Kyrie looked at the huge cavern they had stepped into. She could not see the ends of the cavern. The ground was not flat and sloped at different places. There were rocks, boulders, stalactites, stalagmites and even huge natural pillars which split the cavern. The cavern was illuminated faintly by something which Kyrie could not identify. Because of this glow, Kyrie could see a great extent of the cavern but could not see the walls to the right and the front.

Kyrie observed that they had entered close to the left wall of the cavern. The adventurers started to walk in cautiously. They did not know what to expect.

Kyrie could see a plinth rising out of the ground. The champions seemed to have walked towards it. The plinth looked like a drum, a black drum which had been chiseled unevenly. The top of the plinth was shining with a yellowish light.

She could not read what was written in this light, but it seemed to be an interface of some sorts. Tamara and Tanniv read it and looked at each other, worry etched on their faces.

Tanniv declared, “It is a trial of some sorts. We need to complete 10 trials to reach the guardian.”

“What is the first trial?” someone asked. Kyrie could not determine who.

Tamara said, “No idea. We shall know once we accept the trials.”

There were some murmurings and they discussed what to do next. The answer was obvious. They had to do the trials if they wanted to go first. Kyrie looked at what was displayed.

The Trial of the Guardians

Complete 10 trials to have the honor of fighting a Guardian of the Labyrinth and earn unprecedented rewards.

Begin the Trial

Yes No

Tamara selected yes. The message updated on the interface above the plinth.

Begin the Trial of Strength

Yes No

Tamara rolled her eyes and again selected yes. The plinth disappeared into the ground. There was a howling, and everyone tensed, readying their weapons. Kyrie looked around, waiting for something to attack them. She wondered why she was having this feeling. It was Ivan who discovered the monster attacking them.

“Look”, Ivan shouted and pointed.

All of them looked at where Ivan was pointing. Kyrie saw a weird sight. She could only describe it as shadows were converging at a spot in the cavern. They were twisting, twirling, whirling and growing in size all the time.

When the shadows stopped, a creature stepped out of them. It was completely black in color. Kyrie had to focus to see it clearly. It was humanoid in shape with blackness trailing around it. Its eyes were hollow and whitish, and Kyrie could see no mouth or ears or any distinctive features. Two black daggers were present in its long thin arms. It was thin and long, at least ten feet in height but it was hunched down so much that it looked about seven feet.

Shadow Lord

Level 180, Health 150,000 / 150,000

Kyrie felt this was going to be a tough fight. The Shadow Lord did not say anything. It just charged. Tamara readied her shield, but the Shadow Lord crashed into it, throwing her back. The next few minutes were chaotic. Everyone near the creature started to attack it. The Shadow Lord dodged the attacks expertly and attacked the adventurers back.

Kyrie cast [Power Shot] and managed to hit the creature. But she caused only 250 points of damage to it. This was going to be tough for her.

Kyrie then decided to support the other adventurers rather than draw attention to herself with rapid attacks. She mostly harassed the Shadow Lord with well-placed attacks which provided other adventurers the opportunity to strike it, dealing more damage than Kyrie could.

Kyrie had initially wondered how fighting this thin Shadow Lord would be a trial of Strength. But she realized quickly, the Shadow Lord was strong, like insanely strong. She was sure that this Shadow Lord could kill Tamara in a few blows. She came to the conclusion when it cracked the ground in front of Selena when it was trying to attack her. Kyrie shot a well-placed arrow diverting its attention from Selena and Clio took the opportunity to slash it with her rapier.

The fight did not take long, about fifteen minutes and the group of adventurers had killed the Shadow Lord. Kyrie got a notification, but she ignored it. It was over. The Trial of Strength was done, and they were victorious.

“Why was this easy?” mumbled Kyrie.

“Because except for you, we are a group of high-level adventurers. And mostly, the labyrinth is tackled by a group of ten adventurers max. We are twenty-one. It does makes things easier; you know.”

Kyrie looked at who had spoken to find Selena sitting a few feet away from her.

Kyrie said, “Makes sense.”

Selena laughed a bit, “Of course it gorking makes sense.”

“What now?”

They looked at Tamara who had walked over to the plinth and was looking at the yellowish notification glowing on it.

“The next trial’s tomorrow. It is the Trial of Speed. Rest till that time. I don’t think we are in danger till we activate the trials”, said Tamara.

They relaxed. Kyrie checked her notifications. It had been some time. She snorted as she realized that she had earned a total of 25,000 experience points from the fight with the Nagasura, its minions and the Shadow Lord.

She checked her level. She was level 55 now. That was a big jump. This was getting to be the norm. Killing a demon lord was giving her way more experience points. She had a feeling that it affected only the lower-level adventurers. The higher-level adventurers would not be gaining as many experience points as her.

She put a point in vitality and wisdom and four points each in dexterity and agility. She checked her stats.

Name: Kyrie Shiningstar

Race: Water Nymph

Designation: Adventurer - Rank 2

Age: 83

Current Location: Fontaine

Adventurer Statistics:

Adventurer Level: 55

Experience: 550 / 5,800

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 54

Intelligence: 7

Vitality: 26

Agility: 30

Wisdom: 10

Luck: ???

Health: 204

Mana: 120

Active Effects:

None

Passive Effects:

Fast Draw - Level 8

Precision - Level 11

Longbow Proficiency - Level 14

Stealth - Level 10

Water Proficiency - Level 100

Description: The outcast traveler from Tarados, flowing into Una, taking huge steps now and sweeping demons away is still enjoying herself by bashing other adventurer’s heads. She is the water nymph to watch out for.

Spells known:

[Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison]

Spells Equipped:

[Power Shot] [Fade] [Enchant Weapon: Poison]

Spell Slots: 4

Physical Attack: 42

Magical Attack: 34

Physical Resistance: 17

Magical Resistance: 7

Critical Attack Chance: 15% (max 35%)

Critical Attack Damage: 42.00% (max 62.00%)

Status:

None

Social: 1,000 / 2,000 (Positive)

NAIF: 1,100 / 2,000 (Positive)

Solaris: 2,300 / 4,000 (Very Positive)

Nymphs: 4,500 / 5,000 (Hero)

Opulential: 2,900 / 4,000 (Very Positive)

Order of the Golden Sun: 1,500 / 2,000 (Positive)

Salinar: 2,500 / 4,000 (Very Positive)

Tilimore: 200 / 1,000 (Neutral)

Grush: 1,000 / 2,000 (Positive)

Florianne: 500 / 1000 (Neutral)

Chargrine: 700 / 1000 (Neutral)

She needed to get the blessing for an increase in her mana. She saw that she had got the quest for it.

Quest

The Blessing of Hekana

Obtain the blessing of the Goddess Hekana in order to increase your mana pool.

She had automatically gotten the quest when she had reached level 51. She could read it in her notifications. Well, she would be able to complete this quest once she was out of the labyrinth. She only had to wait.

The group of adventurers simply passed the time till the next day. The plinth notification updated at the zero hour, with the option of beginning the trial. However, they waited for an hour for everyone to get ready.

Begin the Trial of Speed

Yes No

Kyrie could see the message. She was standing close to the plinth after all. Tamara selected yes.

The plinth disappeared into the ground and the cavern started to rumble. Everybody wondered what was happening. In one part of the cavern, a racing track came out of the ground. Everyone looked confused at that. They approached it cautiously.

The track had a flat road like surface which was illuminated from both the sides with torches. There was a starting pole and an ending pole. Both the poles had screens which showed 00.00 currently. There was another screen near the starting pole which said, “Complete the track in less than 5 seconds.”

There was nothing else.

Tamara grunted and said, “It seems that we have to run, I don’t know how much distance is that. Can someone measure it?”

Vladimir walked the entire track placing one foot in front of the other, made some calculations in his mind and then said, “Looks like a standard track for a hundred metre race.”

Tanniv asked, “What does that mean?”

“Humans have racing as a sport. A hundred metre race is a sprint in which competitors run from start to finish. The one to reach the finish first wins.”

“Sounds simple enough. So, we run this hundred metres in under five seconds.”

Vladimir said, “It is not that simple. It takes humans on an average about 9 to 10 seconds to run this much distance. And those are professional athletes. They practice all their lives for such sprints.”

They started to discuss how to run. Queries were being asked as to whether anyone had spells which increased speed and if they were stackable. Debates were being carried out as to which species was the fastest. It seemed that one person running the track under 5 seconds would clear the trial.

Kyrie ignored what everyone was discussing, and she went up to the starting line. A message popped up.

Do you wish to participate in the trial?

Yes No

Kyrie selected yes.

Prepare yourself. Trial begins in 10… 9… 8…

Kyrie readied herself. The countdown reached 1 and then displayed Go. Kyrie ran. She ran as fast as she could, she ran like she had never run and focused just on reaching the end line. Before she knew it, she was flying past it.

Participant trial completed. The Participant failed. Time 10.35 seconds.

Kyrie thought to herself, Not bad.

She turned to see everyone watching her.

Kyrie said, “I just wanted to see if I could run really fast.”

Tamara said, “That gives me an idea. Those who think who can run the fastest, step forwards. The one with the least time would be hit with all the speed spells. Then we hope they will run in less than 5 seconds.”

Kyrie heard Tim mutter, “Literally what I said. Just in different words. Seriously!”

Tamara glared at him and said, “Tim shall be the first volunteer.”

Everybody volunteered. Everyone wanted to have a go at the track. Well, everybody except Tanniv. He was content to be the judge, even though it was not required. The track timed the run after all. That was what the screen in the two poles was for. It showed the time taken by the runner to complete the track.

Soon, every adventurer gathered in the cavern ran on the track. Tanniv kept the record of the time. As Kyrie was the first to run, she looked at Tanniv’s record. He showed it to her with a sigh.

Kyrie: 10.35 s

Tamara: 09.38 s

Shania: 09.24 s

Duranos: 09.52 s

Shadra: 09.55 s

Mikhail: 10.12 s

Vladimir: 15.32 s

Ivan: 20.42 s

Victor: 10.23 s

Garun: 07.78 s

Sylivianna: 08.32 s

Hestia: 06.62 s

Artemis: 05.32 s

Thalia: 05.68 s

Erato: 07.12 s

Clio: 10.12 s

Athena: 06.12 s

Tim: 13.22 s

Kenirath: 11.12 s

Selena: 10.24 s

All of the celestials were fast. Clio was fast too, but he had tripped. She had not asked for a second chance to run though. From the times it was clear that Artemis was the fastest. Kyrie wondered what Vladimir and Ivan had been doing on the track. They ran so slowly compared to the other adventurers.

It was then decided that Artemis would be the recipient of a spell that would increase her speed. She already had one and she had not used it while running initially in the name of fair play and all that.

They were soon ready. The spells were cast. Artemis readied herself at the starting line. She shot forwards and Kyrie could hardly see the blur speeding down the track. She finished it in 03.32 seconds. Everybody cheered. They had passed the trial.

The cavern shook again, and the track started to go down into the cavern. Everyone scrambled away from it. The plinth was back now. Tanniv went up to it, read the notification and declared that the next trial was tomorrow. Well, it seemed that it was going to be a trial a day.

The adventurers settled down and Kyrie got a call from Marcus via his scrying pool. Kyrie told him about the trials and told him not to call her anymore. She was free today, but she could be busy some other day and it could cost her her life. Marcus understood that. He said that they would meet after the week, well eight days now.

The adventurers did nothing much that day. They either exercised, did light sparring or simply talked. Kyrie spent most of her time alone in a small water puddle she had found in the cavern. She liked it. She did talk with other adventurers but had minimal interaction otherwise.

The third day dawned. Well, Kyrie assumed that it had dawned as the plinth was saying that they could take the third trial. The third trial was the Trial of the Mind.

Kyrie wondered what that meant. The plinth disappeared into the ground and the cavern shook again. Something popped out of the cavern ground to the left of them. They walked up to it. It was a large stone-based platform on which colourful squares were painted. Each of the squares was 3 feet long. There was a total of 100 squares forming a large 10 by 10 square platform.

Kyrie saw that there was a repeating pattern of five colours; yellow, blue, red, green and orange. Kyrie wondered what the purpose of the platform was when a hooded figure appeared on the platform.

Aspect of Labyrinth

Level ???, Health ???

The aspect spoke, “Please select five adventurers to undertake the trial of mind.”

A round of discussions started. They did not know what the challenge entailed. However, it was a trial of mind. They were not sure whether to select people with higher intelligence or wisdom. Finally, a decision was made. Tamara, Shadra, Hestia, Athena and Kyrie were selected to carry out the trial. Kyrie did not understand why she was selected. She hardly had intelligence or wisdom but still the adventurers insisted. Something about having a wide spectrum of statistics.

As the five selected adventurers stepped forwards, the aspect said, “Please select any random square to step upon. Please ensure that you all select different colours.”

The adventurers did so. Tamara stood upon a yellow square while Shadra selected red. Hestia chose orange while Athena chose green. This left Kyrie with a blue square, and she was okay with it.

“The adventurers have chosen”, said the aspect, “Now the trial may commence. I shall now explain the rules of the trial.”

The aspect paused and shifted. It took its position outside of the platform and a screen appeared in front of it.

The aspect said, “Various patterns will be displayed on the screen here. The adventurers will need to arrange themselves according to the pattern. The rule is that the adventurer is only allowed to step on their color squares. Stepping on another color square would result in damage. Take sufficient damage, and you would die. Healing is allowed but only once per round. That is it. Are there any questions?”

Tamara asked, “Is that it? We arrange ourselves according to patterns?”

“Yes.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“Don’t jinx it”, hissed Shalia.

“Let the trial begin”, said the aspect. A pattern appeared on the screen beside the aspect. Then the colors in the squares began to shift randomly. The color beneath the adventurers’ feet remained the same but the rest changed. The adventurers had about ten seconds to look at the new pattern of colors on the platform before they all turned white.

The aspect said, “Kindly step on your color and your color only and form the pattern shown on the screen.”

Kyrie looked at the pattern. It looked like the two sides of a triangle formed with five squares. She looked beneath her feet. She tried to remember where the blue square was. Then she remembered it. To form the pattern, it would be at the top. However, to reach it, she would have to step on the other blue squares. She tried to remember them.

She saw that the others were not struggling much. Tamara hopped on into place in an instant. Shadra, Hestia and Athena also did not take much time either. Kyrie took longer to navigate. She also stepped on a wrong square which made shock pass through her body deducting 100 points of health. She finally made it through.

“Congratulations adventurers. You have passed the first round”, said the aspect.

Just the first round. Kyrie really wanted to punch the aspect in its face. The monotonous voice was starting to irritate her.

The colors came back, and they shuffled again. Kyrie had 10 seconds to memorize all the blue squares before they turned white. Another pattern formed on the screen beside the aspect. This time it looked like the four ends of a pentagon.

The adventurers took less time this time and formed the pattern. The rounds continued in this manner. Kyrie wondered how this was a trial of the mind. It felt to her more like a trial of her memory and athletic ability.

Ten rounds later, the aspect declared that the trial was over and the adventurers had cleared the trial. Everybody cheered at that. Kyrie lay down, exhausted, some distance from the platform. The platform went down with the shuddering of the cavern and the plinth came up. Even though Kyrie knew that the next trial would be tomorrow, Tanniv went up to the plinth to confirm it. The next trial was indeed tomorrow.

Kyrie just lay there for some time till someone asked, “Are you alright?”

It was Selena. Kyrie replied, “I am okay. Just tired. The trial was frustrating. It would have been much better if someone other than me had been selected.”

“Hey, each of us has to pull our weight. This is a team, albeit a large one, but still a team. And we work together. Everyone does something. Don’t complain about such small stuff. This was an easy trial from what I could see.”

Kyrie grimaced and said, “I don’t want to argue. I just want to lie down for some time. Then I am going to go into the puddle I have discovered and sleep till the remaining trials are complete.”

Selena gave a short laugh at that. Kyrie took some rest, ate some food and went to sleep in the puddle as she had said. She was woken up the next day by Selena. It was time for the fourth trial. Kyrie hoped for some enemies this time. She wanted to kill something.

Tamara declared that the fourth trial was the trial of Illusions. Kyrie did not like the sound of that. Tamara confirmed with everyone and started the trial. At once a mist started to enter the cavern from everywhere.

“Do not breathe in the mist”, said Tamara.

Well, that was obvious, but for how long were they going to hold their breaths?

Kyrie looked at her pool of water and saw that she was about a hundred metres from it. If she considered that second trial, it would take her around 11 seconds to reach it. But she would not be breathing. She took her chance and ran to the pool. It was difficult not breathing in the air but she made it and collapsed into the pool. The others were not lucky.

They held their breaths for a few minutes, but they eventually had to breathe. She watched as they became completely still. She did not know what was happening. However, it seemed that the adventurers were suffering. Kyrie could see them shake and tremble, as if they were fighting their fear or something. Then she realized. The mist. It would be giving them illusions. She was safe as long as she was in the water.

Seconds, minutes, hours passed. One after the other, the adventurers came out of their illusions. Some sat down, some simply broke down crying while some like Tamara, started to punch things.

Finally, the last of the adventurers, Clio, broke out of the illusion and the trial was complete. The mist cleared. Kyrie came out of the pool, and everyone looked at her. She could see a mix of anger and concern in their eyes.

Tanniv stepped forwards, “Are you alright, Kyrie? The illusions were intense.”

Kyrie said in a low voice, “I hid in the pool.”

“Don’t be ashamed of that. It was not cowardice. It was a good strategy. And it did not break the rule of the trial”, Tanniv pointed at the plinth, “The fourth trial is complete, and we wait for tomorrow for the next trial.”

Kyrie nodded but still sat away from the others. She was not sure how they were faring, and she did not want to anger anyone by accident. She was soon joined by Selena, Athena and Hestia.

“Are you all okay?” asked Kyrie to the others.

Selena replied, “Yes. For now. My illusion showed me my deepest fear. Had to overcome it to dispel the effect. Did not like it.”

“Same here”, said Athena and Hestia together.

They were silent after that. No one knew what to say. Kyrie could tell that each of them was shaken by their experience, and she felt even more guilty hiding in the water.

Selena looked at Kyrie’s expression and said, “Do not worry Kyrie. You had an advantage. You took it. That does not make you less of an adventurer. We are not mad at you. We are simply shaken by the illusions.”

“Still makes me feel guilty.”

“The feeling will go away”, said Athena, “In the grander order of things, this would seem like a small insignificant memory.”

“Thank you, I guess”, said Kyrie with a frown. Then she giggled. Soon, all four of them were laughing.

Nothing much happened during the rest of the day. Kyrie did observe that the adventurers did stay close, as if to comfort each other. She hoped that sleep would help and the next day, the other adventurers would not be as jumpy as they were now.

The next day the mood did not seem to have improved much. Kyrie felt the tension in the air. Tamara examined the fifth trial. It was a trial of Endurance. Tamara accepted it.

Tamara said, “Alright. We shall be fighting five waves of enemies. Get ready guys.”

There was a collective cheer. It seemed that Kyrie wasn’t the only one who wanted to kill something.

A gong sounded somewhere in the cavern. Kyrie wondered where the sound came from. The first wave of monsters appeared. It was a swarm of goblins in the range of level 100. Kyrie readied her bow as Tamara charged right into the goblins without any strategy or buffs.

Tanniv sighed as he started giving orders to the other adventurers. Buffs were cast and the other adventurers charged into the goblins. Kyrie and other ranged adventurers attacked the goblins from the back. The melee adventurers did not usually let the goblins pass through.

Kyrie was mostly observing Tamara. She seemed to be enjoying the carnage, cleaving through goblins as if they were nothing but minor obstacles in her way. Kyrie was not able to count, but she estimated that there were about 50 goblins which the adventurers dispatched off in about 10 minutes. That was fast.

There was a breather for 5 minutes. Then the second wave started. The second wave was a wave of elite goblins. They were tougher than the normal goblins. Even then, the adventurers attacked them. There were only 20 of them this time. So, it was more like one adventurer versus one elite goblin. The level of these elite goblins was around 110. The level had increased.

It took about half an hour, but the elite goblins were also dispatched. Kyrie could see that the others were tiring out, especially the melee attackers. There were three other waves remaining.

The third wave was about 50 hobgoblins ranging around level 130. That was quite a jump in levels. The hobgoblins were tough, but the adventurers persevered. Kyrie found herself shooting arrows quicker than she normally was. The battle area was turning into chaos.

After the third wave some of the adventurers collapsed.

Tanniv said, “We need a better plan. At this rate, we shall not even survive the next two waves.”

Tamara looked at the adventurers. She looked at the tiredness on their faces.

Tamara said, “Alright. I have a plan. You shall not like it. I will take care of the next wave. Ranged attackers. Position yourself at high ground. Support me as much as you can. The remaining adventurers. Form a defensive wall around healers. Do not let them get hurt. And stay away from battle unless you are engaged by the monsters. I am not that tired. I can solo the next wave with ranged support and fast heals. The final wave would be up to you Tanniv. What do you say?”

Tanniv shouted, “Two minutes for getting into positions, adventurers. You heard what Tamara said. Gorking move.”

They complied. Kyrie perched on an outcropping out of one of the dividing pillars in the cavern. The other ranged attackers also positioned themselves at higher ground. Tamara stood in the centre where the monster waves were spawning. Nearby, at a height, the healers were surrounded by the tired melee adventurers who were resting but were alert. Tanniv was standing in the front to ensure the tired adventurers did not have to do much.

The fourth wave was a group of gorgons leveled 150. Kyrie swore. Gorgons had ranged attacks and could petrify you if you got hit with these ranged attacks a few times. Petrification usually led to death.

However, Tamara was unfazed by the appearance of these 20 odd gorgons. She let out a warcry and barreled into the nearest gorgon, killing it with just a few hits. Kyrie was impressed with Tamara’s perseverance and her strength as she shot arrow after arrow into the gorgons.

All of the gorgons were focused on Tamara as she lay down a path of destruction in her wake. Tamara was using her AoE spells effectively making short work of the gorgons. The ranged attackers were also attacking, but Tamara held the gorgons’ attention.

Kyrie understood about the fast healing as Tamara lost a lot of health fast as she attacked. It seemed as if she was in a berserker mode hacking away the gorgons.

The fight lasted about fifteen minutes and only one gorgon separated themselves from Tamara. Tanniv dispatched it fast. The fourth wave was over soon, and Tamara collapsed.

The other adventurers brought her to higher ground.

Tanniv said, “Rest now. We shall take care of the final wave. The others are feeling better now.”

Tamara nodded feebly and closed her eyes to rest. Shania stood over her to keep a watch on Tamara.

Tanniv shouted, “Ranged attackers, back to your positions. Melee attackers try to form a large circle. I want this last wave dealt with fast. It would be big though.”

The last wave was a single monster. Kyrie examined it and paled.

Death Knight

Elite Level 150, Health 100,000 / 100,000

As soon as the death knight appeared, a wave of fear pulsed through every adventurer. Kyrie felt it too. The death knight took the opportunity to grab the nearest adventurer, who was Kenirath and passed its sword through him. Kenirath almost died but was healed in time by Athena and Shadra healing him together.

Kyrie fought through the fear running through her and cast [Power Shot]. She wanted to disappear from the death’s knight view, cast [Fade] and stay invisible for the remainder of the fight. But she gritted her teeth and attacked the death knight. She missed. The fear was impacting her judgement and performance. This was not good.

It was Tanniv who took the lead. He seemed to have broken out of the death knight’s fear aura and slashed him for considerable damage. As Tanniv fought one on one with the death knight, the feeling of fear started to disappear. Kyrie was starting to feel better now.

She shot an arrow and hit the death knight in the head for a critical hit. The death knight hardly had a chance to recover as Tanniv drove a sword through it. The other adventurers were also recovering and attacking the death knight.

Soon, the death knight was overwhelmed. The adventurers were attacking with greater ferocity, without concerns for their health. Many of them came close to dying. Kyrie appreciated Shadra, Athena and Ivan’s efforts as they healed their fellow adventurers.

The death knight soon died, and the plinth came back. They had done it. It was over. They had completed the fifth trial. Five more to go.