Assaulted by nightmares, Christopher didn’t rest much that night.

He woke up early, shivering and drenched in cold sweat. After a quick shower and breakfast, he sat on his bed, waiting for Lisa to come and pick him up.

He had his Tale on his lap, opened on the wolf’s page. Ever since he woke up, he had noticed a subtle change in his senses–they were more acute and sharper–the lights were brighter, the scents were more intense, and the noises were louder. He was pretty sure it was because of this page, and later today, after he entered the Labyrinth, he could confirm his theory.

Christopher waited almost an hour for Lisa to arrive. She knocked lightly on his door before entering the room, bringing with her the usual rosy scent.

Lisa greeted him with a smile before noticing the dark bags under his eyes.

“Trouble sleeping?”

He replied with a nod.

“How was Christine?”

“Alive,” Christopher wasn’t in the mood for a lot of words.

“Take this,” Lisa said, handing him a light leather backpack. “There are supplies inside–food and water. Use them sparingly. They’ll have to last you enough for the Prelude.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s go. We need to be ready in two hours.”

“Where are we going?” Christopher questioned as they left his room.

“To the library,” Lisa replied with a smirk. “All the drafted that make their way to the E.A.C. are gifted two pages. They are common pages, mostly ordinary skills, but if you get stuck with a bad synopsis, they can be the difference between life and death.”

“There are bad synopsis?” Christopher asked.

“That’s a very controversial topic,” Lisa replied. “My stand is that some synopses are harsher to begin with than others, but we don’t even know how many synopses there are.”

“You don’t?”

“No. There are some standard ones that everyone seems to get, but not all drafted are presented with the same choices,” she glanced at Christopher. “Don’t ask me why. I’m sure there are organizations inside the Labyrinth who know the answer but refuse to share it with us.”

They quickly made their way to the library on the third floor, but it wasn’t what Christopher had imagined. Instead of a grand hall lined with towering shelves and countless rows of books, they entered a small office guarded by two vigilant sentinels.

Christopher scanned the sentinels from head to toe, instantly recognizing them as Authors. They carried a rectangular bulge on their waists and wore heavy medieval plate armor–the sigil of a ram was emblazoned on the left side of their breastplates.

Upon noticing them, the two Authors nodded to Lisa and let them through.

In the middle of the room was a heavy, antique wooden chest beautifully carved with esoteric patterns. It hovered a few centimeters above the floor, secured in place by twelve heavy chains that connected it to the wall–each chain was secured with one rusty lock.

With a quick finger flick, a small, silvery blade appeared on Lisa’s hands. She approached one of the locks and swiftly made a tiny cut on her ring finger, allowing a single drop of blood to fall into the lock–she closed her eyes, and a moment later, a loud click echoed through the room as the lock was released.

“Inside this vault are four types of pages,” she explained, moving to the next lock. “The most numerous are Breathing Arts. They are physical techniques that draw on your strength and stamina. They can be powerful and easy to use, but if you’re not used to them, they can exhaust you rapidly.”

Lisa released the second and third locks in a few seconds and then moved to the fourth.

“The second largest pile consists of Generic pages. I’m guessing you already have one,” she said, glancing at him knowingly.

“I do?” Christopher questioned.

“Yes, your Lazarus page is a Generic page,” Lisa replied. “Generic pages won’t give you any skill. However, they have a special use for the drafted. When they enter the Prelude, the system will give different rewards based on which page you bring.”

The fourth, fifth, and sixth locks fell, causing one corner of the chest to bang against the floor. Lisa dragged herself to the seventh, her face pale and her back drenched in sweat.

“Are you okay?” He asked. Opening those locks seemed to cost more than a few drops of blood.

“Don’t worry, I’m just not as used to doing this as before. I’ll be fine.” She said with a laugh, releasing the seventh lock.

“Next are the Enigmas. You’ll only find two here. They are harder to use and obtain, and we suggest the drafted to keep away from them, at leat until they become fabled. If your goal is to survive, your best shot is to focus on a Breath, Might, or Grace build.”

A loud clatter echoed inside the room as the eighth, ninth, and tenth locks were removed, sending the heavy chest crashing onto the floor.

“Last, there are the Epistles. You’ll only find one here, Luminous Dawn. I know you’ll find its skill underwhelming–all drafted do, but if your synopsis gave you any Zeal, you should take it,” she advised. “The maze can get pretty dark, and not everything can pierce through its darkness.”

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“Why is there only one Epistle?” Christopher asked.

“Lower-level Epistles are harder to come by,” Lisa replied. “It’s not that they are better or anything, just rarer.”

Lisa finally released the last locks and paused to catch her breath before lifting the heavy wooden lid of the chest.

Neatly arranged Inside were four stacks of pages, each varying in size and color. Christopher rapidly noticed that even the shapes were inconsistent–some pages were circular, others squared, and others triangular.

“Go ahead,” Lisa encouraged.

Christopher approached the chest and picked up the first page from the biggest pile. It was a square, golden page covered in enigmatic white runes.

“I can’t read this,” he said.

“Check the note on the back,” Lisa replied.

Christopher turned the page around and found a handwritten yellow note.

[Name]: Louvganrian Blindingstep (Common)

[Type]: Breathing Art

[Description]: A staple of the Louvganrian Knights. With one step, their foes were blinded, with a second–

The first page of the Louvganrian Knights chain.

[Requirements]: 10 Integrity, 12 Breath, 11 Might, 1 Slot

A Breathing Art. Christopher had already suspected it upon hearing Lisa’s words, but now, seeing the requirements of the page, he was certain. He couldn’t use Breathing Arts at all–that was the true weight of the Breathless Curse.

He glanced at the pages on the Breathing Arts pile. There were at least twenty of them, way more than all the others combined. That was a pity.

“I have to leave. Find me downstairs when you’re done,” Lisa said. “Don’t try to take more than two pages or one of them,” she gestured at the guards, “will kick your ass.”

“I won’t,” he promised.”

“Good, see you in two hours. Don’t be late.”

Christopher waited for her to leave before returning to the pages. Curious about Breathing Arts, he took another page from the pile.

[Name]: Shattering Strike (Common)

[Type]: Breathing Art

[Description]: Those who can’t do shatter! Unleash the pent-up force within your body into a devastating blow.

[Requirements]: 12 Might, 11 Breath, 1 Slot

It was the most straightforward page he had seen until now. Just as the other Breathing Art, this one also required Breath. He rapidly scrolled through the other pages on that pile and confirmed they all had a Breath requirement.

He sighed. There was not much he could do, so he moved his attention to the smallest pile, the Epistles, which consisted of only one page.

[Name]: Luminous Dawn (Common)

[Type]: Epistle

[Description]: Before its demise, the Fallen Order went by a different name. At the time, their heralds carried with them the most beautiful dawn.

A golden light. Even if dim, it is enough to pierce through the maze’s darkness.

[Requirements]: 11 Zeal, 1 Slot

Despite Lisa’s warning, Christopher couldn’t help but be disappointed. He was looking for something that could make him stronger. Strong enough not to fear any monstrous wolf that stood in his way. He didn’t doubt Luminous Dawn could be useful, but it felt like a waste having to pick a glorified flashlight.

He returned the Luminous Dawn page to the chest and checked the Enigmas pile.

[Name]: Triangulation Beam (Common)

[Type]: Enigma

[Description]: It started as a joke—mixing magic with applied mathematics. Yet, soon, the Scholars of El-Durei realized its potential.

Their favorite shape was the triangle–a simple but perfectly balanced shape, ideal for channeling power.

[Requirements]: 11 Enigma, 12 Blood, 1 Slot

Finally, an interesting skill, Christopher thought.

Its description wasn’t very useful, but its name made it clear enough that it should be a ranged, offensive power. Christopher wondered how well he would have fared against the wolf if he had that skill instead of the Crimson Proof.

He checked on the other remaining Enigma.

[Name]: Basiliskling's Gaze (Common)

[Type]: Enigma

[Description]: A basilisk blinks once every thousand years. Their youngest, however, do so every couple of seconds.

Each time their eyes lock onto a target, the target’s speed is significantly reduced.

[Requirements]: 13 Enigma, 11 Blood, 1 Slot

Thirteen Enigma! Two more Enigma than he had. Yet, the skill appeared so strong that he wondered whether to take it anyway and hope he could increase his stats later.

However, there was one thing he was concerned about. As far as he understood, each page he equipped took up a slot. Now that he had both Crimson Proof and the oily page equipped, he suspected he wouldn’t have any remaining slots to use. He’d likely have to carefully cycle between the pages, choosing which ones to equip.

Christopher returned both the Triangulation Beam and the Basiliskling's Gaze pages to the chest and checked the last pile.

Unlike the others, the handwritten notes translating these pages didn’t include their description. Instead, they referenced only the name of the page and the corresponding Prelude reward.

He rapidly read through the first three pages.

Fleeting River, a translucent black page, would grant him a compass that pointed to the Crossroads on the first ten floors. Widow’s Tear, a blue page that granted a consumable, permanently enhancing one’s Enigma Stat by two. Lastly, a red page called The Red Maiden, granting a single piece of red yarn.

Why would anyone want a piece of red yarn? Christopher thought, confused. But the thought rapidly flew through his mind as he read the name of the last page.

Lazarus.