inside the apartment where they grouped in 3 groups all having their own sitting place with the 2 couches, on one sitting zenos and kellam while on the other lüziel, rina and marth, being turned around to face the bar, at which håkan, kjell and torholt sat. the three at the bar tried to find the way how to start this but stopped another right when they where going to start. after a bit of awkward silence did kjell start speaking

„so let’s just get it over with. we planed to do a bit more but it just doesn’t feel right when you already know what this is about. let me just ask how much do you actually know outside the name?“

„not much. we can guess from what mythology tells but nothing concrete“

„and you two“

„nothing. up until just now we didn’t even know the name“

håkan was laying dangerously far back on his barstool and sight

„well that was the most important part to your gig. we waned ya to guess the name. with it being a maze and all we though it would be fitting to make a puzzle out of it“

kjell was now again speaking

„ok in that case let me ask you how much do you know from myth. they are always based on the reality and being from roman time when grintß where still allowed on earth they tend to be quite close to reality“

he was looking from right to left going down the row with kellam just shaking his head followed by zenos

„not my kinda boat. something greek or so i think“

he continued with rina but when he saw how she blanked he turned to lüziel

„most i know could marth probably say better“

and finally he looked at marth who took up lüziels word

„as far as i know it’s build by daedalus to trap the minotaur which later was killed by theseus. i wouldn’t know that there is much more to it especially if the minotaur is now dead and also the tradition of sending people into the labyrinth should be long gone.“

kjell clapped with his hands when marth was finished before speaking

„bravo thats mostly correct. if you can believe what the olympians say than there was a mane named theseus that went through different labors and also was the first person to leave dedalus’s labyrinth after having entered it holding the head of a minotaur but that was not the only that exists. there is such a thing as a minotaur and it is an animal that lives in one of the human enedire realms. daedalus was in fact the one that brought an exemplar to earth for experimentation but in a middle ground he needed to lock it in the labyrinth build for minos or he would have been kicked out of knossos. story tells that minos did this to protect his people from the beast but we all know that he just wanted his own personal torture chamber looking at how he used it“

marth looked extremely enthralled by hearing all of this but he was not the only one as both zenos and rina also listened closely to what kjell had to say and it was not like lüziel or kellam weren’t interest they simply didn’t show it openly

„so you are telling me that all of that really happen ON earth and there is a real labyrinth in knossos!“

to this kjell had to shake his head

„it’s all stories being told by the people they are about so they would definitely fluff them up. who knows maybe there really was a small labyrinth under knossos but what we do know is that there is one in olympus that is ancient and has a minotaur trapped inside guarding it“

håkan stepped in to follow this up

„it is not unreasonable to think that there was some sort of labyrinth like cage for a minotaur that daedalus brought with him as during that time specifically a lot of grintß lived on earth. now it’s of cause impossible but back then it was perfect to play superhero even if they went a bit overboard in the end.“

„anyways, it is not only a real place but it also gets used in a tradition to what thesius did. every 200 years to celebrate his deeds the descendants of minos give out the permission for 1 group to enter it. it was quite a hassle to be the one group that was allowed in and we already tried the last two times without success thats why we got the permission 3 years in advance.“

lüziel was now leaning forward and asked the thing that marth was to distracted with the story around to ask

„that is all good but what is the goal. i doubt this will happen just for the fun of it, there has to be something to be gained out of going through the effort“

hearing this the three changed their looks immediately

„oh what could it be. a mans lifeblood to slay the beast.“

„seeking out the goal that is salvation, not his own but that of others“

„a justice not known, a justice never payed“

„only one could be his name“

„thesius“

„only one could be his title“

„hero“

„his death cheered in his life, his deeds celebrated in his death“

„ἀμβροσία his blood is what we drink“

after their little show ended did marth go to thinking before he had an answer. in the meantime did rina and zenos not hold back on their opinion about this play

„that was so bad. you just said some nonsensical lines“

„really wasn’t your greatest work, not like i expected much more“

„really, not even pretending, how rude. we tried our best but we never intended to do it like this. we needed to make that tup on the spot“

„you could have just said it normally“

but kellams muttering was so quiet that no one heard it and before anyone could go further into this did marth finally make up his mind

„isn’t ambrosia that stuff that made someone immortal if you drink it?“

this was something that gained immediate attention of the others with zenos being the one to speak it out

„so you are telling me that you can gain immortality!“

a loud laugh was the only answer they got at first before the three realized that they where serious

„of cause not. it’s just some wine that apparently has some medicinal effects but most importantly it’s said to be some of the best wine ever made and now that’s what you call something worth being hunted through a maze by a minotaur“

„that’s boring, i don’t want some stupid wine“

„but you still want to go“

lüziel could see that under rinas pouting was still the excitement for the maze which was answer enough for him

„i have to say it does sound underwhelming“

„common you can’t give us that attitude when we give you the special ability to go with us. this is the only time in 200 years to get at ambrosia. the only other way would be through the olympian gods or prices that would make midas gold touch look like it creates coal“

„but i doubt you want it for the money“

lüziel could clearly se in their eyes that their reasoning did not stem from aa desire of wealth but rather something more ‚chaotic‘

„of cause not. even if it would be worth a lot far outclassing the difficulty to reward ratio should someone who does this for the money get permanently kicked out.“

„yeah if you have no sense of adventure why even bother being a ranker. go back to the hole you crawled out of and don’t ruin everyones fun“

what torholt said almost was like a war cry for the three as they all chimed into this ritualistic call

„i think you should slowly get to the point. we still don’t know much about what to expect“

zenos got increasingly fidgety while they where patting out the explanation more and more

„ähm, yes of cause. so the reality is that you know, like this is not that easy to understand…“

„just get to the point, you’ll figure out a way to say it if you actually try“

„so the reality is that we know nothing“

all 3 went simultaneously into a pretend depressed state with hanging heads and shoulders while the rest reacted shocked all in their own way and degree with rina being disappointed and somewhat angry, marth and zenos frustrated and kellam and lüziel mostly expected something like that when kjell started to stutter.

„how are you supposed to traverse a maze that you know nothing about when it is meant to be this grandiose masterpiece?“

a not not unreasonable thing to say but you could hear that marth mostly was saying this out of anger

„it’s more fun that way isn’t it“

„sure it’s totally fun getting lost inside a maze designed to kill you. is right next to getting put in a guillotine on my bucket list“

it was quite the interesting thing for lüziel to see zenos, the usually annoying collected and composed, to snap. gone where his pretentious stile, no more playing the gentleman

„ok but to our excuse it is hard getting any verified information. those who did it are shut tight with a seal only large sums could break and the stories are anything but helpful, some even contradicting another“

„the privilege of those who went through i guess. if it really is that hard not waning other to just get a free pas makes sense“

while lüziel could reason with that explanation did it not solve the real reason why zenos and marth where angry

„why didn’t you say that from the start. you expect us to just run in head first without a thought. i get the feel you wanted to ditch us if push comes to shove“

this however did not stick well with them now also getting angry

„what do you think that we are just some assholes who would sacrifice other people for our gain…“

seeing how this discussion would not move anywhere for a while did lüziel decide to go out for a bit

„you do that and when your finished just write me, i can do better than listening to this“

they didn’t even listen to him or notice that he stood up but kellam and rina did who both gladly followed his example leaving the room together

„zenos is always so weird and annoying but he just went bam all of the sudden and the other also where so nice but suddenly go all wild“

during her explanations did rina throw her arms around to go with the explosion sounds she made

„don’t say i can understand their line of thinking. they bring results and that’s all that matters. as long as i follow them i can grow even further“

„to think about we met zenos but never you. you seem to be quite the opposite , all to yourself not seeking conflict like he does“

this pulled a slight chuckle out of kellam

„we are quite different people but he is reliable and gets me moving. i’m not one to take the first action i like to watch, so having someone to watch is what i need“

„but you sounded super duper strong when marth and elise described you, like a super villain who can take on an entire army!“

„i wouldn’t go that far, but effectively yes from what i gathered i expected you to be of the punch and no talk type“

kellam looked a bit shocked about these descriptions

„me? you sure you are talking about me?“

„well it’s a while ago but it is memorable seeing someone who is that showy getting put so much in her place that she couldn’t even pretend to have had a chance“

„i don’t know what you heard but let’s just say i am strong enough to take care for myself, but thats enough about me we should use this time more productively“

„boooring!“

rina was crossing her arms and looked aggressively disappointed but lüziel accepted so she simply followed him

„more productive means?“

„we know now probably as much as them so we might as well go search for things helpful to traverse a maze“

„we don’t know much about it but going from how it’s talked about to this day it probably has protection from more normal ways to get through. i doubt something as simple as drawing out a map would work or anyone with enough time could easily get through“

what lüziel said made rina quickly retract her hand that she raised to give her idea

„a compass may be helpful“

„a compas?“

„that way you always know what direction you go in relation to the entrance“

„that does make sense but wont get us far in progressing“

as they where talking they walked through the commercial district around the gate. while it was not unusual for rina to run around and look at what the shops had to offer, she did seem to have an incredible focus while doing so this time. it wasn’t like kellam and lüziel weren’t looking around but her more energetic looking did lead to her finding something that they would have easily overlooked. from the outside it looked like a lava lamp but looking close it did have a scale printed on the glass

„rina we are not here for enjoyment“

„but this is what you wanted“

„what do you mean?“

„you should look at it with the system, it can identify items even if you don’t own them“

when lüziel did as kellam said what he saw was clearly and unmistakably the word ‚compass‘, something he could wrap his head around how could this be something like a compass

„but how does this show anything? it just waves around randomly inside.“

„you are to narrow minded, this is an elf compass using magic“

„magic, i think we figured out that ‚magic‘ is just using certain skills that are how we imagine magic to go“

„it’s quite large for a compass, nothing you would want to carry around to look at it any time you need it“

„so is it like a waypoint?“

not waning to wait rina simply bought it unnoticed to them which lead to lüziel being shocked when she simply took it like she owns it

„rina you can’t just take it, put it back“

„but this is mine now“

„it seems i’m not the only one who has more outwards companions. now it’s to late to regret so let’s figure out what it does“

kellam was eagerly clapping his hands together walking to rina looking more closely at the compass.

Fire Compass

Rarity: 1 silver stars

Durability: Low

Equipment: Map

Description: A lamp filled with fire that will guid lost souls back to the right path

„guiding you back to the right path, eh? i really hate how ambiguous these descriptions are. i just want some clear information what it is is that so hard!“

„it doesn’t have any buttons. how do you use this?“

looking bellow and all around the base rina couldn’t find anything that would help to use it

„let’s just go back. they should be done with their skirmish. they maybe know more than us just trying random things until it breaks“

going back to where once was a heated argument happening they now saw when they opened the door was 5 people singing and dancing with some peculiar looking bottles standing on the table. it was marth who first notice their return

„there you are! you just vanished, we where worried“

„looking behind him lüziel didn’t need long fir his answer

„i doubt that. at least you have finished that pointless argument“

when rina put the fire compass on the table it got the imidiat attention from everyone in the room

„wow that lava lamp looks weird“

„you got a fire compass?“

„more importantly where where you“

while walking past kjell to sit down did kellam did he say something of which the first part was just barely loud enough for him to hear

„we had our break you had yours, can we now do what we wanted to do an hour ago“

„you have still no learned to speak up. loud you need to speak loud if you want to say something kellam“

„so what is that and where did you get it“

marth was pointing at the fire compass

„i found it after searching every shop for something helpful“

rina looked proud while saying that

„but we don’t know how to use it. the idea was that a compass helps us not getting lost but that only works if we know how to use the compass to begin with“

lüziel was plopping down in the couch

„why ya bought it if ya don’t know how to use it“

håkan was looking at them curiously

„it’s called being an air head“

„hey, that was mean“

„a compass is something i would have been against if it was the ones we know of as they are easily distracted by magnetic things but this i have no idea what to even think“

„gimme that“

torholt went over to the table and snatched the compass from it, he then turned on the bottom until he could remove the top showing that there was a second tube on the inside. he then turned the bottom again to remove the foot from the pipe that had the liquid inside. going to the sink he filed the outer shell with water and put the inner pipe back in closing it again with the foot.

„see that if you now turn it on and twist it the inner pipe stays in the same orientation. you could also read the angle you have turned by comparing the markings on the inside and outside but who actually needs to know the exact angle your in“

„you know that you did that wrong?“

„i know that you should put salt water in but do you have some at hand right now!“

„wow this is like a gyroscope but for horizontal movement instead of vertical, but how does this actually work. i don’t see anything like a skill being at work here?“

marth was twisting and turning the compass fixated on the tube on the inside and how it floated almost still only slight turning with the rest of the compass

„who knows? some wacky elf toy that just works“

„whoa when you read the outside it goes all the way up to 9072, what a weird number and it has these 9 rings all split in ascending order halves, thirds, quarters,… everything from 2 to 10“

„honestly where did you get that thing. they are almost nowhere to be found as they are obsolete when the system can give you a map at any time“

torholt was staring at rina

„i already told you that i searched everywhere and found it“

„well it is true that you searched through a lot to come across this but it was just from a random shop down there“

lüziel tried to pat rina on the head but she dodge out of the way for his hand to only meet air

„you mean from down there?“

torholt was pointing in direction gate

„yup“

„wow i’m surprised that you didn’t got scammed, there are a lot of tourist traps set out for ll the people who come here without knowing anything about elfs. but looking at it it definitely seems to work properly“

„anyways let’s get this over with, after all we have someone here who can’t wait for that“

kjell was looking at kellam with a short break before continuing

„we know it’s a maze, there will be a minotaur but don’t worry about that that’s where we are for. you’re job will be to get us through to the end and it seems like you are already taking steps for that so we definitely picked the right guys. don’t trust what people say about labyrinth as at best they are just misinformed, those olympians are good at keeping a secret if they set their minds to it and honestly i don’t even know if they now how it works. daedalus is long dead, never had any heir and it is said that labyrinth has a second purpose he build it for that he kept secret so he surely would give out information“

„just so you know we can only protect ya when you stay close. i will do everything in my power to guard ya when ya don’t run around like idiots. i’m no wizard“

torholt was giving them a serious look o make sure they understood

„we are not some children, i think all of us know how to act properly when it gets dangerous“

zenos looked a bit insulted about what torholt accused them of. after that interrupt did kjell continuo

„we also don’t know exactly how long it will take. from what we found out it took others about 3 weeks so prepare for that. once we are out it’s over no matter how we get out so we can’t take a break if it gets exhausting“

„it’s not like you are going to do the heavy lifting but it would be our fault if something happens to you guys“

„you sound like lüziel“

„despite how annoying lüziel can be at times it is still the better of the two options“

„what is that slandering about me you two are doing there!“

ignoring them did zenos ask the last important question

„so we still need a concrete date. you can’t just expect us to jump up and go when you say go“

the three looked at another silently confirming that they all had the same idea before kjell spoke

„let’s just go there. you still need to be officially called part of the group. if we do that you also get the mission“

this was something marth and zenos where waiting for so it didn’t take much convincing that they would go there right now. when they entered olympus they went somewhere marth, lüziel and rina already knew, at the bottom of the mountain to themis

„is he going to be mad at us from the last time?“

„we did nothing wrong and going from his attitude i doubt that he going to do something inappropriate“

„sounds like you went all out when you came here. maybe it more worthwhile to hear that story than one thinks“

zenos was squeezing himself between them but the three kept silent about what happened. when they entered the building it had the same atmosphere as the last time but this time when themis spoke he sounded less annoyed and more professional

„what do you want, why do you seek me out?“

„whoah where is that coming from? it’s ringing in my head!“

both zenos and kellam where extremely confused when themis spoke exactly how rina, lüziel and marth where when they came here first. to them it still was weird but they somewhat got used to it during the last time

„we have come to update our team for the upcoming labyrinths“

after that it got shortly silent before a door opened on the end of the corridor. while kjell, håkan and torholt went straight for it was the rest just standing there before torholt waved them over. the room on the other side of the door was a large white room with pillars separating it into sections each with a desk that had someone working at a pc there. where it not for the out of place pcs you could easily think that this place was build by romans and had stayed unchanged for the last 2000 years.

„is this,… an office?“

as non of them had expected this they where readily confused

„they may put a lot of effort into making these building look authentic but in the end even the high and mighty olympians have to conform to modern standards to not fall behind“

kjell targeted directly at one of the desks

„where here to update the labyrinth mission“

„labyrinth? just a moment“

the one at the desk turned around to a small drawer going through some files before pulling out one

„i need to see the identity card of all participants for this“

kjell, torholt and håkan all opened a yellow menus to show the person behind the desk. after some comparing between the papers in hand and the menu he spoke again

„what change do you want to make?“

„we want to add 5 support party members, those 5 behind us“

kjell pointed at them and the one behind the desk threw a quick glance at them

„a support party member will get reduced rewards and is no allowed to finish the quest on their own, is that ok“

„yea yea, i know. we just want them as support and not full members“

„what is that about, support members?“

„i don’t want to be stupid support!“

marth and rina seemed to not like the sound of support but lüziel shot them down before they could say anything

„he will have his reason for that. in the end we are nothing more than support so they have all the right to put us as that“

„but it sounds so unimportant. i want to adventure, not stay behind and just watch“

„a change to this type of mission will cost an extra fee, in addition for every party member added the appropriate participation price has to be paid. the only change is to add 5 support members?“

„yes thats all. everything else stays the same. and the fee, we will pay that right away“

„do all current participants approve of this change“

both håkan and torholt simply gave a thumbs up and nooded

„a fee for a mission? we never needed to pay anything, just pick it up and accept. that would explain why support members, they probably cost less“

„knowing them they will probably throw us at the minotaur and say ‚fight!‘ even if we are just support members. they really don’t care for ranks or anything. as long as they think it’s not dangerous will they have no problem letting us fend for ourselves“

zenos was leaning with hands behind his back on the pillar as if waiting for something, then the woman behind the desk called them

„i no need your identity cards to add you to the mission“

as they never had needed to get the information card needed they some help to get to it, not that it was hard to find, simply that they didn’t knew where it even was. after she finished the change could they leave. not waning to waste coming here they got some food before returning to gaime. it was back there when they for the first time looked at the mission

Λαβύρινθος

Objective: enter Λαβύρινθος and find the exit while escaping the Μινώταυρος

Reward: 5000 tallon for clear + 100 cp

Achievements: 0/2 cleared

Description: The Μίνως family has opened the Λαβύρινθος once again. you have been

choose as one of the lucky few to find glory in reaching the exit of this

legendary place. will you be a hero like Θησεύς and survive or will be lost

like many more before.

Place: Olympus

Rating: Legendary Event

„this description is written like an add“

„What are these weird letters?“

rina was looking at the mission like her brain could any moment start to go up in flames from overheating

„is that greek?“

„as far as i can tell. it’s not like i know greek but at the very least i know most letters. the words your missing are labyrinthos, minotauros, minos and theseus“

marth was pointing at the apropriat word while he was sying them on rinas screen

„and why do you know this when you can’t speak greek, no wait i don’t even need to know“

„ever heard of math and physics, there those letters get used plenty so it’s really not that hard to know them. but it does stick out that every name is in greek“

„i thought this stupid thing is supposed to translate everything, so why is it broken now?!“

„it is definitely odd, we ever saw was like this even here or in riastehc while this is still from humans“

puzzling about this they turned to kjell and co as they where still mostly ignored by kamaron

„oh that, you probably haven’t seen that as of now with the level of missions you can get. non of them are relevant enough for someone to care enough but that is what happens when the person who made the mission really some things to have ‚their original identity‘. it’s expensive to do so changing 4 words is a lot“

„expensive so you have to pay for that, but to who“

it was something all 5 never really thought about as the system simply worked, but who would be able to change things in something this grand and to begin with how do missions even get added in the first place

„don’t you know mips are the one regulating the system. you all should have seen them as they are also the ones who deal with act 2. they may not be fighters but the simple fact that they have control over the system to some extend makes them some of the most dangerous being out there“

„you mean that small fluffy guy with horns on his head“

while rina was the one who said it the image was burned into their minds of the first time they saw something not from earth. a being that at that time looked almighty

„surely only one thing could fit that description, you are spot on. ya don’t see em often after that but if they do ya know something big is up“

„but if they have control over the system wouldn’t that mean they can do whatever they want?“

„it’s not like they can do whatever, they are just administrators after all. where the system actually stems from who knows, it’s not like the mips would give that information out“

„so something that just exists that has this type of influence and the creator probably unknown…“

while marth was driving of into his thoughts did the rest mostly loos interest into something this far of understanding

„so about this mission, it’s called a legendary event that sounds quite.. dangerous“

„don’t ruin this lüziel, this is bout to be so fun“

„oh don’t think to hard about that. everything that has some historical root is legendary. you know the olympic games right? there is something like that in olympus that is also called legendary even t even if it is just a competition of physical attributes. legendary is just the systems way of saying long tradition and they are basically always organized by someone“

„olympic games, wouldn’t that be quite boring. the one who has gone the furthest i the system always wins“

zenos was amused at the idea of a normal human running as fast as they could just to get continuously lapped by someone who simply had more skills from the system

„well it’s not that simple. there are weight classes and most pats prohibit using the system so in the end is it still a competition to find the physically fittest“

„just look at us, we all trained and worked together for 400 years and are wildly different in our abilities. i am not that fast but much more sturdy than those two“

lüziel didn’t have to think much to see what torholt meant with rina standing right next to him

„i can see that, some are just better at some things and if everyone gets stronger it doesn’t change that“

„it seems you have felt it already first hand, in fact the gaps between a normal person and an expert get more extreme thanks to the system. if you see how fast or strong some people are you really can only say that that is inhuman“

for the rest of the day they just ended up being random talk about more of this and this was also basically the last time they bothered to talk about labyrinth for the remaining time as there simply wasn’t anything more to talk about with how limited of information they had. the remaining time they has they spent to come up with helpful things and stock up on basic things. in totality they ended up with the compass they had a second regular one for ‚testing‘ purposes and yarn for the good old lay out your path strategy. on the day before the mission started they got a message from kjell

yo tomorrow it starts so come meet us. we will go there now to be on time there. there is such a thing as missing out if you come to late so we have to get there before it starts

after meeting up all 8 went to olympus taking a hotel in a part of the city that they where never in despite having worked as guards here for a year. it was a part halfway up the mountain. the only thing they knew about this place was what they heard that here live the most important people that ween’t directly gods. demi gods, descendants of emperors or heroes, all people that couldn’t be further away from what they where.

„are we really supposed to be here?“

„it feels like they are staring at us“

„let them gawk, are are they gonna do attack us? they are way to high and mighty to do that“

compared to lüziel and rina was zenos walking around like this was normal but even he knew that this really wasn’t the place for them

„don’t worry about that we’ve taken care of stuff. at least for a bit we can be here no problem“

„if anyone tell you off just ignore them. most of the guys here are just some rich dudes who have won in the lineage lottery. very few hero or god lines are still what they where at their peak“

„i would even assume that a lot of the people here are weaker than you guys, just look at them. still don’t start a fight, there are still a few of very powerful people here including some of the heaviest hitters of humanity“

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

when looking around they could see every now and then some mean looks directed at them. the hotel they where in was of cause of the highest class something they had only seen in movies and the rooms where comedically large for the lack of filling. still you could tell that everything that was there was of high quality and even rina couldn’t dare to risk damaging anything in fear of having to pay it pack so the rest of the day was an awkward mix of not waning to go out from how unwanted they got treated and not daring to do anything inside their rooms of fear of breaking something more worth than all the money they had gained up to this point combined. the next day quite early they where summoned to the minos villa

„it’s so big. the other houses look to tiny in comparison“

rina looked in awe at the building before here while zenos seemed to anything but impressed

„just some rich guy stuff they get to show how much more money they have than normal people“

„do you have a personal vendetta towards rich people. i already noticed when we came here how the usual you got lost but you clearly have some agenda here and it’s not only you despite being quiet i can tell that you too aren’t the biggest fan of this kellam“

„we just hate people who have powers and don’t use them, it’s the reason why we want to clear the 3rd act. we want power so that we can do what they don’t want to do“

zenos was angrily pointing at the minos villa but he could have pointed in any direction with the are they where in

„that aside isn’t minos just a random king how coma that he has all of this“

„branding“

håkan gave only 1 word as answer but despite that it wasn’t such a simple answer

„branding?“

håkan then leaned in and spoke more quietly

„don’t say this outloud near minos company but people argue if they even are descendants of them. if minos really where that great he should have some sort of skill or weapon or something be related to him but despite it only being 3 generations ago that timeframe is suspiciously gray. if it would come out that one of the strongest companies in olympus are just some pretend to be that would not fly well with the ones up there“

„company minos, whats that supposed to be?“

„not all people are stuck in the past. there are two ways of having power in this word. 1 you become a legend or myth that way you get power from people already knowing you when they become grintß. number 2 is that you work to build something that becomes only known under grintß like a company selling quality items. the first one is easy, just impress some weaklings and let them do the work for you, but as easy as it comes it also goes when you drift into obscurity in your cultures myth. minos chose the latter, building up with hard work something that will last by the sheer fact of actively influencing people in the present and he had daedalus’s labyrinth after all to turn into a tourist attraction“

„so while everyone else sat around like an idiot he actually did something with what he had“

„thats the idea“

while they where talking zenos and marth, who listened quietly to what håkan had to say completely missed what was happening before them. greeting them at the entrance of the villa where a plethora of battlers and maids leading them to a ballroom that had 2 types of people inside, normal people like them, and ‚high class‘ people wearing no doubt expensive clothe in the forms of togas not only in the classic white but also with red, blue or other colors of stitchings or even entirely in different colors. on the sides where tables with different types of food, most being earthly, some something they couldn’t even recognize if it even was food to begin with. at one end of the room up a short stairway was where most of the attention was directed towards with everyone waiting for someone coming from there. it took long enough that they where able to take a round through the food laid out before someone appeared from atop the stairs started to speak.

„i Ἀκταίων welcome you and wish every single one to have arrived without any problem as it is not a time for sorrow when it has been 200 years since the last time we opened Λαβύρινθος and on this date the legendary hero Θησεύς traversed it, slough the Μινώταυρος AND successfully return back. he as a young grintß had done what no one else before him could and now it is your chance to equal him. of cause you are no longer a third act grintß but do not frighten even for you now it will still be a great achievement to follow the footsteps of the legendary Θησεύς. soon you too will step foot into Λαβύρινθος and see for yourself the brilliance of Δαίδαλος machinations that created this Λαβύρινθος that is unrivaled among anything that came before or after it. i know that all you you are quite eager to either step foot inside or to see the next generations of heroes to be born but i please beg for some of your time as only 1 group will be able to enter at a time. we would of cause not dare to let you just wait unattended so let me offer you some food, wine and games while you are waiting and of cause as well some housing. we will spare no expenses to let our precious guest feel satisfied“

with that aktaion ended his speech he walked down to greet the rich halve personally while the other halve simply did what they did before to wait

„so i am right, how you where telling it i was sure that it was a 1 person deal which would be quite odd for something that happens only every 200 years“

marth was poking through kjell with his looks while he did a halve hearted laugh before answering

„you know it’s quite a bit easier to get people exited when you make it sound more dramatic. as you can see it is still a small amount who can participate but there are multiple groups every time“

„i don’t care for other people this will still be so exiting!“

„i also really don’t mind. in the end it doesn’t change the reason why we are here“

marth was turning to rina and lüziel

„it’s more about the principle. we tried so hard to get anything from them but something this simple they just skip over after us being persistent“

kjell ruffled marth hair to his dismay

„if keep that attitude up you’ll age twice as fast, you wouldn’t want to look like eighthundret in your fourhundreds“

noticing from behind them there was some commotion that interrupted their talk. approaching them with open arms was aktaion

„kjell, håkan, torholt there you are. why didn’t you tell me that you want to take part? i have heard that this is your third time trying, if you just had told me i could have gotten you way higher in the priority queue“

kjell was dodging aktaion while the rest of the people around them where interested in why aktaion was to welcoming to this random 4th acter

„you know exactly how people would react if you do that, they won’t go light on you when you do something like that to such a rare event and we would get all kinds of flag for abusing relationships“

„common you are some of faheros best human supporter and all of that without being a ranker“

it was an interesting reaction coming from the crowd when the name fahero fell as most where confused what this was about but some, some reacted with all kinds of emotions to that name

„who is that fahero guy?“

rinas quest hit a dead end on zenos and kellam who where equaly as clueless and torholt answer also wasn’t helping

„some other time, really isn’t the best place for that“

„you know you should use his name this lightly. we don’t intend to get any further benefits out of that than what we already get or we would have to deal with unwanted consequences. you should very well know that he will always get back what people owe him“

aktaion simply overheard this comment of kjell

„anyways now that you have gotten here in an acceptable manner for everyone lets say there could be a chance that you are the first to go. there are a lot of influential people watching so that should be perfect for your expertise, if of cause you clear Λαβύρινθος“

„if you really want to be that helpful just tell us what to do“

„you know that in that case i might as well go into the depth of Τάρταρος“

„in that case i doubt we have much more to discuss. you have a few people waiting“

seeing the crowd behind them aktaion decided to give a last handshake before turning around and return to what he did before but not without leaving behind a crowd that was staring intensely at kjell to figure out who he was

„you surly have better things to do than pester us so scram. i don’t need people talking behind my back, at least gossip somewhere else“

kjell was pushing the circle around them away with the help of torholt and håkan rougher than some would like but after having seen kjell and aktaion together they didn’t talk back out loud

„who are you guys anyways. it’s not like we have gotten a great introduction for someone who has apparently some awesome connections“

zenos was joining in lüzuels quest seeing this as a opportunity to finally squeeze out some informations about the team they now followed for a good while

„i too would like to know that. you always avoid telling us what you are really up to and constantly vanish for long times“

„i think it’s only fair. we would have done this after anyways“

whereas torholt seemed to have some sympathy towards them was håkan not so convinced about this endeavor

„but this is not really the best place,… how about you wait after us going through labyrinth then we can take off some time to do this properly“

then a weapon appeared stronger than anything known to man aiding zenos and lüziel in their endeavor in the form of rina’s childish stubbornness

„but i want to know now or i won’t go!“

„it’s just a small bit longer waiting and what are going to do with that information anyways right now“

„NO, i want to know NOW!“

„common that’s just childish it won’t kill you to wait 2 more weeks“

„i don’t care, i won’t go if you don’t tell me“

„you do know that that would just hurt you. weren’t you the most excited about this“

„you searched for people to help you so i know that you can’t do that“

„well at least she can stand her ground for things she wants“

torholt was laughing at håkan who seemed to not know how to handle this

„if you really need to know, we are information broker. we run around and get people what they want to know. it’s the reason why we rarely do something together, there is no point for more than one person to gather the same information“

all of them seemed quite shocked about this revelation as looking at them and with how they acted it looked just absurd

„but like, you are fighters and you act so ‚chaotic‘. shouldn’t a good information broker be good at talking“

„you are still new so you wouldn’t know but in this world if you can’t stand your ground all you are fit for is regular jobs.“

„always keep in mind if you go out there laws don’t apply. if someone thinks it’s funny to kill you no one will stop them. and now that’s enough of that it’s time to go“

kjell look extremely serious when he said that before going to where everyone else was heading, a second room connected to the room they where in that had tables set up so that every group could could get their own with name tags in the middle. in the middle of the room was a wall that one one side had a simple maze that was consisting out of just a singular path going in circles around the center until it finally reached the center on the other side it was a real but simple maze of paths forming what looked like a gear. when everyone sat down aktaion began to speak for the second time

„now that the greetings are over it is finally time to officially start this event. you may already have introduced yourself but let me give some short introductions. first on the side of the δωδεκάθεον we have Ζεύς second son Ἄβδηρος to overlook the ἥρως. next up is Ἀχλύς, daughter of ᾍδης and the one who will lead anyone going astray safely over Στύξ. and finally we have the greatest ἥρως of them all Ἡρακλῆς…“

„aren’t the gods all supposed to be dead long ago. how come those ancient geezers still alive“

zenos was was laying unimpressed back in his seat while aktaion was doing his speech

„this may just be a family name they now wear but you shouldn’t challenge your luck and didn’t we already tell you this a while ago“

„eh“

zenos just shrugged not showing if this response was meant to the first the second or both parts

„… and at last the last group of ἥρωες we have the ones who joined us last, kjell, torholt and håkan. they may not be rankers but in face of Λαβύρινθος everyone is equal. i know you all want to start as soon as you can but sadly only 1 group is allowed to enter Λαβύρινθος at once so instead we will do our traditional ἥρως lottery. may you be the lucky one to go first or do you have to wait for the very end?“

what was brought in was not something lüziel expected. a tree like statue made from a pitch black on the outside and red on the inside wood with a window showing the inside of the stem, 8 roots and 1 branch and where the crown would be instead becoming thinner and being separated into 8 parts. the roots themselves where not equipped with a window but to each’s end was attached a pipe leading to beneath the table it was standing on. the stem was emptied out and now had in the inside rods randomly placed.

„as we have only one group of non rankers i think it is fair to let them have the first choice. team leader kjell on what root of live would you want to put your luck on. what existence with lead you to victory or demise“

the attention turned to their table and after a bit of wait and a sigh kjell decided

„we take N.L.P. as our root of choice“

„not the highest but also not the lowest, will this be the right choice only time will tell“

after the attention turned back to aktaion marth immediately questioned kjell

„ N.L.P.? that has to stand for something“

„non lignified plants, 1 of the 8 roots of life and more importantly the one he tampered with in that machine“

„what is that thing, it’s a tree but not?“

kjell was leaning back in his seat

„just a silly gadget to randomly draw lots using the world tree ‚symbolic‘ to represent whatever agenda you want“

while kjell wasn’t giving the answer rina wanted torholt had a bit more to say to this

„you put something inside the roots and then blow air through it and see them climb up ordering in a random order at the top. do you know these sorters that look similar to that inside, where you throw in stuff from the top and it will order from border to center least to most, same idea but in reverse.“

„but then you need to take the highest one, that is obviously better as it is closer to the goal!“

„that’s why the two top roots are curved down at the entrance. is it fair, i doubt that but not like it’s used for something important“

after everyone chose their starting point 4 different colored balls where put in near the tips of the roots and after they where closed off through what could only be an airstream they came flung out into the center part dancing around and hitting against everything in there including the other balls sporadicly but finally floating upwards. their ball was the first one to come out bouncing between the pillars on the inside like the rest but way more successful as it was surprisingly good at evading the other balls a fact that only was noticed by kjell who was looking for what aktaion had planed to let them win.

„ad the first to reach the end iiiiiiisssss BLUE followed directly by yellow and who is the next one it is… green who sneaks it’s way past red. with this we have our order of entrance“

after this was finished they pulled out the balls in order and layed them out while pushing the tree to the back wall just letting it stand there. this was followed by a lot more talking that didn’t amount to much with all the god representatives abstaining from saying anything. the one important thing coming from this was that they would go first the next day so they stood there now in front of a giant stone door waiting to be opened.

„i hope you are ready because we won’t get out of there unless we found the end or are dying“

they knew that this question was just rhetorical as they all came here exactly because they where ready

„so we just gonna push that giant rock or what?“

zenos was halfheartedly kicking against the rock as if it move out of the way from that. to his surprise it actually did move away making him freeze in place from disbelieve

„they have to of cause seal it of for people to not simply walk in but that includes a way of opening it at will of cause“

all of them where starting to move past zenos with torholt at the end of the line giving zenos a push to get him to unfreeze. once inside they where surrounded by walls that looked like simply stone but had an odd black metallic shine coming off them. while there was light it was so dim that they could only barely see to the end of the starting path where it split of for the first time

„do you hear that? it’s almost like a clock ticking. where is that coming from“

marth was looking around searching for the origin of the ticking but it was almost as if it came from everywhere at once

„shouldn’t you expect machine sounds from something made by ‚the greatest mind of his time‘“

zenos was talking in irony but also not so far of the truth

„if this really is not just a normal maze i wouldn’t doubt that there is some mechanism at work her“

„more importantly i can see why you wouldn’t just barge through the walls. this stuff is seriously hard. you would be hard to find someone who had the tools to break it in a reasonable time“

while he was saying that did kjell knock on a wall

„it’s so shiny and new, but also so old and not shiny. i don’t like these walls, they make my head hurt thinking about them“

„then don’t do it. we are not here to break anything. walls are walls and thats it“

lüziel seemed not impressed by the walls

„anyways let us proceed forward. what lüziel said is right, we are not here to destroy anything. even if we found a way to break through we couldn’t afford the upcoming costs in a decades worth of working“

„wasn’t there supposed to be a minotaur. can’t see anything like that“

„but he is supposed be inside the labyrinths and we are only at the entrance“

rinas lecturing seemed to amuse zenos but before he could respond did kjell interrupt them

„let the minotaur be our problem. all 5 of you together wouldn’t be able to beat it“

„before we start going in let’s try this. it’s at least worth a shot“

marth was pulling out a yarn ball that he fixated on the ground with a medium sized rock he also pulled out

„the breadcrumb trick eh. i could imagine how this can go wrong but you are surely not the first to think of that but it’s still better than walking around aimlessly i guess“

„you really are all negative right now zenos. isn’t your style to be insufferably annoying“

marth did not himself get distracted by what zenos said and after he made sure that the yarn was tied tight to the rock he use the blue menu again now to draw something inside. unsurprisingly did the map show nothing inside here so he decided to use a simply notepad to draw up the path they walk as a handmade map.

„well it’s now up to you to get us through this. puzzles aren’t our forte so let’s show us what your made of“

despite this looking like some sort of encouragement it was not hard for any of them to see what was really going on here

„or in other words you do nothing and just let us do everything“

but they just pretended to not have heart what lüziel said and so they started going into labyrinth. outside of the constant sound of something large moving that surrounded them and a breeze coming from what looked like venting ducts for the first few hours it looked just like a normal maze. what they did realize was that there seemed to a constant curvature to the left or right leaving the only conclusion that labyrinth was build in a circle but it was hard to actually notice the curve giving a scale how large labyrinth would need to be. as of now it seemed like the yarn method would easily work but that was about to change very quickly with a sudden earthquake shaking all their surroundings

„the ground is moving!“

„oh thank you i would have noticed any other way“

„what’s going on?“

„don’t look at us, we already told you there isn’t much information about labyrinth“

„woaaaah“

almost as soon as the shaking started the yarn was pulled out of marth hand and they now also could hear the sound of stone scraping over stone while the constant ticking increase in frequent and volume. marths first reaction was to go back following the yarn but he was hold back by lüziel

„before you run off let’s wait for this to stop“

it took only about 1 minute before the shaking stopped but the yarn marth was holding rolled out almost completely during that time. after it stopped they turned around following the path the yarn indicated and for most of it it was exactly like they remembered with one exception

„a wall! there definitely wasn’t a wall before here“

„well your string is definitely now going straight under that wall“

lüziel was crouching down looking at how the yarn was tightly stuck at the side of the bottom corner of the wall

„so the shaking changed the path?“

kjell was pondering about this idea but couldn’t come up with what happened

„going on the idea that the path changed we still know that it didn’t change completely. the path we took back was identical to the map i drew and looking how the string it stuck under the wall the only thing that could have changed is this wall in particular“

„nice theory sherlock but where is it supposed to come from. i surely would have noticed a giant stone wall just chilling on the side“

zenos was turning around as if searching for any more wall that just magically pop up

„it’s clear that it wouldn’t just wait out in the open and going from where the string is stuck it came in from the right. the problem is that it is completely flat. it would be one thing if it comes from the top or bottom hiding in the ceiling as we couldn’t see the difference but if it slides in from the side it needs to leave a hole where it came from.“

„for now all we can do is go further in, right? no point waisting time here. the longer we await the more like we meet that minotaur thing and don’t get me wrong i would love to see it but not in a dead end“

„we still don’t know how they equipped the minotaur so zenos is right. it will be hard to fight it of like this and it has been a while since we entered so it probably isn’t that far of“

„wouldn’t it be easier to just get it over with“

for being usually quiet it was surprising when kellam spoke up but his argument was dismissed immediately

„we can assume that there is more than just 1 and they probably gave them equipment that will making a straight up fight hard for someone on your level. i’m certain i could hold it off for quite a while but in therms of killing thats another story all together“

torholt was confidently hitting on a shield he pulled out

„what is it now an an animal or human as you giving of mixed vibes here“

zenos was pointing at kjell in search of an explanation

„they are animals but more intelligent than even monkeys. you can hive them weapons and armor and train them to use it. they are just attacking with brut force but they have a whole lot more brute force than your average 4th acter“

when they where about to go back marth stopped them while drawing on his map

„let me first make some adjustments to my map“

„but a map doesn’t work when everything is changing?“

„rina, it’s hardly everything if only 1 path got blocked of. daedalus was able to escape easily after building this and even theseus was able to get out going from the myth so it won’t be random what is happening, i just have to figure out what the rule is“

„then whats next. you are the one to get us through so say the word where to go next. honestly you lost me already so i will just do as told“

håkan was sitting down waiting for what marth was doing next followed by kjell and torholt following him

„so it’s something this wall does different. wouldn’t be the best course of action to stay near and look what happens next time it does whatever it did. we still have this to check whenever something is happening here“

lüziel was picking up the yarn

„your right. let’s for now move only in that strings range and fill out the immediate area“

with that said they for now walked off all path they at first skipped always stopping when the yarn reached his limit with seeing nothing impressive and no signs of the minotaur. after another hour it happened again but this time outside of the shaking and sound nothing changed in their surrounding as far as they could tell. it took another 2 hours before there where any visible changes happening again just in time before they would have given up on their experiment with this time the yarn being just completely snatched out of marth hand and despite their best efforts running after it they came to late and it just vanished within the spot it was last being stuck in

„well i guess it’s obvious whats going on“

„the minotaur is pulling the string“

„and how do you expect there to pop up a wall in that case Rina“

„he placed it there to trap us!“

„confidentially incorrect. anyone else wanna try a better idea“

shock to her core from the rejection of her hypothesis she was looking down

„“moving walls, not an unheard of concept, almost classical at this point“

håkan was stroking his chin thinking about what he said

„if it just where the wall we would have felt an earthquake but didn’t it feel moer like the ground under our feet got puled away“

„whats the difference in the end the labyrinth changes regardless“

a valid question from kjell but math was prepared for this by pulling out a piece of paper drawing on it a mazes connected with a thick wall through the middle with 1 hole connecting the two halves

„this is how it would be if you only move walls. when this wall moves while the connection between the two segments changes the overall structure remains the same, on the other hand when you move the entire maze…“

he now drew 2 separate mazes and ripped the paper along their edges apart

„…if you move the entire thing standing at this point will lead you to a diffrent place in the other halve“

„meaning?“

„you can’t just follow your memory to find around. sure being at this point and suddenly having a wall before you is irritating but when you find where the hole is you still know where in the other halve you are from how far you moved through this part.“

he then pulled out the map he was drawing while they where moving through Λαβύρινθος.

„we are here and concidering that it would be impossible to do something like this without using one straight line that would mean all of this has moved…“

„i would hate to interrupt you but i think we have gotten ourselves a guest.“

„so rude just coming to a party uninvited“

approaching them was a muscular? furry being with 2 short horn stubs coming out of the head, an elongated face with a mouth more similar to a snout than a human face and 2 large yellow eyes above that. while looking like a wild beast in it’s demeanor it was wearing cloth which was a mix of armored plates along the chest forearms and legs with leather covering the rest and wielding a sword so massive it would have been a 2 handed sword for a normal person but the minotaur simply held it with a tight grip in one hand.

„when hearing the word minotaur i was more thinking of a strong animal not an armored man with the stature of someone who could eat a persona whole“

lüziel was taking a step back before realizing that they where in a dead end

„olympians sure do love them some beefed up monsters. there really was no reason giving a minotaur weapons and armor“

kjell was halve smiling halve crying now that he realized what they had to face

„don’t tell me now that you can’t beat that thing“

„well it would be quite a predicament when we can’t do the one job we came here to do“

kjell, håkan and torholt where readying themselves, to engage in combat? one sure would think but it became quickly clear that it was something else. with torholt at the front all thee where charging in formation shield up front at the minotaur clashing with force that surely should have knocked him over but the minotaur while letting out an angry groaning pressed against them holding his ground after getting pushed back a bit from the initial impact

„we are not just doing this for the fun of it, MOVE!“

„it’s one thing trying to fight something like this it’S another thing to do that while trying to not letting it get past you“

while those three where doing their best pinning down the minotaur marth lüziel and rina quickly hushed past them to the other open side. once they reached the other side started håkan a skill

[skill activation Deity Guardian

a being from above is blessing you with protection

your guardian demands a sacrifice to fulfill your wish]

„take this shield“

with those words the shield started to expand and digging itself into the ground creating a barricade between them and the minotaur

„this should keep him busy for some time“

„but you are supposed to fight him. now he will just come back“

„i would love to see you do better than us missy, if you can’t you should leave the fighting strategy to us“

lüziel was locking a bit concerned at them leisurely talking

„should we just stand here doing nothing“

„surely not“

all 6 of them starting running away from the barricade. not shortly after håkan got a notice from the system that his barricade has been broken

„now the real game begins. fighting that one head one is even 3 vs 1 not the best idea. they gave him steroids or something because that strength is not normal even for minotaurs“

„we can’t just run all the time that way marth can’t make his maps and get us out of here“

rina was back to scolding them for something she could do better and they where again unfazed by her words

„let’s just say i have a hunch it won’t be over with just that one“

„so there are multiple!?“

„while they don’t let just anyone do this they allow people that can fight back for traditions but all of this is a big show so i doubt they would just say you beaten the minotaur now let us watch you wander around in this maze for the next week“

„thats unfair! if you beat the minotaur you have won“

rina was quite outraged

„rina i don’t think they care about fairness with this“

„oh i’m sure you could convince them to change that rule with a bit of money“

it was already clear from the start but seeing torholt grin made it obvious for marth

„when saying just a bit you are referring to…“

„oh just a cupel billions“

„in other words it will not change“

„EXACTLY“

„that way“

marth was pointing to the left

„but then we go back tot he start“

„just going from my map these direction probably are dead ends“

standing there debating what direction to go they could hear the minotaurs angry screams from behind

„no better time than the present to check that direction out“

kjell went to the left fllowed by håkan, torholt and marth

„common rina don’t just stand there, it’s not like this path will be shut of when we come back… never mind, ignore that last part“

with them runnning away for quite a while they didn’t even realize how much time had passed andΛαβύρινθος was changing again and where there was once a wall there was now a hole behind it a very angry minotaur

„hello there long time no see, hows the wife and kids“

probably unable to understand the minotaur ignored håkans question charging at them

„it’s that bad“

now with torholt on the reciving end of a charge attack he did much worse than the miotaur nearly falling over but being able to catch footing in time. the really surprise was when he suddenly felt a funny feeling go through his hands.

„electricity, thats just unfair. weapons are made of metal for a reason, how are you supposed to fight someone who shocks you from existing or breaks your equipment with brute force“

with one big swing kjell was hitting the minotaur back a step or two with what could only be a giant log

„loggers time to shine, try shocking me through this“

„thats just aloghow is that supposed to be of any help“

marth was baffled from kjells weapon of choice

„no no no this is not any log this is LOGGERS“

disregarding if it truly was just a random log what marth could not deny was that kjell did successfully fend of the minotaur with loggers. with torholt always placing him between the minotaur and kjell all the minotaur could do was to fight someone who was completely set on doing nothing but defending. but where that plan might work with just the two of them was the monotaur able to get past torholt to attack the rest.

„picking on the weak link i see, how about you [cool down] a little“

between håkan and the minotaur the stone on the ground now started to become quite a bit more reflective then it used to be which the minotaur came to realize quickly when it started to slip on the ice that had formed. while not enough to make him fall now that he had a worse footing the next attack from kjell did. not wasting this moment torholt pullet out a disc that when thrown span out an iron net over the minotaur. having the weapon he did this iron net proved as excellent conductor to make this simply net more effective than it would otherwise have been

„i hope this wasn’t to shocking for you“

„so he’s dead?“

„i don’t think someone dead would be this loud“

„oh he will probably survive this. that sword can only for so long energy and minotaurs do have some thick skin but he sure will be knocked out for a good while“

kjell pocked the jittering minotaur with loggers to see what reaction would come but the minotaur was to occupied with his electrocution to give any noticeable reaction

„you said this way to go deeper“

„eeeeehm, yes. we are just leave him be like this“

marth was looking closely at the minotaur

„you wanna touch that? while the system does make us stronger in the end we are still only humans and die to the same things a normal human would“

leaving the minotaur behind they picked back up at mapping out Λαβύρινθος. taking the rest of the day to significantly reduce the distance between the middle and them, but no matter how close they got it always ended in a dead end having after 2 days circles once around the middle without any entry in sight

„this is unfair, we run in a full circle but there was no way in“

„really does let you wonder if there even is a path“

„going from my mapping it doesn’t seem like it, but thats without considering the rotations. something that does bother me is how the walls are numbered almost like a clock but the rotation intervals seem to random for that“

„and it’s not just a way to map out all of this?“

„thats the other issue, the numbers aren’t evenly distributed as far as i can tell. this was made by a mathematic genius, there is basically no chance he would just do this for no purpose“

„well hate to bring it to you three but talking time is over, out guest is back at it again and he seems, how should i put it, extremely unhappy about something. i wonder what it could be?“

„OH, i really wonder what it COULD be. now that you have left him there back then all you did is make him even more angry“

lüziel seemed somewhat annoyed at this situation that in his eyes could have been averted

„don’t worry we got this!“

torholt was flexing his shield, quite the impressing task as it still was noting more than a shield

„we can skip the first part and just go to this part, SHINE LOGGERS!“

kjell was pulling out loggers again ready to strike and as if he had waited for it the minotaur started to charge at them with full force

[skill activation Thousand Year Kingdom]

forming before them was a wooden wall blocking the path, reinforced with steel bars

„lets see you get through this, where i stand nothing will break our kingdoms walls“

„and why couldn’t you have done this before, that other wall was so weak“

rina was pointing at torholt who was starting to sweat once they could hear the impact from the minotaur and the wall

„let’s just say, i have my reasons“

„loggers brutal left!“

kjell was swinging loggers at the wall and right before he would have hit it like a gate the wall opened up showing the minotaur behind who was swinging at the wall to break it being intercepted by loggers in midst of charging up a hit but unlike before or how it should even happen loggers cut into the armor the minotaur was wearing. not being a deep enough cut the minotaur continued his swing now with the new target being kjell

„ghost hand pull!“

when håkan was saying these words kjell was pulled away like being pulled by am invisible hand rigtht out of the way of the swing seeing the blade cut the air right before his nose with a few rough spark arcing over to his face

„he really isa tough guy, you don’t want me to pull out loggers true power so you better stop right here or this will be ugly“

„if you have a better weapon why don’t you USE IT!“

„you don’t get it , you can’t just use the hidden power of a weapon willy milly, it has to be the right time and place, as the story demands it“

„what worse is a story that doesn't reach it’s end“

„loggers strong stab!“

kjell now thrusted loggers at the minotaur using the advantage of being just out of the minotaurs reach with his longer weapon. using his inhuman strength the minotaur easily caught loggers in his open hand but all this did was leading to a standoff where both kjell and the minotaur couldn’t reach another. a moment torholt did not pass unused

„combat art [shield lance]“

while torholt was trusting his shield towards the unarmed side of the minotaur his shield started to bend back forming a cone with a solid spike in the middle, leaving a nasty wound and letting the minotaur scream out i pain, but this could only do so much as the minotaur quickly shrugged of the pain and now started to overpower kjell who was still in a deadlock with the minotaur forcing him to release loggers and call it back in a blue flash. now being unhindered the minotaur could run straight at the other 4 who tried to dodge out of the way but despite his statue was the minotaur quite agile turning as fast as they could jump away targeting lüziel who was the only one who jumped to the right. a shattering sound was hearable and the temperature started to drop instantly, where lüziel should have been a broken pillar of ice had formed a shield spanning between wall and ground while lüziel was no where to be seen

„LÜZIEL!!!“

„didn’t we tell you it’s our job to fight“

torholt was holding lüziel a few meters away from where he just was in the other hand holding a shield that looked like it was just struck by a meteor only being held together by being frozen over.

„well so much for this one, maybe you can still use it as one of those designer tables“

while torholt was joking around did kjell catch up with the minotaur again wielding loggers smashing him into the frozen ground where the minotaur struggled to stand up if just for a moment as he quickly trashed the ground to his feet with just brute force breaking more than just the ice giving him solid footing to stand back up

„you really pulling your luck here minotaur, i guess its time to sow you what loggers is really made of“

as if the fight was already decided both torholt and håkan started to put away their weapons and just step a bit back simply watching what was going to happen next.

„a hero always comes late but he also comes alway when most needed. in the darkest night when on the brink of ruin he shall persist, pulling down the moon if need be“

kjell went into a ready stance one foot in the front and one in the back prepared to dash forward any moment grabbing loggers tightly on shoulder high to the left of him. the minotaur who now was back up to strike once more, unfazed by hat kjell was doing took his sword that was starting to shoot dangerous lighting bolts to the nearby area and with only 1 step as already in range to strike kjell.

„it’s so dark, what happened why can’t i see loggers anymore, where is this could coming from“

confused rina was locking around her as if searching something that wasn’t there

„what are you saying that stupid log is right there“

„i’m not dumb i know that that is not loggers“

håkan began to laugh turning towards rina

„it seems someone finally understood the majesty of loggers“

out of nowhere a black window popped up over kjell

[skill activation: borrowed fantasy

your actions have cause to reenact a mythos

‚loggers‘ (sealed) is starting to return to it’s original shape]

[borrowed fantasy: true kings sword ever engulfing darkness]

where kjell was once holding this bulky log that seemed more fitting to start a campfire than fighting he was now holding something akin to a sword but when trying to focus on its shape marths and lüziels vision went blurry as if it was forbidden to see how it actually looks. it’s shape was somewhat resembling that of a black scimitar a long curved blade the length of the log it was just moments ago and with it kjell caught the minotaurs blade midd strike and where it before was shooting out lighting bolts in all directions it now had all those bolts bend towards kjells blade and where at firs it seemed like that because he was wielding a metal blade in reality when they looked closer said bolt just vanished when coming into contact with the are round the blade where it started to became hard to focus on what truly was there, followed by a singular strike cuting through the minotaurs head his armor body everything like he wasn’t even there.

„IT IS SUCKING UP THE LIGHTING! no thats not important what even happened right now how is this dumb log suddenly THAT!“

„rina didn’t you say you saw fog what dd you mean with that?“

„i did not lie, lüziel. at first there was fog and then it turned into this“

„i’m not saying your lying, it’s just that i saw noting and with the blink of an eye it was suddenly this weird black blade“

„but if ‚loggers‘ was always able to this, why didn’t you do it right from the start? why fight with such a stupid weapon when you can have a real one!“

„it’s exactly as kjell said a hero never arrives on time. wouldn’t a story be boring otherwise, the hero comes bevore the incident and prevents it, catches the villain and ends the story without any threat“

while torholt tried his best to lecture marth he seemed fairly unimpressed by this explanation

„this is REAL LIVE, we DIE if we aren’t serious in situations like this“

„nonono you misunderstood kjell couldn’t BUT pull out the true kings sword this momemt and it seems with the help of a 4th one who understood it true value it now is even more than just a kings sword“

„quite the sinister name wouldn’t you say so?“

„but… how did this happen with only 4. we have never seen it like this in all our years.“

„a secret jet to be uncovered, a mask to be lifted. it could be a dark past not meant to be known by anyone alive“

kjell was back to holding loggers in hand like if all of the last 5 seconds never happened

„you still didn’t my question, why not do this from the start. i don’t care for your roleplaying shit“

„but he did answer you“

„that wasn’t a real answer rina, they simply diverted the subject“

„you shouldn’t be so stiff boy, you will see a lot more strange things than loggers if you keep on this adventure path and survive till the end. we ourselves do not know how it exactly works but that skill, borrowed fantasy, non of us has it and all the system states about loggers is questionable at best.“

„you know as information broker we too can’t just say it’s the way it is because that is how things go but for this one instance we have no choice but to accept“

kjell let loggers be stored by the system and then he started to walk where they where heading before they got interrupted by the minotaur

„and we shouldn’t stay still now that we have a bit of breathing room with the minotaur dead and stuff“

without caring for how marth would react he håkan and torholt and even lüziel and rina went down the labyrinth path. being baffled by how he got left behind marth had to run to catch up with the rest deciding that it would be worth the effort to figure out more about loggers.

even after doing another round around and multiple changes from the maze nothing changed they still had no way further in and from the sound of it they didn’t have to wait long for a new visitor with the sound of roaring echoing through the labyrinth.

„you sure you did it right. minos might be tricky but he would make this impossible and risk loosing credibility“

„i’m certain so just be quiet and let me think. it’s not like it’s impossible to get through just that all the pieces have to align. the question is how far these slices rotate, it would be easy if they just go 1 segment at a time then it would just be a waiting game but it’s as if they purposefully skip whenever they would create the right path. it also is so irradical almost random how far they move. these numbers written on the walls, roman numerals, unlike the arabic numerals we use they are additive instead of multiplicative“

„and whats the big part about that. in the end they are still numbers so all you need to do is read them how they are written and translate“

marth whisked lüziels comment away

„you can’t just put them into any order. a 1 can only be 3 times in a row they have to follow specific orders but smaller numbers are used to make bigger ones and those then are used to create the whole number“

„sounds so cumbersome“

kjell may did know what roman numerals are but never actually knew how they work and marth description just made them sound even more confusing to him

„there is a reason why ewe switched to arabics, romans are great when representing extremely simplistic problems but fail at large scale operations. but that they are means there are only specific configurations this labyrinth can have. every slice has the numbers 0, I, C, II, V, L, III, XXX, X, XX and while can make the number line no problem but from 144 until 444 you need 5 wheels and more after that“

„stop saying clever words, i can’t understand what you say if you do that“

rina did look true to her words looking more confused than she usually does

„so what i got from that is that you assume there are 5 rings and we have seen 3 meaning there are 2 more and now we have to deal with a new minotaur for these much harder to reach 2. i have the feeling we will be stuck here for much longer“

„not really. i am 90% certain that it’s counting roman numerals all we need to do is confirm. while roman numerals are unpractical that unpracticality also means you don’t need to see the entire number to have an accurate guess what the full number is. if we just wait a few more cycles i can guestimate what number we are on and orientate this map accordingly…“

„yeah yeah got it, we’re just gonna protect you for the next day so you can focus on only that, we don’t need to know the details when we’re not the once solving this“

the roaring they where hearing every now and then seemed to be have gotten closer but as long as the minotaur doesn’t break the wall they could never be certain how close her really was putting them at a constant unease while following marth through the labyrinth, until he suddenly came to a stop

„this just does not work! ordered small to large in the slices and that weird order on the rings to confuse people but it quite the famous pattern nowadays 0, I, C, II, V, L, III, XXX, X, XX for the first and X, V, C, XXX, III, XX, I, II, 0, L but lets just ignore the second as it would just be confusing. just look at the numerals as in the distance from the last and it becomes quite clear how they are ordered“

„1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 1, 2, 2, 3, i don’t get it and i’m not stupid“

rina looked like she was personally attacked by that question which gave marth no chance but to give an underhanded comment

„let’s just say challenged by the complexity of some of the questions in life“

„i may not know what that means but when i figure out and it is something bad i will, i will do something“

being amused by their quarrel kjell returned back to the question at hand

„but missy here is right that doesn’t look like any sensible order. with that last 2 and 3 swapped we would have something but this way?“

„instead of doing it backwards think of doing it forwards. when filling out he followed a simply chain skipping over the already filled spaces and when reaching the end we start at the beginning“

„soooo, 1, 2, 3, 5 mmmh that looks just like the number it is“

„go on continuo all the way through“

marth encouraged lüziel to figure out by himself what seemed to be the simplest answer there is

„5, 3, 1, 3, 2, 1? no maybe 8 no it’s not 10 that also doesn’t work 13, thats also just a random number“

„wait what was it again 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, i’ve seen that before“

„pimpom, 100 points for torholt. it’s the fibonacci sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and so on add the previous 2 numbers to get the next and if you do it for ring 2 it, instead of returning to the beginning goes on 89, 144 etc. i assume that the next ring will be in order V, I, II, XXX, III, L, 0, X, C, XX. if it is looking like thats it even without seeing all of the maze i can predict it’s movement“

„so you got it then all we need to do is follow your command and go to the finish and all it took was 4 days“

kjell looked impressed but marth again looked frustrated

„the problem is that the only possible numbers that go 0 0, 3 5, 0 5, 0 2, 10 1 which would only add up to 14,17 in the hundreds until the 60 where its 62, 68 an 69 and the 400 would be 4, 7, 12, 15, 18 in order that would be any number, 68, 14, 17 or 62 and 69. if it just where the last 2 swapped that would make this less random. i just have the feeling i am missing something it’s to simple and random but it does not impede him escaping if dedalus knows the order“

„well… ah no forget it“

lüziel seemed to have come up with something but disregarded it immediately

„please tell me, anything is fine i just need some other opinion to get out of this metaphorical hole i dug for myself, even if its wrong it might get me on the right track“

„i’m just meaning you assume there are 5 circles but wouldn’t the inner ones need to be larger to cover the same area, i know that much at least“

„considering it’s called labyrinth you would think it is a labyrinth but i reality this feels more like a clock and therefore…“

marth turned silent and it was almost audible how the gears in his head started to spin

„OF CAUSE! a maze normally has an entrance and an exist right“

the rest looked a bit confused at this obvious realization and håkan answered the only way you could to a question like this

„i’m mean would be much of a maze if the only way out is where you came from. in that case all you would could to do is turn back wen entering“

„exactly but a hedge maze or so would normally just have it’s other exit on another side but we are not trying to get through but as deep in as we can. the exist is the middle but i planed it as just part of the maze. in that case the row is ‚0‘, 8, 5, 2, 9“

marth was doing quotation marks with his hands when saying 0 which didn’t go unnoticed by the others

„and whats the problem now, boi. to me it only looks like you talk big and achieve nothing“

„lets say it like this the row is 9, 2 , 5, 8 and an unknown. keep in mind roman numerals change their length depending on how close they are to the next numeral, so would 10 be just X but 20 needs 2 X“

„but you said that there was XX“

rina felt like she solved a big mystery the brilliant marth couldn’t but he was actually waiting for someone to say that

„yes indeed which means there are only 2 ways a number can be represented, either it is exactly a numeral or a numeral with another adding or subtracting from that numeral“

„so if i get you right you are saying that…“

kjell was counting something with his hands before continuing to speak

„…if there are 2 0s the first 2 have to make up the entire number.“

„so a multiple of 10 right?“

„not quite if they make up the entire number that means it could yes be something like 40, XL, but it can also be a number like 55, LV, and considering that the row we had was 9, 2, 5, 8 and an unknown“

„your adding 3 when ignoring carry for the 9 that would mean 8 plus 3 is 1“

lüziel was stating the obvious but it still had to be said to get them to the result. this was followed up by torholt

„if i remember you said something about 140 or so needs more segments and the numbers are what…“

marth quickly threw in the numerals

„10 X, 50 L and 100 C“

„… right, which means it has to be one of those plus 1“

„but it went from 0 to 8 and later from 2 to 9 would that mean we go to negatives with 10 as starting point, leaving only 50 and 100. but how do we know which of these it is“

„we don’t. it’s impossible as they act the exact same. and even when we wait for 3 more flips in the case it is 50 we don’t yet know what happens went underflowing. still i have now an idea how they rotate which makes it easy to find a path through“

„i think our talk was a little bit to long, the minotaurs friend is here for an electrifying comeback“

„could you save your jokes for another time and pull out that blade from back then“

„won’t do it’s not the time for that“

„com on when IS the time for that“

„we already told you kiddo, so lets swap for now and we will do the work for now“

not like there was much work as torholt once again set up a wall to hinder the minotaurs approach

„can only do this a limited amount o times before i run out of shields so i would find it quite amazing if we could finish this in the near future rather than the far one“

„the problem is even if i know how it works i still need the layout to some degree, not like there is just randomly gonna be a straight path to the goal, but this way“

„so you do know the way“

„there is a difference between walls where a passage can come up and those where it can’t so i have marked all possible location and that one we still have jet to see in a configuration where it let’s us proceed“

„that would mean we’re cutting of the minotaur for a while when we go through a rare opening“

like planed where toholt stopped speaking kjell picked up the thought

„meaning you can get your time to think so it’s the best case scenario“

the aforementioned opening was not like the others expected right around the corner but instead quite a while away but that also meant to further the distance between them and the minotaur, but only getting there was halve the part as they did not have the luck to see an open path

„So you’re sure that this is where we need to be“

kjell was looking seriously at marth

„just look at the ground see that, this wear and tear that means something heavy is sliding here frequently“

„wouldn’t that be everywhere if the entire thing is moving“

håkan was letting out a sigh

„the opposite, if the wall would move you could find everywhere markings but exactly because the entire maze is moving the part of the wall that have no opening move with the maze“

marth was showing what he meant by using a piece of paper that he tore into 2 large and 1 thin stripe drawing some ‚walls‘ on the thin one showing that if he moved the thin one those walls would all move and leave marks on the other 2 pieces while if he removed the thin part and drew walls on the border of the bug ones and moved them only where he left an opening you could see something because the other markings where in the gap between 2 walls

„in that case let us put up some defense. every hour it rotates so all we need to do is wait her for a few hours and it bout to open at some point“

going right to it kjell, håkan and torholt used multiple skills and items to set up a much more elaborate barrier than what they has seen when they where doing one in for that fungi forest. with nothing to do but waiting marth went back to his drawings fidgeting with them while lüziel and rina where playing with poker cards to pass time and kjell, håkan and torholt where one eyed looking out for the barrier and with the other having a conversation in what had to be a nordic language making it impossible for them understand what the where saying

it didn’t take long for the first movement but nothing happened so they had to continuo waiting for the next hour and within that time the minotaur found his way to them standing terrifyingly behind the see through barrier trying to break it by smashing against it with enough force to make the ground shake a bit

„and you are sure this is save?“

„it seems to for for now, but who knows maybe he breaks through with the next one“

to lüziels dismiss did torholt laugh about that idea like it was some brilliant joke he just said instead of this terrifying maybe answer but lüziel knew them for long enough to at least know that there was no point in arguing with them about that. after the hour had passed with all but lüziel having started to just accept their knew angry neighbor the wall finally rotated open letting them through

„so good and bad news, the good news are we can now leave him behind“

„and the bad one“

„this barrier is sole kept up by us being here so once we leave it will break down and he will chase after us“

lkell was making an ‚sorry for not telling you‘ face

„then all we need to do is go first and you come after us“

„and they never find us again in this maze, rina?“

„then what is YOUR great idea“

„well instead of just mindlessly running away we scout out the area and come back to then know where to go. we have an entire hour before this closes again and that barrier has held for about 1 hour so what is another one, right?“

for that last word marth was turning towards kjell

„probably i’ll guess“

he was just shrugging that question of, pretending it was just some unimportant information

„and we are for sure there is only 1 minotaur in this maze. we are basically dead we one catches us“

lüziel was looking a bit concerned

„there was only 1 up until now so why would there be more when we split up. they don’t change the rules mid trial r people would rebel“

„you gotta keep in mind that all of this is just one big publicity stunt. minos makes a huge loss from from giving away ambrosia for free“

„but it would be super bad if you would show how people die because of you“

these words from rina made the 3 realize

„i guess i makes sense that you still use common sense from back on earth. people dying isn’t a big deal, we may pretend to be civilized but in the end do people long for the blood of others and now that rules couldn’t possibly keep those who are truly powerful down it’s commonplace for things you feel wrong to happen without repercussion. that is just the world we are living in thanks to the system giving people ungodly powers“

„that is…“

rina didn’t even know what to think about that but lüziel knew exactly

„is this really what we have succumb to just some wild animals , no maybe it’s the other way around, we always where animals but kept in cages called police to keep us down. but here has to be some sort of law enforcement or people would not live this peacefully“

„well you are right that there is police but all of this is a sanctioned event including the potential of death because allowing this controlled way of brutality prevents uncontrolled brutality“

torholt didn’t seem to really like what he said and spook like he knew something. the discussion was disrupted by kjell clapping loudly to get everyones attention

„thats enough of that, you 3 want to scout out so you better do that now we are on a timer after all“

there wasn’t much to oppose that as kjell was saying the truth so they made themselves on the way to explore the 3rd ring while for lüziel and rina it was more of a chaotic running arround following marth

„you do know what you are doing?“

„i am quite good at not getting lost in cities. when things are man made it’s easily to remember the pattern unlike nature where things look way more random and similar. it’s as if everything is just there for the reason of existing“

„you can’t say that, everything has its purpose, just because you are incapable of realizing doesn’t mean you can insult them“

rina looked upset at what marth said but he couldn’t figure out what the problem was as form his view he didn’t say anything wrong or strange. after a while they returned back to the others who where still waiting behind the barrier which still stood strong

„barriers really make all other forms of defense useless, it’s just an impenetrable wall“

„oh hardly, if you would fight someone who is more intelligent than this minotaur they could more easily break it down than a brick wall. you do know the different layers of barrier?“

„well knowing and understanding are 2 different things“

„i didn’t thought it was that hard to understand lüziel“

„what are you talking about“

rina obviously had completely forgotten about everything they learned about the barriers

„well all that important is that you can mess with the different part to destabilize them followed by the complete collapse. better barriers are possible but impossible to keep up from single people“

while kjell went full in his teacher mode, was håkan puling him back to the here and now

„i think we have lot’s more time later. i assume you guys have found a way to get rid of this minotaur?“

„why would we come back if we hadn’t?“

rina was looking proud o her ‚achievements‘

„we really didn’t do anything but tag along“

„just in case i repeat that this barrier will fall shortly after we leave“

„we are here for exactly this reason, are’t we“

when they left they did not wait to see what the minotaur would do once the barrier was down, but they could hear him well enough to imagine. from here on onward they had no time to rest with the minotaur always 3 crossings behind them. this however did not stop marth from doing a rough sketch of the maze while running. once they stoped hearing the minotaur close by they stopped to take a break

„for how long did we run, i never could have done this back on earth. i will jut never get used to that probably“

„oh kiddo you haven’t even sen halve of what the system is capable of, but i hope in the hast you didn’t make any mistakes“

håkan was swinging his arm over marth looking at the map he drew that was looking quite shaky

„if something is wrong i know where i made the mistake so it’s going to be no problem, more importantly we need to look out for the numerals“

after their break they started scouting the new parts of the maze and it didn’t take much to find the first numerals or the second but they had to skip the third for now as they couldn’t find their way to where it should be. they where obviously try to avoid running into the minotaur but with the rings being smaller the further in they go they did see him more than once. the first time they noticed him before he noticed them so they could simply turn around and silently but quickly walk the other way the second they could could use up once more shield of torholt to stop him leaving only 1 left. before their 3rd encounter they finally where able to find a way into the last part of the maze and on their way back to first complete the 3rd part they encountered the minotaur another time, this time being barely able to knock him out having a bit of relaxation for a short while after, log enough for marth finishing what he did

„that should be enough it’s possible that the last 2 are not how i expect them but all others follow the order. combine that with the bit of information i have from the last part it’s now just 1 step before we can simply walk to the goal“

„yah, finally we can escape this stupid maze“

„and what would that final step be“

lüziel was a bit more sceptic of the time they still had to wait before finishing

„i need to figure out what is being counted as just subtracting 3 every hour was obviously to easy. a clock would usually count time but if not hours what else. i tried days and month but even when i fidget with the numbers nothing fits“

„you just need to put them together“

rina was pressing her hands together as if trying to literally combining month with days

„thats what i meant with fidgeting. adding would obviously not jump around and multiplying even considering the modular to cut them afterwards down in range doesn’t fit“

„well considering that there are leap years wouldn’t that change the result“

„not really if you just… maybe thats the problem i think of days in a month but these scales are set arbitrary by humans. especially during the roman times where emperors changed the month to show their power. julie named after caesar, august after augustus who wanted to 1 up caesar so it wouldn’t be something for eternity if you used that“

„but changing the name wouldn’t make the result different, there would still be a month just named differently“

„we are talking about changing the entire calendar adding month just to name the new month after oneself“

marth was franticly doing something within the system window that he opened

„eureka, or should i instead say veni vidi victy“

„venedic video victory?“

„it’s veni vidi victy, i cam i saw i was victorious. but why say that?“

kjell was amused ad rinas interesting redesign of this saying

„isn’t it fitting using a roman over a greek saying in this situation, well whatever. day times hour modular 143, it’s giving exactly the numbers i observed before. i now know exactly how it is moving all i need is now to need where the exit is“

marth was tapping his head to come up with something for a short while before continuing to speak

„it wouldn’t be any number, say how often do people succeed deducting the people succumbing to the minotaur“

„thats quite the odd statistic you want, let’s say maybe 1%. you know just because we’re info brokers doesn’t mean we just know everything“

„quite the low number for an annual event, meaning the goal has to be hard to reach and of all the special numbers you could do one sub set is seen as completely random perfect for this and tomorrow it happens to be at 6 o’clock so let’s draw out the pass to find where we can intercept it“

not explaining further marth went to work and after a short while guided them across the maze. as luck would have it them passing the minotaur was the exact direction they needed to go so they could simply move further and further away from it and thanks to marth map they knew they where walking the shortest path with no chance of a cross up. but the one thing they could change was that they needed to wait for the maze to rotate into position.

„did’t we just move to the beginning of the maze?“

„if it where just about the last part there would be countless possibilities to get to the goal. while you can still get there multiple ways if you start at the right point due to sheer luck this is the closest we can get to the right path for now“

„you do know we can’t just wait here, marth. the longer we stand still the more dangerous is a spot as that minotaur seems to have an unnatural ability to track us“

„thats probably minos doing. with there being only 1 minotaur it would otherwise be quite boring in such a huge maze. also i do agree to lüziel over here. we can make a barrier but we don’t even know from what direction he would come and if he comes from where we need to go a barrier wont help us“

kjell was equally concerned about the wait and see method marth proposed

„we’ll be moving just that we now will only move when necessary. i will look for some circles we can walk to keep the minotaur busy“

as told marth lead them around in some very convoluted ways that passed the time of the next hours until the path to the goal opened without any further encounters for them to finally exist Λαβύρινθος. while getting to the goal was without further complications that was not true for going through the goal a large metal door with inscriptions on it from top to bottom. some mathematic equations and a lot of text in latin which all would have been much more interesting if they weren’t followed by the minotaur who had a perfect straight path towards them in the last stretch of Λαβύρινθοςto get all the speed he could gather for a final charge.

„and now? how do we get through this, we don’t have the time to stare at this door“

„it’s,… it’s,… here a handle to open the door… i hope“

„hope doesn’t get door open!“

marth was pulling at a level embedded in the wall next to the door at full force to pull it down and finally it flipped down followed by a loud noise of gears turning with the door starting to rotate slowly, too slowly to the left opening the path through.

„at that rate it will take an entire day for that door to open so i guess it’s time to reveal one last trick of mine [Muscle Magic, Power Stance] and [Muscle Magic, Armwrestling Contest]“

where torholt was already looking quite formidable once he activated these skill his legs started to swoll up from his muscles starting to expand and once they reached a certain volume he stomped into the ground anchoring himself to the ground. at the same time his arms started to get an equal increase of power turning him to the kind of sight you would expect from bruce banner when he started to hulk out. of cause simply standing there unarmed would have made him an easy target to the fully armed minotaur so it was now up to kjell and håkan to lead the minotaur into torholts arms a task easily done with the power of

„LOGGERS open the path!“

while what kjell was saying sounded fancy in the end all it was a strike directed at the hilt of the minotaurs sword right before he would have reached torholt to give the minotaur no chance of using it before he got pinned down by torholt. all the while did håkan not stand still

„[Earth . Shackle]“

around the feet of the minotaur did the ground start to break open and fuse with the minotaurs legs something that wouldn’t on its own be able to restrict the minotaur but it was now preoccupied with torholt who was grabbing him by the arms and pressing it into the ground. the door was now starting to become almost open enough for someone to squeeze through so torholt didn’t need to hold out for long in this position. once the door was open enough for them to path through they did with torholt being still in a deadlock with the minotaur

„torholt you can let go now!“

once hearing this he used one final burst of energy to shove the minotaur backwards and once he had some distance between them it was again håkans time t act

„[Earth - Rise] and [Water - Freeze]“

a earth wall was rising between torholt and the minotaur with the ground around starting to freeze over“

„why didn’t you do that before if you can simply make walls!?“

with a cracking noise the wall that had just risen was flying towards them

„thats why“

but the second that torholt passed through the door the minotaur that was more than happy just a second ago to full force smash through the wall håkan made was looking extremely confused around him as if they had become invisible which made håkan investigate the doorframe

„spell circles and a barrier and quite the advanced ones, i couldn’t tell what they do but i think we can guess pretty well what they are supposed to do“

„that just means…“

„WE HAVE DONE IT!“

„and no doubt because of these muscles“

torholt was starting to flex like he was competing for a bodybuilder contest to the bewilderment of marth and lüziel while rina was just cheering for him

„what the…!“

kjell was sighing before answering the question at hand

„thats the side effect of muscle magic, your brain just becomes one muscle knowing nothing but how to muscle. it’ll cling of after a few minutes with how short he used it“

„more importantly our reward“

håkan was walking towards a podium in the middle of the room they had entered. a room with murals on the walls over a person fighting of the minotaur and saving a woman from it’s clutches. the podium itself was with gilden ornaments leading towards a fountain that had some golden yellow liquid spew out of it into a bowl below it in which the water level despite being constantly filled never changed

„so thats ambrosia, i thought we would get a bottle or something of it…“

„AND INDEEN YOU WILL!“

a loud voice, minoth voice no doubt, was echoing through the room they were in

„truly a splendid work you did there, figuring out the puzzle of the great inventor daedalus and fending of the Μινώταυρος, you even would have been the ones people would have told stories about if you lived just a thousand years earlier“

„you can save you speech for when we’re out of here, this room may look fancy but in the end it no more than a prison“

kjell was looking annoyed but also as if he had expected this to happen

„of cause, i can understand that this may not be suited for our new heroes so first of all you reward. each you you will now obtain the right to fill any one flask with ambrosia that you have to carrie out of Λαβύρινθος and only then you are allowed to seal it, and every drop you spill on the ground will be paid as much as the flask you filled would cost. how far will your greed get you, will you be able to restrain yourself or will you be lead to ruin after such a spectacular showing?“

„and the minotaur…“

„…will obviously remain in Λαβύρινθος while you return“

minos answered kjell quest exactly the way he didn’t want it to but it was nothing he wasn’t prepared for.

„you heard him has everyone some way to contain the ambrosia“

„we didn’t really come here expecting we have to bring our own flasks“

lüziel was just shaking his head to something as important as this not being stated earlier

„take this“

kjell was handing the 3 an empty champagne bottle

„why would you carry something like this around with you?!“

„you never know when you need a bottle“

„or when you ex an entire champagne bottle to prove a point“

„shut it håkan, we don’t talk about that“

„be careful when you fill up that you don’t get the outside wet and drop some ambrosia, that too will count“

torholt was hopping into their discussion looking far less impressive than before his muscle magic but it was hard to say if that was simply because of the comparison to his buff self

„you’re back to normal, perfect timing, then let us get over with this. boi you still know the way out right?“

kjell was pointing at marth

„of cause and the hour has just started so we still have a lot of time“

once everyone in their own way carefully filled up their bottle making sure not to disturb the fountain to splash on the ground and nothing was running down the bottle they could hear minos again

„now that you have all finished filling up your flasks…“

„just one more second“

you could hear the irritation out of minoth voice when håkan interrupted him

„we are not allowed to close the bottles, so THIS, is not against the rules. [ice magic: ice ball]“

and as håkan was saying this the bottle was starting to build an icy shimmer where he was holding it.

„YOU CAN’T DO THAT!“

„said who, the rules are clear and we follow them. you never said it was forbidden to change the temperature to ready it for consumption once when we left“

before minoth started talking again you could hear some grumbling from his voice

„fine if you want to play like this, i only mentioned what you had to pay when drops hit the ground not what you had to pay when frozen ambrosia smashes on the ground. tread carefully when trying to return or you might fall to your own hubris. now that you have finished your task you will return back through the way you did just like the story came to be. the last final tale to be told about your deeds, will it end in glory or will it end in tragedy“

the door they entered through opened once again with the minotaur no where to be seen. they did not move slowly through the maze but within it’s winding paths it took not long for the minotaur to emerge, but luckily he emerged from a path behind them so all they had to do was running faster than the minotaur, a task easier said than done. marth especially was lacking behind with the burden his skill level 0 laid upon him. they where able to somewhat keep their distance while the paths where winding a lot as despite his unusually high agility was the minotaur not good at turning 90° turns with his running speed. the problem came when the reach a long straight stretch. they had some distance but certainly not enough as the minotaur quickly was closing the distance. even under this surge of survival instincts marth could not outrun the minotaur and so something unexpected happened. pfause who hadn’t come out a single time during this ordeal was jumping out of the void without rinas orders and the next thing marth could see was

„a river?, no stars, a river of stars? what is gong on?“

„so just to be sure we all see this right?“

torholt was pointing in marth direction at a cloud of what could only be described as night sky

„pfause go back it’s dangerous!“

but pfause did not listen to rina and continued doing whatever he was doing. in the confusion they totally forgot about the minotaur who seemed too equally having forgotten about them. or maybe he just simply could see anymore? he was just tumbling around bleating and swinging his sword after the cloud that surrounded him

„you did now he could do that, right?“

kjell was pointing at pfause and rina responded quickly

„i would never put pfause in danger“

she picked up pfause as he refused to return back to the system. meanwhile marth tried to escape the fog but despite only being 5 steps from exiting it he could not find his way out.

„some illusion magic. if we can see it all it can’t just be mind control, but i have never heard of mihcslihm kikarnelc doing anything like this“

„well we haven’t heard much of them to begin with. they are so rare that almost no one knows anything about them“

„marth come over here“

it was a strange sight seeing lüziel call out to marth from a distance where they could probably touch if they reached out their arms but marth didn’t seem to be able to see lüziel despite that and lüziel was hesitant to enter the fog seeing how marth was stuck in it

„move aside for a sec. it’s time to pull out my cowboy skills“

torholt was swinging a lasso above his head with the clear intention to throw it at marth but it took a second for lüziel to realize what that would entail so he did not stop him. with one clean throw the lasso was engulfing marth who left out a scream of surprise before getting involuntarily pullout out.

„what the hell is this. i’m not some kettle, at least don’t pull this strongly“

„it did work tho“

„and what is that anyways“

„ask her, she did this“

„i didn’t do this, pfause did“

„kyukyu kyukyukyu, kyu!“

„why do you deny doing it, we saw you doing this“

„i didn’t know you also understand what pfause says“

i know you good enough to guess what he said“

„i don’t think we should just stand here and argue. whoever did whatever, this is our time to run“

håkan as the only one left to keep an eye on the minotaur saw the fog thinning down

„you’re right let’s dip while we can. we have fought enough against minotaurs this week. marthyboi lead the way“

marth was annoyed by that nickname kjell just gave him, mostly because rina seemed to really like it and started calling him like that, but he still picked up leading the way and for the rest of the path thy could escape without further complications thanks to pfause stalling the minotaur. when they reached the exit rina ran away, with the other seeing her rolling in the grass next to pfause who did the same once they walked back into freedom. besides her they where also greeted by minoth and his servants.

Λαβύρινθος cleared

Achievements: 2?/3? cleared?

a fight of talescleared

tunnels that lead to the endnot cleared

c̶͈͛̈́͋̒̄́͒̽̍̀͛͝ơ̴͙̬̞̄͊͊͑̔̔͛͊́́̐̓͠u̴̜̻̭̜̩͉̰͍͖͈̯̮͇͎̾̍̎͋̀̒͆̏͌͊́̒̄͠n̸̛͕̳̜̞̼̈́̊̎̊̆̆̋̒̅̿̂̊̕͝͝t̷̢̳̳͇̺̓͊̌̃͂͐̊̌̔̄̉̚͝d̷͎̐͑̂͑̈́͗͑́̉̋̓͛͐͛͛͝o̶̘͕̯̼͊̇̀͌͒̃̍̃̀̿̑̓̈́̐̈́͘ẇ̶̟̫̯̭̥̫̰̜̥̃͆̑̌͂̽̑͋͆͘̕͝ń̶̷̶̶̸̨̧̢̨̧̡̢̧̧̡̢̛̫̩̻̺̼̗̱̱̤̗̖̮̜̰̮̼͖͍̪̠̜̘̣̤̤̻͈̤̫̯̝̝̣̖̝̗̣̙̠͍̻̩̘͙̎̇̉̃̌̔́͂̿̆̍̿͑͗̿̈́̾͌̑̔̇̋͆̈́̔̓̈́̍̇̏͆͑́̓̑̆̃̽͌͂̏͘̚͘̚͜͜͜͝͠͠c̵̣̠̰͓̀͛̐͗͛͛̔̅̅͐̌͂̇̋͠͝l̴̢͚͂͛̾͒̿͗͆̅̏̂̄̕e̸̢͈̜͇̜̒̉̚a̷̢̛̰̽͋̾̈́̿̈́̆̔̆̑ȓ̸̯̲̱̠̙̠̱͂̑̎̐̒̍̂͌ȇ̶̡͙̰͉͕̗̳̘̎̿͋͌̓͌̽̎̔̏̕d̶̢̜̬̲̹̪̣͚̝̙̣͓͉̼͕̊́̄?̷̨̨̜͖͈̣̜̞̬̙̗̘̻̰͈͋̋̀̒̑́̔͌͊͘͘̚̚͠͝͝

Reward: 5000 Tallon

100 cp

Bank: 5669 tallon + 5000 tallon

Clear Progression 995 300 cp - 100 cp