As I stood alone at the entrance to the labyrinth, I turned back, spotting Verin and Cal in the distance. While the prior stood still and resolute, the latter cheerfully waved me off.
The argument to let me explore alone — if it could even be called that — had been far less fierce than I’d expected. Whether that was due to the others’ near-brush with death, their sheer faith in me, or something in between, I wasn’t sure. Regardless, the hardest part of convincing them had been the amount of talking involved as I was forced to enumerate all the ways in which I was well-suited to this biome.
Darkvision. Light armor. High Perception and a Trap Detection skill. Head-to-toe protection from rats and spikes alike. Barring the maze holding anything substantially different from what we’d seen, it would be a cakewalk for me.
On the flip side, it held a large number of the others’ weaknesses. For Verin, her skillset revolved around remaining stationary and being able to see her enemies, ideally before they reached her. She also required a moment to activate her defensive skill, leaving her vulnerable to surprise attacks. A twisting maze with low visibility and abrupt encounters did not play to any of her strengths.
Cal, for all that she’d once been great at finding traps, was not much different. Her own Trap Detection skill hadn’t disappeared, but it was greatly weakened without her Perception and in the dark. As for fighting, she could kill just about anything provided she had time to go invisible and sneak up on it. In this, she was just as weak to surprise attacks as Verin was. While her Legendary skill made her nigh invincible while it was turned up fully, she wasn’t yet strong enough to keep it on at all times, which meant that she was also defensively against a fast enough blow.
Neither had been too happy to admit all of that, but they had little desire to die for the sake of their egos. Indeed, most of the conversation had revolved around logistics more than it had persuading them. I’d had to take out a large amount of my food, some wood, and two mattresses from my storage, all of which they’d want while I was gone. They would be camping at the largest visible sand dune in my absence.
Not that I’d be gone too long. With little desire to sleep in the labyrinth without anyone to watch my back, the plan was for me to map out the maze and disarm any traps I came across, returning to the camp whenever I got too tired to continue. With my Endurance, however, I expected I’d be able to keep going for quite some time.
We would have to switch things up once I’d mapped out everything I could in a one wake-cycle radius, but we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. For now, I had a goal, and I was ready to go.
Returning Cal’s wave, I set off on my own.
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An hour later, and I was beginning to suspect I’d need a lot more wood for my map. I etched a tiny circle into the wood, recording the pitfall I’d just jumped over. While I didn’t expect to suddenly miss it if I needed to head this way again, it wasn’t as if I could disarm a hole in the ground, and I’d rather be safe than sorry. Already, the wood contained a slew of lines and little trap markers.
As expected, I hadn’t faced much trouble so far. I’d only spotted one new type of trap — a patch of a slippery, oil-like substance with rats waiting to swarm you if you fell — and one new type of enemy, which I’d initially mistaken for a trap.
It vaguely resembled a pitcher plant, but anchored to the walls in a way that made it look like a clothesline. Hanging just above head-height, it seemed to rely on the low visibility to make its prey walk directly under its mouth. Having stuck a spear tip into said mouth, I could attest to just how quickly it was able to clamp shut and how hard it was to yank my weapon free. It seemed to have multiple tendrils of darkness for tongues, each of which was quick to loop around my weapon and tug it further inwards.
Without the ability to move, however, the monstrous plant was simple to kill with my bow as long as I noticed it. An analysis of the corpse revealed a dark, mana-imbued acid filling the back of its mouth, and I decided to make extra sure that I was paying attention to what was above me from then on.
Just as I was beginning to suspect I’d seen it all, however, I spotted something off about the wall up ahead. Whereas the rest of the wall was a pitch, oppressive black, there was a single section that was a more muted gray.
Expecting a trap of some sort, I looked around for a trigger mechanism. Was it a motion trigger? Summoning as long a mana spear as Arcane Armory would allow, I waved it in front of the gray section, readying myself for an attack or another spike trap. When nothing happened, I was equal parts relieved and tense.
With not many options left to me, I turned the spear to the side and… poked it. Even having thought to do so myself, it was still with some surprise as I felt the spear sink into the wall with no resistance.
Not actually a wall? A bit more interesting to me, but that didn’t change the fact that it could be a trap. If there was some hollow recess there, any manner of creature or contraption could be lurking in wait. Hoping to bait any would-be ambusher out, I channeled light mana into the spear, overloading it at the same time.
While no enraged shriek followed, that didn’t mean the effort bore no fruits. Like a thick mist burning up in the sun, the gray wall began to evaporate in a wide circle around my spear. Finally getting somewhere, I waved my spear away in a decidedly un-weapon-like way, sweeping the wall away as if with an oversized eraser. When at last the way was clear, I craned my head to take a peek inside.
No monsters. No traps. Not even a long corridor. Just a little nook, even smaller than my arcane storage.
Unlike the rest of the labyrinth, however, it wasn’t another barren patch of empty black. A few plants — unsurprisingly, black, although dappled with specks of green — grew from the floor, and despite the walls not looking rocky in any way, I spotted a vein of gray ore running across one of them.
A little cache of resources? Even more than the desert crypt, the entire labyrinth was starting to feel like the most classically “dungeon-like” region so far. Though still wary that this was some trick to make me lower my guard, I entered the alcove and bent down, examining one of the plants.
Blind Man’s Bracken
A bitter fern which only grows in regions thick with dark mana. This plant has many uses depending on its preparation, but most interact with the eyes in some way. Can be used to cause or prevent temporary blindness, as well as grant enhanced darkvision.
My eyes lit up as I read the description. Could I use this on Cal and Verin? The darkvision alone would be a godsend, but it sounded like it could also deal with the blind effects from the rats. Of course, the description also said it could cause temporary blindness, but I was sure they wouldn’t mind a few mishaps, right?
I eagerly harvested the first of the ferns, taking care not to damage any of the structures that were most likely to be important. While each herb was different in its own ways, there were all sorts of generalities that usually held true between them.
It came as something of a shock, then, when the plant wilted in real time, all of its mana fleeing it with my first cut.
This herb is above your Herbalism level. Harvesting failed! Raise your level or discover the proper harvesting method to increase your chances of a successful harvest.
Not that I’d always succeeded before, but this was the first time I could recall the message popping up. None of the forests I’d been in were known for having high-leveled herbs, save perhaps for the one in this dungeon, and I’d yet to find anything comparable there. Even the dark woods of Emer’Thalis mostly had standard plants that had passively absorbed some dark mana. For the first time, my Herbalism was horribly out of its depth.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I bet Emin would know how to handle this. As fast as the thought arrived, I shoved it to the side, unwilling to open that can of worms in the middle of the labyrinth. Berating myself for not thinking of it sooner, I activated my Gloves of the Arcanist with some life mana, one of the familiar variants popping up.
Hands of the Harvester (Life variant)
+5 to Herbalism
While harvesting any plants, fungi, or other living reagents, increases the quality of all gathered materials and triples the time it would take before they go bad.
Any materials harvested in this manner have a small chance to upgrade to a mana-infused variant.
Additionally, protects the wearer’s hands from any toxic substances encountered while harvesting.
With the bonus to my Herbalism, my movements grew more precise, and the next fern I harvested wilted slightly slower. It was still a complete failure, but after working through half the supply, I got my first middling success.
You have harvested a Blind Man’s Bracken! Due to your low level in Herbalism, the quality of the herb has been reduced.
There was no question that the plant in my hand was unhealthy, but hopefully it would still suffice. Struck by some minor inspiration, I forewent the traditional harvesting methods for the next plant, instead digging around it in as wide a radius as I could. When at last I’d encompassed an area that hopefully included all of its roots, I tugged the patch of dirt upwards and immediately shoved it all into my storage. Admittedly, my home garden wasn’t rich in dark mana, but hopefully I’d eventually find a way around that problem so that I could grow more.
A slow and painful harvest of the rest of the ferns yielded a few more usable, if poor, results. It also resulted in a long-awaited notification.
Herbalism has reached level 10!
Congratulations! You have reached the Initiate rank in Herbalism
Based on your skill usage, you have been granted a skill augment for achieving a new skill rank.
Augment of the Alchemist
Slightly improves the quality of all your alchemical creations when using herbs you’ve personally gathered.
Herbalism is not considered a class-aligned skill for the Arcane Arsenal class. Now that you have reached the Initiate rank, leveling speed for this skill will be reduced.
As for the ore, neither God’s Eye nor Mining revealed any of its properties to me, but even if they had, I lacked any way to refine or smith it in the first place. Not wanting the presumably valuable resource to go to waste, I spent some time mining it even so. It turned out the wall truly was not rock, instead taking on a spongy, jello-y texture that made the entire experience bizarre.
I left without finishing the job, cognizant of the fact that I was on a time table.
It wasn’t until half a day later that I found another resource trove, and after that, another full day. Each contained more of the dark ferns, along with some more mundane plants that I’d hopefully be able to grow back in the garden. The second even had a small pond, complete with a few fish. The water, black like all of those hip “activated charcoal” drinks, warranted me grabbing a sample, and I spent far too long catching all of the fish within.
By then, however, I could tell that I was starting to flag. I was certain I could push on for another day or two, but it would take me a while to get back to the others, and I wasn’t trying to exhaust myself in a hostile environment. I made good time backtracking through the maze, relieved to see that none of the monsters I’d killed had respawned, nor had any of the traps I’d disarmed fixed themselves. Whether that would hold true indefinitely, I wasn’t sure, but I could hope.
When at last I escaped and completed the long journey back to the sand dune marking our camp, I found Cal and Verin just about to start a campfire to heat up some of the food I’d left them. Rapidly, they bombarded me with all sorts of questions about my time in the labyrinth. In way of explanation and also to forestall any further interrogation, I answered as simply as I could.
“It was nice. I found some fish.”
That night, we all slept soundly, stomachs full and mouths sated with the taste of something we hadn’t had in months.
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For another week, we continued on in this fashion, with me delving as deep into the labyrinth as I dared, returning whenever I couldn’t stay awake any longer. Expecting a potentially long trip, my storage had been filled to the brim with food, and we weren’t yet close to running out. Even so, I made sure to grab anything edible I found within the dungeon caches, and we took down and butchered a few scorpions just to be safe.
Despite our food security, our situation was looking more and more untenable. My map had been steadily expanding, and I’d already had to transfer it to a larger plank of wood. The rate I was adding to it, however, was rapidly dwindling as I scratched the bottom of the barrel for places I could explore within a two-days’ walk. By my estimation, tomorrow at the earliest, I would need to either sleep in the labyrinth by myself, or pull in the others to set up a camp where one of us could keep watch.
“Although, the labyrinth does feel hospitable sometimes.” The water sources. The food. The curative herbs. “Maybe it has some energy drinks lying around?” Or more likely, some coffee plants. Wouldn’t that be somewhat thematic? If I brewed them, I could make myself a nice pot of dark roast.
Mental Resistance has reached level 18!
A coincidence? Or was my mind happy that I was finally well enough to make a pun?
Alternatively, perhaps the system deemed bad puns to be a form of self-inflicted mental attack? Somehow, that felt more correct, but I’d take it either way.
Eager to find the hypothetical coffee plants, I gave extra attention to the walls ahead, willing one of them to display the tell-tale signs of a labyrinth cache. While none of them complied with my request, the path turned up ahead, and I crossed my fingers the new walls would be more accommodating.
No such luck. In fact, worse than normal luck. I turned the corner only to be presented with a dead end a few meters away. As if to mock me even further, the only feature of note was a pressure plate directly in front of me.
I almost turned back right then and there. And, in fact, I probably would have had I not been looking so intently for any signs of a hidden alcove. Right as I was about to dismiss the path entirely, though, I spotted it.
To the side, halfway down the path, there was a gray patch on the wall. Only, the size was wrong.
Whereas all the others had been large rectangles, easily big enough to walk through, this one was a tiny dot, just around the size of my finger. The unexplained change left me nervous, but the hidden walls had yet to steer me wrong yet. I ever-so-carefully bypassed the pressure plate and moved up to the hidden circle. Summoning a long needle of light, I pushed it in.
CLICK.
The change was instantaneous: Where once there had been an opaque, dead end blocking my way, there was now the familiar gray of a removable wall.
It’s double hidden? What could even warrant all the effort if not for some magical coffee? Ultimately, I wasn’t even sure if I was joking. There had to be something good behind that wall if past trends held, and I couldn’t figure out why the dungeon would have switched things up on me now.
Only one way to find out. Bit by bit, I’d grown less wary of the secret walls as each new one turned out to be harmless. With the strange turn from normalcy, though, I made sure to approach with caution, overloading both my weapon and armor alike with light mana.
Fully outfitted and with my senses dialed up to the max, then, I was hardly caught off guard when a horde of rats came swarming out from the walls, all of them rushing towards me.
A cheap trick, but not one I was worried about. The pests had never posed much danger to me, and I’d only grown more and more accustomed to mopping them up. I swapped my light armor over to fire, channeled death mana into my feet, and summoned a spear. One after another, the rats fell, my eagerness to move forward fueling me to crush them even faster than normal. I didn’t even mind the horrid stench when the last one fell.
Or, I’d thought it was the last one, at least.
CLICK.
I spun about, confused where the strangely mechanical noise could have come from. Was it the button in the wall again?
But no.
Standing there, regarding me from afar, was a single rat.
A rat which, quite noticeably, happened to be standing directly atop the pressure plate I’d bypassed.
Before I could even think to move, solid darkness shot out from the walls. Instead of the expected spikes, however, it formed barriers. In a single instant, the way ahead of me, behind me, and even above me had been closed off, enclosing me in a perfect cage of black.
For a brief moment, I wondered if I was trapped here. As if to reassure me, the floor chose that moment to give out. As I began to plummet downwards into the unknown depths of the labyrinth, one image burned itself into my brain.
It must have been my mind playing tricks on me.
After all, how could a rat manage to look so smug?