When I opened my eyes I was in the same room, or at least one that looked like it. Naitsu was lying next to me asleep, as were Katy and Yumi. I got up without disturbing them and looked around for Asterian.
Asterian was leaning against the wall by the grand doors that would lead to the next level. Noticing my movement he walked over and gave me a hearty slap to the back. I winced a bit from the pain but it was nothing I couldn't handle.
"HAHA! You, you're finally awake!" He shouted, continuously slapping my back.
"Indeed I am", me and Asterian had gotten pretty close since the marsh incident. Considering we were the only guys in the team, it couldn't be helped.
"Are we still in the wisp boss room?"
"Indeed we are."
"How long was I out?"
"About 3 days."
"Then we haven't made much progress." I start rubbing my chin and thinking of a way to make up for lost time.
"We made more than you think." Asterian chuckled.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, that was the 7th floor boss, somehow we ended up in the 7th floor boss room, and this door leads to the 8th floor. I haven't stepped foot in there for fear of luring something too strong to handle in here.
I nodded my head. I ate my breakfast and sat down by the door so that Asterian could have a break. Soon the girls woke up and looked around worried. So I decided to mess with them a bit. With the help of Asterian who also wanted a good laugh, I transformed into what resembled an angel, with white feathery wings on my back and silky smooth looking blond hair.
I walked up to the girls.
"Greetings Naitsu, Katy, and Yumi. I regret to inform you that all of you have died."
The girls looked at each other, eyes tearing up a bit.
"Is Tristan/Master ok?" they said collectively.
"Huh.. Oh, that man died a while ago. I believe it was 3 days ago."
"What! But when we were laying with him, he was warm, and had a heart beat!"
"He used his magic to do that so as not to make you cry."
The girls started crying.
"Master/Tristan I am so sorry. I was useless in the end." ok maybe a bit too far.
I returned back to normal and hugged the girls. They hadn't opened their eyes yet and were still crying.
"Now now, I was only trying to have some fun, no more crying ok?"
They opened their eyes and collectively jumped on me.
"Ow ow ow, off" I tried to escape.
"Never!" They yelled.
They held onto me like a child holds their first dog. They didn't seem to want to let me go just yet, so I decided I would just let them for now.
Sooner or later I was able to get up, but they still clung to my arms, Naitsu jumped on by back and decided I was going to be carrying her around like that.
We walked through the doors that lead us to the 8th floor. It was significantly hotter here. Even with the heat, the girls did not let go of me.
We had been walking for an hour, but there were no monsters. Then, up ahead we saw a patch of green. We walked up to it, and in the middle was a sign.
It read: This floor is a safe zone, recuperate and then challenge the 9th floor. Enjoy!
After reading the sign, Katy stepped forward so as to rest on the grass. I pulled her back before she could step on it.
"What's wrong?" she said tilting her face and putting a finger to her mouth. Damn that was cute.
"I don't trust it." I walk over and pick up a rock.
I threw the rock out to the middle of the grass. And then large teeth sprung out of the ground and closed tight. The girls looked horrified, Asterian looked somewhat amused, and I had the 'I told you so face' on.
"This is a labyrinth, filled with untold dangers. There is no way it would just say 'here take a break'." I say laughing.
"Why are you laughing." Naitsu scolds and gives me a head chop.
"Some thank you, I just saved your lives." I complained.
I started heating up the ground, frying the creature alive. The earth shook as the creature tried to unburrow itself. It squealed as its organs were being cooked. It died before it could leave the ground.
"This labyrinth tests all aspects of the participants, in this case, it was to test awareness and perception, you can't always trust what your eyes see."
"On that note, I think it's about time we get rid of our tail." I say throwing a knife in what appeared to be a random direction.
There was a squeal, and then what appeared to be a mix between a bat and a dragon was stuck to the wall with its wing impaled.
"Well done!" A childish seeming voice called out. You could also hear a faint clapping.
"Who knew you could spot Doragon like that. His temperature adjustment and camouflage usually go unnoticed. What, might I ask, gave him away?" The voice continued.
"Well little loli voice, the shifts in the air. I could feel the particles shifting in unnatural ways for there to be nothing there." I smirked.
"I AM NOT LITTLE!" the voice replied.
Naitsu was holding back laughter behind me. She didn't seem to have a good opinion of the fire bodyguard, so laughing at her misfortune was naturally amusing.
"What are you laughing at!" the voice didn't seem amused by Naitsu.
"You're the same as ever, once me and the king's candidate get down there I'm sure you won't be acting so high and mighty."
"We'll see about that, hmph" and then it was quiet.
We proceeded to walk through the 8th floor, but now there were some tough monsters to beat. It took us awhile, but we finally reached the 8th floor boss room. It was a Minotaur, with flaming horns and whenever it blew out of its nose, small flames would come out.
"Here we go." I say as we all prepare for combat.