After stepping through the gate, a small garden archway that didn’t lead into the temple garden. Jazmel sighed, the ground was granite, cold stone and the terrain was darkened but dim enough that someone could see just enough ahead of them. for Jazmel , he could see Mana and so his sight was keen even in the darkest of surroundings, but this place was a dead space and he had only been one place like that.
He was in another fountain trial, he looked ahead and tried to see if he could see the fountain, but it was further away.
“Where are we?” he heard and spinning he turned to see the fearful face of Leno, and the curious and forever calm face of Baek. They had been brought to a fountain trial alongside Jazmel , which worried him greatly. The last time he had come, it had been he and Sadé, plus their two companions. He neither had Sadé, her companion or his own; Paldane was home, hibernating and trying to grow as a dragon.
“A mandatory trial from the labyrinth, part of my plot. I am so sorry you got pulled into this.” Jazmel told Leno, he was worried very worried for the young man. He was only a seeker, he was not going to be able to defend himself in here, but then Jazmel remembered that Baek was there, and he was simply watching Jazmel .
“Protect him.” Jazmel uttered and Baek simply inclined his head.
The path was long and winding, it descended down into a grove, a fountain had been carved from within the gorge, a large piece of stone had been chiselled out and to Jazmel . It looked like the labyrinth being held up by two maidens. The mountain was sealed, wrapped in a wreath of Mana, his eyes could see the enchantment and wards. He drew his sword, his grave iron katana and with a simple swing, he cut through the wards and the water of the fountain burst forth.
DING!
YOU HAVE FOUND THE FOUNTAIN OF &4456&!
…
RECALCULATING!
…
…
&4456&
YOU HAVE FOUND THE FOUNTAIN OF THE PRIMORDIAL!
THE PRIMORDIAL FOUNTAIN OF SULIS!
+2 INT
+2 PER
+1 AGL
+1 DEX
Jazmel heard Leno gasp, and he looked at him. “I just got some stats!” he seemed excited, and Jazmel couldn’t help but smile, he looked at Baek and he simply watched all that was happening, curious.
THE WATERS OF SULIS BEGIN TO FLOW AGAIN!
YOU HAVE AWOKEN THE FOUNTAIN GUARDIAN!
BEWARE!!
“Get ready!” Jazmel said as the system pined out the notifications and he flicked them out of his sight.
He heard the scrape of metal against stone and looking around. He tried to pinpoint where it was coming from, but then he realised they were coming from all around him. he simply waited, his sword was drawn, and he had Mana, his stamina was high also. He was in peak condition as far as he was concerned.
The first creature to step into the light was covered in a hooded cloak, Jazmel almost missed it but the glint of the metal from its scythe caught his eye.
“Harbingers.” He said over his shoulder, more to Baek than to Leno. But he was sure Baek had noticed them almost as soon as Jazmel had, if not before.
There were many, Jazmel could hear them all around. From the willowing of their tattered cloth and cloaks, to the scrape of their scythes as they rushed into the vicinity to stop Jazmel ’s trial.
He watched them flit around him, trying to evade his line of sight, but his eyes saw all. His sight showed him their darkened cores as they rushed in towards him and he waited, prepared.
The first three rushed him and he dodged the strikes of the first two, the third made him defend. A strike from the scythe slid down his blade and he had to shove the harbinger off to ensure he wasn’t cut. They encircled him, dogged him but Jazmel was not scared.
Tier III harbingers were effectively ranker tier, his own level. But he could fight ranker tier on his own, he had been doing so for a while now.
Lacerate!
He slashed and one of the harbinger parried the first strike, the second one slide up the blade and before it could counter. Jazmel cut through the face hidden in the cowl. It dropped to the ground, headless.
The next two rushed him but he wasn’t overwhelmed. He parried and countered their attacks, but they could not gain any more ground, nor could he. He wasn’t going to let them gain presence on him, but Jazmel could hear the oncoming others, more and more harbingers were rushing towards him. usually the fountain trial would only have one guard or three so far. But this was much more than he had come across before.
Cleave!
His katana glanced off the scythe of one and when it was above, those seconds slowed down. But Jazmel was prepared for this.
Sunder!
He slammed down his katana and cut through the others. Cutting through them both, they died, and he simply stepped firmly. Waiting for the others to come towards him, they were rushing him now. Tens of them, he couldn’t see more but there were more of them than him.
Great rumbling dragon!
Jazmel felt the spectral form of the maw of a dragon form around his arms and his sword. He swung his blade and the rumbling maw of the dragon crashed into the harbingers and the stone cracked beneath the strength of his skill.
DING!
X45 TIER III HARBINGERS KILLED!
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
+4 STR
+3 PER
+2 VIT
+2 END
+2 WIL
Jazmel hummed with system energy, he would never get used to the feeling of his body changing and adjusting to a new strength or limit. It always felt almost uncanny the way his body simply changed, and he could do more.
Ever since his dexterity and agility reached over 100, his balance was simply perfect. He never stumbled; he never sprained his ankle moving through the terrain inside the labyrinth. In fact, he felt like a dancer the way he moved through the labyrinth. Each step assured and graceful. His tempered body made him strong enough to actively push through pain or problem and his stats just reinforced this all further.
He looked to see a few harbingers trying to crawl to their feet and attack him again, but he moved quicker. Raising his blade high, he spoke his skill and killed the rest.
Fall of the black raven!
Jazmel smashed the crater and the harbingers still reeling from the spectral dragon were killed, swept up into the dark Mana of his skill bodies strewn apart and he simply sheathed his sword and coolly exhaled.
He turned to look at Baek and Leno, he noticed a few harbingers had attacked the two, Baek had obviously dealt with them. but Jazmel could see that Leno had been given the chance to fight and gained stats and probably a few levels too. He was humming with system energy; Jazmel could see it swirling in his Mana core and rapidly spinning as it manifested strength and moved in the way the system wanted it to.
DING!
THE FOUNTAIN GUARDIAN VANGUARD HAVE BEEN DEFEATED!
BEWARE!!
THE TRUE GUARDIAN WILL COME!
BEWARE THE REAPING GRIM!
TIER III REAPING GRIM FOUND! A Reaping grim is the evolved version of a harbinger, they wrought despair and dismay!
Jazmel watched as from behind the fountain a darkened being appeared, smaller than the harbingers in size. It wasn’t much taller than Jazmel , but abnormally thin. Its tiny wrists clutched the larger than usually scythe in its hands as it approached Jazmel , he wondered how it would swing such a large weapon. But Jazmel was incredibly cautious now, he had learned enough lessons from near misses.
Abyss horn!
The reaping grim spoke a skill! A horn of dark black Mana ravaged the air as it shot from the swing of the scythe and he countered with his sheathed blade, surprised by the strength of the attack. but not caught unaware, few monsters could speak and even fewer used actual skills. But Jazmel had dealt with his fair share still.
Fall of the black raven!
Lacerate!
He swung his skills off, and the first strike was parried, shooting off into the distance. He heard it hit something and crack the stone. the second bounced off the blade of the scythe, the sound between a gong and a scraping of nails. He winced but leapt forward, he wouldn’t lose the chance to gain advantage.
The reaping grim wore a mask fashioned like a skull but made out of stone. he could tell from the way it hid all Mana from the head and made it look dead. It wore a black cape, no hood but the cape was clutched across its shoulders and made it billow out and hide the arms and body from his gaze.
The scythe was a true beauty. Made of obsidian black and darkened grey, it could’ve been grave iron or some other form of dark metal. But it was deadly still, it was augmenting the slashes and Jazmel had to do his best to stop them or block them. each parry and counter thudded and made his bones creak with force.
But he focused, he was going to win out this fight. He had to. The Grim approached again, cautiously this time and this time it was as if it were aware that Jazmel could be dangerous.
Reaping Recoil
The grim uttered and Jazmel was battered by the Mana. Damaging blows that wrapped him, engulfed him in the creatures Mana. But he stayed strong, kept his Mana within his core and waited for it to pass.
Sunder!
He cut through the Mana and the grim dodged out of the way of the Mana that leapt from his sword. He jumped at it, not wanting to let the reaping grim escape.
Lacerate!
He cut at it and this time he caught it, across the arm and shoulder. It cried out and hissed at Jazmel from the pain, but he didn’t hesitate.
Sunder!
He slashed the air and the grim jumped back, it had tried to create distance. But Jazmel had anticipated this and slashed into the air, the grim almost got hit. But dived back, rushing backwards the ground.
Great rumbling dragon!
Jazmel hurried forward, smashing the reaping grim out of the air and it crumbled. Jazmel watched as his Mana burst the back of the reaping grim. It wailed and then fell from his attack, he moved towards where it fell and saw it trying to pull itself towards its scythe. Where it had fallen some yards away.
He stepped over it and with a swift cut, he decapitated it.
DING!
TIER III REAPING GRIM KILLED!
…
REWARDS!
PRIMORDIAL CORE SHARD GAINED!
TIER II STEELFIN TUNA BLADE GAINED!
TIER III REAPING GRIM BEAST CORE GAINED!
TIER III BLACKENED REAPING SCYTHE GAINED!
…
He sighed and pulled the three shards from his ring. The shards were part of a core, Jazmel could see it better now with another piece. He placed them together, trying to figure out what the core look like before it broke and to his surprise. The pieces joined, connecting, and forming a small core a marble that fit into the palm of his hand.
PRIMORDIAL CORE 3/5 CONNECTED!
So there were just two more pieces to gather, something told him he would find them in the next few fountains he would have to find.
Jazmel moved through the harbingers and looked at leno watching him with utter awe in his eyes.
“What?” he asked, a little self-conscious.
“You are awesome. You are too strong!” leno said and Jazmel sighed. But then he noticed Baek watching him.
“Leno, loot them all!” he uttered, and leno rushed past him. while he was looting the monsters, Baek had made himself appear beside him. Jazmel waited to see what he would say.
“You have grown considerably stronger. I was surprised at how strong you have become. You might need to better prepare yourself.” He told Jazmel who looked at him. “Prepare for what?” Jazmel asked, curious.
“The system rewards and challenges but never forget that. You are strong, extraordinarily strong for a ranker tier. You might even be able to defeat tier IV creatures if you meet any. But even that is a risky ordeal, we are still quite low in the labyrinth. So I do not know what the system might be preparing for you, but the way things are going. You are likely to become one of the names within the labyrinth. It is likely that you will become one of the stronger members in the labyrinth.” Baek said and Jazmel listened, intently.
“I will be cautious, but all I can do is advance. The labyrinth is placing the path at my feet, all I can do is walk it.” He said and Baek inclined his head.
“I got a ton of stat points; I need to share them out.” Leno said and Marco nodded. “Wait let me see your stats, I am worried about something. Leno complied and pushed his screen across the air and showed Marco it.
STR:30 PER: 17
VIT:35 END:36
INT:20 WIL:30
AGL:25 DEX:22
Marco shook his head, even more worried. He wasn’t sure the best way to grow stable in the labyrinth, but he had stuck to what Mary had told him, balance was the best way to go. Plus just listening to Katie talk about how bad her stats were, he knew not to fall into the same trap. Rushing towards strength and forgetting the harmony of all the stats.
“You’re unbalanced and it’s probably effecting your growth. Your intelligence stat is linked to your Mana and your understanding of things, your perception is linked to acknowledging and understanding what you see. All your stats have harmony in one way or another, dexterity is balance and agility is the speed you move at. But if you are highly focused on one, the lack of the others are going to hamper your abilities. I won’t force you, but I think you should leave all your stats that are already in their 30’s and take the time to let your others catch up.” He offered and Baek agreed, something Jazmel suspected he would.
“So leave my stronger stats and only focus on the ones that are lagging behind?” leno asked and Jazmel nodded. “What are your stats like?” he asked and shrugging Marco showed him, his own. Leno whistled!
STR:125(+5) PER:126
VIT:125 END:123(+3)
INT:126 WIL:121
AGL:119 DEX:120
“How the hell are you not a master yet?” Leno yelled and then laughed after it. Jazmel turned and showed Baek the screen and he smiled, nodded over them, and then grinned. “I don’t think I am 100 times stronger than you are anymore.” Baek said and Jazmel himself couldn’t help but laugh.
“Let’s go, leno fill up some bottles with the water from the fountain. It is healing.” Jazmel said and as he and Baek walked past, trying to find the exit and to his surprise it simply appeared, a swirling portal gate to the righthand side of the fountain courtyard. They walked through, seamlessly transitioning to another gate and Jazmel found himself pleasantly surprised to see a sky, it was later afternoon, but the sun was still out.