A third of Aeon's body had already sunk into the bush. When the rabid bunnies spat out wind blades, he found it difficult to move. He wanted to push himself diagonally to free himself from the twigs that caught onto his body while dodging at the same time, but the huge sack he was carrying held him back for a split second. He released his grip on it then moved.
The wind blades arrived promptly.
Shua shua shua!
Aeon failed to dodge most of the attacks. Due to the orientation of his body, four landed on his abdomen and two landed on his chest.
Tak ta-ta tak!
The wind blades packed quite a punch! For sure, those would leave bruises on his body for a day at least. Thankfully, he was wearing a really tough armor that wasn't even grazed. If not, it would've pierced right through his skin. Aeon shivered at the sheer power of the little rabid bunnies.
Aeon's misery didn't end there just yet. The moment he paused to look at the bunnies, they were already chewing again. Another round of attacks was coming! And Aeon didn't like it one bit.
Advance!
Moving forward diagonally, left and right, Aeon was able to throw off the bunnies' aim while charging. The wind blades that arrived afterward were all over the place, and Aeon found it quite easy to dodge them.
As Aeon pulled out his swords, bewilderment started creeping up on him. Earlier, he wasn't as worried because he was dodging for his life. But now that he was able to clear his head, he found it rather unnatural. Was he dreaming? No. He can't be. He clearly felt the impact of the wind blades earlier.
But how in the world were the animals able to use magic?
Aeon's blades danced. His control over his attacks was now more terrifying, especially so because they looked strangely graceful. It was as if he was painting a portrait. Though he only had red ink…
Getting rid of the bunnies didn't take long.
….
Aeon swung his blades forcefully to rid them of blood then rushed towards his sack. He took it then ran away. The smell of blood permeated the air, and he couldn't be there when other beasts arrive to feast on those carcasses.
Aeon felt like crying. Why was he subjected to this bullshit once more? He just entered a new area. Why couldn't there be a peaceful spot first before encountering danger? What's much more annoying was that it was almost as if he was facing multiple small-sized demonic beasts.
Please, give me a break.
Cautiously, Aeon navigated through the forest. Once in a while, he would spot animals in various shapes and sizes. Most of them looked much like the ones above ground, but he didn't bother testing if they were normal. After all, them being able to survive in a place where tiny bunnies could slice up a full-grown elephant in a matter of seconds was already proof that they at least had the power to defend themselves. Thankfully, there weren't as many creatures there as Aeon had initially thought. There was still a lot, but it was not to the point of crowding.
Aeon surveyed the surroundings without missing a single detail. In such circumstances, gathering as much information as you can will boost your chances of survival.
He was about to continue wandering around when he noticed that it started to become a tad bit darker, though he immediately dismissed it as his imagination. In fact, he inwardly laughed at himself for having such thoughts. How could there be night and day there, right?
…
It turns out that it wasn't his imagination toying with him. It actually became darker. After a quarter of an hour, Aeon found himself in a dark forest. He stared dumbly ahead of him.
Fuck!
The concept of night and day was something that Aeon didn't experience for quite some time now. He rested when he was tired and woke up after who knows how long, fully recovered. Now, it came to him as a surprise. It was really mindblowing because it shouldn't have been possible.
Though he found it comforting as well. In that underground world, at least he found something that resembled his real world.
Helpless, Aeon decided to settle on a random cave situated deep inside a narrow passage. If someone or something lived there, he'll find out soon.
Thankfully, the night passed by without any mishaps.
….
Birds chirped as Aeon stretched his arms and legs. Since he was quite safe, he found the time to at least analyze what he was supposed to do there. He had two clues, so he should utilize them as much as he could.
First, he knew that he was in some sort of trial. The random boulder told him so.
Second, he knew that the place was a labyrinth. Well, it was called "The Living Labyrinth," but he still couldn't figure out what "The Living" part meant. Was it because there were life forms there?
Aeon shook his head.
Putting together the fact that it was a labyrinth and a trial as well, Aeon concluded that it has an endpoint or a finish line, and it was his job to find that. Well, it was technically a no-brainer, but running around focusing on survival really didn't help him think about that.
The only thing that scared Aeon was that, based on the amount of land area that he covered by running yesterday, the labyrinth should be extremely huge!
Scouring such an enormous land area for an exit, oh boy.
And what if a giant monster like that flying parrot-alligator was guarding the exit? What if defeating that was the final trial?
Aeon felt shivers run down his spine. Before, he thought of how terrifying that creature would've been if released in a normal environment. Now that he was in an environment where surviving alone was extremely tough even for animals that could use magic… he couldn't imagine how powerful that kind of alligator would be.
Goddess Hecate, come on.
After a few moments of thinking, Aeon also realized that looking for a single safe haven wouldn't help him exit the labyrinth. He had to look for a place where he could rest for each area that he searches because that would allow him to be more efficient.
With a heavy heart, Aeon left the cave. He munched on a fruit—his breakfast.
The search for the exit had begun.
….
Interactions with animals—or demonic beasts dressed in animal clothing, one might say—was fairly minimal. Aeon only attacked those who noticed him and attacked him. Running was not an option because that would mean he would have to give up on searching that particular area. He was never really in grave danger and he found out that those animals only knew about basic magic attacks anyway. They were basically equivalent to E-ranked spells. They could be threatening in large volumes, but still quite bearable.
Aeon was planning to move in an S-shaped path to cover as much area as he could with little to no regard for the orientation. However, half a day had already passed but he still didn't make the turn. He was running 80% of the time too! He silently hoped that, if the labyrinth were rectangular in shape, he was traversing the diagonal line that cut across. Because that would mean that he was currently walking the longest straight path.
He grumbled as he left a clear mark on a tree. A mark that signified that he had already been there.
Night fell.
Aeon found a place to rest.
Morning came.
And he started traveling again.
Though Aeon was happy that he hadn't been in any danger, he found it rather depressing that he couldn't train. He was burning through the day just by walking. He needed to be as discreet as possible else he might find himself surrounded by animals. He also took the liberty of warning himself that he hasn't seen everything that the labyrinth has to offer, so he couldn't afford to be careless.
But… it was boring.
As Aeon was having these kinds of thoughts, he heard something click heavily accompanied by a momentary earthquake. It sounded like a mechanism that snapped into place. And it seemed to come from beneath the ground.
Surprised, Aeon assumed a fighting stance, preparing himself for what was about to come.
The weird thing about that though was that Aeon knew that he didn't trigger anything. He looked towards his feet to make sure that he didn't step on any traps or something.
After a moment, the ground started shaking. Then, the earth started to tilt.
No way…
Aeon was filled with shock and disbelief.
He stared at a certain spot that he passed by just a second ago. He found that spot quite memorable because the ground there was somewhat weird. It had something that looked like a fissure but was too narrow to pass as one. It simply looked like an extremely long sword cut through it.
Aeon's intuition did not fail him. Indeed, the quaking of the ground was related to that fissure.
Because in that spot, the earth folded inward.
It was as if a massive gate towards hell was slowly opening up. Absolute darkness could be seen inside.
Aeon clicked his tongue and started running upwards despite the earth getting steeper and steeper by the second.
As the trees started to hang diagonally, he used them as a foothold to advance. Aeon jumped from one tree to another. He gritted his teeth and persevered more to get to the top just before the ground folds at a 90-degree angle. However, his struggle bore no fruit.
The ground completed the turn.
Aeon plummeted towards the abyss.
As he fell, he realized why it was called The Living Labyrinth.
It moved.
….