“AAAAAAAAAAAGH NOOOOHOhohoooo”

  Lukey clutched his head and sank to his knees as he stared down the hallway at the giant clay wall. If he ever got back, he would curse Caldoon for sending him to this place. He couldn’t take it anymore; he was slowly going insane.

  Another dead end. Lukey had been roaming the labyrinth for a long time now, and he had just about had it with this place. If he could, Lukey would go back and slap himself for even considering completing the floor. He was in here forever, and he still hadn’t encountered the end.

  After the four rooms, he made his way through the labyrinth and encountered two more along the way. Each encounter gradually increased the number of enemies and their levels. If Lukey hadn’t made those traps, he would’ve had to turn back long ago.

  As it was, the only thing that could kill him was hunger. Lukey hadn’t expected to be here this long, so he didn’t pack any water or food. Fortunately, there was plenty of crab meat to go around after all the killing he had been doing. The seawater even gave a nice salty seasoning to the meat, making it only mildly unsavory to eat.

  After killing so many Aquaclaws, Lukey gained a small mountain of oil glands that protruded from his bucket. He even had to start abandoning them after it couldn’t carry anymore. After leaving that many materials behind, Lukey couldn’t help but feel he was being wasteful of such nice materials. The meat and the shells could be sold for a nice profit if he were able to take them all back.

  There must be a better way to do this. I’d better visit the Lancers Guild when I get the chance and ask them how they deal with materials.

  Lukey had to leave a mountain of materials behind, but it wasn’t like killing all the monsters was pointless. There were two new changes to his status since the fourth room, both of which were noticeable when he brought up his name.

  [Lukey (Aquaclaw Subduer) Lv. 15]

  The increasing levels of the monster ensured Lukey was always being challenged with each new encounter. This, in turn, gave Lukey plenty of energy for surviving each encounter and ensured his levels increased at a steady rate. After making it this far in, he was certain that he wasn’t supposed to challenge this place alone.

  I made it this far because I’m smart. I bet Caldoon or Triton wouldn’t have tried to get a better spear or come up with a trap using some rocks and a rope. They would have just punched through the shells, wearing themselves out and being forced to head back.

  The constant fighting also resulted in a new achievement, granting Lukey a new title and power.

  The boost to his strength was so minute that Lukey failed to notice it most of the time. The only time he did notice something was when a Broodmother took one less hit to kill or when he pierced the shell easier when stabbing his spear through the claws. At the very least it was something, and Lukey couldn’t wait to see the look on Triton’s face when he showed it off, that is, if he ever got out of here.

  This was the third dead end Lukey discovered, and he was getting fed up. The final room was so close, Lukey could taste it. He was determined not to waste this trip; after all, heading back would mean going through all this again, and that would be a miserable experience.

  Lukey made his way back to the previous room with reluctance. He was forced to trudge all the way back through the watery halls until he finally reached room number six. In the room were the corpses of roughly ten Aquaclaws, all of which were torn apart for their materials and meat. On the walls of the room were five tunnels, two of which Lukey had been through.

  One of the tunnels was the way he had just come from, and the other was where he first entered from when arriving here. That left him with three entrances left to explore, each with an equal chance of leading him to the final room or a dead end. After eating some more crab meat, Lukey decided on using the first entrance to his left, as it would be easier to eliminate the wrong routes that way.

  Lukey stepped into the shallows once more when he noticed something odd. The water below him was flowing backwards from where he just came from. It wasn’t pushing hard, but the fact that it happened at all was concerning. The shallow water had been still up until now, and there was no way this current was natural.

  That was when Lukey noticed something else. There was a slight breeze going through the tunnel in the same direction as the water; not big enough to be a problem but certainly concerning. The wind and water were both gently nudging Lukey back the way he came, almost like they were telling him to go back.

  Wait a minute! I’ve heard about this…

  This was the first time Lukey had seen it, but this phenomenon was known as an unseen force. To put it simply, Lukey spent too much time in the labyrinth, and now it was trying to throw him out. It was a bit like getting a stomach bug from some bad food and trying to vomit it out. Lukey was the bug wreaking havoc on the labyrinth’s system, and he needed to be expunged.

  Lukey picked up the pace as he began to hurry down the tunnel. If he waited too long, the unseen force would get stronger. It was nice to know that there was an easy indicator of how to get out, but if he wanted the rewards for completion, he needed to find that final room and fast.

  …

  Guild leader Dravus stood at the helm of his ship, looking down at the enormous blockade that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He was the leader of this expedition, an expedition to search for and acquire as many slaves as they could from across Novus. This trip had taken months of planning, and an enormous amount of capital was invested to ensure their success.

  The goal of the expedition was simple: to capture valuable slaves that could be sold for high profit. This included people with rare classes, good looks, and humans. Humans were exceptionally rare, only found on select islands and reclusive kingdoms around the world. If they managed to conquer this island, his wealth and prestige among the conquerors would skyrocket.

  The fleet set out from the south and made their way across the Abyssal Ocean to Novus, where they pillaged and plundered almost every town they came across. Only occasionally would they face resistance from powerful class holders, and even then Dravus was a match for anyone they came across.

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  He smiled as he checked his title.

  [Dravus Skullsplitter (Professional Decapitator) Lv. 437]

  Dravus was a proud Zaurian. He had rough, orange-scale skin that covered his enormous body. Even among other saurians, he was considered above average. He stood on massive, clawed feet that ended in three large toes in the front and a small one in back. His hands, similarly, each had three fingers and a thumb, all of which were closed around the handle of his weapon, a double-headed great-axe.

  The only thing he wore was a loincloth and belt, along with the skull of a baby axemaw he had over his head. His four horns stuck out from the sides of the skull and ringed his head almost like a crown. Dravus’s eyes had the signature slit pupils that all Zaurians had, and they narrowed as he looked out to see the approaching torrents of water.

  This was supposed to be an easy last stop on their voyage. The guild had informed them that the only classed people on the island were botanists and lancers. The botanists were weak and incapable of fighting, whereas the lancers only had an outpost here and not the entire guild. Dravus had been informed that previous attempts to take the island have all ended in failure; however, the guild assumed it was because they had the protection of Dragon’s Lance.

  That was why they were extra careful this time, making sure to confirm the only boat on the island was that of the botanist guild. They captured the passenger vessel several days ago and forced them to confirm the condition of the island before gathering the fleet for this purpose.

  Everything was planned perfectly, and yet, they were still met with resistance.

  Dravus let out one final battle cry, hoping to deter the people on the island from doing anything rash. More resistance meant having to kill more people as a demonstration, and nobody won in that situation. He sucked in his breath and let out a sharp roar.

  “KRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH”

  A Zaurian battle cry was known to drive fear into the enemy, making them less likely to attack. However, it had no effect on the approaching torrents of water. It seemed that these two individuals were at least stage three sovereigns, like himself. Dravus turned and gave commands to the other guild members.

  “It looks like they’ve chosen to resist. Launch all your attacks at the two people in the water! Tell all the other ships to do the same!”

  The other guild members were all Zaurian warriors with various features; most had sharp teeth, but some had beaks in place of a maw. Many carried hatchets and axes, while some carried swords and bows. The ones with bows started letting loose arrows into the water, while those with blades used aether to project their strikes outward. Soon the message was relayed to the other boats, and all three hundred warriors were launching at the two figures.

  The two island guardians clearly sensed the attacks coming, because they started making evasive maneuvers. Both figures began weaving in between the oncoming attacks with startling agility. It seems they weren’t even fazed by the barrage, as they either dodged or powered through everything in their path. The only effect their attacks seemed to have was slowing down their approach.

  Two torrents of water split off, with one heading to the left of the fleet and the other to the right. One of the figures approached the surface of the water, and Dravus saw the water spinning around him like a giant drill. The individual swam at full speed towards one of the smaller ships in front, making the water spin faster as he approached. After reaching top speed, the figure rammed straight into the boat.

  BOOOOOOOOOOOM

  The aquatic drill slammed into the ship, causing it to violently lean in the opposite direction. Wood splinters and rushing water were thrown away as the drill bored through the ship. Dravus was standing on the bow of the ship, and he got a good view of the attack as the people on board were helpless to stop the attack.

  The drill dug through as it continued to destroy the bottom of the ship. It kept digging until the ship enveloped it entirely. There was only one more moment of muffled rumbling before the drill blasted through the other side of the ship, shooting out in an explosion of water and wood.

  “The ship is destroyed!”

  “It’s going to sink!”

  “Abandon ship!”

  Dravus could hear panicked cries coming from the people on deck. He watched as the crew and warriors on deck jumped from the sinking ship. He didn’t feel sorry for them; after all, weakness deserved death. That was the creed of all Zaurians, and if they didn’t understand that, they wouldn’t have been chosen for the expedition.

  The drill made a beeline for another ship, and the process began all over again.

  “They’re aiming for our ships! Kill them NOW! Jump in the water and attack directly if you must!”

  The others jumped at his command. Dravus watched as zaurians from the ships near the drill began jumping into the water to attack. He would’ve kept an eye on the outcome, but he heard someone behind him call out his name.

  “Guild leader, sir, what about the other one?”

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘WHAT ABOU…’”

  “ROOOOOOOOOAR!”

  Dravus was interrupted as he turned toward the source of the noise.

  Opposite of the aquatic drill, another figure was annihilating ships left and right. This one was shrouded within the head of a gigantic, watery serpent. The serpent sat upright above the water, with its body as thick as a column and its head raised as high as the flagship’s sail. The warriors on the nearby ships attacked it with fury, but all their projectiles only harmlessly passed through its liquid form.

  The serpent had an entirely different approach to destruction. Dravus watched as water was pumped up through the serpent’s body and gathered within its open maw. It all coalesced into a liquid sphere that sat within its mouth, making the sphere grow until it forced the serpent’s mouth wide open.

  When the sphere reached a crescendo, the serpent snapped its mouth closed, pushing it all out in one burst. The water was launched with the force of a cannon out of the serpent’s mouth. It flew towards one ship in the center of the fleet with deadly accuracy and shot right through it. The ship was annihilated with a gaping hole in its deck. The resulting shockwave shoved the other ships away from the blast.

  Dravus looked at the serpent and then held a determined look.

  “I’ll deal with the serpent; tell the other guild leaders to focus on the one drilling through our ships.”

  The messenger behind him ran off to deliver his message. While he did that, Dravus raised his axe with both hands and took on his unique [Beheading Stance]. The massive barbarian winded the axe behind his head and planted his feet firmly on the bow of the ship. He then began grasping the aether, willing it into his axe as he reinforced it with the earth element. There wasn’t much ‘earth’ in the middle of the ocean, so he would have to make do with the metal in his axe.

  Dravus gathered as much power as he could and let loose a shockwave.

  “[Peak Render]!”

  The axe streaked across the front of the barbarian’s face as he let out an immensely powerful horizontal slash. The force of it alone pushed the flagship he was standing on in the opposite direction of the wave. The shockwave manifested as a light-yellow crescent wave, and it let out a sonic boom as it screamed through the air towards its target.

  Before the shockwave reached the serpent, Dravus saw a shadow move down the serpent’s body. The serpent also stopped dead in its tracks just as the shockwave reached its neck. It made a clean cut as the earthly energy slipped right through the serpent. It took several seconds before the serpent’s head fell from its body, landing in the water with a splash.

  Looks like this will be more trouble than I thought.

  Every second those two were loose, their guild lost another ship full of promising warriors. Dravus only hoped this battle would end quickly. He didn’t want to have to explain how two islanders managed to destroy several expensive ships to the guild master.

  For that would be a sign of weakness, and the only thing the weak deserved was slavery and death.

  …

  At last, he found it.

  Two dead ends later, he finally found it.

  The final room in the labyrinth.

  Lukey knew this was it. The arch that led into the room was much bigger, and the room was far larger than the rooms before it. Instead of a rocky blue floor, there was a sandy bottom that was raised out of the water level. There were occasional puddles, but otherwise the room was mostly dry.

  Lukey saw various tide pools along the wall within, each glowing powerfully and lighting up the room and ceiling. On the floor, there was a large mound of sand that sat unmoving in the center of the room. He took another long look at the room and began to prepare his gear. Lukey dropped the bucket and his rope near the doorway and prepared his stone-ties and spear.

  If I’m going to fight whatever lives in here, I’d better fight without the excess weight.

  Finally, all his preparations were done. With the end in sight, Lukey took a deep breath, then walked up the sandy bank.