Denizens of the Labyrinth

Jazmel rested and waited for as long as he could and within two hours, approaching three. The expanse of space had been swamped with people now and Jazmel found himself bewildered by just how many people actually were actually inside the labyrinth.

He knew this was not the only room though as he had not seen any of his friends or other members of the faction and it was nearly a thousand different seekers, rankers, and a minute few of masters.

The final person entered, and the labyrinth chimed into existence.

DING!

…

1000 SEEKERS

…

DEFEAT TEN AND ADVANCE!

The system chimed into existence and Jazmel wondered what that meant but he soon learned, someone launched an attack at him, he dodged and drawing his sword, he struck out and cut through their armour and slashed through their gambeson beneath.

DING!

X1 DEFEATED

Thankfully, the man wasn’t dead, but he did disappear from the attack, pulled away to another part of the labyrinth. Jazmel didn’t have time to wonder, he simply defended himself and began attacking those around him. he saw the young boy floating above them all, standing atop a smaller dragon that was about the size of his chest but its wingspan was double his own arm lengths and so he was flying above the seekers on the ground. The dragon was gold this time, the blue and purple dragons were flying around spewing flame and fire. They had also grown in size, not by much but much bigger than the little lizards Jazmel had seen before. They bathed the seekers below in flame and instantly the boy disappeared. He had defeated more than ten.

Blade Wrath!

Jazmel yelled and carved his way through a throng of attackers, some aiming for him and others fighting their own battles.

DING!

7 DEFEATED

He needed to defeat just three more. His eyes caught with the girl he had seen in the beginning, and he watched as her clenched fists shot pulse beams of Mana that seemed to come from the bracers on her wrist and pierce the other seekers.

She caught eyes with him and shot a beam at him, he dodged to the side, thinking the attack was for him but he heard a grunt of pain and turned to see a scythe wielding man crumble from a Mana pulse. He drove his sword into his chest and then whirled to thank the girl. She was disappearing, she had clearly defeated ten already.

DING!

X8 DEFEATED

He sighed, but not for long. Two men rushed at him, and he cut through them both. Watching as the labyrinth warped them somewhere else.

DING!

TEN DEFEATED!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

ADVANCE!

He disappeared and felt as his surroundings changed around him. He found himself in another expanse but this time there was a single man standing beside a thick rock that was taller than Jazmel by many times over.

“Strike the rock and advance.” The man said, he wore a fighting Gi. Like a martial artist and Jazmel could see the years of training in the scars in his arm.

“With my fist?” Jazmel asked and the man looked at him before shaking his head.

“With whatever you choose.” He said and Jazmel nodded, he drew his sword and tried to settle into that place where he was when his skill cleave reacted differently. The man’s intense gaze pressurised him and he struggled to enter that state. After what felt like ages, he simply called forth the skill and let it build in his blade before unleashing it.

Cleave

The rock shook, he had tried to cut through it with a grand slash. But instead, the blade bounced off the thick stone and he looked at the blade to see if it had been damaged, but it hadn’t, and he sighed with relief.

The rock seemed to consider the damage he left and then warping in on itself it revealed a gate, much like the others he had entered. It was ethereal and like a maelstrom on the inside. But he felt comfort in knowing he would advance; he stepped through and immediately felt the tension in this new expanse.

This place was blood red, this expanse reeked of death and Jazmel could tell something was coming.

DING!

DEFEAT 100 ENEMIES

ADVANCE!

That sounded simple enough, the notification appeared at eye level, and he skimmed over the screen before it disappeared out of sight.

A growl echoed across the expanse, and he slid his sword from its sheath. The first creature to approach him would feel its kiss.

The growl bounced around, and he let his eyes seek out the Mana as the red room was a little more than a darkened cave. The red hue caused too many shadows around and Jazmel didn’t want to rely on just his normal eyesight.

The growl neared and scanning about himself, he could see the body that the Mana emanated from. It was a ghoul, just like from the Xuanhuan realm. It sniffed at him, but he saw it before it could make him out and he struck behind its head, cutting through its spin and neck quickly. It died instantly.

Jazmel scanned around him and waited for another to appear. None did and on an off chance he turned to see if the ghoul had disappeared and to his luck, he managed to veer out of the way as a paw swiped at his face. But this time there were two ghouls.

Cleave

He cut through them both and watched as the shorn bodies began to rejuvenate and become four.

He got what was happening and so he cut and cut and cut. Not giving them time to truly recover but also allowing them to build the numbers he needed to advance. If he didn’t, then they would overwhelm him, and he would suffer the consequences.

He had lost count of how many ghouls were now forming from the off pieces that had been cut off or dismembered. But he wasn’t losing the will, aside from a few scratches here and there. He was not wounded enough that his stamina was belaying too.

He also noticed that he was not gaining any levels or stats during this part of the trial. He wondered if they would build up and then all be slammed into his stats as he advanced. But he didn’t let his mind waver, those were thoughts for a later time.

He struck out and as they tried to overwhelm him, he began to use all of his sword. he struck out with the hilt and bludgeoned a ghoul that tried to nip him from his left. He struck with the back of his blade to his right and then unleashed his skill on all those that attacked him on his left.

Cleave!

Cleave!

He watched as they churned to mincemeat, but they were still recovering and repairing the wounds he was giving them. he didn’t even have time to drink a stamina potion but that was fine, he had a plan.

Cleave!

Cleave!

Cleave!!

He watched as the broken pieces began to reform and that’s when he struck.

Whirlwind!

His skill churned the broken yet repairing bodies up and he watched as a maelstrom of swords ravaged the bodies into pulp. They didn’t try to regenerate this time; he could tell the damage had been done.

DING!

X100 ENEMIES DEFEATED!

ADVANCING NOW

He sighed and waited for his body to warp to a new destination. He didn’t sheath his sword, it seemed more sensible to be prepared from the beginning and that was what he was banking on.

As soon as his senses adjusted he sighed with relief, no longer was he inside one of those expanses. He appeared atop a sand dune and for miles around; as far as his keen eyes could see. He was surrounded by sand. Mountains of it, the sun blared above, and he knew he was in a desert immediately. One of the tell-tale signs was the lack of vegetation. But he didn’t think too much of it, he waited.

DING!

FIND THE OASIS!

He smiled to himself and pulling a cloak from his ring, he covered his head and shoulders as best as he could.