At first, the trio wandered around in silence, which Torin didn't mind at all. However, it wasn't long before Scott got bored and started talking. With danger possibly lurking at every corner, Torin was hesitant on making conversation, especially after his incident with the skeleton, but he did so anyway out of respect for his savior. Daran seemed to share his sentiments, and only replied with short and concise sentences, keeping his guard up constantly.
Through their conversations, Torin learnt that Scott and Daran were attending the same college as him, although they were in different faculties. Torin was studying business, whilst Scott was in chemical engineering and Daran in sports science. All three of them were freshmen as well. Having started college just the week before, their new environment meant that they hadn't really interacted with many other students. Not like it mattered to Torin anyway. Scott had also selected Atline as his patron who he suspected possessed the element of water, whilst Daran had picked Moldron, who was thought to be related to rock. Both of them had obtained their patrons the same way Torin did, which was by confronting the monsters.
Although Scott was a kindred soul like Torin, who occasionally read manga, Daran was in fact a normie with no prior knowledge on what was happening. This surprised Torin, as he expected normal humans to freak out upon being thrust into a foreign world. Instead, Daran seemed to be completely cool with the situation, in fact adapting to it so well that even Torin found it weird. Surprisingly, Torin found himself enjoying the company of both Scott and Daran. Compared to the solo exploration he did before, Moving around in a small group was much faster and entertaining, with the sharing of information they had gained extremely important in Torin's eyes.
However, their exploration was far from pleasant. It wasn't long before they came across corpses. Heads dented inwards. Stab wounds in multiple places. Mutilated limbs. The injuries on the corpses varied., but it was visible that all the people who died were around the same age as them. The deaths of their peers severely affected the atmosphere of the group. Scott puked a few times, and even Daran, who initially seemed to exude confidence maintained a sullen expression throughout.
However, whenever Torin saw a corpse, a notification popped out.
[Unique Trait: Detached (E) has activated. A low attachment to reality prevents emotional fluctuations.]
'Ah so this is what unique traits do.'
Torin had a rough idea on what effects his unique traits had already. Consequently, Torin didn't really feel much different, causing Scott to call out Torin's insensitivity.
"Dude, do you not feel anything looking at dead people. We could've been one of them."
"My unique trait prevents me from feeling anything."
"Oh." Scott hesitated. He didn't really know much about unique traits. "That's nice. What's it about?"
"I'm just too depressed to care." Torin tried to joke.
"..."
'Hooray to sociability.'
Corpses were not the only thing they came across. With the amount of noise they made, goblin and skeleton attacks became a common occurrence. However, with the three of them now prepared, and the fact that most of the monsters seemed to be alone, the three men dispatched the monsters easily. The skeletons didn't seem to have anything of value. The goblins also didn't seem to have much on them - apart from daggers, water and the occasional unidentifiable meat jerky.
Fortunately, the last goblin they killed was in possession of blank parchments and half drawn maps, inked with blood.
The three of them looked at each other with hope. 'Finally, something new.' In the dim light of the labyrinth, it was hard to make out the map, but it could be seen that the goblins must have been mapping the labyrinth out. One of the maps they obtained showed a route that led to a large room. The trio rejoiced. At last, they had found something that wasn't a corridor.
The map wasn't hard to follow, since it was goblins who drew it. After all, they were supposed creatures with a much lower intelligence. The trio made their way further into the labyrinth, saw yellow light emitting from a clearing.
"Halt." A husky voice ordered.
The trio stopped moving. Two men emerged from the corner and approached them. One was a skinny guy with dark skin, whereas the other was a rather chubby bespectacled male.
"Oh, it's more humans." the skinny guy remarked.
"Ah, come this way please." The chubby one beckoned for the trio to follow them into the clearing. He proudly announced. "Welcome to the sanctuary."
The room was larger than Torin had expected. Around 25 metres in all dimensions, its interior resembled something like ancient Mayan ruins, but made with the same black stone as the labyrinth walls. There were two main structures in the room - a temple-like structure and a fountain, with clear water springing forth.
There were already plenty of the people in the room. Torin estimated to be over 30 others with them, who were hanging around all over the place. The people there carried a myriad of expressions. Most of them looked exhausted and harbored tear-stained faces, whilst others seemed angry and impatient, generating a tense atmosphere. One particular figure caught his eye. He seemed to be a familiar face, and was playing with electricity with his hands. Out of everyone there, he was the only one displaying his elemental abilities in full swing.
"First thing you should do is go to the temple and talk to the gods. Only one at a time in the temple though. Just sit inside and close your eyes. If you don't have a patron yet, then just wait to be assigned one first." the chubby man said. He snuck a glance at the trio's equipment. "Although I highly doubt you guys don't."
"Anyways, my shift's over. If you need any more help, just search for me. My name's Ryan by the way." He extended his hands and exchanged greetings with the trio, who introduced themselves as well.
"If you need water, just take it from the fountain. Can't help you with food though." Ryan said regretfully.
"Are you sure the water's drinkable?" Scott remained doubtful.
Ryan chuckled. "Well. If it isn't, the gods would make some rather fine liars."
The trio watched as Ryan left to take a break near the fountain. "So… who's up first?"
Daran ended up as the first to enter the temple. Although they were surrounded by fellow humans, Torin didn't let his guard down, and kept watch outside. Scott had wandered off to mingle with others, leaving Torin with some alone time, which he greatly appreciated. A few moments later, Daran came out with a solemn smile.
'What's wrong?" Torin asked.
"My patron… is a blockhead."