The hallway ahead leads to uncharted territory.

While the world map remains blank, the floor plan updates as the system promised in the tutorial.

Even the parts explored without recollection got drawn in, and there are no signs of any labs there.

As a mild spoiler, the plan marks every space behind the locked doors empty.

"So they're mere decorations, huh?"

Of course, expecting a sensible layout when the entire complex is random would be too much.

The system made this for one desperate person alone. Considering this, it even added those fake documents and everything, and that's impressive.

"So where to next?"

That Poltergeist was adamant about coming to this room.

There was a single split earlier on this corridor that I didn't explore because of that.

The left way should lead back to the room with the revolving red light, and the right one remains a mystery.

If only I remembered what the counter on the minimap indicated back then.

Making a few steps toward the right makes it jump to three.

And It's obvious, that the game would put the enemies inside the important rooms. Okay, let's go right then.

More mercenaries? Insane adventurers? Are they in that Lab C they mentioned, or on a different level?

No, they shouldn't be able to move down without the code, so they must be nearby.

The corridor splits again, the left route should loop back to the red room, but there's a way forward and right too.

When dealing with labyrinths you should always stick to the right. Right?

Taking a single step that way bumps the counter up again.

Three to four, then it reaches the magical six, this game loves that number. Well, let's check it out then.

With the great axe, there are options to take on all enemies.

Those mercs were brutal, even the Guardian was easier to handle, although that's a bit of a stretch.

If one shows up there, things might get ugly.

It's not that killing him was difficult, but gathering the will to do so took the avatar thirty minutes.

What on earth could have happened during that time?

Why did it turn hostile after all that, or why did the character attack it? How do you avoid getting under his influence?

Very few questions here have a definitive answer. Not even DragonSlayer could figure it out after all.

"Stop comparing yourself to him, he's a veteran of this game."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Oh, and he also got Premium and many opportunities to take on this dungeon before.

And yet, it feels like I should do better than he did.

Is it because it goes against all odds or because of the desperation? All the help the system gives to paid users weakens them.

Without all the distractions I should be able to overcome much more.

Or at the very least, it isn't the time to give up, even if he failed.

We're not the same, nor are we equal, he could be better in many things, but who knows what is my forte in the game?

Overthinking things is one of them for sure.

The diesel generator's sound got quieter, and a weird new noise joined the mix instead.

It's like gas escaping from a pipe and might be on fire too.

The corridor takes a sharp left turn, so whatever lies ahead is behind that corner. The air is also hotter than before.

Reaching the turn and peeking in with the bow ready to shoot reveals a strange picture.

It's not a gas leak, it's almost like a maze made of fire, and it keeps changing.

What on earth is this place? A flame column from the ground cuts the corridor in half, then disappears.

There's nothing to feed it, it doesn't leave smoke behind either.

A second later another fire strikes from the walls and the top half of the room burns.

In a repeating pattern, at least ten more shapes made out of flames appear in the next segment.

One by one they block the path before opening it up again.

Well, it would have been better if the armor remained wet. This looks like those typical puzzles from games from the last century.

It's easy to memorize the pattern, and you must clear it with the perfect timing unless you want to get burned.

When the controller is the mind and movements aren't regulated it becomes difficult.

And the counter is still on six, even if nobody's visible.

The maze is also loud thanks to the violent flames.

If an archer waited for me on the other end, it would be impossible to see or hear it. And going through it with weapons in hand also seems like a terrible idea.

Why did they pack this dungeon with the most ridiculous challenges?

The only sign that this is the right place is a plaque at the end of the corridor, visible for a split second.

It's still clear that the huge letters say Lab C on it. Okay then, let's try not to get burned.

Things would be easier if this were a PC game, especially one of those old side-view games.

You have to walk up to the flame's edge, wait for it to disappear, jump through, then time the movements to the pattern.

Except this fire has crazy heat coming off, and the ground's slippery from all the clutter.

Nothing's easier than losing your balance and burning like a torch a second later.

Going back into that nasty pit of water wouldn't work either because it would make the armor too heavy.

And if you drip water all over the place, it will be even easier to fall.

In a PC game, you'd try it, and if it fails, you reload.

Here, this is the last chance, in less than eight hours they might kick me out of the program and send me to jail.

Okay, deep breath and go for it, no better solution.

The first flame extinguishes for two seconds then burns for one.

The second one appears every third second and stays for another three.

Neither covers the entire corridor, so bypassing these two could work if they weren't this hot.

It's almost tempting to take off the Brigandine for faster movement. It won't protect from the fire anyway.

It would, if there's an ambush on the other side though.

Argh, fuck it, let's go.

One, two, jump the first anomaly, and duck from the second.

Beyond them is an entire wall that lights up every other second. And it's clear too, providing a small gap before the next obstacle.

This one's slow to spin around, so I must squeeze myself into the walls.

A triple anomaly behind puffs flames in short bursts.

The avatar should clear it if he sprinted at full speed, and the backpack is light enough so it won't get in the way.

The issue is the solid firewall on the other end. It only disappears for a single moment after ten seconds of raging inferno.

So one, two, three... Seven, go.

Skip through the three anomalies without going too slow or fast and the firewall should be gone right about... Now.

This one was closer to my liking, the triple obstacle was about to burn my ass before jumping free.

And now another spinning flame parallel to the hallway. And it's about to come down on me. Run!