Chapter 21: Chapter 98 – In a Labyrinth Trial

Walking the steep passage leading down, Ast’s party slowly traveled towards the safe room on the next floor. No one was exactly sure which one it was, but definitely one between the thirtieth and fortieth level.

“How is the presence?” Asterios asked, throwing the question at Umbra and Selene.

“Closer. But still quite far. Certainly lower than us though.”

~I agree. The interference grows steadily. I can’t make long jumps even though there are a lot of shadows and dark areas. It’s definitely due to the pressure of the Core.~

“I know that it's our enemy, but I can’t wait to see how a Dungeon Core looks!” Miria exclaimed with an enthusiastic yet slightly wary smile.

Asterios reached to her head and petted her ears a little. “Nothing wrong about it. I would lie if said that I’m not eager to personally experience such an encounter. There’s a lot to learn from it that books can’t really convey.”

“To not spoil your fun, I will only say that a Dungeon Core is truly something visually magnificent. And spiritually too. The feeling of standing near one is impossible to properly put in words. You have to experience it, as Asterios said. And I’m sure such an old Core like this will be a much more prominent specimen than the one that I had the pleasure to see.” Suanori smiled softly at Miria, who beamed at her in response, gleefully moving her tail.

“Well, technically speaking, Cores aren’t exactly evil entities or monsters, even though they prey on people, kind of. Personally, I would say they are neutral. They are greedy, yes, but so are many sapient races. It’s a little sad to kill a Core that does provide a lot to the people, like actual jobs, treasure, experience, challenge. But, it’s similar to culling predators for the safety of other species in the area. Something necessary,” Asterios thought out loud.

“They might not be all evil, but they certainly are a danger that can’t be ignored. No matter how useful they are. And the current situation is a great example of it. It’s good to not think of them as the spawns of evil gods meant to bring destruction to the realm, but they aren’t beings that can be treated only like a harmless farming orchard or field,” she added.

“I wonder if a dungeon exists somewhere that is actually smart enough to coexist with people? Like, actually communicating with them, allowing adventurers to explore it, kill monsters, find treasure, in exchange for the essence they generate while fighting. Like finding some harmony to actually profit from it without many deaths,” Miria pondered.

Suanori shrugged. “Who knows. Dungeon Cores are mysterious things. We know so little about how they function besides the fact that most of them operate on spiritual essence and energy.”

Asterios chuckled. “If you were to trust some rumors and books popular amongst certain circles of female adventurers, one that grows from the sexual pleasure it gives to the women through its quite lewd monsters and traps exists somewhere in this realm.”

Miria blinked a few times, processing his words. “What?”

“Ah yes, the fabled sex dungeon.” Suanori shook her head with a wry smile. “You’d be surprised how many women dream of finding it. I personally know one with similar… tastes.”

“How do you know about them then, Master? Are you…”

“Gods, no, hahaha. I thought it was a typical journal of some adventurer when I picked the special book. How surprised I was to learn that it wasn’t exactly what I expected.” He brushed through Miria’s hair. “No offense to them, but that kind of thing is not my cup of tea.”

She sighed in relief and giggled quietly. They have finally reached the safe zone and walked inside while glancing around. Miria stepped closer to Asterios and hugged his arm.

“I also can’t see myself enjoying such a weird situation. But if it’s about doing lewd things with Master—”

~Not good! RUN BACK!~

The moment Umbra’s shout resounded in their heads, a complex white pattern illuminated the whole floor of the safe chamber. Before anyone had a chance to react, a blinding light enveloped them and a strong pull followed.

 

※ ※ ※

 

“Ugh…”

Asterios found himself on the floor. Instead of the stone pavement, itchy gravel irritated his skin. Quickly opening his eyes, he rotated his body and warily looked around. This was no safe zone. It was immediately clear to him that they got transported somewhere.

He quickly stood up to a crouch and examined his surroundings carefully. First, he was alone. Second, he was in some kind of a corridor, similar to the ones they had been traveling through before, but with no ceiling. Only the path ahead was open; a wall blocked the other way.

Above his head, a thick layer of dark storm clouds spanned, flashing with blue and purple streaks of lighting from time to time. A muffled thunder arrived at his ears moments after a flashy line traveled through the ominous blanket of grey. The distance to it was hard to estimate but clearly more than a ten-story building or so.

Not noticing any immediate danger, Asterios reached with his consciousness to the bond with his familiars.

~Anyone can hear me?~

~Mhhhhmmm… Mas… ter? Master! Where are you?!~ Miria’s voice replied to his call, clearly announcing that she had just woken up too.

~I don’t know, but I’m fine. What about you?~

~I think I’m okay. Ah! Selene and Miss Suanori are lying near me too. They look fine. I’ll wake them up and come to you in a moment!~

~No, wait. Stay with them for now. You won’t be able to go back to their location. Umbra? Are you there?~

His shadow flickered and the black raven popped out of it, stopping in the air in front of him while slowly flapping its smoking wings.

~Yes, I am. I’ve also been separated and transported with them, but I can still travel between us with no issues.~

~Good. Any ideas of what happened and where we are?~

~My Lord, Suanori suggests that it was some kind of teleportation array. And the condensed spiritual essence is much stronger here than before. We are a lot closer to the Core now.~

Asterios pondered for a brief moment. ~No matter how I look at it, it seems that the Core clearly attempted to split me from you guys for some reason. Maybe it noticed that I was empowering you girls and acting as a leader. But, where are we?~

Umbra flew into the air through the non-existent ceiling and glanced around. Mere seconds after he gained some altitude, an immense magical formation of acidic green color covered the whole visible sky. It was truly an enormous array. A bolt of green energy smote Umbra with no warning and the shadowy raven exploded in a puff of black mist.

“Umbra!”

~Ugh… That actually hurt a bit…~

Ast’s shadow flickered and his familiar flew out of it again, shaking its head to get rid of the dizziness.

“Thank gods…” Asterios sighed in relief. “You okay?”

~It’s not that easy to kill me, Master. But, whatever this spell was, it can wound me pretty badly. I’m fine. I managed to escape shortly after it connected with my shadow.~

They watched the enormous formation fade out from the sky.

“So, the sky is a no-go. Better remember that.”

~From what I managed to gather, this place looks like a huge labyrinth with a cathedral-like building in the middle. I did spot a few monsters and traps spread throughout the paths, but I wasn’t able to identify them in that quick moment.~

“Great. Looks like we have been thrown into the dungeon’s last line of defense. I don’t think the Core is in the middle since that would have been pretty stupid of it and its previous actions clearly weren’t. I just hope this location does have an actual exit.”

~I haven’t noticed any of the paths leading to a door or anything looking like a passage at any of the furthermost walls. This location is still underground, even though the ceiling is covered by those weird clouds. The cathedral in the middle might be the only place with something if it isn’t just a huge trap.~

Asterios sighed. “The Core certainly couldn’t create something like this in a few hours or even days. I feel like it placed the teleportation trap barely in time to catch us and is relying on this location to do the rest. This means it’s possible that it’s not something unbeatable. Perhaps a Trial. Our best bet is to reach the middle right now.”

He relayed what they learned to the others and everyone agreed that there was not much else they could do in the current situation.

~Should I come to you or Selene would be better, Master?~ Miria asked afterward.

~Both of you stay with Suanori. She is a support at the core so you should protect her like you were protecting me.~

~But—~

~I will manage with Umbra somehow. If something serious happens, I’ll call one of you. I’m not that weak now.~

~Miss Suanori warns you to not be overconfident, my Lord,~ Selene joined in.

~I know. I won’t. I promise. Umbra, did you manage to catch the plan of the labyrinth up there?~

~Some of it. We should be able to partially navigate it, but all in all, we have been placed on the opposite ends of the structure with the cathedral between us, so each team just has to head in the direction that isn’t blocked at their starting point. I’m sending what I managed to catch into your minds.~

Asterios received Umbra’s memory and nodded, confirming for himself that what he said was true.

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~Alright. We’ll try to meet by the entrance. Be careful. You can’t jump into a portal to get supplies anymore and—~

He furrowed his brows for a moment and rubbed his chin.

~Actually… If Miria opens the portal and Selene walks in, then she should be able to come back even if it closes, with Miria opening another one. And vice versa. Well, be careful anyway. And remember about the portals. You won’t be able to return if you enter and close your own.~

Both girls gave him a mental nod and everyone focused on their side of things.

 

※ ※ ※

 

“Well then, we should try to reunite with Asterios as soon as we can and make sure the Core can’t pull off any more tricks,” Suanori said and the duo of beastfolk girls nodded. “Are you two fine with me temporarily taking the leadership of this part of the party?”

“I have nothing against it, Miss Suanori,” Miria replied.

“Neither do I.” Selene smiled softly.

“Good. And you really can drop these formalities.”

“Ehehe~ Sorry.”

Suanori chuckled and shook her head. “Let’s get moving then. I can’t support you the same way as your master, but I’ll do what I can in my own way.”

They checked the image transferred to them by Umbra and began heading forward. Without Umbra looking for traps and enemies ahead, Selene had to take over that role and used her Spiritual Sense and Spiritual Sight to detect as much danger as possible.

It wasn’t as perfect as the shadowy immortal’s guidance, but she managed to avoid the most obvious pitfalls or triggers that would launch some spikes, projectiles, or even spells at them from the walls or the floor. And thanks to moving in the front, Selene could quickly protect herself with spiritual energy whenever she missed something, gaining enough time to escape with just a bruise or two.

As for the enemies, it didn’t seem that the difficulty spiked immeasurably and the monsters were comparable to those they had met on the floor they explored before getting teleported. 

Without Asterios, the girls had to put much more thought into their approach, but Suanori turned out to be a better leader than they first expected, which was a slight miscalculation on their side considering that she had much more experience adventuring than Asterios and just hadn't seen the need to replace him since he was doing a very good job and knew his girls better than she did anyway.

So, while their side didn’t have that many issues with the monsters and struggled slightly with the traps…

 

※※※

 

“Damn it. I’ll burn through all the spells before we get to the Core at this pace,” Asterios cursed after Umbra immobilized a ghost-type Phantom Revenant with his shadows and he pierced it with an activated Holy Blade enchantment, barely evading the swipe from another one.

~At least the traps here are much more visible than on the previous floors.~

“I guess—ngh! Ethereal monsters are the worst,” he cursed again after his Spellslinger hit a wall when the blade chased after the fleeting opponent.

~Three o’clock.~

Asterios extended his arm towards the direction pointed out by Umbra and the second Phantom Revenant flew straight into his shining weapon after coming out of a wall, dispersing into black smoke with a loud wail; black tattered cloth fell onto the floor from it.

“Thank you.”

~You are welcome.~

With both enemies defeated, Asterios sighed. “I guess there’s no better place to test out the offensive and auxiliary techniques than this labyrinth. I prefer the supporting role much more, but at times like these, I’m thankful to myself for learning both paths.”

~Oh?~

“Umbra, watch over me. I need a moment.~

~As you wish.~

Asterios then rolled up both of his sleeves and pants. Sitting on the floor, he brought out a small cylindrical container with a dark purple substance and started drawing complex markings over his arms and legs.

Finished with the ominous-looking lines and symbols, he pulled out two vials with some liquids, one black and one blue, and began pouring the first one onto the ground, very slowly tracing a magical circle. He used them both to create two different formations.

“Alright. Makeshift but should do.” He nodded to himself after standing up. “Let’s see what the three of you can bring to the table.”

Asterios closed his eyes and sent his fiery mana into the markings over his arms and legs while focusing on his contract with Umbra. After a few seconds, they started releasing purple smoke and extended further into his body, covering most of his skin, even on his face.

Opening his eyes, he examined himself and the purple mist his body now emanated. He felt light, free, unrestricted. Slowly understanding the ability, Asterios moved his gaze further into the corridor and his perspective shifted. A moment later, he found himself where he had been looking and spotted some remaining shadow plunging into the ground in the spot where he had previously stood.

“Shadow Movement. Neat. ”

Taking a step, he returned to where Umbra hung in the air by walking out of the nearby wall. He quickly stood over the blue circle and cut his hand with his ceremonial knife, dripping some blood onto it. The formation flashed brightly and the edges of the purple lines on his body changed into glowing blue ones.

Asterios waved his hand and a wisp of spiritual fire similar to Selene’s appeared above his palm. He tried changing its shape, form, and consistency, succeeding in all of it. He condensed a spinning spiritual orb and launched it into a wall. The blue projectile was stopped by the stone but drilled a sizable hole in it.

“This feels nice.”

Then, he stepped into the other circle and repeated the motion, dripping some of his blood onto it too. The moment the black circle flashed with a dark grey aura, he clutched his chest and groaned. It felt like his whole body was changing, transforming. Asterios could swear his canines grew longer and he started releasing quiet growls.

After the uncomfortable feeling ended, he noticed that his senses were much sharper than when he just borrowed some from Miria. Touching his teeth, he confirmed that, in fact, they were much longer and pointy. 

“Does this make me a Werehuman or something?”

~Considering your much more feral facial features, perhaps. But, judging by the three white tails and two long ears on your head, I would say it’s closer to a Werefox.~

Asterios glanced behind his back and noticed three bushy tails, just like Selene’s. Moving his hand over his head did in fact cause it to run into something and he could even sense the weird feeling of his ears dodging away his hand.

“Interesting. Well then, here goes the Werehumanpantherfoxshadow. Let’s try and wrap it up in under an hour. This is quite draining since it's my first time doing it.”

Asterios started running forward with Umbra diving into his shadow. He took the turn and immediately noticed an almost invisible, sharp, deadly string at neck height in the air with his heightened senses. He ducked under it with no issue and continued onward.

A little bit further, the floor suddenly crumbled under his feet and a gaping hole with no end in sight opened beneath him for around twenty meters ahead. Without panicking, he created spiritual platforms to use as stepping stones and reached the other end in a flash.

Behind the next corner, he noticed five Jiangshi—a high-level Zombie equivalent with much more strength and combat power—before they saw him. Taking advantage of the first strike, Asterios shaped up a spinning spiritual orb and sent it towards one of the monsters, disappearing in a puff of black smoke a moment later.

When the first Jiangshi was hit by the sphere, which exploded in a storm of condensed spiritual cuts and mutilated its torso, he appeared behind the second one and made five quick slices with his armblade, dismembering it completely.

The fist of the third enemy rushed towards his head but pierced through a cloud of black smoke after the hit connected, confusing the Jiangshi greatly. It didn’t get to understand what had happened because something cut it vertically in half from behind a moment later.

The two remaining opponents banded together and launched themselves at Asterios. Before they reached him, he threw his arms to the sides with his palms up and a powerful force pushed both Jiangshi into the nearby walls, pinning them to their surface with a loud boom. Umbra quickly sent his shadowy tendrils at them and ripped off all their limbs.

“I might be more of a support type, but man, this is kind of exhilarating.”

Known only to Umbra at that moment, Ast’s face was adorned by a quite ferocious grin before he disappeared in a puff of black mist again.

 

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