《INCARNATION : ANOTHER DIMENSION》 PROLOGUE ¡°There is a lot of things that can go wrong and often they do¡± When I think about it there is a lot of things I regret: forgetting to tell my parents I love them; not having the courage to confess to my first crush, life has always been filled with choices. Scenes flashed in front of my mind. The tall bodies that my eyes could never reach, the first steps as I first began to walk. Riding in the wind, the sun shining down when I first learned to ride a bicycle. Discovering the tears that followed like a stream on my mother¡¯s face when we stood surrounded in a sea of strangers, the true meaning of when someone really leaves. The pain and sweetness of living for someone else other than you. Memories replayed itself in my mind, flowing like streams into a river, even a drop of water carries the sea. The laughter of my childhood engraved by the maturity of my youth, there were a lot of things. But somehow the last thing on my mind wasn¡¯t any of these, as my eyes started to go blank and the throbbing inside my head started to grow louder like lightning in the storm: the last thing on my mind surprisingly, the colour of the panties which had floated down past my window this morning as I had looked outside, they were black lace, it was black¡­ ¡°CONGRATULATIONS PLAYER. WELCOME TO THE LABRYINTH. LOADING UP SYSTEM INTERFACE. BOOTING¡­. IN THREE¡­TWO¡­ONE¡­¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Awakening, there is no better way to describe it. As soon as I came to, I found myself in a white room with other people like me, it was like a group of ants that had been stranded, some were milling around while others stood in a daze. I¡¯m not sure I stood out, with a glance I might not even have been recognised by anyone else from work. Average face, average height, the only thing that stood out was my slim build but wide shoulders. Quick to calm down I started counting heads, reaching triple digits, after a hundred, I could confidently say I wasn¡¯t the shortest. In this way I began adapting to my situation, wondering for answers to questions which I could not answer would not get me anywhere. As I was doing this I was greeted by a notification inside my head, ¡®¡­you will soon be entering the Labyrinth, please familiarise yourself with your settings, you have one minute¡¯. Not long after a status screen appeared in my mind: INGIL ??? Occupation: - Abilities: Slow Metabolism Modifiers: - Equipment: - Reading the few lines of what appeared to be a status screen, I could not help but be struck dumb as I could faintly hear myself laugh imagining myself as a protagonist in some of the few online novels I had been reading. Wondering how I would live in my next ¡®life¡¯. Bringing myself back to reality, I quickly looked at the status screen in my mind, only to hear a countdown appear ¡°ten¡­nine¡­eight¡­¡± it was at this moment I suddenly noticed a missing prompt which I had not seen before, ¡®please select a choice of weapon¡­¡¯. In the last moment as the timer counted down I could only curse myself for not spending a longer time checking out the options CH01 ¡°Laughter is like a virus¡± I let out a deep sigh. Tired, hungry and dehydrated I could feel my tongue in my mouth, running them across the chapped surface the texture like sandpaper. Out of all the weapons I had chosen, why did it have to be this... Holding the dead weight behind me, the jutting head of the stick was like a nose grinning at me from behind me. Heck I¡¯d even given it a nickname, Big Nose, in all fairness the weapon I had chosen if I could describe it better would be better recognised as a poleaxe, handy in a battle, if I could use it, only I couldn¡¯t, the only upside was the length of the pole which meant if I was to be attacked there would be some distance between me and whoever was attacking. Looking at Big Nose only gave me more of a headache, the whole thing seemed to be carved from a strange material which must have been a sort of metal because I could feel the heat radiating from it as I trudged further and further underneath the sun. Dazed I could only blankly look at the sky while resting on the floor. There was still some things which remained unclear in my head, it was as if my memories were covered by a dense mist. The things I could remember could be counted one on hand, there was little confusion as to what I did for a living, seeing my slim build and neat finger nails, I was certain it definitely was not work that relied on using strength. A quick mind, the clothes I was wearing helped me narrow this down. It did not seem like the material was cheap, well constructed and branded, these many facts only pointed me in one line of direction: a salary man. Uncomfortable I sat still, thirsting for water, I had been lucky when I first entered here. Arriving I could see myself at the edge of a mountain of sand, one wrong move and it would have ended, looking down I could see movement. I was confident anything moving that could not speak was not friendly at this point. Running further and further away from that place I could end up to this point here, before I had fainting in dizziness. After awakening I could only come to terms with the facts that I had been given, concentrating my mind I glanced despondently as my status screen appeared in my mind: INGEL ??? Occupation: - Abilities: Slow Metabolism Modifiers: - Equipment: Poleaxe A description of my name, there was not much that stood out. Pointless. Where was the overpowered plot system, it seemed like reality was much different to the countless online reincarnation novels I had been reading. In my case I could not even think of any reason why I had been sent here. Trying to survive would depend on more than my own luck.. Looking at the sky again I could feel the heat fanning my face. One thing I was sure of, this was not a dream, the slight nick on my thumb from Big Nose¡¯s face had proven this point. From time to time I could recall a few facts about myself but for some strange reason my head would start to hurt if I focused too much. But, I was still the same person. Even though my memories seemed unclear, common sense still prevailed. I could not help but think if I had been reincarnated or abducted by some strange force. The same body, the same face: if this was a reincarnation novel shouldn¡¯t I have woken up as the young master of a clan only to be later blessed with a fortuitous opportunity or gone back in time. The only thing I was glad about was everything below had also remained the same, living a second life as a woman would not have been my idea of fun. As I was thinking this I was greeted by the familiar notification of a system prompt ¡®trial period has ended, you will be now transported to the Labyrinth¡¯. Everything before me became blank as I was again teleported into the familiar white room only to find the slight changes around me as the people who I¡¯d recognised before standing carrying some form of weapon, while others collapsed straight into ground. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. It seemed I was not the only one who had a ¡®easy time¡¯. At this time I could not help but burst out. Laugh, laugh, I could only laugh ¡®HAHAH HAHA¡¯ I could feel the pent up hysteria and frustration erupt out of my body as I laughed. ¡°Who¡¯s this idiot¡±, a stern gaze followed by the overbearing tone of a man several steps away from projected to my side however I could hardly care less, I definitely felt much better. I even caught some people glancing my way with a smirk on their lips. Shouting out I could only feel my mind clearing ¡°why, never saw anybody laugh before¡± I could only put forward, hastily making myself inconspicuous as I felt the embarrassment rise through my skin. Wading through the crowd I could see a guy with a massive built and broad shoulders come to my side and exclaim ¡°you¡¯re an interesting person, this fellow is right, there is no crime for laughing, laugh, of course whether you¡¯re happy or sad, you¡¯ll definitely feel better¡±. I nodded readily agreeing with this big guy, with one glance at his figure no one would have dared to do otherwise. Likewise he patted me across the back and gave out small loud guffaws of laughter. Like sheep following a herder I could see some of the crowd following his example and the atmosphere visibly lightened up. Holding out his hands he greeted me, speaking with a confident tone he introduced his name but at this point all I could catch were the words ¡°what¡¯s your name¡±. There is always one tree which stands out in a forest, if not more, it seems this guy happened to match this in more ways than one. Beaming with a smile he looked at me nodding his head, ¡°you can call me Ingel, for some reason some of my memories are rather fuzzy right now and I can¡¯t remember some of them¡±. Looking at this small giant I was caught in surprise by the weapon he was carrying on his back, a long bow. Pointing at my slim build he gestured at the poleaxe by my side, before I could sigh, carrying Big Nose had indeed burdened me heavily, I could only let it trail across the floor. Shrugging my shoulders I couldn¡¯t be bothered to explain. I didn¡¯t quite take him seriously, after all unlike his broad exterior from his eyes I could catch a glimpse of a shrewd man. We all had our own secrets, maybe more than one, what I was wondering at this point was whether everyone had acquired some abilities as well. I had to be careful at this stage, who knew what would happen, and after all we were all strangers, even treasuring a jade ring could become a crime As we were finishing our pleasantries I could see that a few of the people in the room had already started to move towards smaller groups, in one I could even see two slim petite ladies with the faces of angels and the bodies of devils: I could slightly feel a fire inside me flaring hotter. Of course this was neither the time or place, dotted around I could even see some young faces and old eyes in the crowd. As I could see there seemed to be a roughly even split between genders, however as I wanted to ask those around me how we had ended up here I could hear another notification. ¡°PLEASE WAIT¡­. THE SYSTEM WILL NOW ORGANISE YOU INTO TEAMS¡­. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­¡± The last thing I could hear was the familiar greeting ¡®welcome to the labyrinth¡¯. We were once again teleported, having experienced it the first time, this time I attempted to relax my body and mind as I tried to feel if I could sense anything. I was soon to learn that I had awfully bad luck, the opportunities that had been obtainable from the trial period has been squandered by me just like that. CH02 ¡°Without rhyme or reason¡± Looking around me I could see we were in a small cave. It didn¡¯t take long but I soon realised that the ¡®team¡¯ was mainly made up of those people who had stood close by my side earlier. before we had even teleported. Though the lighting was dim, it was bright enough that the glow provided by a couple of small torches hanging on the side showed everything clearly in the small cave. If not for the sudden silence and the unexpected situation, it would seem like a group of friends standing around a campfire on a trip, the soft focus of the lighting casting an immediate contrast with the surroundings which were shrouded In partial darkness. Compared to the desert to where I had first found myself, I couldn¡¯t be happier at least this was cooler. The last thing I remembered was that the system mentioned that we would be sent in parties. Looking at some of the faces staring at each other I could not help but feel a bit relieved, I thought it had just been me who had been feeling abysmal, after all none of us were really prepared for this. Seeing that a few had already begin to introduce themselves and were glancing my way I could only help by giving my name again, luckily, or not, it seemed that I could already see a friendly face grinning at me: the small giant from before. Speaking up, a tall guy with the demeanour of a stern teacher looked around ¡°have you checked your status screens, we should share all the information we can¡±. I could see some already nodding but a glance to my right I could see a brunette who had yet to give her name, frowning. ¡°That might not be the best idea, its not clear yet who is to be trusted or not, have you not seen the other notification since we¡¯ve arrived.¡± Being reminded, I opened up my status screen in my mind, a new line of text had been added below my status: ¡®mission objective survive: for twenty four hours¡¯. Realising the words left unsaid I knew what she was implying, the system had only said that we needed to survive for a day, there was no other conditions, while it did say we would be sorted into teams, this did not mean anything; those who were confident would of course walk away from more dangerous tasks like ¡®carrying¡¯ the party, like in a dungeon game, it would not be uncommon for back stabbing and prioritising own¡¯s survival; this was no longer a game; who knew if dying here would mean dying in real life, I was not about to put my life at risk to find out the truth. Looking around the group members were still trying to come to some sort of an agreement, I decided to take the initiative, making a glance at the small giant, I could only say sorry in my heart as I took one of the few torches at the side of the wall before hurriedly running out of one of the passages followed by the sound of exclamations from the group. Heading deeper and deeper into the cave I knew that I had to be careful but worrying whether any of the other team members would head this way I decided to walk faster. It was not long till I came upon a split in the cave, one leading left and the other to the right, that I decided to pause. Fumbling on the ground I grabbed a bunch of small stones throwing them into each entrance while opening my ears to listen and wait. If anything were to come out I would immediately run; without going too far, I was hoping it would save some time and test how big the cave was inside the two paths, the sound of a hollower path should surely sound louder. After taking a moment to think, while nothing had appeared from either cave in the last ten seconds, I decided to enter the left cavern as it sounded quieter, even though it might be smaller, I could not help think that it should be much easier to defend myself if anything happened as Big Nose had a big reach: using strength to cover a weakness, I could not help but think of the military strategist Sun Tzu and his ¡°Art of War¡±. Lowering Big Nose to the floor I undid my belt and fastened the torch on my body after making sure it would not drop as best as I could, immediately grasping the poleaxe in front like a spear separating me from my enemies. The deeper I went in, the calmer I got, there was no use worrying too much at this stage, the system said we had twenty four hours and the timer inside my head showed that in fact there were at least twenty three more painstaking hours. I pushed myself onwards step by step, my heart trembling, it seemed after awhile that subconsciously the footsteps and my heartbeat had began to synchronise and I felt calmer: as calm as anyone could be in an unknown situation and cave like this. Time seemed to pass slowly and whether I had slowed down or the path I had chosen was longer than I guessed, I could not tell. I could only keep going forward while keeping my guard up holding Big Nose, any moment now I could feel like I would drop to the floor. My whole body was sore and tired. At this point quickly checking the timer showed that another hour had passed, however by this stage my mind began to enter a state of panic, how would I survive twenty two more hours. the fear that gripped me was like a steady beat in my heart, a small marching band quickly approaching. Yet I guess it was this fear which saved me, subconsciously, as my body tuned into this paranoia and I would pause at the sound of the slightest noise; as soon as I heard the click click of something moving ahead, backing further down I quickly crouched down with Big Nose facing diagonally, expecting the worst. But the worst was still to come. It was not long, soon in front of me I could see a black arachnid, almost blended into the dark, its shape was the size of a man, eight legs raising its head high above the ground in the crowded space like pedestals. Staring at it I could see it look at me hissing, dripping some form of liquid from its mouth, from what I could see its body was trailing a sort of ichor, it seemed to have been in a fight. Injured but alive. With no where to go but back I could only edge forward, I was not sure what seized me but I found my body going forward, Big Nose easily stabbing into the spiders face. All I could do at this point was jam Big Nose between its jaw hoping it would not move closer. I¡¯m not sure at which point but finally it began its death throes and I could only hold myself a little bit further apart. As it fell to the floor I received a system notification: ¡®you¡¯ve killed a Night Spider, please choose your reward¡¯. Hands bleeding from the battle, my face could only be described as gobsmacked as I looked at the reward choices. A. Night Spider¡¯s poison sac B. Night Spider carapace armor C. Night Spider¡¯s Totem Although I tried to see if there was any further information but apart from the name nothing showed up. Out of the three choices, the armor appeared the most logic choice, however seeing the state I was in, I would have to think twice if I were to choose that as carrying myself forward was already a big issue. Ruling out the poison sac, I wasn¡¯t proficient enough to wield Big Nose, nothing needed to be said about if this would bring me more trouble than its worth. In the end, that only left the last option. Without further ado I selected option C in my head, I was soon surprised to see the disappearance of the Night Spider¡¯s corpse, celebrating already, I was worried whether I had to crawl past it considering the lack of space or whether I had to backtrack. I could only feel an indescribable pain as if a part of me was ripped away, under the pain everything turned dark and I blacked out. After waking up while it seemed like a lot of time had passed, the timer in my mind showed that there was still nineteen hours left before this mission would complete. At this time I could not see anything around me, it was pitch black, when I fell down the torch must have been dropped and the fire extinguished. I was lucky I was not burned alive while unconscious, although I could feel a slight throbbing from where I had tied the torch to my body, moving to the side I could still feel the heat from the torch. Nothing more than a bad burn, I could not see how badly I was burned but I was alive. Recalling the last few moments I soon called up my status window to see if there had been any changes. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. INGEL ??? Occupation: - Abilities: Slow Metabolism Modifiers: - Equipment: Poleaxe Spirit Summon: Night Spider Standing in a daze, for a moment I was wondering if I was still dreaming, why was this so like a game setting: wasn¡¯t this ultimately a pet. It didn¡¯t take me long to recognise that I made big gains this time, while having been teleported to this strange place, a strange thought had passed through my mind more than once: the similarity between this Labyrinth setting and that of those virtual reality games which had become more and more popular. It seemed the me of before enjoyed things like this as I could find myself recalling glimpses and snatches of weird name monsters and creatures in my head. Still despite me having temporarily forgotten some of my past memories, I wasn¡¯t completely daft, the first thing I thought of was that this seemed remarkably like a type of pet which could be summoned. At least I hoped I was right in this case, it would mean I¡¯d struck a fortune. Calming myself down for a moment and taking steady breaths. I adjusted my mind and attempted to summon my pet. Picturing an image of fuzzy black eight legged monster, I could sense the air in front of me slowly turning in swishes and swathes, it was happening. Night Spider! In front of me seemed to be a miniature version of the monster I had been fighting earlier and strangely enough I could sense a warm fuzzy feeling in my head as if someone was trying to talk to me. While my eyes remained dark, this connection allowed me to sense my surroundings as if through a third person. I was mesmerised, this feeling in itself was quite overpowering. Imagine someone born without a sense of smell suddenly discovering that they could smell again. It was like this but it seemed like I began to see things from a different perspective which I could never have imagined. A shared sensory system. While enjoying this gradual feeling and adjusting to my surrounding, It took a while but I could feel this sense become clearer and stronger as the my spirit summon came closer to me. Hesitating I spread out my hand putting this just slightly above its head, its body gave out a cool feeling, tingling, like brushing the hair of someone with short hair, or the underside of a dog¡¯s belly. As soon as I made contact I could feel a pain in my left arm as it clung onto it. Flinching, I could feel myself in my head calling out ¡®careful!¡¯, the feeling that appeared when we made contact got warmer and the spider seemed to be able to understand my intent if not what I was saying. ¡®Wait, you can understand me?¡¯ I whispered in my head, all I could hear was small sounds of chittering from the spider, but it seemed it did because I could feel it slowly stopping, staring at me. Amazing. I wondered if it had any abilities, as I was thinking this a new menu opened up underneath my status. Spirit Summon: Night Spider Youngling: ¡®a successful summon¡¯, a Night Spider in its growth phase, using its ability to detect movement through the sensitive nails on its limbs, its ability to run in the dark and sense prey puts it at the forefront as a hunter of the night: this spider has the ability to produce a mild poison which can numb its prey. My mind was jumping through hoops, reading the description I could not help but feel happy as realised I had effectively just increased my chances of surviving. Similar to a scout, this little guy could prove to be more useful in finding dangers ahead before I encounter it, at the very least if I was attacked it would give me a few more moments to run. I wasn¡¯t hopefully of it killing anything for me considering its size, it felt light, even with it crawling onto my back shoulders all I could feel was a slight pressure. That¡¯s not to say it wasn¡¯t dangerous, if one day this spider grew up I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t be easy, it has its¡¯ own strengths. Thinking about this I was wondering how come my left arm had started to hurt earlier. Even stranger I felt a little bit dizzy, the earlier rush at finding out I was the owner of this summon started to die down. Looking at my left arm I could the markings of a small puncture wound that seemed to have stopped bleeding. I¡¯d been bit! My spider senses are tingling¡­ Laughing in my heart, I quickly adjusted my mind, there must be some drawbacks to owning a spirit summon. But this was the far, far away in my mind at this moment in time. For the moment I decided to give it a name, following my creative naming of Big Nose, I decided with the name Jaws. I try to call it by its name in my head, I can feel a warm tingling sensation, it feels like its been acknowledged. Putting everything to the back of my head for now, I try to see if Jaws can follow simple instructions, I tell it to stop and walk further ahead, looking back I can feel Jaws still standing there, ¡®follow¡¯, small skittering movements can be heard before it jumps onto the wall and the sounds become much softer, inaudible if I wasn¡¯t paying particular attention to it, it even blends in, but of course I can¡¯t see much better, my torch has gone after all. After some trial and error I found my replacement eyes and it feels like I can continue forward although relying on Jaws, I wonder how long I would have lasted if I had chosen one of the other rewards. Moving forward I check the timer again, just slightly under eighteen hours left before this mission ends. Reaching another junction in the cave, there¡¯s a couple of passages, but with the help of Jaws discovering a slightly hidden passage way I can see if I climb higher at the junction of the passages I might be able to reach this. Feeling my way by touch while holding Big Nose, I can¡¯t help but blame myself for not choosing something more compact. I wonder at this point if Jaws can be unsummoned, picturing an image of a small sleeping Night Spider I can feel my connection with Jaws become fuzzy, and soon I¡¯ve become blind again. This still leaves me with several choices but I have no idea where to start. While considering my options I can¡¯t help but think if I imagine a sleeping Big Nose if it would disappear, I almost make myself laugh, but no sooner have I done this and I yell out in surprise ****. It works! I try it again this time but I picture holding it and Big Nose appears in my hands. Unequipping it, I forget everything and I can¡¯t help but stifle a small bellyache of air from my stomache, dammit, this Labyrinth is really frustrating: I think I need to change my way of thinking. I pull myself up from the ground where I have been lying and my mind is clear again, although I haven¡¯t been making a loud sound, I am sure if anyone is nearby they could easily have suspected something and come this way, after all its is a nearly empty cave. Sound travels. I feel better, scrambling closer to the wall I drag myself so I am just underneath the hidden passage, I think If I jump I can just make it. After a few tries I manage to pull myself up with barely just enough space for me to pass through, it is a narrow opening, I am sure if someone looked this way they might think its just another hole in the wall, it is, but it does go quite far in. Making the most use of Jaws I had send it in earlier and it seems to be relatively safe. I can¡¯t find anything here, it looks like I will be standing. Having second thoughts I summon Big Nose but point it at the entrance of this small passage, I guess I can hole up here for a moment and rest. Exhaustion hits me as I stand there crammed in the narrow space. CH03 ¡°Confrontation¡± Blinking my eyes, I shake myself a little but I remain aware enough not to make large movements, it¡¯s really tight in here, my whole body is frozen and it takes some time to recover. My whole body is aching from standing still in this position. It seems like I¡¯ve slept just over an hour, energised I wake up Jaws and attempt to get it to check outside for me. Its not hurried far when I sense it communicating to me, it seems some people are heading this way. Motioning it to move back and remain hiding I raise my own awareness and begin to focus for the sounds of people moving this way. It did not take long, but I could soon hear a group of people close by, keeping quiet as much as I could I strain my ears to listen. It seems that even though Jaws can communicate to me and to some extent give me a sense of what it sees, it has no way of reinterpreting anything like sounds to me. However I was more than overjoyed by this small advantage already. After all having a few seconds chance of running before danger comes my way was already more than I hoped for. Listening in I could hear a small group of people outside my entrance and the light began to brighten this way, I close my eyes before I become blinded. Thinking to this point I quickly unsummon Jaws, in this light I am sure being hidden would be a problem. Luckily I managed in time, without looking out I could not see how many people were there but retracting myself smaller in this cavity I could hear at least three different people. Out of this group it seemed two were male and one was female. ¡°Anton, there seems to be two passages here which do we take?¡± A female voice soon interrupted the guy who had spoken, ¡°I think we should go this way¡±. I could hear a cough and apparently they had decided because at this moment I could hear them moving further away. Remaining quiet I waited a bit longer as I slowly moved out from my position however I was in for a rude awakening, no sooner had I taken a step out before I heard a voice. ¡°Stop where you are, any more and then don¡¯t blame me for what happens next!¡± My mind started to spin as I could not believe how they had known I was here. I could only stay put, a whistle soon followed and I could hear the rest of the group come back. As the light became brighter, I could only sigh helplessly as this was where it might end. Panicking I was conflicted if I was to summon Jaws would I be able to escape or should I stay put, it didn¡¯t seem there was much choice. It did not take long, I could only go with the flow for me. Closing my eyes I stood still at the mercy of this group and the blinding light which had emerged from the other passage. My heart was pounding like a small fire that had caught a flame in the woods, growing quickly bigger and bigger. As I opened my eyes and adjusted it to the light in the cave I heard a man shout out a command ¡°drop it¡±, tensing up I could only stay passive for now. Keeping Big Nose in my hands I moved it to side standing still like a sentinel. I could hear frowning but it does not seem the group was going to take any action. Slowly glancing out ahead of me I could see the group of people who I had originally assumed to be made up of three people instead in front of me there was a small group of four individuals. Strangely one of these happened to be staring at me with her big eyes, compared to the others her gaze seemed to be looking at my curiously. Breaking into a small grimace and a half smile I tried to pacify them ¡°how about we just go our separate ways, I only want to survive, I had no other intents¡±. Hearing my reply the leader of the group seemed to smile nonetheless looking at me, ¡°if that is the case why would you be hiding there, did you really think we wouldn¡¯t have noticed, look at the floor¡±. Indeed I could only blame myself, although I could not see in the dark it did not mean this group couldn¡¯t see the clear prints on the floor and where it ended as well as the small opening above our heads. Half heartedly laughing I could only curse my luck. ¡°Actually you¡¯ve misunderstood me, I was running away from a monster earlier and by chance I managed to survive by hiding here. Earlier I had fallen asleep in this spot and well¡­¡± Leaving the obvious unsaid, they could nevertheless get what I was saying. Who would shout out if they were in such a predicament after all who knew friend from foe. ¡°That may be¡­¡± shrugging his shoulders, the guy who seemed to be called Anton approached me, ¡°but do you think I am stupid, climbing up with that weapon would have been impossible in such a situation¡±. Hurriedly exclaiming, I quickly stowed away Big Nose. It must have seem like a magic trick to this group as I could see them tense up.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Looking at the four people I could clearly see the man called Anton carrying a sword and as he pointed it at me the others in the group, a man wielding a hand axe, a women with cudgel and the petite big eyed doe holding a dagger mirrored his stance. Putting out my hands in front of me I could only help and quickly explain the ¡®magic¡¯ behind this trick. After a few moments trying it themselves they soon saw the truth. The women carrying a cudgel stared at me and snorted lightly, a ¡®hmphh¡¯ sound could be heard in the quiet. ¡°Anton I think we should¡­¡± Putting his hand up Anton stopped the woman¡¯s words. It seemed my hearing was not as accurate as I thought, surely I had only heard three people earlier. Smiling at the guy carrying the sword, I could see him slightly lowering it he looked at me with an equally dangerous smile ¡°Friend what¡¯s your name, I am sure it¡¯s all been a misunderstanding¡±. I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to give myself just over a smile from a man, left alone if it had been a beauty, who would in their right mind trust another person pointing at you in a group with a weapon in their hands. However I could only forcefully smile and answer his questions. After some time, with the brief introductions over I came to know a few things. Although the group was no longer hostile it did not seem they were any less wary of me. From what I was told, the guy who had been speaking most of this time as I thought was the leader, Anton, while the lady with cudgel was called Meera, whilst the other guy remaining much silent was simply known as Hodur, leaving the small doe eyed beauty which had not stopped staring all this while: Baihe. From what I could tell Anton and his group were the only ones remaining from a battle with the Night Spider, while they had been interrogating me I could only stick to simple facts, thinking on my feet I soon narrated a story blending seventy percent lies and thirty percent truths while keeping some details vague. I am sure they would not have appreciated if they were made aware of the gains I had made from their labour; the mantis stalks the cicada unware of the oriole behind: unfortunately or not this ¡®oriole¡¯ could not fly. While I knew for a fact that they did not believe me fully, for them to only doubt me was more than enough for me to survive at this moment. Some things were better left unsaid. ¡°Sixteen hours or so¡±, a glance to my right I could hear Meera speak out in a calm voice. Before I could help myself I could only ask ¡°do any of you guys know how we¡¯d come to this place¡±. I was slightly interested to hear what their answer was. Frowning, a voice spoke out, the first time I heard the other guy speak out ¡°do you really not remember¡±. Anton seemed to sense something as he quickly responded, ¡°before I answer that I first want to know how you knew that we could store our weapons¡±. Making up the excuse of being someone who was an avid reader of game novels I¡¯d decided to ¡®store Big Nose¡¯ on a whim and so found out by chance. Although I could tell Anton became more reserved he seeming to took my explanation without any further question. But he soon explained, ¡°that¡¯s right you could say this is like one of novels you¡¯ve read, as far as I know for some reason we had all been summoned and well¡­¡± In between the lines I could feel a hint of unease, the look of Baihe who quickly hid her expression did not miss my eyes. It was better to be careful around this group, it did not seem I could trust everything that was being said. Strangely they¡¯d also not questioned me about my flight from the Night Spider they had been battling, although they did seem relatively unscathed for having been in such an intense battle. Sweeping the dirt under the rug, I could only move ahead cautiously at this point. I knew a confrontation at this point would not have a good ending. After confirming all these points I decided to straight forwardly explain that I hoped it might be best to wait out the remaining time and hide. However the group seemed to have a different idea and I could only follow at this point. Choosing the last remaining passage unexplored, it seemed I would lead the way in front. CH04 ¡°Life is not always smooth¡± The way ahead seemed to slope downwards the further we moved down the passage, while I could see the way ahead because of the light from the torches I was slightly startled and my breathing became shallower, the path leading ahead appeared to lead deeper and deeper into the cave. Walking some time I became slightly tired and at this point I was ready to stop, carrying Big Nose pointing ahead all this time had worn down my stamina. Turning around I could see the others a few feet behind me, with Baihe in front, it seemed like she was trying to communicate something to me with her eyes. Contemplating it slightly I could only keep it to myself. ¡°Anton can we take a break, we¡¯ve been walking for a long time now¡±. Examining my own status screen although I could tell not much time had passed, the way the passage had sloped it did not seem like it would stop any time soon. ¡®Growl¡¯ I could hear the sound of stomachs making small sounds behind me, it seemed the group were in need of a break too. Strangely I did not feel hungry, maybe this had something to do with my ability but I still did not understand it, similarly I wasn¡¯t dumb enough to start asking the others. ¡°Okay lets stop¡±, moving closer to the group, I stood a bit closer to Baihe, I could feel the heat radiating from her body. After all we had been walking for some time, considering her size I was surprised she could still stand, with a stature similar to a kid, her face shined under the light. Taking a light breather, we soon set forward again after a small respite, I could not help but think Baihe had wanted to pass along some sort of a message. Unlike the others she was the only one who had not spoken at this point. While keeping these thoughts in my mind, I was wondering if it was feasible to summon Jaws in the distance and get it to hide ahead of the group. Better to keep this a secret for now, I quickly decided against it. Continuing down the passage with the light from behind I could now see a few more details of what I hadn¡¯t noticed before such as the smooth texture of this cave as we headed deeper in. The sound of rumbling started to approach from the distance, seeing a chance and the boulder which was quickly approaching I stored Big Nose and approached a small incline on the side of one of the walls pressing myself hard against it. I could hear cursing behind me as the others began to run but before the light began to dim I saw another figure rush towards my way. Baihe! I could feel the warmth of something pressing near me and as it soon began to become even smaller, with no time think I could only try to make myself smaller in this small incline and turn my head to the side. The sound of thunder approached from the side and an excruciating pain clipped the side of my head. I could feel blood pouring as one of my ears seemed to have almost been pulled off by the friction of the boulder passing through here. A small voice approached me but all I could hear was ringing in my head. Quickly summoning out Jaws I could feel my senses sharpening as I could make out parts of my surrounding. Slowly steadying myself I could only clinch my teeth and bear the pain, luckily I was slim. ¡°I can help¡± I could feel the pain of the wound soothing as if it was wrapped in a feeling like a cold mixture, the bleeding began to stop. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first¡± regaining some of my awareness I could only propose to move further ahead at this point urging Jaws to move ahead of us in case we sprung another trap. Luckily with Jaws summoned I had a way of moving down this passage in the dark otherwise I shuddered to think what I would do. Looking at Baihe I suddenly gasped as she seemed to have got much smaller, was this one of her abilities. Not dwelling too much on it I could only motion her to remain still, touching my ear I could feel where my right ear should have been this place seemed now to be empty. Dazed, I could not even begin tears for my ear which had now disappeared. However I knew now was not the time nor place, we needed to move ahead first, silencing her as she seemed to about to say something I quickly grasped one of her tiny hands, her body seemed a bit reluctant but after a short moment she moved towards me, she seemed awfully light, putting her on my back was like carrying a small back pack, I could only quickly run at this time. Time seemed to pass faster, I could feel a soft body pressed against me heating up as I sped forward navigating the dangerous passage with the help of Jaws. Not long after this and we came into another section with several passages, this time there were four roads ahead of us. Without much thought I ran into the second passage as if a fire was chasing my tail. At this time I seemed more and more tired and not a moment longer my link with Jaws seemed to waver. I stumbled as my connection with Jaws was cut off. Stopping I could only take deep breaths as I let down Baihe from my back. ¡°Tell me what you know¡±, my mind was racing. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After a slight pause, I could hear a strange sound, it seemed Baihe must had have transformed back to her original size. ¡°Actually what Anton and the others explained earlier is not far from the truth, but seriously you don¡¯t remember?¡± Seeing me shake my head she could only continue ¡°the ¡®summoning¡¯ that Anton mentioned before is true, for whatever reason we¡¯ve been chosen to participate in this dungeon but actually it¡¯s not all a coincidence, in fact while I didn¡¯t know many of the people who had been summoned this time, I do recognise a few faces¡±. I felt myself spin, my head was repeating the lines Baihe had just said, ¡°so you mean to say¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to carry on. From the words I had just heard I could indeed make out some facts: the summoning was premediated, the people who had been summoned in fact must belong to one group or one place but why could I not remember any of this. ¡°Actually¡­ its not unheard of but I have heard from others that sometimes during the ¡®summoning¡¯ that ¡°players¡± can be brought in from other world outside the one I have come from, I¡¯m not suspecting you but its weird that you can¡¯t remember even key points like this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± At this point my face was slowly losing its composure and my hands started to tighten on Big Nose. ¡°What I am saying is that its strange that the summoning could induce amnesia but¡­ hey, hey! Relax I am not here to investigate you, whether you are from the same place as us, to me it makes no difference, as far as I can see you look like a normal person, at least I know your heart is not black. Why do you think I took a risk and ran away with you?! There is a reason I can¡¯t stay with that group no more.¡± Taking in all this new information I could only question myself, a ¡®player¡¯, was that what I was. I couldn¡¯t help but think back to me when I spoke to the group and the excuse I had used as someone who basically loved game novels, and how I was able to find out that our weapons could be stored and whether it was this point which had given me away. In the end I could not help but ask about some of the questions in my mind. ¡°I think we should find a safer place ahead instead of standing here¡± I could only first suggest that we moved, she¡¯d mentioned that there was a reason why it was not good to stay with Anton and the others, it wouldn¡¯t do if we were caught after running away. As we stumbled along at a slow pace I eventually could not stop myself and began to question Baihe about the many things which had been growing in my mind. The further we moved, the closer we seemed, after many questions and answers I realised that I could indeed be a ¡®player¡¯. It seemed there were many differences between what she knew and what I¡¯d taken granted before, how could it be that they didn¡¯t even have a microwave oven! I finally realised, I¡¯ve been summoned to a different world. According to Baihe the Labyrinth was a training ground, it was an opportunity to gain powers. In fact the biggest discovery was that the first instance dungeon was what I would call a ¡®guide level¡¯ by developing yourself there and exploring the random setting there was a chance to get a power. Similar to Baihe¡¯s power, Faery Synchronisation, which allowed her to reduce her size and have a minor healing skill. Thinking of my own ability I could not help but frown, in comparison my own ability did not stand out, ¡®slow metabolism¡¯, if I had to give it an category I would say it was a passive ability. However I am certain that I¡¯ve had this ability ever since I had been summoned, it was not an ability that I was given or obtained in the guide level. At this point I could only think back about the wasted time I had spent in the desert, would this not mean players were equal to bugged existences who could have more than one ability. It was not long till my worries were confirmed after asking Baihe what I had thought, indeed abilities were set, through the guide level, unless through some fortuitous opportunity or clan legacy, participants like her would only have one ability in their lifetime if they had good fortune. Stifling the tears in my heart, I could only curse my wasted time and more importantly, what does ¡®slow metabolism¡¯ even do! CH05 ¡°A good beginning is half done¡± As we started to drag further into the cave I could not help but anxiously check how much time was remaining before this instance dungeon would finish. Just a little over fourteen hours. Confirming some of my thoughts I openly questioned Baihe. ¡°So what happened, why did you have to run away from Anton and the others?¡±. I could feel her hesitate, cautious, not that I blamed her, after all we were still strangers. ¡°We each have our own secrets. I won¡¯t ask you about yours and I hope you understand that I won¡¯t tell you mine. But after all we are in the same boat, I will just remind you for your own good, Anton is not a good person and neither is Meera, you should be careful.¡± Having said her piece the atmosphere dwindled back into silence. The mood was awkward, there was not much I could ask her without raising her suspicions. In the end I could only shuffle forwards, slowly making a small gain in the distance as she followed behind. Still at one point I could not help think if I was na?ve for trusting her too easily, who knew who was in the right. At the end of the day the only reason I had ran was because I wanted to survive, she was right, it was just a glimpse but I could tell Anton was dangerous. Moving forwards I could hear a rumbling sound. Surprised I asked Baihe if she could hear that. Only, before she even replied I realised with embarrassment the sound had repeated itself and I felt like it was the dumbest question I could have asked: the sound came from her stomach. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure what it meant. If the silence could have weight, I could have sworn the air must have gotten heavier because even as I tried to walk forwards while ignoring what I said earlier, I knew I¡¯d only moved a step. ¡®DONG¡¯ that step rang eerily loud, it felt like there was a loss of feeling below my feet, yelling I could feel Baihe close by in the air. We were in the air! It was a trapped floor. Out of all the passages we could have took. How unbelievable! Fiercely struggling I could only grope in the air hoping I would catch a ledge, anything that would stop the fall, in a moment of ingenuity I summoned Big Nose, I choose you, Big Nose! The impact of my full body weight hanging on a ledge caused excruciating pain across my shoulders, steeling myself to cling on I could only clench in there. But unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t meant to be, I felt something soft crash into my face. Strange, why was this so round, and so those were the last thoughts in my head and I crashed out. I was dreaming, in my dream I was ten and it was a blazing summer day, laying in my bed, I could not move a muscle. I had a fever, my temperature had slowly risen higher and higher. I could only lay there sweating. The feeling of something cold pressed against my face, it was soft like holding clouds. Half-conscious I knew someone was taking care of me, although I couldn¡¯t see her face but I could tell she was wiping my forehead with a damp towel. It was like being stranded in a desert and encountering an oasis , water, so comfortable. ¡®Drip drip¡¯ my body was hurting all over, I couldn¡¯t move but there was feeling of something dropping onto my body, a cold feeling. I couldn¡¯t help but crave for ice cream, wondering if I would ever have the chance to taste this again. ¡°Don¡¯t try to move¡± I could hear a voice from my side. ¡°We are lucky to survive falling down from that height, actually I should thank you, if you hadn¡¯t cushioned my fall and extended yourself like that earlier I am sure we might have ended up far far worse¡±. It was her, why did she sound so much different than before, her tone was far from soft, a commandeering voice: a woman who was used to be in charge. I could only whisper in my head. It seemed she was in a much better condition than me, she could at least still move her body. Coming closer I could smell a faint fragrant smell, her body moved closer to mine, blinking my eyes, the only part I could still control: I imagined her in her transformed form. My own impression of her earlier remained fuzzy there was not much I could remember apart from her being smaller. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Why did it seem that out of all the times anything happened when I was with her, she always ended up fine whereas I ended up with a far worse deal, without being able to talk I could only remind myself to keep my distance away from here if I made it out of here alive. ¡°Drink this, it seems to be some kind of water, there is a pool of it deeper in the cave.¡± I could hear some faint sounds of a small cloth being wrung out and water dripping lightly on my face. As if anticipating what I was about to say, ¡°you don¡¯t need to ask, I think we might be stuck here for some time at least till this instance dungeon ends, I have tried moving from this place but it doesn¡¯t feel like there is any other passage or way to go out, I¡¯m pretty sure we are stuck here¡±. ¡°I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going to rest first, let¡¯s continue again later, there¡¯s plenty of time¡±. Having said her piece I could feel her moving closer to me and something small drop near my side. Without much to do and having lost control of my body, all I could do at this point was to check my status: INGEL ??? Occupation: - Abilities: Slow Metabolism Modifiers: impaired hearing, temporary paralysis, Oread¡¯s Blessing Equipment: Poleaxe Spirit Summon: Night Spider ¨C BLOOD RESTRAINT Youngling: ¡®a successful summon¡¯, a Night Spider in its growth phase, using its ability to detect movement through the sensitive nails on its limbs, its ability to run in the dark and sense prey puts it at the forefront as a hunter of the night: this spider has the ability to produce a mild poison which can numb its prey. Looking at my status screen I could see several changes. It seemed modifiers was related to my body¡¯s condition as I could see under this was listed two different status conditions which reflected my current body¡¯s situation. It didn¡¯t take me long to work out some of the changes that had appeared on my status screen and link it to my condition now. It seemed that the earlier damage done to one of my ears was anything from minor, although the loss of any actual flesh extending where a normal ear would be already made this more than obvious. On the other hand I was happy to see that it was not all bad; temporary paralysis, reading the word temporary I could not help to raise my own hopes, the fall must have been more severe than I thought. Without being able to talk, as I could not ask her, I could only guess that she must have used part of her ability as she seemed much smaller, not forgetting her restorative powers of healing I could only hope she didn¡¯t indeed forget me. It was unrealistic to expect more, I knew in fact she could only cast a small form of healing, it was far from a miracle cure, as my right ear remained missing. But I still kept my spirits up my chances of surviving remained strong. I knew this instance dungeon would not last much longer. Going further through the list it seems I had gained another partial ability, Oread¡¯s Blessing, there was not much to go by, I could only remain positive and wait till later. There was not much I could do at this point. Looking at my spirit summon I could see that there was one major change to this part of that status screen. Under some faint wording I could see that this had now been affixed by an additional status ¡®blood restraint¡¯: the words carried an ominous feeling, thinking about it, I could only just faintly recall when I first summoned Jaws, it felt like he had siphoned some of my blood at that time. Linking this to Jaws current state and how I could not reach it, I could only think that a spirit summon was not all that I had first thought it to be. While my choice in picking the totem was not one I would have changed, knowing how this worked would have more than given me second thoughts. Still without Jaws I am sure I wouldn¡¯t have made it so far. Closing my eyes I could only let these thoughts run through my mind as laid to rest the ants that were crawling like many questions inside. CH06 ¡°To walk the road alone, are you really alone¡± I could feel some sort of feeling returning to my body. Slightly moving my arm I could feel it moving a little. It did not seem there was much time left in this instance dungeon, four hours till we returned, if nothing changed. Relaxing my mind I could not help but sigh thinking about the events leading up to now. Fortunate. There was no other word to describe it, in some ways I had been lucky, but that did not mean I would be lucky everytime. Meeting Baihe or even falling into here, the fact I was still alive was testament to how lucky I¡¯d been so far. Thinking back I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed with that group at the start instead of making the choice to explore these caves myself. Would I still¡¯ve been struggling till the end or lost and forgotten, a name no one would remember or know. Inside me my will to survive flared as I tried to make sense of why I had been chosen or even why I had ended up here. There was not much time left, I had to judge my own feelings, this was the best opportunity: I needed an ally. At this time I could see the figure beside me waking up. Seeing this I opened my mouth, following a few incoherent sounds I finally managed to say ¡®we¡­ need to¡­ talk¡­¡¯. It was true, instead of just following the herd, while I was a wolf, I still needed to find my own pack. This was my only chance. ¡°You¡¯re awake¡±. Her voice if anything gave me a clearer feeling compared to before, I think she understood we had to clear the air whether we made it alive here or not, although we had been put together by circumstances, we both had made our choices in the time which is how we ended up here. Now would be the best chance to decide our next step, we finally arrived. Hesitating slightly, I decided to open up ¡°I¡¯m a player¡±. A short silence followed, it seemed like my heart sped up at the edge of a precipice. ¡°I know, I was wondering when you would admit it¡±, I could feel myself tense, the parts that could move. There was no room for doubt, I knew now by the tone of her voice if she had wanted to make a move earlier she would have done it already. Placing my trust in the open that was all I could do. ¡°Actually if you hadn¡¯t decided to admit before we teleported out, I was ready to end this partnership of ours¡±. From her tone I could tell I sorely underestimated her, unlike her small frame it seemed her mind was indeed vast, holding numerous schemes hidden behind the veil of that smile at her lips. ¡°Relax, let me be frank, I think we have many opportunities to work together¡±. Like so, my mind steadied itself among the eddies of her charm. ¡°When did you figure it out?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Was there any other conclusion, you don¡¯t even have a basic knowledge of the things you should know¡±. Indeed I could see that simple truth explode in my mind, what was I, in all those reincarnation novels I have read, all those ¡®young masters¡¯ with their countless expertise and endless knowledge. Heck the only thing that I could say I had an advantage in was eating and enduring, from young till now I had always been someone who could eat, an ability that surely misrepresented me here. ¡°I think we should start again¡± her voice tailed off, despite the dark I knew she was looking at me now. Unconsciously I slowly nodded my head, ¡°thank you¡±, those were the only words that came to mind. Whether I owed her my life or bringing up how I had done the same for her, these words we left unsaid, we could only cooperate at this moment.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Do you remember what I had said to you before, you should put it all to the back of your mind, what I told you before is not the complete story.¡± Frowning while keeping my calm I could only continue to listen. Indeed you can¡¯t ever trust someone so easily, as she narrated her story I could only feel the disbelief and shock gather at my eyes as I looked to her direction. From what she said this Labyrinth was a dimension formed by some power, the reason even she did not know. To describe it clearly it was like a beginner¡¯s area in a dungeon game, a way to separate participants into groups and give them abilities to head further. From what I could tell, she was a participant unlike me, however participants if they could be put into words could only be said to be a few steps away from the existence of players. Participants if they represented anything could be likened as the long term residents of an apartment flat, as entity they were souls which were send out to this realm. Taking in this analogy I could only compare her status and mine, wouldn¡¯t players then be similar to new residents. According to what she said although each time the realm they would be sent out in might not be the same but in the end it would consist of people like me and her. I was gasped by a deep shock, it felt like I had only just touched on the fringes of a vast ocean. Still thinking to this point I could not help but think back when I had first been teleported here. When we were in the white room it did not seem anyone had stood out. The way they were dressed in most cases were similar to what I had been wearing. So if what she had said now was indeed true, did that not mean in fact that they were the aliens in this realm? A thousand horses were running in my mind each heading in different directions, jumbled together I could only grasp at one thing. ¡°If what you said was true, how come when we first teleported here, I did not notice anything different between the people there?¡± I could hear her laugh, it seemed the question I had asked was funny to her. ¡°I¡¯m glad you still have the intelligence to ask these questions, I wasn¡¯t wrong to share with you¡±. Of course, who else would believe everything a stranger says, I started to roll my eyes only to realise that person was also me: didn¡¯t I believe every word she had said earlier. ¡°Actually I am not sure the reason myself, it has always been like this but you don¡¯t need to trust me soon you will know, if I am right after this beginner¡¯s trial ends: this Labyrinth will answer your questions!¡±. Keeping these thoughts to myself I could only keep silent. The silence felt suffocating, a heavy curtain draping over my whole body. The frustrations boiling in mind I could only roar out at this point. ¡°ARGHHHHGHH¡±. Better, I felt better. However it seemed this was not the best choice of action at this time, I could feel a hand quickly clamping my mouth even as I did. The sound of a lion in my mind became muffled like a cat¡¯s hiss. ¡°You need to control yourself¡±. Soon I could hear her voice entering like a whisper clear but soft in my ear surprising myself. It seemed my hearing still hadn¡¯t quite gone yet, missing one ear, the damage seemed to be superficial: her tone remained clear in my mind, imposing. ¡°There is still more things you need to know¡­¡± And so as the time passed and my body began to recover its ability to move, albeit with some pain wracking my frame I came to know a certain amount of things. But even as I did, I knew I had to keep my guard up against this woman, things were far from simple. Labyrinth. This was only the beginning, it was named well, I will not lose myself here, I needed to survive. For now I could only follow her and act as her shadow. Checking the time I could see that only a short moment remained before this instance dungeon would end. Even before the timer began to count down in my mind again, I could only keep In mind what I had discovered. This dimension was only to be a short stop. This novel has been dropped. I have decided not to continue with this novel. I originally started this novel with the aim of entering an online competition however due to a personal decision, I have decided not to carry on with this novel. I will be posting a different story in the future. I would like to thank all my followers for subscribing and can only give my sincere apologies for ending this novel at this moment in time. 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