FARWITCH LABYRINTH ARC

Chapter 9: Alone

[Floor Minus 4]

Tick tock tick tock...

My footsteps echo loudly throughout the wide ruin caverns. The flickering flames of the torches lined up on the walls drive my shadow into a wild frenzied dance. It's a frightening sight to behold. But thanks to these flames, there's no need to waste precious torches in the early areas.

I'm all alone. Nothing but the sound of my breathing and my footsteps, and the magic crystal-powered pocket watch to take note of the time. There is no night or day deep down in this dungeon, only the dull stone-cold walls to serve as my sky and all.

I check the time — an hour has passed since I entered the Farwitch Labyrinth. I've encountered nothing but ratts (rats as large as a human baby) and batbats (four-winged bats) that I easily repel with a single swing of my sword. But mostly it's just boring navigating.

Tick tock tick tock...

The magic crystal on this watch should last for four more days, which is exactly how long my food supplies last.

I gulp. Only four days to bring Ela back home. If I follow my schedule right, it should be possible.

Tick tock tick tock...

The way splits into two: one going left and one going right. They don't call this a labyrinth for nothing. I wear my glasses as I refer to the map on my hands — I should be careful not to make a wrong turn, or it'll be a huge waste of time.

The map says I should take left. Left it is then.

Ah, lucky. Just around the corner is the stairway leading downwards. I waste no time in going down to the next floor.

[Floor Minus 5]

Tick tock tick tock...

I encounter my first powerful monster that isn't a freaking ratt or batbat. Two rattlerollers (huge snakes with a horn on their head) block my path, their sharp fangs dripping in violet poison as they hiss at me dangerously.

Now I face the adventurer's dilemma. Do I stay and fight this monster, earning experience and some drops, or should I run away and save stamina? I would normally choose the latter, but I realize that these snakes are the perfect practice targets. I haven't used that technique in years after all.

I grip the Coruscant's handle with my two hands. How did it go again?

"Uh... first is the first gear."

Click

I perfectly time swinging the sword and twisting the handle, causing the mechanisms inside the sword to shift. It starts to vibrate slightly and the sword now feels magically heavier. If the manual is right, its attack points should've increased.

One of the rattlerollers runs out of patience and aims for my head!

I jump far behind to avoid its fangs. This should be the perfect distance for my favorite move.

"Second gear, spin shift."

With the sword in my hands, I turn round and round and round, like a dancer gone mad, without softening my grip for a bit. The timing and direction has to be right. Now!

Click

I twist the handle and release the sword, sending it in a wild spin towards the two unfortunate snakes. The cyclone slashes through their bodies and ricochets off the walls to just slash through them again. And again. And again.

This goes on for a while until their corpses turn into an unrecognizable mass of scale and flesh.

Click

The sword ricochets one last time and I catch it with one hand.

Hah. Looks like I can still pull the "spin ricochet" move off.

This brutal display is just one of the many wonders Erika and Fu stuffed inside. If I remember correctly, they called it a... Gear-type Sword Shift Prototype Utility System? Yep, that's right. The Coruscant was designed to suit every style of fighting you have in mind — defensive, offensive, speed, you name it. Your will be done. Of course, that's if you read the whole 500-paged manual back and forth. Which I have not.

... Geh. I pick up my wig that must've fallen off while I was spinning. This is so uncomfortable.

Tick tock tick tock...

The rattleroller corpses are surrounded with a faint green glow, just before they fade into nothingness, leaving behind nothing but a single fang. This is the difference between a monster and an animals. Monsters are made out of magic. Kill them and the magic disappears, rewarding you with a drop of some kind.

But monsters can reproduce? Don't look at me, I'm not an expert on monster biology. I just think their dead bodies disappearing is a very convenient thing. No clean-up required.

I should get going. I don't have all the time in the world.

Tick tock tick tock...

[Floor Minus 9]

It's been three hours since I entered this dungeon. Ever since, I have continued the monotonous routine of navigating through this confusing labyrinth and running away from monsters. If they overwhelm me with numbers, I easily use the ricochet spin to take care of them.

I don't rush. I have to pace myself, or I'd collapse once I reached the lower floors. That's a dangerous position to be in.

"Here I take right."

Tick tock tick tock...

After a few more turns, I check the time on my pocket watch and decide to take a stop for now. It's time for a quick lunch. I sit down on the cold stone floor and take two haphazardly-made rice balls from my lunch box and some water to wash it down.

My mind flashes back to the times when Erika used this dish to bait me into becoming her friend. A smile slowly creeps on my face. Up to this day, I still don't know why she specifically chose rice balls. I never asked, mainly because then I'd feel guilty all over again for punching her all the time back then.

A warm feeling on my chest.

I remember those precious days with Erika, together taking care of the little Ela. In a dark time where I watched my family die one by one and saw nothing but despair, she showed me love. Erika opened her arms and gave me a new family, one I can cherish and protect.

I stare emptily at the flickering orange ceiling.

... These rice balls are salty. But I didn't put any salt in it.

Tick tock tick tock...

Why the hell am I alone again?

As if to answer me, the ground slightly rumbles.

"Hmm?"

The ground beneath me bursts open and throws me away face-down. Ah! My rice balls splatter down on the ground as well. Curses, that was my only lunch!

I glare at the culprit. A small bird-like creature with a drill-shaped beak pokes its head from the newly-made hole where I was just seating. It's a digerill. These freaking bird monsters live underground like moles for some reason. What is wrong with them?

I grab my sword and prepare to whack its head, but the bird quickly disappears down below? I rush to the hole, but I catch nothing but the earth and stone floor being restored by itself. It's a special property of this dungeon. Adventurers trying to dig their way down will find themselves being eaten alive by the ground. I know because I've experienced it.

I feel that soft rumbling again. This time, the digerill pops out beside my fallen rice balls. With one quick motion, it swoops up my lunch with its scrawny little wings and drops down before my sword could squish its ugly head. AAHHHHHHHHHH!

I smash the Coruscant on the healing hole repeatedly, releasing my anger for that cursed bird.

"Mark! My! Words! I! Will! Personally! Kill! You! And! Your! Whole! Family! AAHHHH!"

Tick tock tick tock...

... I'm tired. Why am I losing focus this early in the journey? This is bad, the stress is getting to me. I take a deep breath in, and release everything and my worries, slowly shifting my mind to a calm state. I still have to find Ela. No distractions allowed.

Making sure that I had everything packed, I continue my lonely adventure in the Farwitch Labyrinth.

MONSTER ENCYCLOPEDIA

No.005

Ratt [Rat-type Monster]

These are rats as large as a human baby. If they're silent they have this cute charm, but they pack a mean bite. They usually attack in swarms and will sometimes deal poison.

No.008

Batbat [Bat-type Monster]

They're called batbats since they look exactly like bats, but double the wings. Despite their intimidating appearance, they're harmless and at most annoying.

No.012

Digerill [Bird-type monster]

A small flightless bird with a drill-shaped beak. Their feathers are made of a hard bony tissue that allows them to swim through the ground with ease. They live deep underground and only surface to steal from unsuspecting adventurers.

No.016

Rattleroller [Snake-type Monster]

These huge brown snakes are highly venomous and very fast on their bellies. One of their most defining feature is the horn on their heads. Said to be a distant cousin of unicorns.