These Nemean Gauntlets he created are extraordinary! Not only are they extremely comfortable, but they’re also powerful too. The small spikes on the knuckles are durable and sharp. Punching through monsters took little to no effort meaning I don’t expend that much energy. I could see myself using these for a long time.

Over to my left, Darion was cutting through a horde of snakes with his new spear. Surprisingly enough, I could see his lips curled into a little smirk. He was enjoying his time with the weapon.

“That old fossil sure does know how to make a good spear…” Darion said after he was done fighting. I ran over to him as soon as I was done over on my end.

“Enjoying your new toy Darion?” I teased.

“Yes. Although this spear is particularly long, it’s not heavy in the slightest, so it's easy to on the arms. This Adamantine metal… I wonder where he got it from. Maybe I could find it in here somewhere…”

Hm… It sounds like Darion is thinking of hoarding the whole stash of Adamantine metal if he somehow gets his hands on it. I don’t blame him. If we were to bring it back with us, our firepower would skyrocket. Wait… Should we go back and ask Thonthos where the treasure is? Ah crap! We left in such a hurry that we forgot to ask him if he knew how to navigate The Labyrinth!

No that wouldn’t work. He’s a prisoner and is confined to one place. There’s no way he would know the exact route to the middle.

“Sophie,” Darion called, waving a hand in front of my face. I recoiled away in surprise.

“O-Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking to myself. C’mon, let’s keep going…”

“Mm,” he nodded.

After finishing our job here, we continued on our path to the middle, not knowing that we were being watched by someone this whole time.

****

After continuous tests, I have concluded that this Mythical Item called Gorgons Head, is a busted item. You know how there are those characters who are unbelievably busted in fighting games and have some sort of ‘cheat’ skill? Well, this Gorgons Head has a cheat skill.

[Petrifying Stare]

Just by pulling one of its snake hairs, if a living being were to stare into its eyes, it would turn into stone instantly. They have no way of escaping it too. If you merely glance at its eyes, either on purpose or by accident…

You better pray for a quick death.

The downside of this thing though is that there’s a cooldown. I can only use it every thirty minutes. It’s understandable. If I could use this all willy-nilly, no one would be able to stop me.

“You sure do love that thing, don’t you Joel?” Chen Ling chuckled.

“Why wouldn’t I? This head makes fighting a lot easier. I don’t have to exert much energy.”

“That is true…”

We continued walking through the dark stone corridors in silence. Since The Labyrinth is a maze, we really have no idea where we’re going. We’re just going through the motions, hoping we’ll get lucky. It sometimes gets me thinking, what if we can’t leave this area? What if we can’t find the exit? What then? Those are the kind of thoughts that would make anyone crazy.

We would take a left, and then left again instead of a right. Some areas would even have dead-ends, so we had to retrace our steps. Other areas would have monsters such as snakes, Spritsies, Demogres, and even harpies. The Labyrinth has all different types of creatures which I found a bit odd. Spritsies and Demogres are found on planet Athiens. There have been no mentions of Spritsies and Demogres in Greek Mythology. Harpies, on the other hand, are mentioned. Why would these two creatures be in The Labyrinth together? That’s what doesn’t make sense to me. There has to be more than meets the eye in The Labyrinth. I feel as if figuring that part out is important.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Aha! Finally!” Chen Ling exclaimed. I looked up to see what got him so worked up.

“Oh. Another pair of stone doors. Lovely…” I grumbled.

“Why are you grumbling? Stone doors signify that something important is behind them,” said Chen Ling, already opening them.

I mean… he could be right. It’s been a while since we’ve seen these things. The last set had Medusa lying in wait. Just what sort of monstrosity will be waiting for us this time?

With my trusty axe in hand, I steeled myself for what was to come as Chen Ling kicked the doors wide open. We poked our heads inside, darting our eyes around to locate the next threat. Surprisingly, all we found were two beaten-up stone tablets hanging on a wall. They were big too. The words were carved onto the stone, albeit a little crooked as if someone engrained them in a hurry. I couldn’t understand what was written since it was not in English.

“Hm… Nope, can’t read it. It’s in Greek.”

“I should be of assistance then,” Chen Ling spoke up. I stepped aside so he could have some room.

“You can read Greek? How many languages are you fluent in?”

“About five. I can speak Chinese, English, Greek, Korean, and Latin.”

“Woah. Nice.”

Good thing he’s here then!

“Let’s see…”

With a hand on his chin, Chen Ling scanned the stone tablets with such speed, I was starting to think he was pulling my leg.

“Hm… Fascinating!” He beamed.

“What did it say?” I curiously asked.

“To sum it all up…” Chen Ling backed away from the tablets and faced me. There was a wild glint in his eyes.

“You know the place called Tartarus, correct?”

Tartarus? It’s an abyss deep within the Earth that serves as a prison of torment for the Titans and all sorts of wicked creatures. It is connected to the underworld and ruled by the god Hades. It is the deepest area of the underworld. You could truly call that place hell.

“Yea…”

“Well. The engraver of these tablets has basically just told us that The Labyrinth is one of three gateways to Tartarus.”

"...What?" I said, dumbfounded.

“The reason why Medusa was inside The Labyrinth was that she was a prisoner. Well, one of many, as stated here. Those who are imprisoned here are pseudo-prisoners of Tartarus, meaning that they were one step away from becoming prisoners IN Tartarus for reasons unknown but were sent here regardless.”

“…”

“The engraver supposedly swore secrecy to this fact, but they broke that promise. In the last sentence they engraved, they said that they were running from something chasing them. That’s why these were scribbled in a hurry.”

…That is a lot to take in. The Labyrinth has one of three portals that’s connected to Tartarus... That’s a first. I’ve never heard of that before. Also, who was the one who engraved these words? Was it Daedalus himself? Or someone else? I feel as if there’s more to this story. That nagging feeling I’ve been having this whole time is growing stronger. It’s like pieces of a puzzle were being put together, yet I cannot find them on my own. As if they were stolen by another.

“Well, what now, Joel?” Chen Ling inquired.

I glanced at the stone tablets once more. “Our objective hasn’t changed. We’ll still head to the middle to kill The Minotaur, but we may have to do some detours, if necessary.”

Right now, I’m intrigued about this whole thing, and I’m determined to get to the bottom of this. What is the real purpose of The Labyrinth?

“Alright then. Lead the way!”

As before, there was an exit, revealing the same set of corridors. I was getting tired of seeing the same old scenery. It’s like being put in a straight jacket and tossed inside a white room for twenty-four hours. I just hope we can get out of here soon…

****

Hmm… They still haven’t found out I’m tracking them. Are they really that ignorant of their surroundings? Very pitiful, might I add. I thought I found some promise since they entered The Labyrinth from Earth, but I guess they aren’t all that. They may not be useful to us in the long run. Then again… I may be speaking too soon. For all I know, they may have already figured it out and aren’t doing anything yet. Especially that Chinese guy. He seems strong, I guess? I’ll just have to keep on watching them. What they said though… The Labyrinth housing a portal connected to Tartarus and the pseudo-prisoners... That sure is an interesting piece of info. I'll keep that in mind.

“…”

I should probably catch up with them or else I’ll lose them. I can’t have that happening. I need to keep monitoring how far the humans on Earth have developed and whether they’ll help in our mission or not.

If ‘they’ get their hands on the item, then Athiens really will be doomed to fall. That scenario must be prevented at all costs. We will prevent it.

For them…