You know what really sucks? Waking up without sleeping well, want to know what really, really sucks? Waking up in a world and body that is not your own... And taking a good five seconds to remember that. Causing you to stumble over your wing because you are not supposed to have wings or 4 legs and crashing into the wall, hard. Not a pleasant start to the day, that’s for sure. I could really go for some pancakes right about now... Oh right, I’m in a different world, I don’t know if pancakes even exist... What do Sphinxes even eat?

. Human... I eat… Humans? . OK, I am officially convinced the damnable skill is screwing with me. I can feel the total glee the damn thing has in its strange voiceless words that just pop into my head.

That aside however I now have to figure out how to feed myself... or do I? I walked over to the Pillar and entered Core Form. Oh hey, the sense of hunger and thirst was gone, nice! I reformed my avatar... crap, now I am hungry again. I guess I will need to get food for myself... Wait, those dead cultists had a bunch of items on them when they died, maybe...

I opened my inventory and looked through it. Not an overly long exercise, given how few things there were in it. I quickly found what I was after. “Rations” I took it out of inventory and studied it, it looked like a small rectangular bar that had a very salty smell to it. I also took out a “Water skin(purified water)” considering how salty that food seemed to be, I would probably need it. I took a bite, and it tasted... absolutely horrid.

Could I even eat this stuff? . With that reassurance, I forced the rations down and drowned out the salty taste with copious amounts of water.

Ugh, that was beyond horrible! If I wasn’t so hungry, I would never eat this block of pure torture. I looked at my inventory again... then I realized, if I couldn’t access my menu in avatar form... how could I now access my inventory? . Synchronization? .

I guess I needed to increase the synchronization between myself and my body as fast as possible, but how did I do that? . I suspected that my reaction to the salty rations was very sphinx like at least. But then it was not like I had a choice but to eat that stuff. It was the only food I had available unless I hunted- . Why am I not surprised at that?

I pushed that aside for now and, with incredible reluctance, took out another ration. This time I didn’t even bother to eat it immediately, not before I doused it with the rest of the waterskin and took out the 2nd one. I slowly took a bite from it. It tasted MUCH better now that most of the salt had been washed off. Sure it had a nasty salty aftertaste. But it was still far easier to eat this time around.

With the immediate need of food and drink dealt with, it was time to get to work again; I opened up my Status to see how I was doing.

Dungeon Name: Labyrinthia

Dungeon Biome: Maze

Dungeon Level: 1

DEXP: 3/10

Depth: 1

Rooms: 2

Essence: 24/300

EP: 1

TP: 1

Avatar Attributes

Avatar Race: Sage Sphinx (Legendary Unique Variant)

Avatar Gender: Female

Avatar Level: 1

EXP: 20/100

HP: 500/500

MP: 200/200

Attack: 155

Defense: 150

Magic Attack: 250

Magic Defense: 250

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 17

Endurance: 16

Intelligence: 30

Wisdom: 25

Charisma: 20

Synchronization 18%

Titles(4)

Titles? . Another incentive to reach max synch ASAP, well then.

That aside, I had gained 1EP and a 1TP from the intruders on top of the 2 Mastery Points I had already spent. Should have checked that yesterday really. The question was, what to use the points on. Well, the creature was a simple decision, in order to unlock the next tier of creatures I needed all the basic tier creatures unlocked first. And that meant grabbing Oozes. The traps were more difficult, as I still had a few options there, but in the end I grabbed Crushing Walls.

That combined with pitfalls could make for a deadly combination. Not to mention that I could use them as impromptu gates to funnel adventurers down certain hallways of my maze. Hmm, now that I thought about it, I had some rather nasty ideas now for how to use my newest acquisitions...

I had been so busy with my building and trying to squeeze out as much as I could from my remaining Essence. That I hadn’t noticed the Adventurers that had entered my dungeon before my first rat died. It’s death left a dull echo in my mind as a signal it had perished.

I pulled back from my work and zoomed through the maze to the location of the rat’s death. Yep, decidedly adventurers, a ragtag bunch too, if their gear was any indication. It was poorly maintained and ill-fitting. Which meant they were beginners or thieves who had stolen the gear to start a fresh life of adventure.

It didn’t matter to me; they had intruded into my dungeon with hostile intent. Seeing as Giant Rats were only hostile if attacked or if another effect caused them to become aggressive. Like me telling the thing to attack, or they stepped into a Rat Den, a room I didn’t have. Which meant they had attacked it first, given I was too busy to even notice them.

That meant that the kid gloves were coming off for this bunch. I now turned the full attention of not only myself but also all my dungeon Worms upon them. It turned out to be total overkill. They might have been fine against three, maybe even six Tunnel Worms all at once. But twelve of them attacking from the sides, below and above all at once was just not fair.

One moment they were in a quiet hallway with no hostiles in sight and a dead rat in front of them. The next moment the man holding an old partially busted staff was bound and dragged away from the party. Quickly followed by the woman with the bent buckler and, if her inability to damage the 3 worms attacking her were any indication, rather blunt sword.

The mace wielding lady was the next to get hogtied, but not before she killed 2 of my worms by smashing their heads against the walls with her mace. Leaving only the one wielding daggers, who looked at his bound friends, then tried to flee without even offering them a second glance.

Backstabbing, typical. His flight caused the woman with the shield to cry out in despair. The worthless coward that fled had to be someone she trusted a great deal. And he had just left her and everyone else behind to save his skin.

That… didn’t sit well with me. If he was just a sell-sword, fair enough. He decidedly wouldn’t have been paid enough to remain loyal through something like that. But to betray someone who trusts you in a life and death situation. Nu-uh, no way that didn’t sit well with me at all. Back in the game, I took an extreme delight in exposing such players to the most horrible of my traps and monsters. I didn’t have that option here, no trap or monster horrible enough, so I would have to do the job myself.

The only warning he had of my Avatar materializing was a sudden breeze as my materializing body displaced the surrounding air. The next moment I had grabbed him and slammed him into the wall. Not too hard to do, seeing as my front paws were only slightly smaller than his torso. Yet were nimble enough to be hands that could hold such paltry things as food rations with ease.

He tried to stab me with his dagger. But their shoddy state and the lack of momentum behind his stabs meant he couldn’t overcome my defense at all. At worst, it itched a bit, and at best I didn’t even feel it. “Betraying your friends are we, did you know I hate traitorous cowards the most of all?” I growled at him as I made my way back to the other three.

Once he ran I had changed the worm’s orders from “Incapacitate” to “Restrain” so they were all now thrashing around in their bindings. The question was, what to do with the bunch of them.

NO NO NO, NONONONO NEVER I am NOT DOING THAT for crying out loud I WAS human less than 2 days ago.

No answer from the stupid skill, good. I suppressed the urge to shiver. Not because the idea horrified me, but because it was so... appealing at that moment. I shook off that feeling immediately though, I would rather starve. At least for now. With luck, my willpower would hold out if I actually start starving. Though I honestly hoped I would never have to find out what would fail first, my will or my hunger.

I pushed that horrid thought out of my mind as I stepped over to my prisoners. I really was at a loss on what to do with them, though. Aside from my stomach loudly voicing its displeasure with me having an actual conscience. For now, if 100% synchronization meant I would become a Sphinx in mind and body, which is what the Records were hinting at. The idea might be far more appealing in the future. I needed to secure a steady and tasty food source before that happened, that was for sure, the last thing I wanted was to view humans as food.

With that in mind, I really couldn’t keep these guys around as prisoners, no matter what I decided it would have to be between death or freedom. On one hand, they had barged in here and killed a few minions. This bunch was decidedly no threat. They had killed a rat and a few worms, sure.

But those would return on their own in time, at no additional cost to me at that. This rag-tag band seemed beyond hopeless, heck they probably had even less to go around than I had. Judging by the state of their gear. It seemed they were so down on their luck that they would brave an unexplored dungeon hoping to find something of value. Too bad for them I was so fresh I had practically nothing.

“Hmm. Well, what should I do with you four hmm? Well, I know the fate of one of you” I looked at the cowardly Rogue who had betrayed the party. “If there is one thing I absolutely hate, beyond all else in this world. It’s those who would betray their friends and loved ones for their own benefit. So, your fate is sealed, Rogue” Something warm and wet hit my fur and trickled down the front leg holding the rogue. Yuck, seriously, at least show some dignity in your last moments for crying out loud.

I eyed the remaining three, the warrior lady was silently crying, the rest had gone limp too, no more struggles on their end. “Hmm, now then if any of you can answer my riddle. You three will be free to go” The three froze up for a moment. Before they slowly nodded, still saying nothing.

Probably too afraid that what they say will be taken as the answer, despite me not asking yet. I took a deep breath before I spoke. “It may only be given, not taken or bought, it is what the sinner desires, but the saint does not, what is it?” There was silence for a long time, a very long time. So long I was wondering if any of them knew the answer.

Then, to my surprise, the rogue spoke up “Forgiveness, the answer is forgiveness, now let them go” Well, well, well, so there is a heart in this coward after all. I wave my tail theatrically as I silently ordered the worms to release them. They quickly gathered their gear. But again, to my surprise, they do not leave.

The woman with the shield slowly approached me. She was clearly on the brink of utter panic, but even so she still approached me. Her arms were at her side and her posture left her utterly defenseless. I didn’t need telepathy to know what it is she wanted to ask. She opened her mouth, but I interrupted her. “If he means so much to you, I will ask you and you alone a riddle. Answer it correctly and I will let him go, fail and you will share his fate” she flinched. “Don’t do it Ynve, I am not worth it” the rogue said, but I ignored him. The woman… Ynve hesitated for a moment longer, but then took a step forward “Then ask your riddle, I shall answer”

Damn, this guy doesn’t know how lucky he was. He flat out betrayed her, and she would still risk her life to save his. His expression said the same thing. Well, maybe he would learn something from this, if he survived. “What costs nothing but is worth everything, weighs nothing but lasts a lifetime, that one person can’t own but two can share?” I kept my face neutral even as both the rogue and the Ynve stared at me. The riddle wasn’t hard by any stretch. But as they looked at each other, they both went beet red. Even so, Ynve composed herself for a moment before answering, still unable to meet the rogue’s gaze “... It’s Love” it’s barely a whisper, barely audible to anyone but me.

For suspense’ sake, I held on to the lucky bastard a few moments longer. Then I unceremoniously dropped him to the floor. “Take him and be gone, and you Rogue, you are far luckier than you deserve. To have someone who cares so much about you. That she would give her life to save yours even after you betrayed her. Cherish what you have now, for if you lose it you will never find it’s like again, I assure you”

The rogue looked at me for a moment, then to Ynve. Then he slowly nodded, before going down on his knees and apologizing to the others. “You will do all our chores for a month” said the old woman. The spindly man also added “And paying for drinks when we get back” the man looked up at them. “Sure, of course!” he looked remarkably relieved.

OK, as touching as this was, it had gone on long enough- I started tapping my claws against the ground, a rather abrupt reminder of where they were. The quartet looked up at me for a moment. Then stormed off back towards the entrance with their gear and what little they harvested from the rat.

I slowly followed behind them. I needed a wash and there was no way in hell I was simply using my tongue this time. Luckily, there was a small stream running past close to my dungeon that should not have been interrupted by the Biome yet. It might change, but for now, it was a source of water that I could use. And who knows? I might find some fish to eat if I was lucky.

I was not disappointed, as once I finished rinsing myself clean and then waited a bit, several fish showed up. Some of them were big, even by my standards. Come to think of it, this was a small stream by my standards, so for a normal person this was probably an enormous river. Well, I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

I peered into the water at a particularly large and juicy looking fish. That would be my dinner, I focused more and more on it while slowly raising my paw. Just a little closer now, a little closer, come to me, dinner. A shudder went through the fish. Then to my utter astonishment, it suddenly sped towards the river bank and jumped onto land landing next to me. Where it remained still, although it undoubtedly should suffocate right about now.

What just happened?… I waited patiently for the Records to pipe up, but it remained utterly still. What an utterly useless skill, only butting in when I am slightly curious rather than freaking the hell out. Still, if the fish were so keen on presenting itself to my maw, who was I to argue. Fair enough that its behavior was unnatural, but I was too hungry to care right now.

It wasn’t before I was done with the entire fish I realized I had devoured all of it raw and had enjoyed every bite. I decidedly was losing touch with my human sensibilities as I was coming more in sync with my Sphinx body. A somewhat worrisome development, but given the circumstances, I couldn’t say it was a terrible development either.

I needed to feed myself, and with my current sensibilities, raw fish was delicious. Meaning I was happy to devour it straight from the river. Rather than trying to figure out how I would make a fire, saving both time and energy for other things. I could only hope I would remain human enough to not view people as a potential lunch down the line.

I went back to the river and looked for another fish to eat. The first one was big, sure, but I was also huge Sphinx, it had been a small helping for me all things considered; I was eager for more and it didn’t take me long to locate another. I focused on it once more. Waiting for it to get closer, closer and closer, but this fish remained stubbornly deeper in the river, that was infuriating. It was so big and delicious looking. Why couldn’t it just get over here already?

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind before the fish shuddered, then sped towards the river bank and. Just like the fish before it jumped onto land. OK, one time could be a freak occurrence, but TWICE, no way. I had to have done something to that fish to make it do that, that was not normal behavior at all. Fish didn’t just deliver themselves to people who wanted to eat them. That would go against all survival instincts they had. I had to have influenced its behavior somehow.

Well, I could try to figure it out later. Right now I was too hungry to care as I eagerly devoured the 2nd fish. Then I went back to the river and repeated the process for a 3rd and 4th helping. At which point I was feeling pleasantly sated.

With the annoying hunger fully sated and a reliable and tasty source of food found, well reliable for now at any rate. I could worry about other things. Now what was I doing before I got interrupted by those misfits? Oh, right dungeon building, how much essence did I have left anyway, time for Status!

Dungeon Name: Labyrinthia

Dungeon Biome: Maze

Dungeon Level: 1

DEXP: 8/10

Depth: 1

Rooms: 2

Essence: 174/300

EP: 1

TP: 1

Avatar Attributes

Avatar Race: Sage Sphinx (Legendary Unique Variant)

Avatar Gender: Female

Avatar Level: 1

EXP: 90/100

HP: 500/500

MP: 200/200

Attack: 155

Defense: 150

Magic Attack: 250

Magic Defense: 250

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 17

Endurance: 16

Intelligence: 30

Wisdom: 25

Charisma: 20

Synchronization 38%

Titles(7)

Skills: Unbreakable Will(Racial), Labyrinth Sense(Racial), Flight Lv5(Racial), Cleaving Swipe Lv1(Racial), Roar Lv1(Racial), Telepathy Lv5(Racial), Akashic Records(Unique), Magical Labyrinth(Unique) Dispersion(Starting), Reformation(Starting), Core Bound(Starting), Blessing of Inlas(Mythical), WBllrdn iie LV2(Special).

Wait... What? OK, so the Synchronization I could understand. I had played the riddle smith damn well, but why had I gained so much DEXP and EXP? Not to mention the literal metric ton of Essence. The only thing I had killed today was fish that ha-. Hang on WBllrdn iie LV2?… Fish that behave unnaturally. I had suddenly gained a lot of DEXP, Avatar EXP and a bunch of essence and that skill levels up.

There could only be one explanation, that skill was responsible somehow, that skill had let me manipulate, no, outright control the actions of those fish somehow. It was the only damn explanation I could even conceive of; the problem was, I did not understand how I was activating it. Was it my focus, was it my want for the food that made it work?

I would need to experiment further with this, but… not with the fish. That was my only food source, a source I had no idea about how sustainable it was. I couldn’t risk potential meals down the line just to experiment with a skill I did not understand, what it did or even if that was what leveled it up.

This entire thing was giving me a goddamn headache. I would have to get my mind off of it before it drove me insane. With that in mind, I went back into expanding the dungeon. By the time I finished, the underground maze was about the size of my entire overground roaming area in radius. And would be an absolute pain to navigate. Not to mention I had invested as much into traps as I could, maxing out on those that remained.

This was now giving me Essence at a good clip as a result and I could even afford the upkeep on Magical Labyrinth. Though only barley, after a bit of deliberation I grabbed the trap. Sure it was expensive. But I had no idea what might be in store for me, so better safe than sorry.

So far, I had been lucky. Getting only someone who was not prepared for a dungeon dive as they were busy with kidnapping. Followed by a ragtag bunch of desperate down-on-their-luck adventurers. I knew for certain that my luck would not hold up forever. Eventually, I would have someone or something dangerous come calling and with this group being allowed to leave my Dungeon, it was probably sooner rather than later.

As I marveled at the sight of the Labyrinth changing at my whim, it made me feel good about myself. Even as a few rats squeaked in surprise at the wall mo- hang on, squeaked? I tried thinking back... Nope, I could not remember being able to hear while in Core Form before. Able to see, sure I could see a full 360 degrees, which was disconcerting in the beginning. But until now I had never been able to hear, unless... .

40%, this could be good or it could be bad. I still didn’t know how this was affecting me until experiencing it firsthand. Although this new skill would make things easier. I could now spy on any intruders to discern their motivations prior to engaging them. Or even learn of their tactics and plans if they intended a serious assault.

A thing to ponder for later, for now, it was late; the sun had already set, and it had been an interesting day. The only worry now was that I was syncing up surprisingly fast. Probably because I had unwittingly used that strange skill on top of the riddles. I was not noticing the fact that I was changing; that was actually a cause for fear. And I was supposed to be immune to fe... no, my Sphinx-self were immune to fear, that fear had to originate from my human side, an interesting observation. I reached the Pillar room and curled up in the same spot as before; it didn’t take long before I was asleep.

I looked around, and at myself, I was human again. Did this mean this was a dream? Probably so, considering I was in a white void. Well, a void except for me and the giant Sphinx looking down at me. A Sphinx I recognized from my reflection as I was fishing, I was looking at myself, or to be exact, the self I was becoming.

I was still not sure how I felt about that. My Sphinx-self was looking at me with a serene and patient expression, though. “You need not worry about that” she said. She sounded so calm, yet so sure of herself that I found it almost impossible to disagree. I couldn’t help but note that I did still worry though, even if it was extremely diminished.

“Why should I not worry, I am slowly ceasing to be myself here. You might not feel fear, but I do and this sensation of no longer being… well me, is terrifying” my Sphinx-self smiled. It was a pretty smile, despite the razor-sharp teeth.

“Because you and I are the same, our outlooks are different, yes, but that is because I am a Sphinx and you are Human. Once you are no longer human and have become a Sphinx, you will see what I mean. There is no reason to fear, you won’t disappear, you will just be different. Just like you are different when you try or experience something new. You were different when you realized raw fish was tasty. Are you still yourself? Yes, and so it will be when we are fully one”

Huh, when put in that perspective, it didn’t feel that bad. Although... “Promise me one thing” I looked up at my sphinx-self. I trusted myself, sure, but this was the one thing I feared the most about all of this. “We won’t eat people, we have fish, we don’t need people for food” I looked at her with an unyielding expression. “I give you my word, I will not influence you to eat people, happy?” Something about the way she worded that struck me as strangely specific. But it was likely the best I would get. I nodded, and as I did, the void faded to black as I regained consciousness.

I opened my eyes slowly. The first thing I did was to check my status. As that dream was giving me goosebumps, Synchronization at 75% just from sleeping, it had gone up 35% that... was somewhat surprising. It should also have terrified me, I idly noted. Guess whatever that dream did to me last night erased the fear completely. I was not sure how I felt about that, to be honest. Whatever I was feeling about it, though, it was decidedly not fear.

I pushed that thought away, syncing up was inevitable at this point regardless of my feelings about it. The more important question was, had I gotten any new skills out of it. Nope, didn’t seem like it, that was a bummer, had expected another unlock by now, maybe at sync 80%?

Well, seeing as I was awake, there was no time like the present. I might as well get some food, then get ready to add some more critters to… no wait. I couldn’t do that, not with me having added the Magical Labyrinth last night. I would need more essence gain for that. And with my income down to 1e/d because of the Magical Labyrinth that meant I needed guests... or I could use that skill on the fish again. I was hungry at any rate, so why not use it on a few fish and see how it went?

With my mind made up, I exited the Dungeon and walked over to the river. I looked for a fish that would make for an excellent breakfast. No, not that one, that one? Nah, too small still. I had been at it for nearly an hour when finally I found one that fit my requirements; I focused on it, willing it closer, closer, closer, clo- suddenly pain racked through my midsection, enough so it broke my concentration and the fish swam away.

I looked down to my right side. An arrow was sticking out of it. I followed the arch it would have had to have taken to hit me there and saw a group of adventurers. These were well armed and armored and didn’t show fear either. That was foolish because that arrow hurt a lot. And I was not feeling very generous or merciful right this moment. These adventurers would pay for that, right here, right NOW.

I grabbed the arrow and yanked it out; it hurt. But I had taken little in the way of actual damage. Barely 5 points total and 3 of those was from me ripping the arrow back out. I would not go easy on these guys just because they barely hurt, however. They had deliberately attacked me, even though I was unaware of their presence. And if they had tried to talk, I would have probably been willing to hear them out. But no, they had gone straight for “Kill first, ask questions later” well if they wanted to play it that way, fine by me.

The archer quickly realized that the arrow had done next to nothing to me as I let out a snarl and sprinted towards them. 100 meters away, an excellent shot. But one that was nothing more than an annoyance, I was on them in mere seconds. To the credit of their front-liner she or she blocked my charge and stopped it. But it splintered the shield beyond all usefulness. It fell to the ground among the low walls that would one day be a proper above ground maze.

That didn’t stop them from swinging their sword, however, and damn that hurt. Though, it didn’t do much in the way of actual damage; I guess my defenses were higher than their attack. Though not enough to completely nullify the damage I took, this would sting later on that was for sure.

That’s when the lightning bolt hit me, and it should have hurt. It was a goddamn bolt of lightning, but… I didn’t feel a thing, nothing at all. The mage who delivered it looked as surprised as I was. Apparently 250 magic defense were nothing to scoff at, or maybe his magic attack were just that low?

I did not know these guys’ relative level or how I measured up to a regular Sphinx. Or how much a Sphinx measured up to your regular Human. I would rate these guys as painful, but not dangerous at most, and as a nuisance, at worst.

The next to try their luck were the one I pegged as the healer. As she cast magic as well and vines sprouted from the ground and attempted to bind me. No thanks, none of that, time for me to counter attack. I used Roar Lv1, and the effect was immediate.

The Mage and the lady with the vines flinched, the vines themselves fell inert to the ground. The casting disrupted by my roar. The archer and the warrior were not so lucky though, both dropped their weapons and grabbed their bleeding ears while screaming in pain, serves you right assholes.

The Mage tried to cast another spell, but I’ve had enough of this, I swiped out with my right paw, striking the mage and the warrior with one swing; the warrior could not defend and took the hit dead on.

The Warrior got knocked back and skidded along the ground until they collided with the wall. Their armor was still intact though, good for them. And my props to whoever forged that thing, good craftsmanship, the mage was not so lucky; the swipe had hit him in the neck, claws out. He was a goner unless he received some serious healing right now.

A sentiment the healer seemed to share as she cast again and warm light enveloped the entire party. When it faded the rest of the party staggered to their feet “Damn Indella, nice save” the Warrior said, in a deep baritone voice, a man then. The Archer, which upon closer inspection seemed to be a youthful woman in her late teens or early twenties at the absolute most, nodded in agreement. The Mage, however, seemed less sure of himself “It let you finish the healing, it could have attacked you while you cast, and it let you finish”

Finally, someone noticed. Yes, I could have finished it, but my original anger had dissipated as I realized the party was unlikely to actually hurt me. However, if I could make them talk, I could use them to get more information. And dead men tell no tales, not unless you are a Necromancer or Death Priest. And as a Dungeon I could not take classes, so if I wanted information, I needed them alive.

Or if I could make them stop attacking long enough, I could try to force compliance by using the garbled skill. Sure, I had yet to try it on anything but fish. So, I did not know its actual effect range, or even if it worked on humans at this level. But if I could successfully use it on one of them… I could at worst use them as a hostage and get information that way.

The adventurers were more careful this time; the Mage had swapped from offense to casting protection spells, while the Archer pelted me with arrows at close range. It stung like hell. But she would run out of arrows long before I even reached half health. Most of them just hit me and fell to the ground without piercing my hide. My guess was that the surprise attack had given her an attack boost. Now that it had played itself out, she could no longer overcome my defense.

The warrior was the only one to consistently inflict damage to me and while he was doing an admirable job; he was just one man. He was dealing chip damage to someone that could kill him in one blow if I landed a proper hit. The only reason he was still alive was because he stubbornly prevented me from moving against the others. And the constant healing and protection spells from his allies were barely keeping up with the damage I was dealing.

The fight was even until suddenly, I noticed that the Warrior was slowly starting to take damage. Had I run the healer out of magic? No, she was casting a spell, not a healing spell but something else. I had no clue what she was casting, though. Better safe than sorry, I was about to unleash another Roar Lv1 when the Warrior suddenly rammed the butt of his sword hilt into my throat; it didn’t deal any damage, but it interrupted my roar, sending in on Cooldown without going off. That meant that spell was probably bad news.

I redoubled my efforts, but with all the damn defensive spells, on top of the fact that the Warrior seemed to have a self-healing skill, I was getting absolutely nowhere. Then the woman finished casting, and a sphere of light enveloped me, I couldn’t move, I was utterly paralyzed. I could feel her magic enter my mind, trying to lull me to sleep. I was not sure what the spell accomplished, but I realized that if I fell asleep, it would be bad. I tried fighting back with all my might. “Superb work, Indella, she won’t be a threat much longer now, soon she will eat out of the palm of your hand” the Archer whooped.

Then it hit me, the girl was a Druid, a Beast Master druid variant to be exact. She was trying to TAME ME, the utter indignity of it all, nu uh, no way. “ENOUGH OF THIS, RELEASE ME AT ONCE!” I was not even conscious of the fact that I yelled that order. I was too busy fighting the effect of the taming, only to suddenly fall over as the taming attempt abruptly ended.

“Indella what are you doing! Why did you stop?! Indella? Indella!” I shook my head and rose to my feet. The three of them were swapping between looking at me with a worried expression and their friend. She was now standing there passively, with her hands at her side and a glassy, distant expression on her face. Hmm, I wonder, I reached out to the girl telepathically. “Indella, restrain your friends” Indella went back to casting. Her friends seemed to relax and turned to face me. Only to cry out in surprise as the vines from before restrained the three of them, preventing them from moving.

Well, that proved it once and for all. That garbled skill was some kind of mind controlling skill and by the looks of it. It let me gain total control of their actions. Or maybe she was that way because I just hit her with everything I had. I couldn’t really bring myself to care right now. She had tried to bind me in servitude to her just moments prior. Though being fair I had no idea if that would even work. Or if my Avatar Form would just Disperse at that point, I did not relish the thought of experimenting with that, though.

The party, now restrained, could quickly add 1+1 and get two as I calmly approached Indella and patted her head the same way you would pet a dog. “What did you do to Indella you monster!?” Man that Archer just never shut up, did she? I guess there was no harm in answering.

“I did to her what she tried to do to me. Instead of me eating out of her palm, she is eating out of mine.” I don’t know what was more amusing. The crestfallen expression on their faces at me responding to her likely rhetorical question. Or the near panicked realization that I could fully understand what they had been saying until that point.

It was a bluff though; I had no clue how long my control over Indella would last. It could be permanent or it could be a few more seconds. I honestly did now know because as usual the Records refused to acknowledge that I had used any skill at all.

“Release her at once you big meanie” wow, the Archer sure had bigger balls than the Warrior who had so far had done nothing but try to free himself. The Mage couldn’t speak or move a muscle. Indella had gagged and hogtied him to prevent him from casting. But little miss spitfire was making it up for the lot of them.

“I will not release her, after all I doubt she would release me if our places were reversed. Besides kid, I couldn’t release her even if I wanted to, I honestly have no idea what skill I hit her with or how long it will last. It just shows up as a scrambled mess to me. I don’t even know if there is an option to end it early” the Archer looked at me with a doubtful expression. “Seriously, you seriously expect me to believe that?”

I shrugged, “Whether or not you believe me, does not matter to me in the slightest. That skill has been a royal pain for me since the first time I accidentally used it. Say does your mage friend have a way to identify active skills?” the mage made a few noises at that, but unsurprisingly I couldn’t understand any of it.

The archer nodded. “Indella, release your mage friend, however if he tries to do anything but cast that identification spell or skill, restrain him again immediately”. The mage was immediately released and slowly rose to his feet. “This is the strangest encounter I have ever been in, never in my entire life-” I interrupted him before he could continue. “Enough of your complaining little man. Your friend's future is on the line here. As I mentioned, I do not know how to release her, or if there even is a way to release her. So unless you can figure out how, I have no choice but to keep her as my pet”

That shut him up, and he instantly began to cast another spell. A few moments later he seemed confused, “This skill is just garbled for you, is it so?” I nodded “What skill is it? Once I know that, I might be able to figure out how to end the damn thing” I meant it too. Learning about that skill would be worth a great deal to me. If releasing this little human and letting them all go on their merry little way afterwards was the price to pay for it, then that was a bloody steal.

Besides, the thought of forcing someone to serve in this way, not sure I liked it. The Mage eyed me for a while. Likely debating whether to tell me, before taking a deep breath. “You hold all the cards here, so I have no choice but to trust you, the skill is called Will Binder now release her”.

The moment he named the skill, it was as if someone had hit me in the gut with a sucker punch; I felt physically ill. In fact, the desire for breakfast had vanished. Ugh, the very thought was… no. It only lasted a second though, as I focused on the Records, Will Binder, info NOW . Was the damn records HESITATING? All right, that’s it, I had had it with this damnable skill. If it didn’t answer me right now, I would make it my priority to remove that skill from my list. And since it was a unique skill, that meant only a divine being could grant it to someone. It could not be gained normally.

. Even though the skill had no voice it sounded miffed, as if it was insulted or something, the nerve.

Well, that was simple enough, although Lv5 that was... quick. It was level 2 just yesterday; I guess it’s because I learned the damn thing’s name or something? That opened a few possibilities though, now that I knew the name, and the skill was no longer just a mess I could see the effect.

I now also knew how to use the skill. I could just use it on the remaining three as well and have myself some more powerful minions than the rats and the worms. But I said I would release her. The internal battle was short-lived. “Indella, I release you” it was not worth the hassle. Besides, I said I would do it, I would not betray their trust. Betrayers and traitors were the worst thing in the world. If only I could remember why I hated betrayers and traitors so much. Maybe the records figures, guess it stemmed from my world.

Indella dropped like a puppet that had its strings cut. Then groaned and slowly got back on her feet. She grabbed her head “Ugh” and she looked up. First at the Mage, then at her bound friends, then finally at me. Then she gave a small gasp and hurriedly dispelled the binding. Before hiding behind the now free warrior, sufficiently cowed by what just transpired to not try something like that spell again, good.

There was a tense silence for a moment, “So... what happens now?” the warrior finally asked. “Now you leave, I have better things to do than to play with you. Like getting my breakfast, which you so rudely interrupted me from getting earlier” The Archer now piped in. “B-but we can’t, the dungeon is right there, the treasure we-” the others tried to quickly shush her and looked at me with fearful glances.

I just shook my head. “Child, my dungeon is not even a week old. Right now the best you would get out of it are Rat Teeth, Rat Guts, Rat Claws, Tunnel Worm Teeth and Tunnel Worm Entrails. There is not as much as a single treasure chest yet. I have been more busy shoring up my defenses. Then thinking about luring in greedy men and women whose lust for gold are stronger than their self-preservation”

The archer blushed furiously at my words. But seemed properly chastised, good. She was young. The last thing she needed was to end her life before she was even a proper adult. Wait, why were I thinking in those lines, it was unlike me… wasn’t it? I pushed that thought aside. Then, with a last glance in the group's direction, I returned to the river bank. My appetite was still shot, but I needed to eat, regardless of my current appetite.

“Oh, and one more thing before you go. The next time you come to visit, you might not want to use an arrow as a way of greeting. If you haven’t noticed, I get cranky when I get shot at” Cranky was technically an understatement. It had been tempting me to rip them all apart and feed them to the dungeon. But the information they had offered was more than enough to make up for that, and information was far more valuable to me given my current circumstances.

The group covered one point though, I would need to add treasure and lure in people to kill if I wanted to grow in any decent capacity. Especially now that I had Magical Labyrinth active, my passive gain was down to one Essence a day. I could no longer rely on it unless I made the floor way bigger. But I couldn’t do that without more essence. But hey, it was stuff like this that made dungeon management fun. Though it was less fun when actual lives got involved. At any rate, these greedy dimwits wouldn’t stop coming, so I would have no choice but to kill them, eventually. Because if I got a reputation of being merciful, that could cause genuine issues fast.

With that in mind, I watched as the group left, looking dejected. It seemed like they had hoped to make easy money. Although there was no such thing as easy money, at least not as far as I knew. And since the Records didn’t pipe up to correct me, I figured I was right.

I resumed my fishing, now that I knew how the skill worked it was easy. Within moments, I had found a few suitable fish. They all happily threw themselves onto land and from there it was straight into my belly.

With my meal done, I quickly checked my status. A few things had changed this time. Synchronization had climbed to 86%. It would seem that Synchronization really approved of manipulation of others. I was not sure that I enjoyed the thought of becoming manipulative at all. But it was not like I could stop it from happening.

The other major change was that the Garbled skill had become “Will Binder Lv5” I could finally see it in the menu. That was one mystery down. It still didn’t explain the blessing, or how I had gotten into this mess to begin with. But it was better than nothing. Overall, I was happy with the results.

The final and by far most disturbing thing was the addition of a new skill Forbidden Knowledge Lv1(Demonic). How had I gotten THAT? That didn’t sound good at all. . That’s not good. When the Records were that straightforward with me, it would probably be a superb idea to not raise that at all if possible. Here’s hoping I don’t go doing that again.

I was less happy about half an hour later. A bunch of people in leather armor of inferior quality and simple weapons made their way inside. Didn’t the quartet tell anyone that this place was a dump? . I couldn’t help but feel that the records added that last part solely, so I would be more inclined toward merciless than merciful.

Then again, the records seemed biased towards making me as Sphinx-like as possible, so I can’t say that was a surprise. Not too much of a problem this time around, though. This bunch just screamed brutish thugs a mile away. And it didn’t take me long to be proven right. As one of them smashed a mural depicting my avatar as they passed, for no reason other than he could.

… Well then, Mr. Brute, you will be the first to die. Wait, maybe I could...

What happened next would be something that I would haunt my nightmares for a long while after. I materialized behind the group and sent a few rats as a distraction. Then I used “Will Binder Lv5” on the brute that crushed my mural and the guy next to him. An even more brutish looking man with a giant claymore for a weapon, then I gave them one order.

“Kill the intruders in this dungeon” The other three stood no chance as they got assaulted from behind by the biggest and strongest in their group. It was a messy fight. I could hear the screams and the sound of torn flesh and crushed bones easily enough. It was then that I lost contact with the puppets. They were just not there to communicate with anymore.

That was strange. What in the world happened? No answer from the records, well then, just be useless, you stupid skill. I walked around the corner and found my answer; the brutes had killed all intruders in the dungeon, including each other. Well then, lesson learned. I would need to be more mindful of how I worded my orders as they would be obeyed perfectly, without deviation.

That aside, the scene was that of an utter nightmare as the two puppets had been VERY thorough in their fulfillment of commands. I honestly couldn’t say if it was because they were like that naturally. Or because they wanted to be sure the rest were dead before turning on each other.

I was honestly happy when the dungeon finally absorbed the lot, now maybe I could- suddenly a surge of power went through me; it felt... beyond good; it was like every pleasurable thing in the world had happened to me at once. I also felt stronger than I had before what in the world, oh wait… never mind, I could take a guess.

Dungeon Name: Labyrinthia

Dungeon Biome: Magical Maze

Dungeon Level: 2

DEXP: 2/30

Depth: 1/2

Rooms: 2

Essence: 374/600

EP: 3

TP: 3

M: 5

Avatar Attributes

Avatar Race: Sage Sphinx (Legendary Unique Variant)

Avatar Gender: Female

Avatar Level: 2

EXP: 10/300

HP: 1500/1500

MP: 750/750

Attack: 355

Defense: 350

Magic Attack: 550

Magic Defense: 550

Strength: 17

Dexterity: 19

Endurance: 18

Intelligence: 35

Wisdom: 30

Charisma: 25

Synchronization 93%

Titles(9)

Skills: Unbreakable Will(Racial), Labyrinth Sense(Racial), Flight LvMAX(Racial), Cleaving Swipe Lv2(Racial), Roar Lv2(Racial), Telepathy LvMAX(Racial), Akashic Records(Unique), Magical Labyrinth(Unique) Dispersion(Starting), Reformation(Starting), Core Bound(Starting), Blessing of Inlas(Mythical), Will Binder LvMAX(Special), Core Sense(Special), Mind Reader Lv1(Racial), Enigmatic Mind Lv1(Racial), Forbidden Knowledge Lv1(Demonic)

I had gotten... a helluva lot stronger suddenly, and I now had way more essence to play with. There was also the new addition to Depth in the dungeon list 1/2, did that mean what I thought it meant? I opened the “Construction” menu and sure enough, a free staircase room was waiting for me, and the status also listed Masteries now. Nice, no need to open that menu every time I wanted to check.

The new skills were interesting too, Mind Reader was self-explanatory, read minds. Made sense with the telepathy and that stuff.

But “Enigmatic Mind” . So, basically I had just blacklisted everyone from just finding me magically. A neat ability, not sure why it had more levels though, seemed rather straightforward.

And the stupid skill doesn’t answer the mystery, as usual. Well, I guess I will find out. That being said, though, I had an idea for my 2nd floor. It would not be just a straight up maze like the first. Mazes were nice and all, but I would need more rooms eventually to lower monster upkeep with their special rooms if nothing else. And the first floor was right now just a mess of monsters, traps and corridors aside from the core room and entrance. With that in mind I expanded the maze a short distance and placed the stairs. It was time to dig deeper.