Michael’s face was distorted into a frown. He stared at the System message floating in front of him.

[Labyrinth: find the exit before time runs out.]

Below it, another three-hour timer counted down. He spun in place, taking in his surroundings. They were reminiscent of the Lizard Labyrinth Dungeon; high walls stretched towards the ceiling, adorned with glowing mushrooms and makeshift torches that burned eternally.

“It just had to be the most annoying type of Dungeon.”

Tairy had likely neglected to tell him that because he had already successfully beaten another Labyrinth.

Well, no way around it.

He looked at the wall next to him, staring at it for a bit. Then, he raised his staff.

“Mana Sphere.”

A Mana Sphere the size of a basketball coalesced on top of it, shooting towards the wall. It dug into it, creating a hole as it spun like a bullet. It kept going, burrowing deeper and deeper. After some time, the Skill fizzled out. Michael analyzed the scar it had left behind.

Damn.

The hole was nearly half a meter in length. It was a far cry from his previous attempt at breaking down a Labyrinth Dungeon’s walls, but at the same time, it was no surprise; his Intelligence had increased considerably, and so had his proficiency. He rubbed his chin.

Piercing through the walls is now possible, but the problem is that I don’t know in which direction to go.

He didn’t know if the Labyrinth had only a single exit or if he could simply create one. If the latter was true, the direction didn’t matter. All he needed to do was to keep firing twin Mana Spheres at the walls until he got out; his mana reserves allowed him to do so. The real problem would be if the former was the reality; breaking down the walls would then mean nothing but wasted effort.

“I guess there’s no harm in taking the slow approach.”

If he tried to confirm his hypothesis and made his way through the walls and it turned out that there was only one exit, he would have wasted more time than he would have if he simply searched for the exit normally.

I’ll ask Tairy about this when I get out.

He placed his left hand on the maze’s wall. His Dragonheart thumped. Pure light filled his body as Lightspeed was activated. There was no need to slow himself down even more. It was also a good opportunity to gauge Lightspeed’s new time limit while outside of battle.

He shot forward at blinding speed, always keeping his hand on the wall. At the same time, just as Lightspeed allowed him to, his senses perceived his surroundings with astounding clarity. If this Dungeon was like Lizard Labyrinth, there would be enemies. Traps were also a possibility. He needed to be ready.

Silently, he ran.

***

The hooded man peered down into the abyss. A writhing, pulsating darkness lay in its heart. It moved like a living being, stretching its tendrils across the bottom of the abyss. The man turned around as another man approached him from behind. The newcomer was tall and lithe, with pale skin and black hair and eyes. His eyes crackled with gray energy. He spoke as if he hadn’t tried to do so for a long time.

“Did you feel it?”

The hooded man raised his hands to his hood and removed it. The face that was revealed was just as perfect as the other man’s, but his eyes were a piercing violet. He replied.

“Yes. It was outside of my expectations.”

“What should we do about it?”

“Wait.”

The man with violet eyes, Yarth, grinned, but there was a tinge of frustration in his expression. For weak Demigods like them, even a single Blessing after the halfway point of the Tutorial required monumental effort. He had used up a great amount of resources to partly peer through the Veil and obtain middling information about the contestants in different Tutorial Zones, finally finding someone that suited his tastes; he unhesitatingly used his only Blessing, believing that the payoff would be great. However, some time ago, he had felt the contestant’s death.

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Yarth continued to speak.

“We need to wait for another chance.”

Zora frowned.

“Do we know anything about whoever killed him?”

Yarth shook his head.

“No. It’s someone who is still hidden by the Veil.”

It was impossible for Demigods at their level to obtain accurate information about a variety of contestants, no matter how much effort they put in. The Veil hindered their every move, guarding the contestants. They could only get bits and pieces that the System allowed them to glimpse. Finding the human called Lohann had been sheer luck. Or, at least, Yarth believed it had been.

“So, we can’t even get revenge.”

“Not yet.”

Zora sighed. He walked up to Yarth and looked at the darkness at the bottom of the abyss below them. Floating in the air, the two of them gazed downward.

“We’re making good progress.”

Yarth nodded. The two of them silently watched the darkness before he spoke.

“I’ll send a few puppets to that world once the Tutorial is over. At the very least, they should be able to find out who killed that human.”

“Very well. We will decide what to do then.”

Yarth narrowed his violet eyes. Traces of madness and rage danced in their depths. Wasting his only Blessing was a heavy blow. He would find whoever killed the human called Lohann and make them pay.

Even if they were under the protection of another Demigod.

***

Michael looked at the watched the floating messages.

[You have been rewarded for clearing the Dungeon.]

[You have acquired one Skill Point, and eight Free Stat Points.]

[There is an optional area in this Dungeon. Do you wish to enter?]

In the end, things had been easier than he expected. He had faced no enemies and encountered only a few simple traps, which had been easily avoided.

My new Lightspeed time limit is twenty-five seconds.

It was a considerable increase from his previous limit of eighteen seconds. In battle, every second counted; the ability to suddenly increase his speed for even a bit longer was invaluable, not to mention for several seconds. He was satisfied with his progress.

By using Cleansing to heal his body from Lightspeed’s strain, he had been able to activate the Heritage Skill frequently and had rushed to the end of the maze much faster than in Lizard Labyrinth.

Naturally, his gaze was drawn to the last message.

Do all Labyrinth Dungeons have optional areas?

He didn’t know the level of this optional area. It could be like Lizard Labyrinth’s and present him with a powerful opponent, or consist of another trial entirely. He only knew that Tairy had said that he was capable of facing this Dungeon.

Now, he stood at a crossroads. Should he take the plunge and seek greater rewards in the additional zone, or should he choose to avoid it until he had more information? Now that he had found his family and friends and killed Lohann, he couldn’t easily make choices that would risk his life. People still relied on him. He couldn’t put his life at risk so easily.

The safer option would be to leave the Dungeon. At the same time, he knew that he needed to risk himself if he wanted greater power to protect his loved ones. The greater rewards from clearing an optional area, especially the Free Stat Points and possible loot, were valuable to his current self. Could he truly throw away an opportunity to become stronger? Soon, he would face the Consumed Territory. It would be best to be as powerful as possible. A decision was reached.

“System, I want to enter the optional area.”

Before him, the walls that made up the labyrinth crumbled into ash. As the maze he had just left came undone, something else was revealed at its very heart. Michael’s gaze was naturally attracted to the one thing that didn’t fade away.

Another cocoon.

However, it was much larger than the Elder Lizardman Chief’s. It unraveled like a blooming flower. The curled-up creature floated, slowly stretching its limbs. A System message appeared in front of him.

[Optional Objective: kill the enemy.]

Thankfully, the objective was the same as last time. The creature fell to the ground, allowing him to see its form. It looked like a centaur from Greek mythology, but it had scaly legs and claws instead of hooves. The upper body looked like a lion, ending in a maw with sharp fangs. Its claws and fingers were long, creating a feeling of disconnect. It was as if human hands had been slapped onto a lion’s frame. The creature held no weapons. It turned to look at him, opening its eyes. The pupils dilated. He used Analyze.

[Failed Fledgling Chimera, Level 41.]

A failure?

Its Level wasn’t too high; the gap between them was that of only two Levels. It was at the same Level as the Griffin.

It might push me to Level 40.

He smiled. Without warning, it dashed towards him. Michael’s Dragonheart beat as if it were revving up its engine. The creature was faster than any enemy he had faced, being superior both to the Great Mushroom’s hyphae and the Mole King. The Elder Lizardman Chief had been a caster with rather weak physical abilities. His senses could still capture its movements. He activated Lightspeed at the same time that he ran to the side. The battle had officially begun.

The monster sunk its claws into the ground, veritably drifting to a stop before rushing at Michael while swinging its claws. In the meantime, Michael had finished casting a Mana Sphere and shot it towards the beast. Eagle Eye improved his visual acuity as the Sphere seared a gash into the monster’s side. The feline head roared.

There was no need for narrow dodging – not when the beast was barreling towards him like a freight train – as such, Michael took large steps and kept moving. Lightspeed empowered his body, allowing him to easily distance himself from the Failed Chimera. The creature kept trying to approach him. Lightspeed’s time limit remained on his mind.

Twenty more seconds.

He couldn’t waste all of them at the beginning of the battle. The light stopped coursing through him. As he became slower, the Boss narrowed the distance between them in an instant. Michael frowned. His staff drew a cross in the air.

One of the claws landed on the newly formed Mana Shield. The collision made his Shield ripple, but it remained unbroken. The impact alone gave him an idea of the Failed Chimera’s strength. Given its speed and power, it seemed to be a monster with a powerful body. It was the opposite of the Elder Lizardman Chief.

He jumped backwards while keeping his Shield up, avoiding a claw swipe. The Mana Shield disappeared.

A mana storm virtually exploded out of his body, dominating the space in an instant.