Free Web NovelChapter 4: The Labyrinth
When his name was called, some people looked surprised, while others didn’t. Nuri had an ambiguous reputation: you either loved him or did your best to stay away from him.
It was the same with the professors. Nuri might have been a delinquent of sorts — maybe — but he attended class regularly and earned high marks in both theoretical and practical exams. That was why the professors both loved and hated him so much. He was one of the good troublemakers.
Nuri turned to Cookie and patted his shoulder.
"Called it."
He walked forward as Cookie loudly sighed.
When he reached the tray, Celendia glanced over at him briefly and gave a small nod, smiling.
[I can’t believe this girl is a client of yours.]
Nuri returned the gesture and nodded back.
’You just never know.’
He looked over the remaining vials, weighing his options. It didn’t matter much which Essence he picked, given the nature of the power Rosaria would grant him through the pact once he stepped into the Labyrinth.
Nuri picked up a vial and stepped back.
The remainder of the top twenty each took their Essences. Among the rest were his friends and aquaintances: Decion at 8th, Penelope at 10th, Cookie at 12th, Raphael at 13th, and Yunara at 20th. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
But the most surprising of all... Leonard at 6th. How the hell did that kid get sixth place when he was such a scaredy-cat?
[You picked friends wisely.]
’Of course! Connections matter when execution is a constant threat.’
Once the Essence-choosing ceremony ended, everyone picked up their chosen weapon. Nuri chose a simple iron sword, the only weapon he had trained with his entire life.
The students then lined up before the giant archway where the portal to the Labyrinth would open. The rankings also determined the queue — first place went in first, which meant Nuri was fifth in line. And standing before them was Kendros, giving her last few words before the impending doom.
"Now, I assume all of you know what to do for your first exploration. As you’re not Explorers registered by the Labyrinth yet, we cannot put a Bonding Spell on you, which means everyone will be teleported to a random place within the 1st Floor. If you come across your peers, stick to them. If you find your assigned squadmate, immediately form a party through the Labyrinth’s system. If you encounter a stranger, ignore them — don’t even think of striking a conversation. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Professor!" the students responded ferociously.
A moment of silence followed.
Then, the gold filigree across the archway began to glow. The light traveled along the patterns slowly at first, then faster, until the entire face of the structure burned bright.
The stone hummed a deep vibration that passed through the floor and up into everyone’s chest.
The center of the archway darkened, and a pool of pure black opened where there had once been a wall.
The Labyrinth Gate was open.
Behind him, Leonard the wimp leaned in.
"G-Good luck."
"You too."
Nuri looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
’I feel bad for the guy.’
[He’s just not ready.]
Adrienne, fourth in line, glanced back over her shoulder.
"Nuri."
He met her eyes.
"Sup."
She glared at him.
"You’re dead when I find you in there."
"Dead annoyed? Yeah, wouldn’t want that either."
"Hmph."
Nuri huffed a laugh, then turned his attention to the portal.
Lycoris stepped up to the threshold first and confidently walked into the dark, and she was gone.
Daphne went next. She leaned to the side, flashed him that same insufferable grin, and gave a two-finger salute before stepping through.
Aurélien followed without ceremony, sword hand loose at his side.
Then Adrienne, who shot him one last glare before the black swallowed her too.
’It’s time.’
Nuri stepped forward.
Up close, the portal was silent. The darkness in the archway drank every bit of light that touched it, and its surface gave nothing away about what lay on the other side.
He took a deep breath.
’Here we go.’
He stepped through, and the world behind him dissolved into nothingness.
For just a second, time flashed before his eyes. It wasn’t past or future. It was time itself, with its constant inevitability.
When it ran out, Nuri found himself in a damp dungeon.
He blinked, taking in his body and the surroundings. Behind him was a dead end. Beside him were stone bricks, narrow enough for two people to squeeze through, and in front of him was darkness.
"The hell? Rosaria, can you see anythi—"
"HELP!!! ARGHHH!"
A scream tore through the night, primal enough to give Nuri goosebumps.
’Fuck... Already!?’
The sound of flesh tearing and bones snapping followed. Blood gurgled, and mangled organs slapped wetly against stone, a sickening vibration that seemed to thrum through the corridor of this dungeon.
[Move while I grant you my Blessing. You need room to escape when danger comes.]
’On it.’
Nuri gripped the hilt of his sword and moved forward, careful with each step to avoid making a sound. Every breath he took felt too loud for his liking.
The corridor reeked of mildew, old blood, and corpses. It stretched ahead of him, lit only by the faint green glow of moss in the cracks between stones.
He heard a shuffle somewhere ahead — most likely the perpetrators who had killed the human.
’I have a bad feeling about this.’
[Keep moving. You’re alright.]
Nuri moved slowly through the narrow passageway, with only one way forward. He used his hands in place of his eyes, tracing the jagged wall until he finally reached open air.
’Crossroads.’
He patiently waited for any sound that might tell him where the danger was.
—Kikiki!
’To the right. Two to three targets.’
Nuri leapt into the middle path and waited for the noise to fade.
If the monsters decided to take the path to the crossroads, he could avoid their watch and maybe even ambush them. A little too ambitious for a first-timer, but one had to possess a crazy mindset to survive this hellhole.
—Kiki...
The cackling noises started to fade, which meant the predators had finished their meal.
Nuri, with his hand on the wall, followed the trail as quietly as possible, even tiptoeing to attain maximum silence.
[You look like a dork.]
His face scrunched.
’You just want me to die early so I’ll spend eternity with you in purgatory, don’t you?’
[Am I that easy to read?]
’Yes!’
As Nuri continued along the path, the first thing he saw was a smear — it was long and dark, running along the ground toward the bend in the corridor.
’Blood.’
It looked like the human had been dragged, dead or alive, from where he was standing.
There were many crossroads along the way, but the blood trail led to only one.
He followed it around the corner, stopping now and then to listen for any sound.
This cautious advance repeated until he reached the end of the pathway, where a body slumped against the stone — or what remained of one.
Darkness failed his eyes, but there was enough light to reveal legs mauled to the bone.
His eyes moved to the chest, torn open in a way that made his stomach turn — bitten organs and intestines spilled out, without a trace of blood.
Then his gaze shifted to the shoulder.
’Fucking hell...’ freewebnovёl.ƈom
[...]
Hanging off the shoulder was the Exploration Academy’s blazer, flipped up along the spine until the hem was caught between the back and the rock.
’I really don’t want to look at the face.’
[You should. This is normal in the Labyrinth. You need to get used to death.]
Nuri took a deep breath, then forced his gaze to the face.
’Shit!’
[...]
He stepped back involuntarily, unable to stop his body from spasming with disgust.
Eyeballs missing, one ear gone, mouth gaping open... yet the face was still recognizable.
It was Leonard.
That Leonard who had wanted to tap out.
That wimpy Leonard.
He was killed seconds after stepping into the Labyrinth.
