Denizens of the Labyrinth

The opening that the Vindulan warriors had come from was large and fitting for their size, but as Jazmel made his way down it, he wasn’t shocked to see the path shrink to fit the size of a person and or people.

The Mana that his eyes had grown accustomed to was much more vibrant now and he almost had to squint to keep from being blinded by it. but he didn’t shrink back, but just averted his eyes where he could. Making sure to keep pushing forward and making his way deeper into the pyramid, he wasn’t sure if he was ascending or descending. All he knew was he was advancing and at this point, which was enough.

The corridor ran short, and he found himself in a treasure trove of untold treasures, the coins were innumerable, and he stopped trying to count the mountains when he realised that they weren’t gold or white gold, they were platinum coins. Piled in mountains and mountains of it, a hoard of this size was usually held by a dragon, but the chamber was too small for a dragon and so he breathed a little easier.

He pulled one vase full of coins into his ring and continued deeper in, past the coins. He found weapons of tier II and III grading but he passed that too, he was looking for tier tribulation items now and he was hoping it would be easy.

The smell hit him before he saw anything, and his hackles rose, and he subconsciously grabbed for Yoru no Tsubasa clutching the hilt in a tight grip.

The smell of blood was pungent around him, as he advanced deeper into the chamber at first he saw pots and vases full of blood, then he saw pools in the ground filled with it, but then the items and trinkets bled away and there in the centre of the ground laid a pool of blood. It was deep, dark and the smell of all this blood made him heave.

He couldn’t see a doorway or a path out of here, so he sidled around the pool looking for an exit from this place. He knew something was either in the pool or would be returning and he did not want to be here whenever either happened.

He skirted around the entire pool and yet nothing, he sighed and then looking at the pool. He tried to look into it with his eyes, but the pool of blood was filled to the brim with Mana and blocked his sight into it.

He heard footsteps from behind and looking back he caught eyes with a face he had not seen in months, the small figure of Alan came through, they locked eyes and though Jazmel didn’t move; he was ready for whatever Alan might do.

“I remember you from the seeker trials.” Alan uttered and Jazmel ; though he tried to deny it. he breathed a little easier knowing that he wouldn’t have to fight Alan, he had come out on top of each trial since they entered as seekers. He had even been told he had master tier potential. Jazmel was strong himself, but he knew Alan was just as strong; maybe even stronger than him.

“I don’t know how to get out of here.” Jazmel said and Alan looked around himself, he formed a singular bead of thunder on the tip of his index finger and then flicked it, it bounced around the room, making sure to not touch the blood. Before returning to Alan himself and he shook his head.

“There is no Mana being hidden behind any secret entrances, I would have found it.” he uttered and then he stepped closer to look at the pool of blood.

“There is a barrier of Mana shielding me from looking in.” Jazmel told him and Alan nodded, as if he had noticed himself.

“Well look who it is!” another voice uttered and looking towards it, Jazmel almost laughed, it was Circe and though her body was battered her eyes were focused and light with happiness. She moved deeper into the room and as she was bleeding from multiple wounds, she pulled a potion from one of the rings on her finger and drank deeply.

“Alan.” She said and Alan inclined his head while still looking around.

“Hello you.” She said to Jazmel.

“Hello to you too.” He said back in reply, she smiled at him, and he showed his happiness to see her too.

“Those Vindulan guardians were strong, I almost didn’t make it through all of them.” she said, and Jazmel watched as her potion did its work, but for some reason he noticed a singular drop of blood that dripped down her arm from a cut on her shoulder that had knitted close, it then dripped to her finger and fell. Time seemed to slow and in those eons of seconds, he watched as the blood droplet fell into one of the channels of blood that led into the deeper and larger pool in the back of the chamber.

DING!

BLOOD HAS BEEN LET

THE BLOOD WITCH HAS ACCEPTED THE OFFERING!

…

NIMUE IS AWAKING

Jazmel watched as the screen shared the information and he heard Alan sigh as he and Circe clearly received the same notification.

“Great.” Circe said and she looked at the blood on her hands and wiped them on her trousers.

The pool gurgled and Jazmel back stepped till he was standing beside Alan and Circe. The blood seemed to bubble up and then flood a little, but Jazmel realised it was because something was rising. An obsidian black sarcophagus rose from the pool and Jazmel could make out the carvings on the lid which held something sinister within.

The lid moved and a pale hand and forearm moved the lid across. Something in Jazmel told him it was heavy, but the one hand seemed to move it effortlessly. A slender hand pushed the lid off, and a slender woman clambered out of the sarcophagus.

DING

BLOOD WITCH TIER III NIMUE HAS AWAKENED

She was pale as a full moon; her eyes were just red irises; like blood rubies. Her hair was blood red, almost black in some parts and she was nude. Completely naked, the unnerving thing was that her private parts were covered by blood.

She cocked her head to the side when she noticed the trio, but then she raised her left hand and from the pool, crystalised shards of blood formed into spears and she sent them at them. everyone averted, they ducked out of the way Circe simply pulled a shield from her armoury and Alan simply formed a dome of thunder about himself.

“So, she isn’t friendly then.” Circe mused and Jazmel couldn’t help but smile.

Thunder Lord

Alan uttered and Jazmel watched as a crown formed of pure thunder formed above his head. It was identical to Sadé’s skill, but the Mana was so much denser, the thunder in the crown was so strong the air around it ionised.

Thunder

Alan said and a bolt of pure ionised thunder hit the blood witch, she threw up a shield of blood, but the thunder burst through and knocked her back through the sarcophagus and shattered the obsidian.

Jazmel drew Tsubasa and waited for the named blood witch to respond; she had been hit but nothing about the strike made it seem like she was defeated.

Bloody whip

He heard and shock filled his very being, he had never heard a creature use a skill before. But yet a bright red whip lashed out and struck Alan across the chest, he blocked it with both forearms but was knocked back and crashed into a rack of weapons.

Fall of the black raven!

Jazmel dove forward, leaping into the air, he slashed across the air and smashed his skill into the witch. She evoked a blood shield again, but the black raven burst it and the grave iron cut her side deeply. She didn’t bleed, but she didn’t heal either. She hissed at him and raised hundreds of bloody spears and vaulted them at him. backing up, he parried and countered as many as he could, and a small few got through. A spear pierced his shoulder, one caught him on the hip, and another hit his right thigh.

DING!

WOUNDED

WARNING

HEALTH AT 60%

three hits and he was almost at half his life, this named witch was stronger than anything he had fought before.

A spear of pure silver struck the witch in her chest, and she faltered beneath its strike.

“Get up!” Circe yelled and he winced as he clambered up, he swallowed down a potion quickly and then another and only his shoulder and thigh closed up, but the wounds were still tender.

The witch appeared again and this time she threw the broken half of the lid of her sarcophagus as Circe. She cut through it and almost missed the whip that was hurrying towards her head behind the attack. Jazmel bound forward and cut through the blood whip, and it splashed him, hot and bitter with Mana.

Thunder

He heard it and then the beam blew past him to hit Nimue again, she conjured a thick blood shield and this time the bolt of thunder didn’t get through but the blood burst into steam and the smell of iron and ion energy could be smelt in the air.

Cleave!

He struck her again and this time he cut across her chest, blood splashed from her wound, and she wailed before reaching towards the pool of blood and to his horror, Jazmel watched as the pool began to move towards her maybe to replenish and heal her.

Another spear appeared from Circe’s armoury, and she stabbed it into the arm of Nimue to keep her pinned down. She lashed out with the other and a shard of blood crashed into Circe. She yelled in pain, but Jazmel didn’t have a moment to look to help her, he cut down and cut through the free arm of the witch; his blade managed to wound her more than their attacks combined, and he realised it must be the cold and grave iron.

Rumbling thunder God

Warning signs from his own senses alerted him to move out of the way. He turned and watched as Alan became something else. His crown had melted away and instead his entire body was filled with thunder, his skin shone with the energy of a storm and Jazmel could tell this was his most powerful move. The Mana cost alone must be harrowing.

Alan sauntered through the air to where the pinned witch was, and she screeched and fought to try and leverage herself away from the oncoming doom.

Alan’s eyes were pure white, and he didn’t seem like himself, it was as if something has possessed his body at the cost of freedom for his pursuit of power.

Thunder.

He said it with finality this time, it wasn’t a skill; it was with authority and the skill hit the blood witch with everything. The skill burned her from the inside, and he watched as the body of this creature burned and burned until nothing, but blood pooled from a place where something might have been before.

Circe appeared and sighed, and she realised that they had won this battle.

DING!

BLOOD WITCH TIER III NIMUE HAS BEEN SLAIN!

…

EXP ACCRUED

REWARDS TO BE GIVEN

RANKER TIER TRIBULATION ITEM

TIER III WEAPON

15 STATS

Jazmel was incensed, these were genuinely good options. picking the stat points, he decided he would find items inside the pyramid or inside the labyrinth later on. He distributed his stats straight away and then studying his screen he looked at his stats.

Name: Jazmel

Level: 56

Species: Human

Rank: Seeker tier III

Class: Sword Scion

Health: 1893/2075

Stamina: 1237/1522

Mana: 827/1480

STR:87 PER:83

VIT:79 END:79

INT:92 WIL:81

AGL:80 DEX:80

Trait: HEART OF THE SWORD (BORN TRAIT)

Skills:

Cleave (tier I)

Fall of the black raven (tier I)

Whirlwind (tier II)

Blade Wrath (tier I)

Title(s):

FIEND BANE (ACTIVE)

GLARE OF THE DRAKE (ACTIVE)

SERPENT SLAYER

DEMON SLAYER

Unused Stat points: 0

His intelligence stat was the highest by more than ten points, but strength was catching up. Once he returned he was going to have to work on those other stats to raise them, especially as he was only four levels out of ranker.

The other two seemed to have picked their rewards as they were looking around the chamber and trying to find the point to continue through the pyramid

“You have gotten stronger.” Circe said to him when he came over to stand by her.

“I have been working hard inside the labyrinth.” He told her and she nodded, she believed him.

“Not as hard as him though.” He confessed and she agreed.

“They say he is the strongest of the Kaminari clan in one hundred years. A genius of geniuses.” She offered and he listened intently.

“That last skill he used was one of the strongest I have seen, I need to delve deeper into the labyrinth.” Jazmel mused and Circe sighed and shook her head.

“You are a young seeker from normal beginnings. Whereas Alan comes from a clan who have perfected their children to make them into rankers and masters of the labyrinth. I would say you are doing well.” She told him off and he hated to admit that she was right, but he also didn’t say he was the son of the black dragon. He was keeping that close to his heart.

“I would not have been able to defeat that witch alone. It would seem I need to push for ranker, sooner rather than later.” Alan said over his shoulder he was standing at the lip of the pool and without another word he jumped.

Jazmel yelped and then hurried to the pool like Circe. Only to find that the pool had emptied and a large dark well descended down. He hadn’t even told them where he was going. But he wasn’t one to share his thoughts, Jazmel could tell. Alan was used to being able to do what he wanted and when he wanted to.

“Let’s go.” Circe said and she bounded into the unknown too. Jazmel followed shortly after.