Denizens of the Labyrinth

The system pinged in his head again, and he wondered if anyone else could see or hear his notifications when they happened.

FIRST QUEST FOR THE SEEKER. DEFEND THE WALL FOR THREE NIGHTS.

EARN THE RIGHT TO ADVANCE

REWARDS

ITEM

EXP

STATS

Jazmel was excited by his first trial. He walked through and opened onto a big wall. Soldiers rushed past him to distinct parts of the wall. Some were bringing arrows in quivers. Some were bringing spears. Swords were everywhere.

“You!” someone shouted at him, and Jazmel looked over. It was a captain; he could tell as he was the only soldier wearing a cape and he did not wear a helmet.

“Head to the south wall with the others!” he shouted, spittle flying from between his lips.

“Dusk is here!” he commanded and without a thought, Jazmel headed to the south wall. He ran across the walls and realised he was atop the wall of a big castle. The keep was bustling with activity too, but he did not have time to think. The system was pinging again.

FIENDS COME FOR THE KEEP.

THEY COME TO DEVOUR.

ENSURE THEY DO NOT.

He was not sure what a fiend was, but he thought to grab his sword and it appeared in his hand. Good. The storage was linked to him, through the system and he could pull from the storage space at a moment’s thought. Nearing the wall, he saw that there were other Seekers on the wall. Nobody he knew, but from the way they were dressed. He could tell they were new to the labyrinth like himself.

“You ready?” a girl said to him, and he looked at her and nodded.

She was smaller than he, petite but she didn’t look weak, she looked lithe if anything. She wore boots and combat trousers tucked into them, a long black sleeve blouse too. She had the most extraordinary purple hair. Well, it was violet instead, but it was all purple and that caught his attention. Her eyes were the same colour too, a little darker but she was very pretty. Jazmel turned away from her and looked over the wall. To see the fiends. At first, they looked like small flames to him, but it took him a little while to realise it was Mana.

MANA EYES PICKING UP MANA

KEEN SENSES!

EXP EARNED

Jazmel felt the rush of exp, and it was exhilarating.

“They are coming!” he yelled, and everyone jumped at his call.

FIENDS – creatures of the dark and the night. Lost to corruption or other means, they seek the warmth of light and hunt all that harbour it.

CREATURE ADDED TO YOUR BEASTIARY

EXP EARNED

He smiled again, this felt exhilarating and though he was worried about dying. He was also filled with adrenaline. As they neared, he could see them better and he blanched. They were decomposed things, beings that had once been human or as close to it. But they had been gnawed away at and now. Now they were something else.

At first, they shuffled and slowly stumbled towards the castle wall. But once they were near enough that they could see the occupants of the castle. They all began to rush towards the wall. Headlong they rushed forward, ramming their bodies into the wall. Some were killed instantly but others simply climbed over the bodies and that was what shocked Jazmel. He was surprised by the lack of care, but he was bound by duty. He would survive this wall.

The archers atop the wall let their arrows fly and it was not long before they were yelling for more arrows. But the fiends kept coming and they did not stop at all.

The screams begun form other corners of the walls before they reached Jazmel’s position. The first fiend clambered over the top and without a thought. He struck; a slash with the sword took the head off and it fell back over the wall, crumbling from existence as it did. He shuddered at the thought of him killing something but a scream further down the wall let him know that someone else had hesitated and lost his life due to it.

There was something in the way a person cried out that let you know it was their demise. Jazmel knew immediately that, that person had died, and it was scaring him to show how serious this was. He would not die on his first floor; he could not die; especially when he needed to find Tango.

FIEND KILLED

EXP EARNED

He shook his head and the notifications quietened. Good, he thought now he knew how to, he got back to earning exp. More came up over the wall now, their numbers increasing at every chance. He used the sword Circe had given him and struck true and deftly. Each time he swung his sword he felt better; like he was remembering a memory. The sword swung how he wanted, struck how he needed and slashed how he felt. Fiends fell to slaughtered pieces in front of him, others rushed him, but he let his sword strike pick them apart and they fell to the bare bones around him. Collapsing and breaking apart to disperse on the wind, he imagined they were going back to the labyrinth to respawn later, but he tried not to think too hard regarding it.

The girl had been fighting beside him and Jazmel could tell she was skilled too, she fought with a katana in one hand, and she held thunder in the other. She was lashing out with it like a whip and using her sword to end those that were afflicted by her thunder. He could tell her stamina could not keep up with the swordplay and Mana usage. She got swarmed, but he rescued her immediately. He took three fiends’ heads before kicking another back over the wall. She smiled offering her thanks and he nodded stoically. Turning back to his side just as a horn was blown.

“Dawn comes!” Someone shouted and the soldiers cheered. The horn blew again, and the soldiers began to prepare themselves. They started moving the injured down from the wall and repairing the broken battlements.

“Thanks for the save before!” The girl chimed over his shoulder. She snuck up on him and startled him. The other Seekers had moved off in their own directions, to check their stats.

“No problem, I had the ability to help.” He smiled at her, and she returned it beautifully.

“When did you pass the trials?” She asked.

“Today?” He answered giddy himself and the surprise riddled her face.

“You’re really good.” She exclaimed. Confused by her words he looked at her questioningly.

“You have a good balance of ability and stats. I can tell, just by the way you move. I bet you racked up lots of exp!” She pointed out.

“Let’s check our stats.” He offered and she nodded. Before focusing on her own system.

FIRST NIGHT SURVIVED.

EXP EARNED

FIENDS KILLED X17

EXP EARNED

CALCULATING REWARDS!

LEVEL HAS RISEN!!

Jazmel looked at his system window again after splitting his stats evenly, sticking to the rule that Mary had told him about. He made sure that every stat he could give a point to, got one and then he would raise the others when he had more. This was something that felt right, a well-rounded effort was thorough and more even for a good build. He surmised all of this on his own of course, as he remembered; Mary had told him it was immoral to discuss stats with another.

Name: Jazmel

Level: 4

Species: Human

Rank: Seeker

Health: 78/78

Stamina: 70/70

Mana: 65/65

STR:14 PER:13

VIT:14 END:13

INT:14 WIL:15

AGL:13 DEX:13

Skills:

Sword sense (tier I)

EMPTY SLOT

EMPTY SLOT

Title(s):

EMPTY SLOT

EMPTY SLOT

He realised that he had no titles and that was something that bothered him. But he did not know how to gain one. He kept it at the back of the mind. After all, he had two more nights to go.

“Do you have any titles?” he asked her, and she shook her head but responded.

“Titles are earned through the system; you have to achieve them through completing certain conditions and then they will be added for you.” She explained and he nodded thoughtfully.

“Titles can be anything to passive regeneration, to extra percentage damage. As long as the conditions are met, titles can be wondrous things.” She continued and he looked at her admiring her understanding of the system. She explained it so well and yet so simply.

“Are you done?” He heard and he flicked his system out of his sight. She had waited for him and smiling, she tucked her hair behind an ear.

“Time is funny here; it will be night again soon. Let us prepare.” She said.

She was right, there was half of an hour and already the soldiers were moving and rushing towards preparation for the night. She checked her katana in its sheath and then started to wait for the fiends to return. He looked at her sword and was intrigued but thought better about asking her about it.

“Hey, what’s your name?” She asked.

“Jazmel, you?” He replied.

“Sadé.” She smiled and he smiled too, shy again.

“Ready?” He asked and she nodded.

The fiends were upon them. Tonight was a little different, they seemed faster and a little stronger. But with his new stats. Jazmel felt anew too, especially dexterity. The balance he felt was such a significant improvement that he felt like he could not put a foot wrong.

“What does the tier mean beside a skill?” he asked her, and she nodded as if she understood why he was asking.

“Tiers go up in order from I-III but after they evolve they always revert to tier I.” she explained, and he listened intently.

“So, skills can keep growing?” he asked, incredulous.

“Well yes and no, for now. Yes, but when you rank up, you will have the ability to sunder skills.” She explained.

“Sunder?”

“I will explain that when we get there.” She said and he smiled, he wasn’t sure if she meant she planned to stick around or just after the night. But he focused, the first floor needed to be completed.

But the greatest improvement was his sword. Sword sense was a passive skill he had, that allowed him to use any sword he had. But right now, he felt like a warrior. His sword almost sung, the fiends fell beneath his blade, and he slaughtered them, sending them back to wherever they came from. The wall was not overrun, all the Seekers were doing their part. Especially Jazmel, he could fill the exp building and he did not even have to tell the system to close the window this time. It just stayed shut and waited for him to open it, himself.

The fiends rushed him and before he could even slice through them. Sadé was there, she burned them up with her thunder and they crumpled in on themselves before melting away. The system regaining its creations. But their sheer numbers finally got him. One grabbed at his arm with the sword in hand. He swung but hindered, the blade did not have the same fluidity. A fiend tried to bite into him, but he punched out with the hilt of the sword. knocking teeth from the fleshy head.

DANGER

AFFLICTED CONDITION, BLEEDING

He kissed his teeth and winced at the pain; the labyrinth created monsters for its own purposes. This much was known, but Jazmel had not seen any other types before. This was his first interaction with any beings from within the labyrinth, but he made sure that they fell before him all the same. Even now, the other walls were faring somewhat the same and so Jazmel was not worried about the oncoming night. Much like the previous night. Dawn came upon the sounding of the horn and Jazmel was relieved.

He struck out repeatedly and fiends fell beneath his strikes. But he felt his exp accruing and he felt his stats rising in tune with his new abilities. His condition was still afflicted but as he was growing, he was feeling it less and less.

The fight had been strenuous, but he felt better knowing he had accrued more exp. Sadé had survived the night too, a few other Seekers had not been so lucky. Some suffered scratches and bruises. One man had even been bitten by a fiend; he had been the first to be rushed to the infirmary.

“Well done on surviving.” Sadé offered and he grinned. He looked at where the fiend had grabbed him and he could see the clawed marks which had been bleeding a lot, but now it was just a

“You too, I think we will be ok on the third night. Feels like the system is going easy on us for our first quest.” He pointed out and she shrugged, neither of them knew what to expect from the labyrinth. The system was not one to share its mysteries it would seem.

“Time to check our stats.” She said and Jazmel did the same, willing the system to show again.

SECOND NIGHT SURVIVED.

EXP EARNED

FIENDS KILLED X101

EXTRA EXP FOR KILLING X100+ FIENDS

EXP EARNED

FIEND SLAYER!

10% EXTRA DAMAGE FOR ANY UNDEAD CREATURE

CALCULATING REWARDS!

LEVEL HAS RISEN!!

+2 STR

+2 VIT

+3 INT

+3 DEX

+2 AGL

He had killed one hundred monsters, which had surprised him. He noticed that he got the title after killing one hundred of the creatures. He wondered if others were the same. The sword he carried was well balanced and felt light in his hand as he had felt the exp growing. He smiled, laughed a little. He was proud. Looking at his stats again;

Name: Jazmel

Level: 6

Species: Human

Rank: Seeker

Health: 92/92

Stamina: 100/100

Mana: 89/89

STR:15 PER:15

VIT:16 END:17

INT:13 WIL:13

AGL:13 DEX:16

Skills:

Sword sense (tier I)

EMPTY SLOT

EMPTY SLOT

Title(s):

FIEND SLAYER

EMPTY SLOT

Unused Stat points: 5

He had levelled up considerably. His dexterity was now highest, and he could feel the sudden mobility it provided. But he did not forget the lessons Mary had shared with him. He spent the unused points on the only stats that did not level up.

+2 WIL

+1 END

+2 PER

Immediately, his eyes grew keener. He knew intelligence stat was tied to his Mana usage but as he had no Mana skills, he did not have anything to use it on. The next skill he would try to learn would have to be something for Mana. He would make sure to seek that out. On the other hand, it seemed that perception was tied to his eyes. Every time his perception levelled up, his eyesight grew keener, better. Even now, he could see the Mana outline of everyone. Even Sadé who stood quite close, had a vibrant feel, he could not put his finger on it. But her Mana felt warm and welcoming. He wondered what his own felt like, but he did not know how to look at it yet.

When he had finished, the system slipped back out of his gaze, and he focused on Sadé. She seemed to still be sorting her own stats out. So, he merely studied her. She looked human, besides her hair. Everything about her was the same as his, her skin was darker than his own. But only by a little. He could not help but notice her beauty, but he pushed that thought down, way down. He had just become a Seeker, no way he was falling in love already. She seemed finished, her unfocused gaze suddenly looked at him and she flashed him a smile.

“Let’s get some rest, the final night might be something to remember!” she offered, palms up in offering. He slapped her hand in response, and they descended from the wall, in the small respite time they had.