"Where should we go next?" Mia asked, as she looked at the options.

"I think we should go left." Leo said, as he felt a hunch.

"How can you be sure that it is the correct the path?" Mia asked, as she doubted him.

"Because my gut feeling is telling me that it is safest." Leo said, as he trusted his intuition.

"If you are talking about gut feeling then I think we should go right." Dagger said, as he had a different hunch.

"No we should go left." Leo said, as he argued with him.

"Stop fighting and let's go straight." Emily interrupted, as she saw a third option.

"Why?" Leo asked, as he was curious.

"Because there's a sign that says 'This way to the exit'." Emily said, as she pointed at the wall.

"Really?" Leo asked, as he looked at the wall.

"No, I'm kidding. But it's worth a try." Emily said, as she smiled.

"Fine, let's go straight." Ethan said, as he decided to follow Emily's suggestion.

They all went straight on but halted at Ethan's command.

"Stop." Ethan said, as he sensed something.

"Why? What happened?" Leo asked, as he was worried.

"Something big is coming." Ethan said, as he heard a rumbling sound. He looked ahead and saw a large shadow looming over them.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Soon they saw a big rock hurling towards them at increasing speed. It was a boulder that had been released from a hidden mechanism, triggered by their movement. It was a trap, designed to crush them.

"Retreat back." Ethan commanded, as he realized the danger.

They all started running back but the rock also reached them. It was faster than they expected, and they had no time to escape.

"Mia buff Leo. Leo, Mike, Emily attack the rock when you get chance." He said and turned towards the rock swiftly unsheathing his swords.

He stopped the rock for a moment with both of his swords. He pushed against the rock with all his strength, trying to slow it down. He felt the pressure on his arms, and the pain in his muscles. He gritted his teeth and held on.

His team followed his instructions and attacked the rock in that moment.

Mike cast a spell on the rock, blasting it with fire and ice. He waved his staff, unleashing his magic. He felt the energy in his hands, and the excitement in his mind. He grinned and cast more.

Emily shot an arrow at the rock, piercing it with her accuracy. She pulled her bow, releasing her skill. She felt the tension in her fingers, and the calmness in her eyes. She nodded and shot more.

Leo jumped at the rock, boosted by Mia's buff. He thrusted his shield, aiming for the cracks on the rock. He felt the impact on his weapon, and the adrenaline in his veins. He unleashed his skill 'Shield Impact'.

Their combined effort shattered the rock to pieces. They heard the sound of the rock breaking, and saw the fragments flying.

"What the hell was that?" Leo asked, as he coughed.

"A trap." Emily said, as she looked at the pieces of rock.

"Let's keep moving." Ethan said, as he sheathed his swords

They all went straight and found a door with a lock and a keypad. They tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Maybe we need a code to open it." Mia suggested.

"Look, there's a riddle on the wall." Dagger pointed.

They read the riddle:

'I am a word that begins with the letter I. If you add the letter A to me, I become a new word with a different meaning, but that sounds exactly the same. What word am I?'

They thought for a moment, then Mike said, "I know the answer. It's isle. If you add A to it, it becomes aisle."

"Good job, Mike. Let's try it." Leo said.

They typed in ISLE on the keypad and heard a click. The door opened.

"Nice. Let's go in." Emily said.

They entered the door and saw a floor with colored tiles.

"This time I think we need to step on the correct tiles." Dagger said.

"Okay but which tiles are the correct ones?" Leo asked.

"I think it would be red, blue, orange, purple, green, purple and black respectively." Emily guessed, as she recalled the colors of symbols and their positions on the walls of the entrance.

"Are you sure?" Ethan asked.

"No. That’s just my guess." Emily said, as she admitted her uncertainty.

"Okay." Ethan said, as he decided to follow Emily's suggestion.

He moved forward in the order of colors as Emily had said. He stepped on the red tile, then the blue tile, then the orange tile, and so on.

He safely crossed the tiles and his team followed him eventually.

They crossed a few more traps and after solving more puzzles they reached the portal of the 3rd floor.

[Welcome to 3rd floor of Demonus Labyrinth]

[3rd floor quest is generating]

[Objective]

☆ Survive wind hounds for 4 hours.

[Rewards]

☆ Access to final floor.

They reached the 3rd floor and the surroundings changed to a forest.

"Let's finish this quickly." Ethan said, as he scanned the area. He saw trees and bushes, and he smelled fresh air.

Many wolves surrounded them, coming out of the forest. They wielded sharp teeth and claws, and they growled and snarled. They looked angry and their eyes sparkled red.