns replied, standing still. He continued, “Is there a problem? Didn’t you say that the Five Elements could have five types of buffs? So far, we’ve encountered only four: slow movement, immobilization, defense reduction, and the possible bleeding debuff CloudTraveller discovered.”

Su Mo coughed softly and said in a hoarse voice, “That’s because the maze positions have shifted.”

ScarletFruit didn’t understand. “What do you mean? The maze has changed, but I didn’t notice the positions shifting. It seems like it doesn’t look quite the same.”

The other members of the advertising team were also puzzled. Logically, with five areas in the Five Elements maze, having five types of buffs would make more sense. Four types seemed a bit off and not quite complete. Furthermore, while they had noticed that the maze had changed, if it were a matter of position shifting, they should have been able to observe that as well.

Su Mo explained, “The maze’s positions have shifted with a mirroring effect, which is why it’s not immediately obvious. The positions of the buffs have also changed accordingly.”

Yu Zhen picked up on Su Mo’s explanation and continued, “The maze has changed, and the appearance of the same type of buff suggests that the buffs move with the maze’s positions. For instance, if Area A had an immobilization buff and then Area A moves to another location, the immobilization buff would move along with it.”

Su Mo’s gaze rested on the array master.

FireworksAndLanterns was confused. “This is too complicated. If the maze changes and the buffs follow suit, then our testing is essentially useless because it’s always changing.”

“So what we need to find is the sequence of its changes,” Su Mo said. “I need to confirm one thing. Run diagonally forward to the area where CloudTraveller started.”

At that moment, ScarletFruit shouted, “Not good, CloudTraveller has entered the maze to chase after Little Firework!”

FireworksAndLanterns exclaimed, “I’ve already left the center. Why is CloudTraveller still coming to kill me? Isn’t he testing the mechanics? Isn’t he worried about getting lost in the maze?”

CloudTraveller aimed to finish the match quickly.

Su Mo watched the warrior’s movements and calmly directed, “Turn left at the diagonal junction, then right, and continue straight.”

Veiled Cloud Sanctuary had formidable strength, and with CloudTraveller as the strategist, it was evident that their team was testing the mechanism based on FireworksAndLanterns’ actions. They had decided to eliminate FireworksAndLanterns first after estimating their own exploration speed, knowing that once FireworksAndLanterns was defeated, the advertising team would be unable to continue exploring the mechanism.

In the quest map of the arena, the primary competition was combat, and the central platform, free of buffs and mazes, was the ideal battleground. Therefore, the system provided players with multiple competitive approaches: either to emerge from the maze and settle the fight on the central platform or to understand the maze’s mechanism and use buffs for protection. While debuffs were detrimental, they also offered opportunities to avoid attacks. Since Veiled Cloud Sanctuary couldn’t outmatch the Advertising team in firepower, understanding the mechanism could turn the arena map into their natural advantage.

CloudTraveller was concerned about this. He knew their ability to decipher the mechanism might not be as fast as their opponents. Hence, he wanted to force his opponents to give up on exploring and engage in direct combat on the central platform.

The scene abruptly turned into a maze chase. CloudTraveller dashed into the maze, pursuing FireworksAndLanterns with clear intent to eliminate him. FireworksAndLanterns ran almost non-stop, not daring to pause for a moment. In terms of stamina, he couldn’t match the warrior CloudTraveller, and in combat, it was a close fight. If caught, he would be forced into battle.

The maze was still marked with the elemental themes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

FireworksAndLanterns finally entered the maze area where CloudTraveller had started. When the reminder popped up again, he noticed that the debuff on him had changed to slow, identical to the original buff he had encountered. He exclaimed, “Blue slow.”

His teammates were astonished. The debuff had randomly changed; it had been a blood loss effect earlier, so why had it become a slow effect now?

Su Mo smiled slightly at this. “Good.”

FireworksAndLanterns asked, “Should I keep running forward?”

Su Mo replied, “Stay in this maze and lead him in circles.”

FireworksAndLanterns was confused, “Huh? Can we really outmaneuver him?”

“Their array master should also be calculating the maze,” Su Mo said, calmly observing the maze scene. His sense of direction was sharp, and due to his experience with experimental models, he was highly sensitive to changes in the layout. The mirroring effect was just a matter of repositioning in his mind. When FireworksAndLanterns mentioned the blue slow debuff, Su Mo understood part of the mechanism, but more data was needed for confirmation.

However, before that, Su Mo knew they couldn’t let CloudTraveller’s team benefit from the situation. He needed to find a way to keep them in the same maze.

The elemental theme in the maze shifted from the “counter” attributes to the “beneficial” attributes.

Su Mo noticed the change and saw the new prompt indicating that the maze had switched from counter attributes to beneficial ones.

FireworksAndLanterns suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Wait, I just got a new status effect. It’s a yellow buff that increases defense. But earlier, yellow was a debuff that reduced defense.”

Upon hearing this, Su Mo immediately sat up straight, his gaze showing certainty. “I think this map might have 10 different buffs.”

Watermelon asked, “What do you mean? More than 5 buffs!?”

Apple added, “Wow, so the map not only changes buffs but also the maze itself?”

Cantaloupe commented, “This is getting complicated. CloudTraveller is chasing so aggressively. His PvP and PvE playstyles seem completely different.”

Watermelon replied, “Well, warriors can be fierce too. A warrior like Bitter Melon who gives up killing is already a rare breed!”

ClearWind said, “It’s not just rare; Bitter Melon is the only one of his kind.”

FireworksAndLanterns asked, “So what should I do?”

Su Mo instructed, “Keep running, release your summons, and report the situation to me.”

With the order to continue running, FireworksAndLanterns had no choice but to comply. The chase within the maze turned into a circular pursuit, lasting over ten minutes in the scene.

[Seriously? Can’t you just fight it out in the center?]

[Are they really going to run for two hours? Do they have the stamina for that?]

[I’m dying of laughter. Is this how high-level matches go? FireworksAndLanterns is making a fool of himself!]

“It’s not necessarily the case,” said SkilfulEmptyHand. “The maze map is complex. Veiled Cloud Sanctuary wants a quick resolution, but the Advertising team is clearly trying to test the mechanism.”

Gradually, the audience also noticed the issue.

With multiple changes in the maze, strange occurrences happened. Despite both sides moving, they often passed through walls as if the two commanders were countering each other within the maze.

“I can’t believe he still hasn’t caught up…”

“The commander was too impressive; the maze scene was changing, and their commander’s instructions could respond so quickly?”

FirstUnderHeaven frowned, “No, CloudTraveller would occasionally stop, but FireworksAndLanterns hadn’t stopped at all…” A strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart, as if the Advertising team’s commander had completely understood the maze… No way, this was a changing maze; they couldn’t keep up with it from outside. How did momo respond so quickly?!

When the prompt sounded again in the venue—

SkilfulEmptyHand suddenly said, “FireworksAndLanterns has changed direction; he’s looking for CloudTraveller.”

The usually fleeing FireworksAndLanterns rarely changed direction and headed straight towards CloudTraveller. After running several times, his mana had recovered to 70%, and he had a few summoned creatures with him. He quickly charged towards CloudTraveller and engaged in a fierce battle at the intersection.

The first move was made by FireworksAndLanterns; he took advantage of the maze’s changing gap and stealthily approached CloudTraveller. Using his summoned creatures, he immediately started a 1v1 duel with him. The skirmish came suddenly and violently. The narrow maze path provided a control area for the summoner but also restricted his movement space.

CloudTraveller, as expected of a battle-hardened warrior, was able to quickly respond and counterattack even when facing the summoner’s advantage. After clearing the summoner’s two main control summons, he immediately rushed forward to close the gap with FireworksAndLanterns, using melee tactics to regain his health advantage.

The battle lasted 4 minutes, and in the end, CloudTraveller won with a 5% health advantage.

Veiled Cloud Sanctuary took the first game. But CloudTraveller didn’t feel the joy of victory; his face instead looked a bit grim. “We lost the initiative.”

FireworksAndLanterns had lost the direct attack but, in a sense, they had won.

They had successfully broken the mechanism and gained the initiative for the entire match.

There was no hint of disappointment in the Advertising team’s voice chat; the loss didn’t affect them at all, and they remained lively and cheerful.

FireworksAndLanterns left the stage with a smile, “It’s a pity; I couldn’t beat him. CloudTraveller is indeed too strong.”

“He’s always good at taking advantage of the timing,” Yu Zhen said, rarely offering praise. “You did well this round.”

FireworksAndLanterns laughed and said, “I told you not to worry.”

Yu Zhen slightly turned his ear, his gaze stopping on Momo’s ID. Amidst the discussion among teammates, there was occasionally the sound of Su Mo’s voice, as if he were always nearby.

Listening to the teammates’ discussion in the voice chat, Su Mo held the handkerchief Yu Zhen had given him and wiped his nose.

There was no bleeding… The fever had subsided today, and he hadn’t had a nosebleed. Wrapped in a blanket, his peripheral vision remained on the array master in the scene. It was better to finish quickly so they could have lunch together.

ScarletFruit said, “Brother, didn’t we figure out the mechanism? If we let Little Firework use the mechanism, maybe we can win.”

“That would give them a chance,” Su Mo coughed quietly and, with narrowed eyes and a nonchalant tone, said, “Only by catching them off guard can we attack their unpreparedness.”

The longer it dragged on, the easier it would be for the opponents to spot the problem. Knowing when to quit, sometimes losing a match could put even more pressure on the opponent.

After the first round ended, the discussion in the live broadcast room only increased. Both commentators began analyzing and comparing the states of the two teams. Veiled Cloud Sanctuary had won a match, and the atmosphere was tense, while the Advertising team, despite losing, looked quite pleased. It was truly puzzling.

SkilfulEmptyHand asked in confusion, “They’re happy even after losing. Is this finding joy in adversity?”

“They’ve always been quite odd,” FirstUnderHeaven said, not sure if it was due to the commentators’ prolonged focus on their match, but seeing their behavior gave him a strange premonition. “Looking at them like this, I have a bad feeling.”

SkilfulEmptyHand asked curiously, “What kind of premonition?”

FirstUnderHeaven said, “I just have a feeling that they’re going to use some bizarre lineup.”

Soon, a new match format was refreshed on the battlefield.

— [3v3].

Yu Zhen asked, “Which lineup should we go with?”

Su Mo replied, “Brother, choose the third one.”

The teammates weren’t familiar with the late-submission lineup options, so Watermelon actively inquired, “What’s the third lineup?”

“Chopper Squad,” Su Mo said. “We won’t be bringing any healers.”