Yue lifted her hand as she attempted to cast her magic, nothing happened. It seemed the effects of the Reisen Gorge were stronger down here. She became unable to use advanced magic and even intermediate magic was difficult to cast unless the attack ranged no more than five meters.
And though this would essentially make her useless, Ivan prepared just for this exact situation. Pulling a stave from his 'Treasure Trove,' Ivan tossed it to Yue. She held it in both hands as if it were a spear.
Its metal pole illuminated with runes that shined with a golden glare as it grew in length. The pointed head originally imbued with a clear in color mana crystal morphed into bright yellow light as the end of it sharpened and became a holo blade of gold. She inspected the magic spear in satisfaction before imbuing it with her mana.
BZZZZZZZT!
The golden color grew brighter as the bladed tip elongated in length, almost instantaneously. It pierced the wall before her with a deadly force. Ivan nodded, to him the spear was the epitome of simpleness. See an enemy? Just stab them. Of course, its efficiency grows a hundred times over if someone who wields it is proficient but it was a good tool even for beginners.
This magic spear had been created with the singular purpose of piercing its target no matter the range. So for Yue who is not a close combat fighter it should be suitable enough, that's not taking into account her body-strengthening magic. Though he was kind of worried she'd turn to him while forgetting to deactivate it.
But right now it wasn't needed as though it had been two hours they had yet to run into a single monster. Normally the average party of adventurers would be destroyed in this labyrinth because of the whole no magic rule but Ivan was fine considering his arms used internal magic.
The only problem was that his Hands of Mana became unusable here. Yue watched in solace as they dispersed into ashes the moment they were exposed to the air. His Arm of Creation shall serve as a substitute.
Getting these things out of the way Ivan and Yue decided it was time to go down the path. This long narrow hallway spanned on for tens of minutes before they found derailing paths. So now they had two options; left or right. After flipping a coin they decided to go left.
KACHA
The entrance to the left path closed behind them as they entered. Ivan rested his right hand on the wall that appeared out of nowhere. Nothing happened. It seemed similar to the Orcus Labyrinth; this dungeon had a spell protecting it from interference.
Seeing no other choice, they continued.
CLINK!
The second they stepped forward the sound of locking mechanisms reverberated throughout the hall. And slowly, the ceiling started falling onto them. Yue and Ivan looked at each other. No fear was visible on their faces. After the first trap, they knew exactly what kind of dungeon this was.
BZZZZZZZT
Ivan pressed his left hand against the wall, a hole opened up before they jumped in. Contrary to the earlier statement it would seem some areas of the dungeon were malleable. Ivan guessed by the sadistic nature of its creator that they wouldn't want the adventuring group to meet an early death without having some fun first.
Now in another hall, the two looked behind them as the ceiling crushed their former path. They looked forward and decided to continue on this new path, Ivan tracing the wall in their hall with his right hand as they walked down it. So far there were no indicators of whether a part of the labyrinth lacked protection or not, so to him, this was the best option.
KACHA
Except in classic dungeon fashion, his hand grazed a slightly protruding brick as more sounds of locking mechanisms were heard. Yue and Ivan paused in their steps. For a second, nothing happened. Then, a loud rumbling.
RUMBLE RUMBLE
All other deviating routes were closed up as the only path left was forward. The two turned around to meet the source of rumbling, only to meet a large boulder hurling towards them at a significant speed.
Ivan stood before Yue as he held his right arm out. Blue sparks radiated the air as he prepared for impact. 20 meters… 15 meters… 10 meters… 5 meters… Now! The sparks grew larger the moment his hand and the boulder collided.
BANG!
It was obliterated into thousands of tiny pieces as Ivan didn't need to take even a single step back. He sighed before dropping his arm. Yue patted him as a way of showing her appreciation. However the moment they let down their guard—
RUMBLE RUMBLE
Another boulder came hurtling towards them. This time it had a metallic color, not only that but the walls it scrubbed by started to deform as if it were melting. Noticing the weird shine it had Ivan had no doubts that the steel ball of doom held corrosive properties. His hands would melt to nothing the moment they made contact.
This time Yue made it to the front, holding the magic spear forwards like a trident. And with the exertion of her mana a ray of golden light blasted from the base. This light flew at stunning speeds towards its target, and when they finally made contact it managed to pierce through. This was enough to slow down the boulder's momentum.
It slowly skirted as it inched towards them. Then, it came to a complete stop. The force of the spear was enough to upset its speed.
"Phew… Maybe touching everything ain't the brightest idea after all." Ivan decided to reserve his transmutation abilities unless it was necessary. With the metal ball now having been stopped the routes that had been previously blocked revealed themselves.
Ivan and Yue picked a path before heading in. The scenery remained the same, nothing to discern from these brick walls and tiled floor. The steel sconces littered the wall adorned with normal torches, each sconce evenly spaced from the other.
KACHA
The familiar sounds of mechanisms locking reverberated through the room. Ivan and Yue tightened their stances in preparation for what was to come. That's when they felt the floor beneath them disappear.
Yue activated the magic spear and stuck it into the wall, dangling herself in the air. Ivan on the other hand activated the 'Treasure Trove' and made his signature gauntlets reappear. He held his left hand onto the nearest wall as the fingertips of the gauntlet became pointed.
SSSSKKKKKRR
Ivan winced at the sound of metal scratching but in the end, managed to stick himself above the pitfall. He glared down at the deep abyss beneath him before looking over to Yue who hung next to him. Motioning for her to cling onto his back he climbed back up from whence they came.
They both heaved a sigh of relief as they made it out. Now they were back in these familiar hallways. Yue forgot what happened earlier as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath.
KACHA
There's that pesky noise again. Yue ducked low as a saw blade popped out of the wall as if the wall didn't exist, then it resubmerged itself back into its matter seamlessly. This time they decided to crawl down the hall. Sure she would be fine after a couple of seconds if she were decapitated or torn apart but they'd rather avoid such a gruesome scene. Once they made it 15 meters they decided to get back up.
Continuing their walk down the hall, they had to choose between two paths again. Left or right? Seeing as how they went left last time they decided to go right. The moment they did the scenery changed.
"Huh? Well, ain't this a familiar sight." Indeed, they had been returned to where they started. Looking at the stone table in the center of the room Ivan ignored the words on it. It seemed no matter which path they took it'd return them here.
"As expected of the sadistic bastard that made this place. Hey Yue, are we sure the liberators are the good guys?"
"...This one certainly isn't."
It seemed they needed to go back down the path again. But rather than exploring what they've already seen it was better to use other methods. Ivan returned to his method of transmuting the walls.
But this time he adorned his gauntlets and pulled a canteen from his 'Treasure Trove.' He splashed the water onto the wall and made contact with it.
BZZZZZZZT
The water is concentrated into solid ice. He tapped it with his finger before clenching his fist. Then, with all his strength he punched through the ice. The ice shattered like glass as a gaping hole appeared in the wall.
And just like that the wall he wasn't able to transmute before was obliterated. This meant that Yue and Ivan had a new path to traverse. Hopefully, one that isn't laden in traps. Ivan held Yue's hand as he pulled her through the hole, they observed the scenery a bit before moving forward. Wary of any possible traps.
SPLAT
The ground beneath them became like glue. Though it didn't do any harm to them as it was more of a nuisance than anything. Yue climbed back onto Ivan's back as he trudged through it, with no point in both of them losing their mobility. This path of glue-like substance went off for about 20 meters. Numerous times he was a bit afraid of tripping over and getting stuck to the ground.
But finally at the end of this path rested a new sight. A grand set of double doors standing arrogantly before them. Just a few more meters and they'll find what they were possibly looking for. Though they stayed wary as the odds this was another prank of the liberator was extremely high if they went according to history.
Ivan and Yue stared at each other. And with their renewed confidence they moved forward. The room they'd found themselves in was long and rectangular. Along the wall were numerous alcoves, and ensconced within each was a statue in a full suit of armor, complete with sword and shield. In the deepest part of the room was a flight of stairs, beyond which stood an altar. Past the altar was a majestic door. Placed atop the altar was a diamond-shaped yellow crystal.
Ivan eyed the fifty knight statues. If cinema and literature taught him anything then the moment they dashed toward stairs they'll become animated. He could already imagine it, the steel knights stepping out of their alcoves, fifty in number. The sound of their armor clanking as they made steps towards them.
CLANK!
And that's exactly what happened the moment they took a step forward.
"Well, shit."
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P.a.t.r.e.o.n goal set, if we reach it I will upload two chapters a day
Hey hey, done for today! A recent opportunity for my dream job just popped in, so I'm gonna hit it with everything I got! Wish me luck~! I'm honestly super nervous, but is being nervous gonna get me closer to my dream? Of course not! I'll worry when I've done everything I could. Until then I will not go silently into the night!
So with that I hope you enjoyed reading, have a great day/night and see you next time!
If you want to support me and read ahead 10-15 chapters, you can check out my p.a.t.r.e.o.n right here: https://bit.ly/ardoaleister
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