The sound of clashing bones and steel reverberated through the dungeon, echoing off the cold stone walls. The floor was littered with shattered skeletons—lifeless remains discarded like forgotten playthings. Greige’s crew fought fiercely, their swords and crossbows slicing through the undead horde with remarkable speed and precision.

Magic and arrows whizzed through the air. Even though some of their number had already fallen, their crude laughter, harsh and unrefined, filled the space as they cut through the skeletal army without a care for their lost comrades.

Sugar moved like a whirlwind amid the chaos, her water whip slicing through the air with deadly elegance. She danced between the skeletons, dodging arrows and striking down mages with swift, calculated blows. Each crack of her whip sent bones scattering, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

At the forefront of the battle stood Greige, shrugging off attacks as if they were nothing more than a mild annoyance.

“What’s the matter, bonnies? Is that all ya got? Feels like a damn tickle!” Greige roared, his voice rough and booming.

At that moment, another wave of skeletons surged forward—at least fifty in number. Greige’s grin widened as he shifted his stance, his massive sword resting casually behind him. Recognizing the familiar move, the crew quickly scrambled away, panic flashing in their eyes.

“Move, you idiots!” a crew member shouted.

“Get away from the boss!” another crew member cried out.

“If you get caught in his attack, you’re done for!” a third crew member warned.

“Secret technique: Wolf's Thunderous Incredible Fast Charge!” Greige shouted.

With that, Greige lunged forward in a burst of speed, his blade sweeping in a devastating arc. In one powerful strike, he cleaved through dozens of skeletons, sending bones, weapons, and even stray wands flying in every direction.

“Hahaha! Weak! Too weak! Give me more challenges!”

He glanced back at his crew, who had already finished off the remaining skeletons. They stood amid the carnage.

“What the hell are ya bastards standin’ ‘round for? Move ya lazy asses!” Greige shouted, snapping them back into action.

“Yes, boss!” they replied in unison. Their laughter subsided as they regrouped. Sugar moved closer to Greg, clinging to him as they pressed forward.

“As expected from my Hubby—you wiped them out in one swing.”

“Tch. They were weak! Ya ain’t seen nothin’ yet. When I was twenty, I stormed a whole town and took out a hundred fools in one night!”

Then—a click.

A loose stone shifted beneath Greige’s boot.

He paused. The air around them was still.

“Prepare yourselves, you bastards,” His voice dropped to a low murmur.

The crew instinctively tensed.

Tremors ripped through the dungeon.

Almost immediately, tremors rippled through the dungeon. The torches lining the walls flickered and went dark, plunging Greige’s crew into sudden blindness.

The ancient stone walls seemed to shift and writhe around them as the air thickened with dust and the stench of decay. With a deafening crash, the passage behind them slammed shut, sealing off any hope of retreat.

Before them, a single, jagged projection burst from the center of the wall. At each end of this central projection, a carved strange symbol glowed with a faint, otherworldly light that pulsed in time with a similar carved as the peak of projection.

Beneath the projection lay an ancient chest, its wood crusted with dust. As the tremors subsided, the torches flickered back to life, casting eerie shadows upon the stone.

“Boss… we’re trapped. What should we do?” one of the crew muttered.

Greige cracked his neck. “Isn’t it obvious? We wreck it.”

The crew groaned.

“Not again…”

“If you get caught in his attack, you’re done for!”

“Shut up! How many times are you gonna say that?!”

“Secret technique—”

“Hubby, wait!” Sugar interjected.

He turned, visibly annoyed.

“What? Can’t Sugar see Hubby’s about to unleash his secret technique?”

Sugar held up the map.

“Look. The note changed again.”

“…Sugar, did ya forget Hubby can’t read?”

She blinked, then chuckled in embarrassment before clearing her throat and reading aloud:

Oh, brave warriors, you have shown great courage to come this far! Before you lies the grand gateway to the chamber of the legendary artifact. To gain entry, you must seek out and place three sacred crystals—one in the middle projection and one at each end.

“So we need crystals. Fine,” Greige snorted.

“Maybe there’s one in that chest?” one of the crew said, hesitating.

“There’s only one way to know for sure.”

With a single swing, Greige obliterated the chest.

A sickening splash! Dark, inky liquid splattered across the floor as a stunning, transparent crystal rolled free.

“Blood? What the hell was that? Some kinda monster?” Greige wrinkled his nose.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

“Hubby, look! It’s gorgeous! Can I keep it?” Sugar ignored the mess. Her eyes sparkled.

“Haha! Sure, but we gotta use it first. Once we’ve got the artifact, it’s all yours.” He let out a booming laugh.

“Yay, I love you, Hubby~” Sugar hummed, planting a kiss on his cheek before carefully placing the crystal into the slot toward the center of the projection’s carved symbol. As it locked into place, the dungeon shook again, and a brilliant light burst from it—blinding them for a moment—before it dimmed. The tremors then ceased.

“We’re still trapped…” one crew member murmured dejectedly.

“Maybe there is a hidden switch somewhere,” Sugar suggested.

“A hidden switch, huh? Ya bastards, heard her! Get out there and search for that hidden switch!” Greige commanded, his tone brooking no argument.

For ten long minutes, they scoured the chamber. Then—

“I found it!”

A hidden passage on the left slid open.

Then—

“I found another one!”

A second pathway, to the right, revealed itself.

Confusion set in.

“Hmm. Then let’s split up,” Greige said, crossing his arms.

“Hubby, can’t I go with you?” Sugar pouted, clinging to him.

“Nah, Sugar. You lead the other group. We’ll move faster that way.”

“Fine…” Sugar said, her voice filled with reluctant affection.

With that, the nefarious crew dispersed into the labyrinthine corridors.

Mapp [https://files.catbox.moe/tw0t0g.jpg]

⊶☽☬☾⊷

Alistair perched atop First’s shoulder, her gaze idly sweeping the dim corridor ahead. It had been half an hour since the last battle, and in that time, they had encountered several groups of skeletons—all of which she had chosen to avoid. Fighting them was pointless. A waste of time and energy.

More importantly, she had made an interesting discovery: when First used 《Shadowmeld》 to merge into the darkness, she could follow simply by maintaining physical contact, bypassing the need for her own spellcasting.

Whether this was an innate property of abyssal creatures or something any Umbramancer could exploit remained unclear, but the result was the same—less mana expenditure on her part. A convenient trick.

As they advanced deeper, First’s foot pressed against a loose stone. The passage behind them slammed shut with a heavy finality.

Alistair’s gaze flicked to their new surroundings.

"Two projections, an indentation… and no visible path. What a stunning display of incompetence. Was the creator blind, or do they simply lack any sense of aesthetics?"

Before them, two jagged, pointed projections emerged from the wall. Between these pointed carvings, a massive recess yawned like an entryway. At the center of each projection, a strange symbol pulsed with a faint, otherworldly light. Beneath the vast recess, an aged chest sat, its wood crusted with dust.

"Well, what can I expect from someone who can only afford to use skeletons as monsters?" Alistair shrugged, her tone dripping with disdain.

She summoned the abyssal chamber and retrieved her map. As she unfurled it, the old note shifted, and a new message appeared:

Oh, brave warriors, you have shown great courage to have come this far! Before you lies the grand gateway to the chamber of the legendary artifact. To gain entry, you must seek out and place three sacred crystals into the middle recess and the two projections.

Alistair glanced at the chest and sighed.

Only an imbecile wouldn’t see this as a trap but… whatever. That’s not my problem.

A sly smile crept across her face, revealing a flash of glinting fangs as she turned to First.

“Open it,” she commanded.

Without hesitation, First lifted the lid. Inside, nestled on a plush velvet lining, lay a breathtaking crystal that sparkled with a clarity that seemed almost otherworldly. Alistair, born into a life of luxury, had seen countless precious gems on Earth, but none had ever caught her eyes like this. She couldn't help but wonder what it would fetch in the human world – surely hundreds of millions, at the very least.

Just as First extended his hand toward the crystal, the chest's mouth sprang open with a threatening clatter, its jagged teeth snapping eagerly at him. It tried to envelop him, but he stood unyielding, his sturdy figure unaffected by the mimic’s attempt to consume him. A thick, slimy stream of dark saliva dripped from the wide-open jaws, pooling on the cold stone floor.

A mimic? Finally, a monster that isn’t a skeleton… though it doesn’t look particularly strong.

With a swift, fluid motion, First thrust his hand into the mimic's wide-open jaws, tearing through its soft flesh with alarming ease. Dark ichor gushed out, mixing with splintered wood as the grotesque creature was ripped apart. The stunning crystal rolled free, untouched by the chaos.

Alistair wrinkled her nose.

I did say I wanted blood… but not this. It reeks. Can I even drink a monster’s blood?

She gestured for First to pick up the crystal and place it into the recess. As it settled into place, the dungeon trembled again, and light flared from it, momentarily blinding Alistair before dimming once more. The tremors ceased.

Alistair’s gaze swept the chamber.

No mechanisms shifting, no doors opening.

A hidden passage, then.

Her fingers trailed along the left wall, searching for anything unusual. On the first pass, she felt a subtle shift beneath her touch. With a soft rumble, a section of the wall slid upward, revealing a hidden passage.

“That was surprisingly easy.”

V [https://files.catbox.moe/smpc1e.jpg]

“Alright, Crystal, here I come. Please make it interesting."

Alistair advanced slowly into the labyrinth, First walking beside her, shadows curling at her boots as she ventured deeper. The torchlight wavered along the corridor. She came upon two diverging paths stretching out before her. She tilted her head, unsure which path to choose.

“Left or right?” she murmured, looking down both pathways to see beyond the darkness, but she couldn't see anything past them. She then chose the right-hand path without giving it much thought. Her booted foot pressed firmly against the stone as she continued.

After a while, the corridor stretched further until other paths presented themselves. This time, three pathways unfurled. Just like before, she looked at each passage but couldn't see beyond them.

“Middle path it is, then. I have faith in my S-grade luck.”

She then found two passages eerily similar to the first one. She tilted her head and looked at the surroundings, which were the same as before. The stonework, the faint scratches on the walls, and even the subtle incline of the floor—she had been here before. With her photographic memory, she knew she had experienced this place before.

“This does not make any sense. I went straight, so why would I come back here again? Unless…”

She looked first beside her, tapping her chin as she delved into her thoughts. In her mind, various theories formed.

Three theories.

First: The pathways are intentionally designed to loop, forcing intruders onto a predetermined path. If I keep making the same choices, I’ll remain trapped.

Second: Magic. Illusions, spatial distortion, or something interfering with perception—plausible, given this fantasy world. If that's the case, my senses can't be trusted. First, however, is a shadow servant, mindless yet absolute. If the labyrinth manipulates vision or memory, he won’t be affected.

Third: The passages are constantly shifting. If that’s the case, then no matter which path I take, the layout is always reconfiguring. Therefore, my only option is to outpace it.

She exhaled, her plan set. "First, carry me."

Without hesitation, she climbed onto his shoulder. "Take the right path."

Three more corridors emerged. She pointed to the middle, mirroring her previous choice. Moments later, the path forked into four.

A dead end in logic. That ruled out the first theory.

“So now it’s either the second theory or the third,” Her voice was calm, but her mind sharpened with focus.

"I'm counting on you, First."

She closed her eyes, severing her reliance on vision. First ran, his movements soundless yet swift. She steadied herself, gripping his head for balance.

Then, the ground trembled beneath them.

She signaled First to stop and slipped down, her senses honing in. Rhythmic vibrations, growing stronger.

Monsters? No—Humans.

“Miss Lia, it’s futile! You can’t run away!” A male voice, distant but clear.

“Shut up!” A female voice, sharp with defiance.

𓆩✧𓆪