The party took several minutes to tend to their wounds and recuperate from the harrowing battle. Jade thought the fight had gone decently well, her close call with the edge of the arena aside. That was something she couldn't fully blame on the boss anyway.

What mattered most was that they had emerged victorious and without serious injury. Even after Naomi's healing spells had closed Jade's wounds and returned her health indicators back to green, though, she was left with some persistent aches and quite a bit of stiffness. Magical healing was incredible, but it couldn't immediately restore someone back to one hundred percent from even minor wounds. At least, not the low-level spells they had access to.

Finally, Jade forced herself to get up. No one else seemed to be motivated enough to rally the team, and if she didn't do it then they were at risk of just lying here for the rest of the day. If they were going to rest, Jade would prefer that be done back at the sanctuary. As much as she didn't want to hike all the way back across the quadrant, the last thing they needed was some normal monster wandering by while they were lounging in the treetops.

Luis was lying on his back in the lone shaft of sunlight that still penetrated the thick canopy, arms and legs spread wide. Naomi sat beside him with Siora, carefully tuning her guitar while the elf fussed over her potion vials. None of them had escaped the battle unscathed, although Luis and Jade had been the only ones to take significant damage, and all of them looked as exhausted as Jade felt. Deciding that a couple more minutes to recover wouldn't hurt, she decided to loot the boss before coaxing her companions back to their feet.

The armored spider's corpse, Jade refused to think of it by its official name of 'queen' on principle, lay in a chaotic mess of shattered chitin, congealing blood, and tangled legs. The stench was atrocious, and Jade had to hold her breath to get close enough to tap one of its mangled legs.

No one ever talks about the smell… She reflected, thinking back to all the media she'd consumed over the years and instructing the system to loot the monster while her eyes watered from the pungent odor.

The monster's corpse melted away into smoke before her eyes, leaving the uneven platform of branches bare save for herself and her companions. It left behind a substantial pile of crescent coins and a small silver key. The system didn’t have the decency to remove the copious amount of blood that had seeped out of the corpse before it had been looted, though, and Jade was forced to squelch her way through the disgusting mess to retrieve their rewards. She picked up the key first, examining it. It had a crescent handle that looked similar to the coins.

* Labyrinth Level Key Fragment: 1st Ring

* Key fragments of the same type can be combined into a 'Labyrinth Level Key'.

* Number of this type of fragment needed to create a 'Labyrinth Level Key': One.

Jade had barely finished reading the prompt when another window opened.

* You have enough 'Labyrinth Level Key Fragments' of the same type to create a 'Labyrinth Level Key'. Do you wish to combine them? (Y/N).

The key didn't look like a fragment to Jade, but that's what the system labeled it as. She also wasn't sure how her one item could be 'combined' into something else. And what was this about rings? With a mental shrug she clicked 'Yes'. The silver key shimmered in her hand, glowing white and growing larger and heavier. A moment later and the process was complete, the light fading to reveal an ornate golden key with a crescent handle.

* Labyrinth Level Key: 1st Ring

* This item can be used to open a stairway on 'level 1' of the Labyrinth for a period of one hour.

* This item is consumed on use.

Jade slipped the key into her bulging backpack, and then went about the rather gross business of picking up the sticky coins.

"I have the key." Jade said wearily as she returned to the group. "Luis, you're up next."

"For what?" he asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position with a groan.

"For gathering gross loot." Jade said, dropping the pile of bloody coins to the ground beside him. She had bundled them in one of her damaged shirts that wasn't suitable for wearing any longer. "And you get to carry it."

He lifted the bag, inspecting it dubiously. Congealed black blood slowly dripped from the bottom of it, pooling on the floor beside him.

"Don't they say money is the root of all evil?" he asked, holding the oozing bag at arm’s length. "We should leave it behind. You know, before it corrupts us."

"Nice try." Jade rolled her eyes. "Alright, everyone, if we don't want to spend the night here then we need to get moving."

Naomi stood up slowly, shouldering her bag and tucking the guitar under one arm.

"We're definitely not staying here." she declared, looking around with unease. "If we missed some of those little spiders, I'd rather not find out."

The four of them agreed that their best option was to return to the sanctuary for the night before setting out again in the morning. Now that their business in the 'Lush Valley' quadrant was done and they had a level key, they could begin making their way towards a stairway to the second floor.

"Siora?" Jade asked as they carefully climbed back down towards the ground. "Do you know where we can find a stairway?"

"Not exactly, but I know what direction we should travel in. The day before we met, when I was planning my own journey home, Juniper gave me some directions. I don't have a compass with me, but I know which way is inward from here."

"What do you mean by 'inward'?" Naomi asked.

As they continued to climb down, Siora took some time to explain how people navigated the Labyrinth and how the dungeon was structured. Her explanation answered several questions Jade hadn't yet had an opportunity to ask and, as always, led to even more.

According to Siora, the Labyrinth was laid out as a series of concentric rings of incomprehensible size, with the outer most ring being the lowest level and each successive ring 'inward' being the next floor 'up'. To travel to the second floor, they would have to navigate the width of their current ring to its inner wall. There, gates that were known as 'stairways' served as passageways between levels. Now that they had a level key for this floor, all they had to do to ascend was find one of these gateways and open it.

Travelling down to lower floors worked much the same, but in reverse. If one travelled 'outward' to the outer edge of a floor's ring they would find portals that would carry them down one level. Unlike when ascending, these gateways were not locked and could be used by anyone, but were only one way. That didn't usually matter, however, since Labyrinth nodes could be used to travel between previously visited destinations, even across floors. Anyone descending could generally return to the higher level they'd come from with ease. Siora was an unusual exception, as the trap that had dropped her down a floor had also cleared her node log.

Additionally, the elf explained that the outermost edge of the first ring, the one they were currently on, was where the gateways to the rest of the universe were situated. Damos had told them that the permanent portals to Earth wouldn't be open for at least another month, but once they were established that was one way they would be able to exit the Labyrinth.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"I understand 'inward' and 'outward' as directions." Naomi said, dropping down to the jungle floor to join the rest of the party. "But why are the other two called 'spinward' and 'trailward?' Do the rings rotate?"

"Yes!" Siora nodded, pleased that they understood. "Each ring spins, but at changing speeds, so where the stairways between levels lead sort of wobbles back and forth across the same few zones over time. Actually, the movement of the rings is what the Labyrinth calendar is based on."

"This is too complicated." Luis complained, rubbing his temples. "Why can't anything ever be simple?"

"How does the calendar work?" Jade asked, ignoring Luis's grumbling. "I've heard you talk in terms of days and years. Do people measure time based off the world they come from?"

"No, that would be very confusing." Siora explained. "The cities on the higher floors are filled with people from all across the universe. A Labyrinth month is how long it takes for the stairs from ring two to lead to a new quadrant on ring three. There are ten months in a Labyrinth year, that's how long it takes for those connections to get back to their starting quadrants."

"Huh." Jade said, considering that. "Why are rings two and three used? Why not one and two?"

"Not many people live on this ring, it changes too often. Even the days here are inconsistent. I'm pretty sure each day I've spent in this valley has been shorter than the last. The higher rings are more stable."

After that exchange, Siora caught sight of a cluster of vibrant purple flowers and ran off to investigate them. Jade had to practically pry her away from the plants, and she still insisted on spending several minutes gathering samples before she was willing to leave.

That settled, the group began trekking their way back towards the library sanctuary, staying alert for any wandering monsters. Naomi's healing magic had worked wonders on Jade's various wounds, but they hadn't been able to eliminate them entirely. Every step she took sent a dull ache pulsing through her ankle. It was disconcertingly reminiscent of the injury she had entered the Labyrinth with, and Jade found herself stressing over the idea that her transformation into a succubus hadn't completely healed her of it. It was a ridiculous concern, it would've been stranger if she didn't have some aches after the fall she'd endured, but her worries weren't so easily banished.

When she wasn't getting sidetracked by local flora, Siora continued to explain the Labyrinth's strange calendar system as they walked. They eventually figured out that one Labyrinth year was roughly equivalent to one and a quarter Earth years, although Jade hoped that they would be out of this place before that particular piece of information became relevant to her.

According to their elven companion, some unknown cosmic quirk had resulted in timekeeping concepts like 'hour' and 'minute' to be practically universal throughout the cosmos. That seemed suspiciously convenient to Jade, but the alternative would have been such a headache to deal with that she chose not to question it in the moment.

After they exited the thick, gloomy section of jungle that had been home to the boss, Jade felt safe enough to pull up her notifications, trusting her companions to keep watch for her. She blinked in surprise, there were more than she'd expected. First up was the experience awarded for defeating the boss.

* You have defeated: Jul'vara, Spider Queen (Regional Boss)

* You have gained 1350xp.

That was well over ten times as much experience than any other single monster had given her. If they wanted to level up quickly, grinding bosses might be a good option. If they could find a way to do it safely. Jade dismissed the notice, pulling up the next.

* Hidden Quest Complete!

* For every 3 completed hidden quests, your wayfarer quest counter will increase by 1.

* Hidden Quest: Takedown

* Land the killing blow on a Labyrinth boss. Nice moves, but can you do it again?

* Reward: Medium experience gain.

* Reward: Random uncommon magic item.

* Hidden Quest Conversion Progress: 2 of 3.

The air before Jade shimmered with blue light that coalesced into the shape of a small bag. She caught it before it dropped to the ground, inspecting the small pouch. It was made of a brown, leathery material and was about the size of a basketball. Could it be…?

* Item: Bag of Mystery

* Rarity: Uncommon

* The lesser known but far more entertaining cousin of the dimensional bag, the bag of mystery contains the perfect item for every occasion. If you're lucky, it might even give it to you.

* Effect: When you reach into this bag you will receive an item of random value and appropriateness to your current situation. After being used, nothing can be withdrawn from it for the next 30 hours. This time can be reduced by placing items inside the bag, with more valuable items providing a greater reduction. Items placed inside the bag cannot be retrieved.

"Damn…" Jade muttered. "I was hoping it was a bag of holding."

Everyone else was looking at her curiously, so Jade took a moment to explain the item's effects and why she had received it.

"I know what a dimensional bag is, but I've never heard of a bag of mystery." Siora said, poking it with a finger.

"Wait, those actually exist?" Jade asked, eyes widening in surprise. "Where do I get one?"

"Hmm… You can probably find them in some of the cities on the third floor. Or maybe the Labyrinth store, if we can find an entrance."

"What're you waiting for?" Luis asked "You gonna try it out?"

Still distracted by the thought of getting her hands on a real bag of holding, Jade shrugged and reached into the small pouch. Despite the container's size, she couldn't feel its sides or bottom. It was like sticking her arm into a well.

"This is bizarre…" she muttered, sinking her arm elbow deep in bag's opening. It struck her that she had no idea if this was safe or not.

Well, I already started…

Something unseen settled into her grasping hand and, with effort, she pulled it free.

* Bag of Mystery

* Roll One (Value): 351/1000 (Common)

* Roll Two (Appropriateness): 540/1000 (Potentially Useful)

A bundle of wooden slats and tangled rope emerged from the opening. It kept coming and coming, and Jade had to use both hands to finish pulling it free of the bag that appeared much too small to hold something of that volume.

"It's a… ladder?" Naomi said, peering at the jumbled mess.

Indeed, the strange item had deposited a somewhat weathered looking rope ladder into Jade's hands. It was the sort of thing one might find hanging from a child's treehouse, but far larger, easily forty feet long. For a few seconds they all just stared at it.

"Well…" Jade said, lowering the bundle to the ground and looking back towards the distant treetops they had just descended from. "That would have been helpful half an hour ago."

"What should we do with it?" Naomi asked.

"Keep it!" Luis declared, scooping it up. "Every adventurer needs a ladder. Maybe next it will give us a ten foot pole."

"…What?" Naomi asked, giving Luis a strange look.

"Just ignore him." Jade suggested, inspecting her new magic bag. Apparently, she couldn't use it for more than another day unless she shoveled valuables into it. "Who comes up with this stuff…?"

"I like it." Siora said cheerfully. "Can I try it next?"

They continued on their way, a bemused Jade assuring her companions that everyone could get a turn with the unusual item. Then, she returned her attention to her remaining prompts.

* Quest Complete: The Bigger They Are…

* Objective: Defeat a Labyrinth boss.

* Reward: Medium experience gain.

* Reward: 200 Crescent Coins.

After the incident with the node quest, Jade had figured out how to defer accepting quest rewards, so there wasn't a cascade of coins spilling everywhere. She'd wait until they were safely back at the sanctuary to collect them. As with the monster hunting quest, the boss slaying one had a sequel. This time the Voice of the Labyrinth's tone was more serious than usual.

* New Quest: The Harder They Fall (Part 1)

* So, you know your way around a fight. The question is, have you had enough? Or are you ready for your first real challenge?

* Objective: Defeat 5 Labyrinth bosses (1/5)

* Reward: 5000 crescent coins

* Reward: High experience gain

* Accept? (Y/N)

Before Jade could ask her companions if they'd received the quest as well, a smaller prompt came up.

* System Note:

* Accepting or declining this quest will influence what quests are given to you in the future.

That intrigued her. They'd already discovered that their own quests didn't match up one to one, but it was good to know that they had some level of control over the direction their Labyrinth Trial took. If she declined the quest, would her subsequent ones be easier? The system didn't say, but that seemed logical. Before deciding, Jade explained the quest to the group. As it turned out, Luis and Naomi had indeed received the same one.

"I think we should do it." Jade suggested. "Those rewards are much better than anything we've seen so far. Damos said the fastest way to gain levels was from questing, and it looks like the more challenging quests give the most benefits."

Luis agreed readily, but Naomi took some convincing. In the end, they all accepted it. If their goal were to just complete one hundred quests so that they could leave the Labyrinth, Jade would've been in favor of declining and holding out for easier tasks. But they didn't have that luxury, not with the danger Earth was in. Jade hadn't forgotten her earlier promise.

I'm going to break this place.

To do that she would need power, and lots of it. The final two prompts brought a predatory smile to her lips.

* Level Up!

* You have reached Level 6.

* Reward: New class feature.

* Reward: +2 stat points.

* Level Up!

* You have reached Level 7.

* Reward: You gained access to the 'Pathfinder' spell.

* Reward: +2 stat points.

"One step at a time." Jade murmured to herself.

She'd get there kill by kill if that's what it took.