Entering the Labyrinth

I woke before dawn. I opened my eyes and stared at a crack in the ceiling for a while. Today, we were entering the labyrinth.

I rolled over and sat up, reaching for the nameless sword beside the low table. The scabbard was icy cold against my fingertips. I strapped the sword to my waist, put on my boots, and tightened my belt.

When I stepped out of the inn, the sky was just beginning to turn gray. The desert was much cooler in the early morning than during the day. The air smelled dry and sandy, mixed with moisture drifting over from the distant oasis.

Paul was already standing outside the inn. He wore a light set of leather armor, with his magic-enchanted sword at his waist. He nodded when he saw me come out.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

He said nothing more. But I noticed his right hand kept touching his sword hilt, letting go, then touching it again.

Paul was nervous. His wife was inside the labyrinth, so of course he was nervous.

Roxy came over from another direction. She was still wearing her khaki robe, her hat pulled low. She carried her staff in her hand, and the magic stone at its tip glimmered faintly in the morning light.

"Where are Elinalise and Talhand?" I asked.

"They're already at the city gate," Roxy said. "As for Geese, he's gone ahead to scout the entrance. He isn't much of a fighter, but he's an excellent scout."

Paul took a deep breath and clapped his hands. "Let's get going too."

We set out east from Rapan City and walked for about an hour along a dirt road carved out by wagon wheels. The hard earth beneath our feet gave way to fine sand again. The sun rose higher and higher, and heat climbed up from the soles of our feet. Rudeus walked in the middle of the group, occasionally drawing a few simple magic circles on the ground with his hand to cool the people around him.

The entrance to the Teleportation Labyrinth appeared on the far side of a dune.

"Entrance" wasn't quite the right word. It looked more like part of the dune had caved in, exposing a stone door half-buried in the sand. The door was about two meters tall and a meter and a half wide, its surface covered in densely packed patterns, some of them too weathered to make out. There were plenty of footprints in the sand around the doorframe, some old and some fresh.

Geese was crouching beside the stone door with a carefree grin on his face.

"Boss, I've checked the entrance. The monsters on the first floor aren't all that strong, mostly gargoyles and giant tarantulas. But there are teleportation traps starting on the second floor. Step on the wrong tile and you'll be teleported somewhere at random. I say we hurry through the first floor and don't dawdle down there."

Rudeus walked up to the stone door and pressed his hand against its surface. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked back at us.

"There's a faint trace of mana left on the door. We should be able to get in if we push it open."

Paul glanced at me. I nodded, went to the front, and drew my sword.

The sound of the blade leaving its scabbard rang out clearly in the early morning desert.

"Rudeus, stay behind me," I said.

Paul drew his sword, Roxy raised her staff, Elinalise pulled her rapier from her waist, and Talhand hoisted his enormous shield onto his shoulder and gave a muffled grunt.

Geese slipped into the shadows beside the stone door and vanished in an instant, scouting ahead.

I took a deep breath and pushed hard against the stone door.

The door was heavy. I braced my shoulder against it, and it slowly opened inward with a dull grinding sound. Cold, damp air poured out from inside, carrying an indescribable stench of decay.

I stepped into the labyrinth.

It was much darker inside than out. Glowing moss on the stone walls cast a dim green light, barely enough to see the path underfoot. Rudeus used magic to make a few light sources, and only then could we see a little more clearly. Rudeus was as reliable as ever. The passage wasn't wide, just enough for two people to walk side by side. Stone slabs covered the floor, some broken to reveal the black soil beneath. The air was damp and cold, a completely different world from the desert outside.

Dark, damp, and smelling of rot. So this was the first floor of the Teleportation Labyrinth.

I heard Rudeus's voice behind me. He murmured something, and then I felt the ground beneath my feet tremble slightly. A thin layer of mana spread from the soles of his feet, covering the stone floor for several meters around us.

"Any spot on the ground with mana left on it is a trap," he said. "I'll keep the ground covered with mana. If you feel resistance when you step down, don't step on that slab."

"Got it," I said.

We followed the passage forward. Geese's shadow occasionally flickered around a corner ahead, then vanished again. He moved quickly, like a fish swimming in the dark.

After about ten minutes, the passage split in two. Geese poked his head around a corner in the left passage and gave us a gesture to signal that it was safe.

We turned into the left passage. Fewer than twenty steps later, I heard a sound.

It was faint, the sound of stone scraping against stone, coming from about thirty meters ahead.

I tightened my grip on my sword hilt.

Three sand lizards crawled out from behind a corner in the passage. They were a little over a meter long, with gray skin covered in fine, dense scales and four short legs that kept them low to the ground. Their mouths were long, packed with sharp teeth that gleamed coldly in the dark green light.

They saw us and paused. Then all three sped up at once and charged.

I was the first to rush forward.

The first sand lizard leaped into the air at my face. I dodged sideways and swung my sword up from below. The blade slashed across its belly, cutting a long gash. The lizard hit the ground, its organs sliding out through the wound. It twitched twice and went still.

The second and third lunged at me from either side at the same time. I pushed off with my right foot and spun left, sweeping my blade horizontally and cutting halfway through the head of the one on the left. Then I used the momentum of my spin to thrust backhanded through the throat of the one on the right.

"Tch! They're a lot weaker than the ones on the Demon Continent." I flicked the blood off my sword and glanced back.

Paul was standing where he had been, his sword still raised, but there was nothing left for him to do. The tip of Roxy's staff was still glowing, and she looked like she had just been about to cast a spell. Rudeus wore a wry smile.

Roxy looked at me for a few seconds, then turned to Paul.

"Miss Eris is much more reliable than you, Mr. Paul."

Paul's mouth twitched, and he looked a little displeased. "Roxy, do you have to compare me to someone else every time?"

"It's just the truth."

Paul grunted and said no more. But I saw the corners of his mouth lift. It wasn't a smile, but it wasn't quite a wry smile either.

We continued on. The passage grew narrower, and in some places it was so low I had to bend over to get through. The moss on the stone walls grew thicker, and the green light grew brighter. The smell of decay in the air became stronger, mixed with a damp, musty odor.

After another twenty minutes or so, we reached the end of the passage.

A massive stone door blocked our way. It was much bigger than the one at the entrance, about three meters tall and two meters wide. Its surface was covered in densely packed magic circle patterns that glimmered faintly blue in the dark green light.

Rudeus stepped forward and pressed his hand against the door. He closed his eyes for a moment, then frowned.

"There's a teleportation magic circle on the door," he said. "If we push it open, we'll be teleported to another location in the labyrinth at random."

"What do you mean?" Paul asked.

"Exactly what he said." Roxy stepped forward and traced the patterns on the door with her finger. "Yes, this is a teleportation magic circle. Anyone who steps on it or pushes the door will be teleported to another location in the labyrinth at random. It could be some corner of the first floor, or the third or fourth floor... If we're unlucky, we could land right in the middle of a pack of monsters."

"Then how do we get through?"

"Hmm... We need a key." Roxy ran her finger around the edge of the magic circle. "Teleportation magic circles like this usually have a corresponding device to deactivate them, commonly known as a 'key.' We can generally find it in a nearby branch passage. If we put the key into the slot in the door, that should deactivate the magic circle."

"What does the key look like?"

"They vary. But it's usually an object made of stone or metal, marked with the corresponding magic circle pattern. It won't be very big, about the size of a palm."

Paul looked at us, then at the stone door.

"All right, let's go back and look."

We turned around and retraced our steps. Geese squeezed out of a crack in the side of the passage, an "I knew it" expression on his face.

"Boss, we passed a turn back there. There's a branch passage past the second corner on the left. I didn't get a chance to explore it, but the key's probably over there."

"Let's go," Paul said.

We turned into the branch passage Geese had mentioned. It was narrower and darker than the main passage, with only scattered patches of moss on the stone walls. Rudeus formed another ball of light above his palm to light the way, its pale yellow glow bouncing around the narrow passage.

I walked at the front, sword in hand.

The passage twisted through several turns. The moss on the stone walls grew sparser until it had almost disappeared. We had to rely on the ball of light in Rudeus's hand to see.

After about ten minutes, the passage split in two again. Geese slipped into the one on the right and came back out a few seconds later.

"Boss, this one's a dead end."

We turned into the passage on the left. It grew narrower and narrower until I could only get through sideways. The stone walls were icy and damp against my arms, cold enough to make me shiver.

After going a little farther, we reached the end of the passage. There was a small stone chamber. A stone pedestal stood in the center, with a palm-sized stone slab resting on it. The slab was carved with a magic circle pattern identical to the one on the stone door.

"Found it." Roxy stepped forward, picked up the slab, and turned it over to examine it. "Yes, this is it. The pattern matches the one on the door exactly."

She handed the slab to Paul. He took it and turned it over a few times, then glanced back at me.

"Let's head back."

We retraced our steps. When we reached the massive stone door, Paul inserted the slab into the slot. The blue light of the magic circle flickered, then slowly went out. The stone door gave a dull rumble and slowly opened to either side.

Behind the door was a staircase leading down. It was wide enough for three or four people to walk abreast. More magic circle patterns were carved into the walls on either side, glowing a ghostly blue in the dark green light.

Air poured out from beyond the door, colder and damper than on the first floor.

I had just stepped onto the first stair.

A faint prickling sensation spread across my skin, probably because the mana concentration had increased.

"Second floor, here we come."

I looked back at the group behind me. They were in good order, but their expressions were all grave.

Geese had already slipped into the darkness below the stairs.

I took a deep breath and continued down.

There were a little over fifty steps. At the bottom, a passage wider than the ones on the first floor stretched out before us. There was no moss on the stone walls on either side, but the walls themselves glowed a dim blue.

The air was colder than before, and my breath condensed into a cloud of white mist.

Cold. Much colder than the first floor, and the mana concentration was much higher too.

I glanced down at the stone slabs beneath my feet. Their patterns were more complex and densely packed than those on the first floor.

Roxy said the teleportation traps started on the second floor. I had to be more careful.

I looked back at Rudeus. He was crouching on the ground with both hands pressed against it, his eyes closed. Mana spread from his palms, covering the surrounding stone slabs.

"This area is safe." He stood up. "But I can't say what it's like farther ahead. The teleportation traps are much more densely packed than on the first floor. I'll keep covering the ground with mana, but my range is limited. Everyone, stay close and step where I step."

Paul nodded. "All right."

We moved forward in single file. Rudeus was in front, with me behind him, Paul third, Roxy fourth, Elinalise fifth, and Talhand bringing up the rear. Geese had vanished again at some point, probably to scout ahead.

The passage twisted through several turns. The blue light on the stone walls grew brighter, and it grew colder around us. The white mist of my breath thickened until I could barely see the path ahead.

After about half an hour, the passage split in two again. Rudeus crouched and spent a while probing with mana, then pointed to the right.

"This way. It's safe."

We turned into the right passage. After another ten-odd minutes, we reached the end of the passage and found another stone door. It was a little smaller than the one at the entrance to the second floor, but its magic circle patterns were more complex, and its blue light was brighter.

"Another teleportation magic circle," Rudeus said.

Paul sighed. "Do we have to find another key?"

"Looks like it."

I glanced back at the passage behind us. Dark, cold, damp. We had been walking for less than an hour, and we had already encountered two teleportation magic circles.

We'd already encountered two teleportation magic circles just getting from the first floor to the second. What came after that?

I looked at the dim passage, at the magic circle patterns glowing blue on the stone walls.

This was still only the first floor.