Unfortunately, our entrance to this floor was like all the other time and not like Paeris’s challenge. Separated once again and as I was the last given the chance to babysit, I was with our smallest companion. While I wasn’t necessarily planning on foisting him onto someone else, it would’ve been easier to strategize if we were together from the start.

There was no delay in the environment’s creation once we stepped through the gate. There was no dull of the colors around and the lanterns that lined the stone bricked tunnel weren’t frozen in time. There wasn’t a situation that we were thrust in the middle of.

The tunnel was a decent length, but I could see a sudden break in the lanterns lining the wall in a distance, suggesting that the tunnel broke off.

Other than the corridor and the lights, there wasn’t much else to consider. There weren’t any sounds and there wasn’t anything peculiar in the air, it was simply stale.

While the others chose to fly Mezu around, I would have to carry him. As I’ve experienced combat with a heavy pack on my back, carrying him shouldn’t prove to be any more difficult. He seemed accustomed to clinging to Quartz’s back, otherwise I would consider strapping him so that I wouldn’t have to have a hand on him, and thus hindering my ability to fight.

I pulled my spear from its straps from my back and leaned it against the wall. I considered how to place him while I held out my hand to him.

Mezu however, had seemed to comprehend my intentions and took my hand before climbing onto my back on his own. With him situated I grabbed my spear right as the announcement indicator sounded out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to floor 37: A Duel

Description: Your party of climbers have been given the opportunity to stall a rival party. Both parties have been brought to this floor and placed within the labyrinth. There are four spots from each party to participate in the final duel. Race each other to arrive at the exit to be selected to represent your party. The party that wins the duels shall move on to the next floor, the party that fails shall wait for another party to be able to challenge.

Spots filled:

Party 1: 0/4

Party 2: 0/4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I headed off running through the banner before it had the chance to disappear.

While the others seemed to be tasked with something that intentionally showcased an aspect of their character, there was nothing about this one that appeared related to me.

Brick was given a chance to prove his own strength to Dodger while she was forced to deal with separation from the clear younger brother figure. Which wasn’t too dissimilar to when Lefty was on his own. Arguably you could say that those two floors were as much of an investigation into Dodger and Dot despite the clear intention of challenging Brick’s fighting capabilities and Lefty’s skills as a rogue.

While participating in their personalized trials, Dodger had to use the brain that she continues to claim she doesn’t have. And Dot was given a chance to explore her interest in mana mechanics. While I don’t know much about their past, the trials probably targeted a fault in their character that they needed to grow from. As I knew Paeris quite well, I knew what his trial was aimed towards.

With all of that in mind, and this should then be the floor for my own trial… yet the challenge itself didn’t seem to be very specific to me. It was simply a labyrinth race followed by a duel.

It was only in hindsight that I was necessarily able to analyze their own individual trials, which could only mean that my own should be linked to the other party we are fighting against on this floor.

As long as we manage who of our party goes through, then we would be able to limit the chance of us losing the duel and being stalled in our progress. Which still doesn’t reveal a specified trial for me.

I reached the end of the corridor and arrived at the first fork. Guessing would work until I ran into any dead ends. The only challenge in a labyrinth is to not get such wandering in circles.

I took the left turn. It went straight for a bit before turning left again.

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Then it must be the identity of the other party that would lead to an issue for me to resolve.

There was another right turn before I came across a break in the wall, but I didn’t check it out. It would probably be better not to pick a different path until I’m forced to.

Speculating who they are won’t do me any good as I’m still alone and have no way of managing the other’s choices to benefit us. Solving the labyrinth was the more pressing matter.

I passed another before my current path made a right on its own. After that, I ignored the break right after the turn on my left, and then the new path on my right that came further on. After another left turn on this path, I hit my first dead end.

I retraced my steps to the first break in the path from the dead end and slashed the ground to remind me, should I run into this path again.

I headed down the new path which quickly turned left before another break on the right. I ignored it and continued straight. After a left turn, the corridor opened up and I was in a large space on a bridge.

I looked over the edge and saw someone else on the path below me. Their hair color that was all too familiar and yet one I hadn’t seen in almost fifty years. I stood and watched, waiting for their head to turn, hoping it wasn’t who I thought it was.

But when they turned, and I saw his green eyes. Those bright eyes that were so different from the raven black hair, Rolym.

I dropped to my knees quickly to hide behind the solid wall of the bridge’s guardrail.

Why was he here now?

I started crawling down the bridge to get to the other side.

Even if I had speculated their identities, I don’t think I would’ve considered him.

It made things clearer though; I would need to get to the end before Quartz.

At the end of the bridge, I stood up and headed off at a full sprint.

Rolym could only be with Winged Mercy.

I went straight at the next intersection.

If Winged Mercy was informed of a half elf that was climbing that would create unknown problems once, we arrived at the fortieth floor.

The path went left and then right.

I’ve set some plans in place for our arrival on the fortieth floor, however even if we stalled them, there is no certainty that they wouldn’t just simply arrive after us.

Another right and then left put me at a dead end.

I turned to retrace my steps.

Best case scenario would be that I prevented Quartz from entering the duels in the first place. And if I failed that I would need to get him to hide his ears.

I marked the new dead end and took the right, but that just led to yet another dead end.

Would he just hide them if I asked? No questions asked? Would that be easier than stopping him from fighting?

I turned around and headed down the only unmarked path.

Though up until we met him, he had been hiding his ears on his own. Would he do it on his own if I simply mention that there are elves in the other party?

The straight path stopped, and I took the left but met a dead end. I returned, marked and continued down the other option.

While he has been frustrated recently and letting him fight would make him easier to deal with, this was the last solo trip with Mezu. He would hopefully be calmer once this was all over. Keeping him from fighting just this one time would be manageable.

The new path went straight into another intersection. Right was a dead end and left went to a break and a straight path.

Then there was the issue concerning his healing abilities… Paeris thinks that they have nothing to do with his relationship with Mezu.

I kept straight and met a four path split. I stayed straight.

And then there’s the fact that he’s half high elf.

Another short turn and a dead end. I tried left but that was another long run into a dead end.

The final path before going back the way I came, went to a weird intersection. There was a break in the wall, but I could see at the end of it was a dead end.

All the other dead ends were around a corner at least to trick you into continuing down the path.

I must’ve run in a circle already, the path to my left must’ve been my start point.

If I went straight, I would just eventually find myself back at a point where I had made the wrong decision, and it hadn’t been marked.

I put a slash in the ground and turned around.

I couldn’t be sure if Quartz knew that he was half high elf. Unlike Dodger, he wasn’t a complete muscle brain. It was clear that there were plenty of normal things that he hadn’t learned when it came to social activities and conversations, and if that was due to low intelligence that would be accompanied by other difficulties. Despite that, he understood at least three languages, and there was a chance that he also understood Egalthi. He had a level of patience when it came to listening to direction and strategy that wasn’t present in Dodger.

I passed all the marked breaks until I found one unmarked and went down it.

And there were times when it seemed that he was struggling with something else entirely. He would get stuck on the meaning of certain words or get stuck mid sentence as if he didn’t even understand why he had said something.

The path headed straight, past another break and then took a right heading into a dead end.

After heading back, I took the break, and then decided to take the following break just to see if there was a difference.

If there were paths that were connected, there was probably a long way and the short way. I had already taken the long way from the start, so changing my plan could possibly help me out.

Knowing all of that about him, there was a chance that he himself was aware that he was half high elf. He didn’t know that he was half goliath, but his self healing ability. If it wasn’t from Mezu, he was aware of that. And he must know something, even if it’s simply the fact that it comes from his parents.

The new path, then turned left and there was another break, but it went straight into a dead end.

Good thing I found the start earlier, or I would’ve gone back in a circle, and I would’ve wasted time I didn’t’ have.

I continued straight after marking the new dead end.

Either way, even if he wouldn’t tell me what he knew, I had to get to the end before him. Stopping him from fighting was the best option. And getting him to hide his ears on his own was the next step.

No more guessing, I had to think a bit more about my path choices.