Jazmel found that every time he entered a new gate and found a new world, he was amazed. He never got used to it, never quite got over how amazing it was to dive into the labyrinth and experience and random, daring at yet wondrous world each and every time.

He knew it was dangerous, he knew that at any moment if the labyrinth decided. He could lose his life to a tier IV creature or even a named tier III was still a powerful creation. he remembered his fight with Uter and almost shuddered, he had healed but his bones still ached with the ghosts of that fight.

He had stepped through the gate of the outpost, right into a city metropolis. The gate had even materialised inside the walls of this city, he stepped free of the gate and was followed by his friends; Katie, Gelth, Bannerman and Sadé. Corin came through too, retainers could follow their masters around and even into gates they hadn't been before. The system allowed that, it made him remember Saif and he wondered how she was doing.

It made him wonder after Baek too, he hadn't seen him in weeks. He had sent word that he was in the Kuzuryu kingdom, but the letter had been quick and concise, no real information shared. But Baek was a master tier, he could manage himself and even beyond that, Jazmel was sure of it.

DING!

YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE CITY METROPOLIS OF BENBAURG!

EXP ACCRUED!

The city metropolis of Benbaurg was not for the fainthearted, it was even larger than the dwarven metropolis he had been in just a few weeks ago. But he stepped forward, they had agreed to look for a new auction, everyone needed to buy and sell items. Colin was a great boon of the faction, but nothing beat labyrinth diving. Nothing could ever be better than diving, and so they frequently went out in their groups and pushed the bounds of their strengths and limits, to gain rewards for their faction. But also for their own system levels.

“Let’s find an auction house, this place must have many.” Katie said, wrapping her chain around her forearm and body. She had changed since she became a ranker tier III, she was just ahead of them all, but Jazmel had known since he had met her that she had extremely unbalanced stats and that had been what she was working on.

She hadn't yet mentioned a body tempering, so he imagined she wasn’t there yet. But maybe close, his eyes showed him the Mana within everyone and the closer he was with someone, the better it was developed to his sight. He could see the way her Mana coiled around her body, adaptive and active, ready for use and within her chains too. But she was still unbalanced, like her body couldn’t manage the flow of the Mana just yet, it didn’t rage like a storm, it felt more like a boat on a choppy sea. She needed to find the source of harmony for herself soon.

Bannerman was another story entirely. He clearly had tempered; he was much larger now. Standing at just under seven feet, his back was large and his arms thick with muscles. His fingertips extended into long claws and his skin was as dark as coal and grey in some parts. He looked like a hybrid mix of wolf and man but far more bestial. He retained his senses and his thoughts, but just the look of him was scary, it made Jazmel wonder just how strong he had gotten, he had also gone up a tier too. So he was even stronger than before.

Gelth stood beside him, a baldric across his back and he carried the large sword of the knight of the revenant dragon. Which he had claimed as his spoils after the battle. He was a little shorter than Bannerman, but not by much. He was still very much human though, he hadn't undergone a tempering either, but he was close. his Mana was bursting within him, it was almost as large as a beast core and Jazmel was surprised by just how large it was.

He had left Paldane at the outpost, he had been sleeping for almost twenty hours a day and only really waking to eat and then going back to sleep. He wasn’t sure what to do, but Paldane seemed fine and was simply growing and the energy to grow was causing him to sleep a lot.

Sadé had come, bringing Kazumi alongside her. Kazumi seemed to be able to revert to her old form of a tiny pup and she rested on the shoulder of Sadé even now as they walked through the city.

Sadé hadn't spoken to him in a few days, not since the arrival of Corin and him finding out that she was also a princess, to be. He felt like they were fighting but he wasn’t actually sure what it was about. He had left her to think about how she felt, they would speak sooner rather than later. He was sure of that much at least.

The group walked deeper into the city, other teams and groups were moving around. Jazmel could make out different factions and guilds, some were wearing the same colours, others were wearing the same armour. They made a point to show that they were all under the same flag, whichever group they belonged to.

“We should start bringing the faction out when we enter these cities. We need to build are reputation.” Katie said as she looked around her and Jazmel had to agree too. But he wasn’t sure how much he would need to do to build the forge and the outpost to build armour they called all work with. But he would go back and talk with his peers when he returned, AI would have ideas for him.

They walked down a road, a well paved and wide road where wagons filled the street going in either direction and people of all ages and strengths followed. Some were seekers, rankers, or masters. Others were simply denizens of the labyrinth. It was a sight that Jazmel found he enjoyed, there was great harmony in this metropolis, and he wanted to share this experience.

At the bottom of the road, there was a large four-story building, it was at the corner. So it acted like a wedge in the road and people either veered left or right. But the doors had been opened and Jazmel could see the Mana arrays built into the doorway, but he could also make out the Mana that was also being held inside the building.

“That building is the auction house, I can see the Mana.” He told his friends, and they followed him as he made his way through the crowds to enter.

The doors were not unguarded, surprisingly. A master tier at the door appeared, he wore simple robes, but they were so delicately warded and woven with Mana that Jazmel was sure that they could rival any armour he had seen in the labyrinth yet.

“None can enter the auction house without an invite, or they must pay an entry fee.” He told them, he didn’t even release his pressure. But his words held such authority that Jazmel felt intimidation.

“How do we get an invitation?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“You put up collateral that the auction might want, or you pay your way in.” he explained, clearly bored and Jazmel wondered if he had, had to say this already.

“How do you put up collateral that the auction might want, if you cannot get invited in?” Katie asked, clearly annoyed and Jazmel could sense the spike of irritancy in the guard.

“I don’t make the rules girl, I just enforce them.” he said, flaring a tiny part of his Mana and trying to push the group back. Jazmel felt oppressed, he grit his teeth and focused all he could to remain strong against the pressure.

DING!

THE TYRANT WILL NOT BE BOWED!

+2 WIL

“What can I provide to the auction?” Jazmel said through gritted teeth and the master looked at him and smiled, before releasing the strength of his spirit. He shook his head and then shrugged.

“I don’t know what you have, but to be only a ranker tier I and be able to stand under my pressure has made this interesting for me. Have you tempered?” he asked, and Jazmel nodded and noticed his friends looking at him admiringly.

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“Give me a tier III item and I will add it to the auction for you. Give me your name and I will put it down so you can pick up the earnings, but the auction house will take a 15% cut. So be warned.” He explained and Jazmel nodded, after looking at his friends and the guard stopped barring the way. Jazmel was the first through, he considered what to offer, he almost brought out the monarch tier item, but it was too precious. So instead he brought out the dwarven coin and the guard whistled.

The others brought out their own items and they were allowed to enter.

Jazmel had misread the arrays at the door, he had assumed that they were defensive runes of sigaldry. But when he entered he realised they had been so much more. The doors opened into an auditorium, much larger than the bounds of the building. The inside had been expanded through Mana stones and runes to create a much larger space inside.

The front was filled with stores where people were bartering, buying, and selling wares. Once you passed through this round, there were waiters, staff to seat you wherever you needed to be. Jazmel led his team to the waiters quickly, he wanted to get a good seat.

“Welcome to Benbaurg auction house. Will you need an office box for your party?” the waiter asked, a slim elf looking man, his eyes scanned the group. Loitering on Corin and Sadé for half a second before returning his eyes to Jazmel .

“We will, we want a private office box please.” He asked and the water nodded, to his left he beckoned one of his peers forward and directed him to bring them to their seating. As they followed this server, Jazmel noticed others doing the same thing, groups as large as even ten, but some as small as two and three.

“How much is the office box?” he asked and the server, not turning answered. “fifty platinum coins for a private space, or twenty-five for just an office box.” He explained, Jazmel winced but it was Katie who whistled.

“that is very expensive for a seating.” She said and without looking away from his destination the server merely said. “If you find the arrangements ill fitting, we can always provide better.” His tone itched Jazmel’s spirit but he wouldn’t be quelled. He pulled the coins from his ring and handed over fifty to the server. Who accepted them happily, his eyes showing it, but his face was stone.

When he brought them to a door, he handed a card to Jazmel and showed Jazmel to hover it over the handle to gain access. Jazmel did and when he opened the door, the office ‘box’ was actually a large evening room. It had a bar, a lounge area and seating by the window as well as away from the door. It was a room about the size of his bedroom in the outpost.

“The window is warded; none will be able to see in and yet you will be able to see out of it. also when you speak or barter, the window will augment your voice.” The server explained, once that was done he left them and as he closed the door, Jazmel heard it lock and then saw wards of Mana sigaldry flash across the entire frame.

“Here you go.” He turned and saw Sadé with platinum coins. He looked at the others and they were busy looking around the room and checking out the facilities. “The others put in, there is twenty-five there.” She said with a quick smile, Jazmel knew she was still upset with him. he didn’t want her to have any more ammunition, he accepted it, pulling them into his ring where he kept all his money.

“Thank you.” He said and she nodded before going over to the bar to join Katie.

“She is holding herself up, but she wants to share her burdens with you.” He heard and looking to the voice he saw Corin standing to the side watching him, watch Sadé.

“Didn’t you think I don’t deserve her?” he said and Corin shrugged, agreeing.

“I do not know much about royalty, especially when we live in a system where it can be earned. All I know is that you currently don’t have the right to be around her. But who knows what will happen in the future, for all we know. You might be the child of a king too.” She said and as she passed him to go over to the bar too, she slapped him on the back.

He might be the son of a king! He thought about those words, in truth he hadn't considered them since Baek had told them, but at the idea of losing Sadé. He decided he wanted to know more. He needed to know the truth about his birth.

DING!

YOU HAVE VISUALISED YOUR STORY!!

YOU HAVE GAINED A PLOT!

…

LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR FAMILY!

…

REWARDS;

* EYE UPGRADE

* MONARCH TIER TRIBULATION ITEM

* TIER III SWORD

He scoffed at the screen; to gain such great rewards just meant his story was something deep and the system was trying to goad him into looking for it. he smiled; he had been goaded. Just as he was done with the system, the lights in the room dimmed and a drum in the auditorium panned out its keen sound.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Rankers and Masters! Welcome to the annual Benbaurg auction, we welcome you all and thank you for filling our halls and offices.” The spokesman stood in the centre of the stage, he was dressed well, a black felt top hat, a black blazer with tails at the back. He leaned on an ornate black cane and his trousers were as dark as oil. He wore shoes, black too and he wore a shirt so white it reminded Jazmel of the idea of heaven.

“What a show off.” Corin said but Jazmel smirked, he actually agreed.

“I know we will have a lot to get through and I plan to do it all, so I ask. Can you bear with us while we get this show on the road?” he said and those in the auditorium, who were not in office boxes. Cheered him on.

“We will get the tier III items out of the way and then we will share some of our master tier items too. We even have a few special treats saved for later. All I ask is bear with us, let us share our wares. Can you do that people?!” He shouted over the din of the auditorium, and they all cheered him on again.

“Good, I am glad to know I am in amongst people of culture. People with a taste for items and artefacts.” He smiled as he surveyed the crowd and so while the first item was brought onto the stage he watched everyone else intently.

“This first item is tier III; it isn’t uncommon to be found in the labyrinth, but we have found an uncommon one of it.” he took a beast core from the attendant and showed it up so everyone could see it in the light. The beast core swirled with light, and it looked like night clouds of twilight blue, and purple were trapped inside.

“This is the mutated beast core of a tier III Dreadnought. Some of you look at me with the same eyes as me, but you don’t know what I am talking about. A dreadnought is a beast that has been turned into a golem, but the core still grows and functions as they grow stronger. This beast core is mutated because before the dreadnought could evolve and earn its name, it was vanquished. So I show you what is uncommon, don’t we always share such things?” He said with a wry smile.

“Bidding starts at five hundred gold coins.” He offered and hands were raised before he had even begun.

“Why would anyone want that?” Jazmel asked, turning to Sadé. She smiled at him, knowing why he turned and asked her, and she shrugged before responding. “A dreadnought isn’t much different to an attack dog; you build a new body for the core and tell it what to guard and it will. Some wealthy families keep them to guard their homes.” She explained and he nodded, a dreadnought was the same as the willow knight he had planted at the outpost. It hadn't even grown into a tree yet; he wondered what he needed to do to get it appear quicker.

The bidding went from five hundred gold coins all the way up to thirty platinum coins. Jazmel whistled a note of disbelief, but he wasn’t surprised, it looked like people had money here. money was always something that could be made in the labyrinth, he just needed to make more.

“Thank you for buying that, all items will be held in storage and when the auction is over you can take your item with you. Or have it delivered, for a small fee.” The wry smile appeared again, and Jazmel decided he didn’t like him. A few other beast cores of other creatures that Jazmel didn’t know where brought forward and sold too.

They brought a corpse up; the body was thick with white fur and brown stripes. It reminded Jazmel of a leopard, but from the forehead sprung two short horns and from short, faced snout, canines from the lower jaw jutted up out of the mouth. It was incredibly similar to the Zheng but also different.

“Here you will find, the corpse of a tier III Kogor, big cats that hunt in the mountains. Their bones are rock solid, and they compete with the Zheng for territory and prey. Bidding starts at one platinum coin.” The bidding went all the way up to thirteen, but Jazmel won. The item was taken into the back.

“We bring on the next item which I assure you, will shock some of you…” He stopped speaking as he was peering up at the ceiling, Jazmel followed his line of sight and saw a crack forming in the ceiling. His eyes showed him the Mana trying to repair the crack, to seal it in. but the Mana died, whatever away eroded it was breaking through and the crack soon became a crevice. From this crack, with horror. Jazmel watched the ceiling give out and ask rubble rained down and smoke spewed from the hole in the ceiling.

Great orbs of gilded gold and copper were forced through the opening and as they fell they flickered to life twisting and turning as they expanded in size and bounced around before landing in assembled form.

“That’s what a dreadnought looks like.” Sadé said as they came to form, hundreds of them were dropped from the ceiling and as they fell into the auditorium they turned into their golem form. Beginning to attack those in the auditorium.

The hole in the ceiling was widened and now bombs were dropped from the sky, casks of liquor used for firebombs were dropped and they smashed all around and caused even greater chaos.

“Who is doing this?” Katie asked, everyone glued to the window as they watched the anarchy of this attack.

“The sworn.” Bannerman said and Jazmel looked back at the hole just as the first one of them dropped from the ceiling and landed on the glass of one of the office boxes. He burst through and Jazmel heard the screams from within and then blood spurted across the glass that was left.

“Get ready everyone.” He said and he didn’t even have to look to know his friends were prepared.