'The mist! The mist is the solution.'
<... I still don't get it, Master. How would the cold be the solution?>
'It's quite simple, my dear stomach. We know that the male Frostfang that the male can make white sticky filaments right?'
'And these filaments are what the labyrinth is made up with, right?.'
'We killed the male and it seems that there aren't any males left other than the first one as the entire labyrinth hasn't fixed itself or in other words, nothing had been fixed overnight.'
'... The point is that the male and female Frostfangs seem to be a pair. One creates webbing and the other one creates...'
I paused to let the gluttonous voice guess.
I sighed at its stupidity not knowing that some spider-type creatures do eat their mates... but I was young and stupid back then okay? I didn't know about the horrible destinies that awaited some male spiders until I met ... Actually, let's leave that story until we get to it.
...
'No,' I replied. 'The answer is simple. This whole labyrinth has a purpose that we don't know of, but we do know that one of the creators is the Male Frostfang and the other creator... is quite possibly the female. The metallic voice said that the male hides within the cold mist created by the female so it's safe to assume that the source of cold is the female. That means that if we follow the mist, we get to the female. Follow the mist and we have a direction to go.'
*Ding*
[+5 intelligence]
[+1 wit]
I heard the metallic voice ding in my head as if it agreed with my deduction.
Feeling my stomach growling again, I quickly looked around for the source of the mist. It wasn't hard to find. Like the day before, the mist still streamed down through the openings within the ceiling. I knew that the Female Frostfang was probably somewhere higher up in the labyrinth so we needed to head upwards.
But that was the problem.
How in the world could a snail climb completely vertical walls that break apart and latch onto you when you touch them?
...
I came up with the answer almost immediately.
Sliding forward suddenly, I chose a random path closest to the white mist and went through it as quickly as I could. Yes. I chose randomly out of the five open passageways of the nearest wall just like before.
Just like you, the gluttonous voice seemed to notice my brazen decision.
'We are.' I replied. 'But we can't scale the walls so we are doing the next best thing... and that is we follow the cold instead.'
It was just a hunch, but I followed the hunch. For some reason, I knew that it was the correct decision so I took it. I took a chance.
...
As soon as I entered the passageway, I knew that I was on the right track as wisps of cold air hit my body. Luckily for me, I had gained a slight resistance to cold from the fight with the Frostfang and it seemed that my body was growing more and more used to the cold.
I travelled forth down the passageway. I marked the turns with mucus like before. And for every path that led me upward, I took it. As I did, I felt my body get colder - an indication that I was travelling on the right path.
I was doing it. I found a way through the labyrinth.
...
I felt uplifted. Unlike the previous events that happened near day 22, I felt like I could control my life again. I could control the things I did, the plans I made. Even though I had a minor setback, I knew I could still move forward.
...
I made another quick turn. I was getting better at it by the second as I began to feel the cold air more clearly on the edges of my skin. I began to feel the minute differences, the direction of airflow, everything.
*Ding*
[Masteries] (Unlocked)
[Mastery: Cold Mastery] (Discovered)
Current mastery: 0.001%
+ 0.1% Damage of ice/cold-based attacks
+ New mutations possible
Just like that. I was rewarded.
'I'm growing stronger by myself!' I praised in my thoughts. 'I don't need my family. I can do this on my own.'
I felt my confidence growing again. After so many defeats, losses, and dead siblings, I finally felt my mood begin to turn around.
[+1 confidence] the metallic voice boomed in my head to confirm it.
That was the third time the metallic voice had rewarded my actions. In fact... it was like a system that seemed to be created to reward and analyze my actions... the Reward System! That's a good name. I'll call it that from now on.
...
As I moved and made another correct turn down the boring white pathways, I heard the voice ping again [+1 confidence]. And for some reason, I felt content. Content that I was able to do something for myself and by myself and be rewarded for it.
'Rewards!' I thought. 'Skills! Quests! I'm excited for what's to come!' I thought as I slid even faster.
...
And that was the day I subconsciously let the Reward System fill my void.
The void that left behind by my siblings.
Yes... I know I promised myself that day that I would focus on self-fulfillment first... but I really didn't know what I wanted.
I could have made eating my goal. I was a gluttonous snail, but eating everything and finding new tastes didn't seem enticing to me... Although it probably was the goal of my stomach...
I could have made acquiring more and more power my goal. But why would I? I was a tiny snail with no concrete enemies that I needed to fight. I only fought when it was necessary: to find food and... to protect my family...
How about revenge?
Of course, I had to get revenge on the dark six-legged creatures that ate my siblings, but I put my siblings out of the picture that day. Other revenge for my siblings, what other motivation would I have had?
I could have also sworn revenge on my siblings who exiled me... but what would that get me? Self-satisfaction... and then what? A new title called [Sibling Killer] maybe... Then what? Recklessly chase down my missing siblings: Jody, Melody, SY, Kevin, Bob and Jeremy?
That's a stupid idea - a waste of time and energy.
Recalling back to the early days of my life, I had only one dream: I really wanted to do was to explore the world... to get out of our tree... our forest... to see everything that there was to see. I knew I was special. Unfortunately, my dream was long forgotten as I placed the responsibility of took its place.
Through the chaos and events... I had forgotten that dream. And instead, I stupidly decided to work towards getting rewards, skills and grinding myself to higher levels with the Rewards System.
...
I was naive back then. I probably still am.
...