Denizens of the Labyrinth

Jazmel was the first through the gate and in fairness, it was anything but that. It was massive awning gap through space. He felt the vacuum as he fell through it and when he blinked he was through it. he landed in shallow pool of water and when he rose up, he realised he was in a fountain, the water was clear and though he wasn’t wounded he felt his body soothed in the shallow body of water.

Looking around he saw that he was in a fountain and though there was no statue in the centre of the pool. Above where he was resided four stone winged women who were pouring into a valve which hung above him, but it had been stoppered and their water no longer flowed into the fountain and so the pool of water he was in, dwindled. He drank a Mana potion and then using the empty vial, he took some water into it and the system piped up.

DING!

TIER II WATER OF &4456& FOUNTAIN GAINED

He looked at the screen again and wondered what was wrong with the system. He looked around and noticed a chain was holding the stopper in place. He swung his blade lazily and cut through the chain, the chain disintegrated, and he followed the trail as it raced up the length of the chain. He later realised that the stopper was made up of chains and watching as it dismantled and disintegrated; Jazmel watched as the water flow uncorked.

DING!

YOU HAVE RELEASED THE FLOW OF WATER

…

WATER OF &4456& WILL FLOW THROUGH THE LABYRINTH AGAIN

…

WELL, DONE!

CONGRATULATIONS

EXP EARNED!

LEVEL UP!!

He received a huge exp boost and he felt his body swell with the level he gained.

+2 WIL

+2 PER

+1 DEX

ERROR!

REWARDS WITHELD

THE GUARDIAN OF THE FOUNTAIN HAS AWOKEN

BEWARE!!

The system shouted in between his thoughts, and he grabbed his sword, pulling Nozarashi from its sheath and clambering out of the ringed fountain as it began to fill up. But not before he was struck across his chest. He didn’t even see what struck him, he was knocked back fully into the water and only because he was partially submerged and the sting of the water on wounds did he realise that he had been cut across his chest. Looking down he noticed four claw slashes across his chest. He looked down and looked up but couldn’t see anything.

Using the Mana in his eyes he looked around and still saw nothing, he centred himself. Slowing his breathing down and then opening his eyes again he looked for Mana, for the first time he noticed the ambient Mana around him and how vibrant it was, he realised that it was due to the fountain. The water was a source of Mana that he had not seen before, and he was witnessing it for the first time. He looked around and noticed the Mana in the air had been affected by swift movement. Something had moved through the Mana and parted it, he followed the trail and then in the shadows of one of the winged women who hung above the fountain; did he see his attacker.

A woman, a single naked woman; her body was curvy and ample but when he looked at her Mana he saw that she was more than just a woman. Her Mana was murky and blood red, he hadn’t seen any Mana in a seeker as bad as this. It felt like it had a smell, but he soon realised that it was just his body trying to figure out a way to explain his repulsion.

“Come on then!” He shouted and she hissed, crawling down from the statue after realising that he could see her. She crawled down and then landed on the edge of the fountain, making sure she didn’t land in the water. He leapt from his position and struck at her; she dodged him. But he was masterful with his sword, and it didn’t waver, not the tip nor his strikes.

He caught he beneath the ribs and then when she winced and clawed at him before backing up, he realised she was hurt.

CLEAVE

He swung and catching her hand, he cut it off he relaxed and before he received a powerful kick in the chest that sent him reeling. Repulsed, he watched as she caught her severed limb and reattached it. The cut barely showing as a faint line along her forearm.

CLEAVE!

CLEAVE

CLEAVE

He struck repeatedly, cutting off a different limb with different angles. But she simply leapt back and either caught the limb to reattach or she just waited for it to regrow. Great she can regenerate. He thought to himself with a sigh.

He didn’t want a battle of attrition and so he did what he always did; he trusted his sword. But he reacted differently this time, he struck her with cleave in mind, but he willed the skill to stay in the tip of his sword as she struck her with a cut, a slash and a strike that knocked her off her feet. Her blood spurted from the deep cut across her chest, and she hissed in pain

DING!

NEW COMBO SKILL!

BLADE WRATH (TIER I)

He grit his teeth as his final skill settled in slot and before she could regenerate from her wounds. He rushed in.

CLEAVE

BLADE WRATH

CLEAVE!

He struck her and using the chained attack he connected the attacks with his other skills, and he almost had the flow of the battle. But if not for his eyes, he would have missed it. her Mana fluctuated and she slashed downward, and he leapt out of the way, just as blood red claw marks flashed through where he had just bin and carved deeply into the ground. Great she can use skills now too. He thought but he didn’t slow down, rolling to a crouch he darted to the left and then to the right.

She threw out her bloodied claw skills and he darted through them, ensuring they missed him. She threw flurries of the attack and he had to block one and though he endured most of the attack, the strike passed through his guard and glanced off his face, and he felt blood seep from a wound, but he didn’t take his eyes off her. She smiled to see him bleed and he saw her canines were long, protruding and she hissed and licked her lips, and he sneered in disgust.

She dived at him and this time she followed with her skills, but her claws were in her hands, and he could see the Mana glowing beneath her skin.

Cleave!

He struck her again and the attack slammed into a single claw knocking it into the water of the fountain. It fell in the water that Jazmel seemed to fall in repeatedly, but the reaction was completely different it exploded. It burst from the ambient Mana that rose from the fountain and he also noticed that the claw did not regrow or regenerate. She noticed too and then launched herself at him.

He had no skills that would work on her. He dropped Nozarashi and let her latch onto him. Her left hand pierced his right shoulder and he gasped from the pain, her left hand went into his stomach, and he saw white, but stayed focused.

DING!

STATUS CONDITION; SHOULDER BLADE CRACKED (major)

STATUS CONDITION; STOMACH PIERCED (major)

HEAL NOW!

He felt the system shouting in his mind, but he couldn’t do anything. He sighed and he locked her in, grabbing her in a bear hug. She cried out and with a snarl she bit down into his neck, he cried out and almost let her go. But he did not, he could not. He took a step towards the fountain, with all of him. It took all his will to make sure he took another step, and she bit down even more into his neck, he felt his tongue get sticky and heavy in his mouth. He was going to pass out, he could feel it now.

STATUS CONDITION; NECK WOUND (deep)

With the last of his strength, he did all that he could. Using the last of his strength he jumped into the fountain, on top of her and she fought to get out of his grip, but they were locked in. He had clamped his hands together and made sure not to break his grip. They landed in the water together and immediately he felt soothed, but the exact opposite happened to the clawed woman. She writhed beneath him and screeched a cry that was unalike anything he had heart before. She wailed beneath him a cry of death and severe pain and he squeezed his eyes shut as her cry hit a crescendo. She screamed and then imploded, leaving blood and broken body bits floating in the pool. He almost passed out, but the water soothed his wounds and kept him awake. He drank deeply from two potions before he felt better, the third he opened and poured into each of his wounds and then drank the little that was left. While he healed, he checked his notifications

DING!

DEFEATED THE GUARDIAN OF THE FOUNTAIN!

…

TIER II BRUXA DEFEATED

So, it was called a Bruxa, he thought to himself it was a powerful enemy and he was worried about that. He would have to tell the others once he made his way back to them.

…

+4 WIL

+2 VIT

+2 AGL

He gained some good stats, and he settled in the water as his body acclimatised to the changes. He went back to the notifications and continued.

FOUNTAIN OF &4456& HAS BEEN MADE UNCORRUPT

…

REWARDS WILL BE ADJUSTED

…

DEFEATING A BRUXA FOR THE FIRST TIME

REWARDS WILL BE ADJUSTED

…

EXP EARNED!

He felt a large amount of exp settle; almost a third of what he needed to move up another level.

…

TIER II BRUXA CORE GAINED

…

REWARDS ADJUSTED!

EMPTY EGGSHELL GAINED!!

NEW PLOT GAINED!!

LIGHT THE FIRE OF LIFE!

AWAKEN THE LIFE IN THE EGG!

REWARD!

COMPANION!

He read these notifications and watched as a black egg appeared in the palm of his hand. It was as black as night; scaled and each scale overlapped the other in a pretty but daunting design. It was darker still it was as dark as the abyss and he found it a little unsettling to peer at it, he even tried to look at it with his Mana eyes, but it was abject and empty. He was about to put it into a storage ring when something strange happened.

Master.

His shadow wraith had awoken! From his shadow a pitch-black hand rested atop the egg, and it felt unnerving as he felt the presence of the shadow wight as it peered into the egg.

Master will you allow me to have this?

He considered the question, and he remembered that there had not been any activity from the shadow for a while, since he had suffered a near death wound in Orevalor and Paldane had taken the wound for him. It hadn’t even been eating the corpses of creatures he had defeated. You cannot consume this. He said, thinking about the plot he had just received.

Master not like that… and then Paldane did something he had never seen; it didn’t listen to him. It disobeyed him and entered the egg; without his permission. He watched as the egg swallowed his shadow and then gold runic symbols alit around the egg in two stripes!

DING!

THE FIRE HAS BEEN LIT!!!

…

…

ERROR

…

FIRE HAS BEEN LIT BUT LIFE HAS NOT FORMED

…

WILL YOU ALLOW FUEL?

Y/N

He watched as the notifications popped up, one by one and he accepted. There was nothing else he could do now.

As quick as a blink the egg flexed, and the smooth scaled egg pierced the inner palm of his hand. It was quick and he didn’t even realise he had happened until he saw the cut in his palm. It healed immediately too; thanks to the water and then it formed a tattoo which kept the runes of the egg on the inside of his palm.

FUEL HAS BEEN CONSUMED

THE EGG WILL HATCH WHEN IT HAS INCUBATED!

…

He read that and before anything strange could happen, he put it in his storage ring. He rose up to stand in the fountain, his clothes torn and soaked. He flushed his clothes with Mana and the tears healed themselves quickly. He felt better he rolled his shoulders and though a little sore, he could move as normal. He filled the three empty health bottles with water again.

TIER II WATER OF &4456& FOUNTAIN GAINED X3

He stepped from the pool and as soon as he did the system sang to him as a string of new notifications popped up.

NEW PLOT!

FAVOURED BY THE FOUNTAIN!!

FIND WHAT IS LOST

LET THE FOUNTAINS FLOW AND GAIN THE FAVOUR OF THE FOUNTAIN

DEFEAT THE GUARDIANS AND RELEASE %4456%

REWARDS

EXP

Monarch tier tribulation item

Tier III weapon of choice

He gawked at the notifications. He had many plots; he looked at them on the system status and wondered what the system wanted from him. At first it showed all the plots he had, but he removed the completed ones and then the status screen refreshed to show;

PLOTS

PLANT THE TREE OF MIRETE

FAVOURED BY THE FOUNTAIN

MARCH OF THE MONARCH

The system was driving him deeper and deeper into the labyrinth and in truth, he felt nothing but exhilaration. The water of the fountain swirled and became a gate, he stepped back into it and within seconds he was stepping through a gate and was beside Sadé, Timone and Baek again. He had cleared another gate during the time they were passing through the gate of another gate. He didn’t know anything like this could happen but for now, he kept what had happened to himself.