Last night,
"Who are you?"
As soon as Albrecht regained consciousness, he realized that a person with a blurred face stood in front of him. However, the simple features of the man resembled him, so he concluded that he was a censored mirror image of that person.
[You... you're not using your power properly. As an Albrecht, it is a disappointment]
[That's why we're going to give you a challenge. This is the dream world, another dimension where dreams are a reality]
[You're trapped in here forever, and the only way out is to overcome the entity called the Ancient Jade Leviathan]
Upon saying that, the figure disappeared, and Albrecht was left in an empty space where he was supposed to defeat the Leviathan. Thankfully, his mind still had access to the Akashic Records of Space and Time, as well as the System which contained the knowledge of the other Albrechts in other dimensions.
However, seeing that the challenge was set in a supposed dream world, he knew that it wouldn't be that simple. Also, this was the first time he heard about the Ancient Jade Leviathan. Even the knowledge of other Albrechts gathered by the System didn't contain any information about the said beast.
[Commencing Trial of Initiation...]
— — — — —
Shaking his head, Albrecht tried to forget the horrifying experience he had during his stay in the dream world. Even though it was just a couple of hours, it felt like he had been there for days.
Also, he had to die countless times at the hands of the Ancient Jade Leviathan, and he couldn't land a single hit on it.
Just remembering it made him furious. Inner rage welled up within him. One day, he was going to defeat that Ancient Jade Leviathan, even if it meant trying hundreds of thousands of times.
Albrecht clenched his fists.
"What's wrong?" Yukina asked, eyeing Albrecht while looking up at him. Ever since this morning, Albrecht had been acting stiffly. Even Yukina's presence on his bed didn't budge him. "Why are you acting like this?"
"We have no time. I know how to clear the Shadow Realm Dungeon, so just wait here."
Before they could get to the First Outerlayer, they had to pass through the Kingdom of Rilegarthe. Albrecht particularly hated going back here since doing so would mean he'd reunite with the Heroes of Relics. However, time is of the essence at the moment, and he couldn't dare go around instead of passing through the kingdom.
Clutching the raid pass on hand, Albrecht walked forward and moved past the Kingdom of Rilegarthe.
From a couple of kilometers away, a huge swirling mass of energy with red and purple hues could be seen. It was as big as the entrance gates of the kingdom itself, and this was the gateway that would lead to the First Outerlayer of Ground Zero.
At first, Yukina had second thoughts about going through the dangerous-looking portal. But after seeing Albrecht enter without hesitation, she promptly followed and they emerged on the other side.
The place on the other side was located somewhere on Earth, and it had a different atmosphere compared to the vibrant location of the Kingdom of Rilegarthe. A red sky filled the entire plane, and the dreary atmosphere of lingering death and screaming danger was felt.
Albrecht walked forward.
The First Outerlayer was huge, but fortunately, the portal gate leading to the Shadow Realm Dungeon was nearby, and Albrecht didn't have to travel and waste a couple of minutes. As soon as they located the portal, Albrecht went in, and he never turned around to hesitate.
After all, compared to the Ancient Jade Leviathan, conquering the Shadow Realm Dungeon was nothing.
Fwooosh~
Towering walls of the maze greeted them as soon as they entered. An ominous haze of dark smoke filled the space where they were in.
Albrecht was aware that the person would spawn in a random location of the labyrinth-like dungeon. That's why he didn't bother trying to recognize where he was. He started walking.
A sense of coldness permeated his skin, and due to the darkness, Yukina's snake hair were lively as usual. Thanks to that, the silence that filled the air was now interrupted by the occasional hissing.
"How are we going to clear this dungeon? Are we just walking around?" Yukina asked the elephant in the room.
"In other worlds, it took the other Albrechts three to five years before they were able to conquer this dungeon. This was because it took them years before they discovered a certain energy." Albrecht explained.
Honestly, Yukina couldn't care less about the explanation of this energy or whatever, that's why he didn't bother asking for an in-depth tutorial about the energy.
"So, how are we going to conquer this? Can you use that energy?"
"Of course, I'm proficient at it." Albrecht confidently responded.
Another nifty trick of the Shadow Realm Dungeon was that one cannot use their Zecian Aura in it. Because of that, no skills could be used.
In other words, anyone who entered the dungeon could only walk or run around like normal people pre-Great Meteor Fall.
This was because the energy that could be used in here was different, and at this point, Albrecht was the only one who was knowledgeable enough to use it.
Without further ado, Albrecht extended his hand and pointed his index finger in front. Yukina did the same, but nothing happened. As for Albrecht, however, a thin strand of crackling energy poured out of his finger, and it shot through the maze like a bolt of lightning— except it was dark and purple in color.
"Now we have to run," Albrecht called out to Yukina, and he started sprinting.
This caught Yukina off-guard but she didn't ask more questions. Just like Albrecht, Yukina was in her prime, physically, that's why she didn't encounter any difficulty keeping up with him.
"Even with the guide in front of us, it's still pretty hard to clear this maze. As previously known, this maze is ever-changing. That's why we have to run as fast as we could while following the trail. If we're lucky, it might take us less than an hour to clear this... or maybeit might take us a day or two."
Yukina nodded her head. Of course, the guide didn't assure a dungeon clear since the maze was as unpredictable as the waves of the sea. Then again, there was time dilation inside the Dungeon, that's why a day spent here is an hour in the real world. They don't have to worry about running out of time.
It was a matter of getting to the center of the maze before they run out of breath.
However... there was another problem— the ghouls.
In the Shadow Realm Dungeon, the reason why most adventurers wouldn't stay longer than a couple of hours was because of the presence of ghouls, specifically, the Terror Ghouls.
These monstrosities float all around the Shadow Realm Dungeon with their mummified-looking bodies and their disfigured faces. They roam around the dungeon, terrorizing adventurers and sucking their Zecian Aura dry. If one couldn't escape in time and their Zecian Aura was severely depleted, that person could die.
Many adventurers had fallen prey to these Terror Ghouls, and in turn, these Terror Ghouls had gotten stronger after absorbing a ridiculous amount of Zecian Aura.
Yukina felt a chill up and down her spine as she heard a weak groan from afar. Turning around, she realized that there was a Terror Ghoul hot on their trail.
Eek~!
"Don't worry, just ignore it." Albrecht confidently called out, a smile plastered on his face.