[Welcome to the Labyrinth of Ashura]
[Your Trial has begun]
The Fallen System whispered in his ears.
Lenny found himself in a colossal labyrinth, a twisting, turning maze of stone and shadow that seemed to shift and writhe like a living entity.
The walls, worn smooth by centuries of passage, rose up on either side like sentinels, their surfaces etched with cryptic symbols that seemed to dance in the flickering torchlight.
The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay, and the silence was oppressive.
A palpable weight that pressed down on the soul.
In the heart of this labyrinth, Lenny was seen, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls as he navigated through the twisting corridors.
He moved with quiet confidence, his eyes fixed on some point ahead, "The Labyrinth of Ashura huh?" He muttered, and he watched the drawings carved on the walls.
"If I should recall, Ashura is the god of beast…..was this created for beasts to thrive or was it a deity's home?" Lenny, being an archaeologist, found everything amusing.
Although he had to clear the Dungeon, he's still interested in stories carved from the past.
The corridor stretched out before him, a narrow, winding tunnel that seemed to lead to a designated location.
The walls seemed to close in around him, the shadows deepening, and for a moment, it seemed the labyrinth was trying to devour him.
He softly exhaled, "No High Orc found yet, It doesn't feel too dangerous but that shouldn't mean it's relatively safe either"
"What do you have to say about this? Brother" Lenny tilted his gaze, hoping the young boy was still standing with him.
But his question echoed through the empty space, Lenny's eyebrows furrowed "Brother?" He called out.
He grunted, "Now that I remember, when I was thrown into the Maze of Ashura, it felt like something was pulled from me"
"Was it my shadow?" Lenny asked, and he quickly summoned his shadow, which materialized into a shadow clone.
He heaved a sigh of relief, "Thankfully it's not my shadow, but what exactly was it?" Lenny asked.
"Where did that brat run off to?" He was completely distracted by the countless thoughts flooding his mind.
Not realizing what was about to occur.
Bang!
Lenny received an instantaneous blow to the face, the impact sent him crashing through the stone wall, collapsing in another corridor.
The air shook vigorously, and the impact released intense shockwaves into the air.
"Shit, that fucking hurts" Lenny cursed out loud, emerging from the wall he was sent crashing into.
He summoned the Tether system, quickly pulling out his Sandel Crimson Dual Daggers from his dimension storage.
"Who the hell are you?" Lenny questioned, before him stood two masked entities, all armed with katanas.
Lenny sensed mana radiating from their blades, confirming them to be graded weapons.
Without responding to his question, the first of the two masked figures launched an offensive attack.
Swinging down his blade against Lenny, Lenny countered and blocked the Fallen Treasure's attack with his daggers.
Creating distance by stepping a few steps back, the second masked entity moved with precision, thrusting his blade from below.
Lenny's eyes widened in shock, "Shit" He wasn't quick enough to react to the savage thrust.
Not too agile to twist his body yet.
He swung down his daggers, aiming to stab the masked figure below him when a backhanded punch collided with his face..
"Keeuukk," Lenny spat out blood. He was sent flying across the corridor, crashing into a wall.
The first masked figure chuckled, sharp claws sprouted out of his fingers, and his arms transformed into those of a werewolf.
[Rune Mastery: 25%]
Lenny's Rune of Revival was still at the Rare rank, so it would take him five minutes to regenerate.
But not more than a minute to heal from certain miniature injuries.
He emerged from the wall he crashed into, wiping blood off his lips. He breathed in deeply, "A Transformer, huh?" He chuckled.
The masked figure who had struck him was indeed a Transformer, possessing a Rune of Transformation.
His permanent transformation seemed to be a werewolf.
He glanced at the second masked figure; he was still unsure what Fallen Rune the second assassin possessed.
Lenny's eyebrows furrowed, and he moved his head, slightly avoiding the blade of the second masked figure from slicing off his head.
The second masked figure moved nearly instantaneously, his blade slicing through the air, directing an aerial attack against Lenny.
"Tsk." Lenny raised his hands, blocking the attack from reaching his face. His arms were chopped off on impact.
And his Sandel Crimson Dual Daggers fell to the ground, soaked in blood.
Lenny's arms quivered as he bled profusely. Lenny winced inaudibly; he fell back. "This is troublesome," He gritted his teeth.
"The Rune of Space huh? Its Rune Class must have to do with teleportation, he could teleport while avoiding detection huh?" Lenny smiled bitterly.
If it were others, they would be scared but he wasn't.
He found this exciting.
The first masked figure frowned, "What's with that creepy smile?" He asked, taking a step forward.
His mask fell off his face, and his body expanded as he transformed into a full-fledged grey fur werewolf. Grey fur covered his body.
Starting from his arms down to his legs, baring his venomous fangs, his eyes flickered with animosity.
The werewolf vanished without hesitation.
Appearing before Lenny, it swung down its claws against Lenny, this time Lenny was quick to evade.
He sidestepped, avoiding the sharp claws that would have ripped him apart while waiting for his arms to regenerate.
The second masked figure teleported, once again, Lenny wasn't able to detect the teleportation speed.
"What the…." Lenny's body shuddered in an instant, his eyes widened in shock the moment he got stabbed in the neck.
Lenny slightly turned to see that it was his Fallen Relic that was used to stab him.
"I just got…." Lenny couldn't complete his statement when the werewolf pounced on him.
Plunging its claws straight into Lenny's chest, Lenny spat out blood from his mouth.
His body convulsed, and the second masked figure fell back, leaving the dagger deep in Lenny's neck.
The werewolf grinned, "I'll be taking this" with force, and it plucked out Lenny's heart, causing Lenny to stagger back.
Lenny collapsed on his knees, his eyes still wide open. He tried to speak but found no words.
The werewolf reverted back into its human form, crushing Lenny's heart and tossing it without care.
The second masked figure chuckled softly, "That was quick" He said, slowly taking off his mask.
A claw scar was engraved on his face, with an eye patch covering his left eye.
The transformer grinned, "Yeah" He said, cleaning his bloodstained hand, "The brat didn't even use his Fallen Rune"
"Simply died like a fowl" He mocked.
"Don't judge too fast" a familiar voice resonated through the air, with sounds of approaching footsteps drawing closer.
Their smiles immediately faltered as they turned to see Crystal approaching them, accompanied by the third masked figure.
They bowed their heads before her, "Princess, the child of Shadows is dead." They reported in unison.
Crystal chuckled softly, "What a joke, there's no way a descendant of the Great House Night would die so easily" She stated.
The transformer raised an eyebrow, "But Number 506 here stabbed his neck and I plucked out his heart"
"He might have a Rune of Revival but shouldn't it be weak since it's a measly Rare rank?" The transformer asked.
Crystal sighed softly, "That's what I thought as well but I guess there's still something special about him"
"He's still alive" She stated.
Her revelation left the two figures stunned, they turned their gaze towards the spot where they had left Lenny.
But he was nowhere to be found.
"Where the hell is he?" The scarred figure questioned, his eyes scanned through the corridor.
Hoping to find any trace of Lenny but none were found.
It's more like Lenny was completely erased from existence, with a loud sigh, Crystal stepped forward, slowly unsheathing her katana "We must separate, I will hunt the Level 7 Wanderer rank Apocalypse creature down myself"
"While you guys keeping chasing after the target, when you find Lenny….keep him alive, I'll be the one to kill him" She ordered.
They bowed their heads once again, "Yes princess"