"Keep close to me; I had arranged to find information about this labyrinth." Maria's confident voice resonates in Isaac's ears.
Isaac looks at her back with skeptical eyes. "...Okay, you have carte blanche." He then nods.
The two continued to walk through the flower fields, which were as far as the eye could see, without feeling like they had moved from their places.
After ten minutes, Isaac frowns. "Are you sure it will be okay?"
"Trust me, my informant is a merchant," Maria answers instantly as if she were waiting for Isaac's question.
'Those who have the merchant class are unable to lie about the products or services they sell; but did she get these details from a God-like Online player or another merchant?' Isaac looks around him with mistrust.
...
..
.
'I don't know how many hours have passed but we're not making any progress.' He mutters after three hours.
He looks above him with amazement when he saw the sun that seems to be frozen like a lava sphere.
'Yes, we're not progressing. Should I let her continue? Plus, since she is a vampire, even if she has an item that allows her to resist sunlight, it does not mean that she...!
Isaac frowns when he sees Maria's breathing become irregular.
Unlike Isaac, her body was completely soaked in sweat. "We should take a break. You are...
"No, to get out of this labyrinth, we have to walk to the exit. Even if we stop for a five-second break, we will return to our start point." She interrupts Isaac before he finishes.
'...Sigh, as usual, the labyrinths are incomprehensible. Some force you to stand for hours and others force you to find your way through hundreds of roads. But I didn't expect to face a labyrinth of this kind.
-Since I wasn't interested in low-scale dungeons, I can only trust her judgment. I didn't even know that there was a fake tower of Babylon before this morning.' Isaac could only hope for one thing, that Maria wouldn't be mistaken.
'Otherwise, I'd be obliged to assist her, even if I don't like the idea. I should explore the labyrinth from the sky; but by doing this, she'll know my heritage and my chances of accomplishing my quest will be weakened.' Despite all his concerns, he has not lost sight of his initial goal.
But just when he wanted to offer his help to her, Maria looks at him without stopping. "Pass ahead. I think I've reached my limit. My stamina is in the red."
"How's your stamina in the red? We've only been walking since we...
"Pass in front, you'll then understand what I'm talking about." She mutters with a mysterious smile that aroused Isaac's curiosity.
'Is there a trap in front of her?' Isaac tightens the waist with the mistrust's belt and overtakes Maria.
But as soon as he passed Maria...
"Ugh!" A fierce pressure fell on his body, almost forcing him to kneel.
"Fuck! So it was a trap...-
"No, that's the pressure I've endured from the beginning," Maria smirks with fun; after she passed the burden she carried on Isaac's shoulders.
Seeing that Maria didn't take this opportunity to attack him, Isaac calmed down a little. "What do you mean?" He asks darkly.
Maria wiped the sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief and answered Isaac's question. "The reason why the labyrinth forces us to walk without respite is related to this pressure. If the two players walk side by side, they'll have the same pressure on them. That's why I told you to walk behind me so that you could replace me once I've come half the way."
She continued while pushing Isaac, who wanted to stop, forward.
'Tsk, she couldn't explain it instead!?' Isaac slams his tongue and continued to walk while feeling like he was enduring enormous pressure.
In just ten minutes, Isaac's black jacket was soaked.
'Huff...I now understand why she had a sweaty body. If I didn't have stats exceeding my current level, I'd have been crushed by this pressure.' He Swears in his mind while cursing Maria, who was following in his footsteps.
The latter also had her thoughts.
'It's unexpected, I would never have thought he could withstand such pressure. According to my informant, the more a player sinks into this labyrinth, the more the level of pressure he will have to endure will increase. But this Jack is true to himself; he is exactly what I need.' She mutters in her mind with a little sadistic smile on her lips.
After an hour, Isaac also seemed to suspect the anomaly of the dungeon. 'Am I too exhausted to withstand the pressure? No, it's the pressure that increases as I move forward!' With this hypothesis, he takes a look at Maria.
But seeing the latter's smile disappear as if it were an illusion, he acted as if he hadn't noticed anything.
"I'm exhausted, take the reins." He says.
"No, I did my part. I walked in front of you for four hours in a row; this isn't the time to deflate you, Jack." Maria refutes immediately.
"In case you forget it, you are my employee; then satisfy your role!" She continues with intrepid eyes.
'...What a bitch!' Isaac had the impression of having returned to his state as a cannonball after hearing Maria's words.
But before he could complain more, he immediately abandoned the idea after seeing a notification in front of him.
[+1STR]
'It's unexpected, can intensive training also increase basic stats?' To confirm his hypotheses, he continued his role as a victim.
After an additional thirty minutes, he was able to get the answer he was looking for by seeing his STR points increase by three points.
But in proportion to these unexpected gains, his stamina had also taken a big blow.
"We are almost at the end, make an effort."
Isaac couldn't say whether Maria's words were encouragement or threats, just by listening to the tone of his voice.
"Ugh! I know that I had instead said that I was ready to dive myself in volcanic lava to complete the quest; but now, my words may have been misplaced." He mutters with an ironic smile; ignoring Maria.
"You don't need to have regrets, Jack. You must go to the end of the path you have set for yourself. In addition, you must gain more strength points to be able to hope to survive the next floors." She continues to encourage him with all the means at her disposal.
But Isaac's eyes had traces of surprise when he hears Maria's last sentence. "You're not supposed to be the one who should collect more strength? Your level is higher than the...
"I had already reached my limit. The current pressure is too strong for me. But I guess you should know; vampires have higher stats than most inheritance holders. But since you have resisted this pressure so much, I, therefore, conclude that your strengths are higher than mine. Maybe you have a more powerful heritage than mine." She explains while continuing to push Isaac forward.
'...She wants to know what legacy I have. I could save a few more minutes but after that...I would be at the end of the roll. But I prefer to give up than rather empty all my stamina and leave myself at her mercy.' With this concern, Isaac takes a look at his stamina.
[STA: 21]
'Tsk, in just one hour, I lost more than 70 points. But I wouldn't go below 10.' He concludes while continuing to walk like a turtle on the Caribbean sand.
...
After an additional minute, the topography of the flower meadow suddenly changes to a desert place with black sand and icy breezes that contradicted nature because of the presence of the sun in the sky.
[You have reached the second floor: Narack victims' mausoleum.]
Isaac immediately collapses to the ground with numb feet and frantic breaths.
"You have fulfilled your role well," Maria mutters with a dark smile while coldly looking in front of her.
"...Now, it's my turn to do the housework." Her eyes turned bright red as she inspected the area around them.
Isaac ignores her congratulations and focuses on his recovery.
But just when he thinks he was going to have time, he frowns when he saw tombs appear under the sands.
"Tsk! It's smart! The Undeads had to get involved too." Isaac slams his tongue with frustration.
But before he warns, Maria shakes her head towards him. "These Undeads...I make them my business. Apart from the labyrinth, I don't have any other information about this dungeon. So focus on recovery and you will only assist me if the situation exceeds me." She mutters in a fierce voice that no longer had anything to do with the previous tone she used.
Isaac looks at her momentarily and then sits down. "... Alright; But these Undeads are...how to say...
He frowns at the foggy undead that came out underground with a bad omen.
-How the hell!?
[Knight Undead (Lvl 56)]
[Magus Undead (Lvl 59)]
[....
He nervously gulps up his saliva when he sees some Undeads' level.
He then focuses on Maria, who had the same glimmer of surprise and disbelief in her eyes. "...Are you thinking about the same hypothesis?"
"Yes, the mystery of irreversible death in this dungeon also worried me. But I expected everything but that." She nods her head with a crumpled face.
"If players don't come back to life in this dungeon after their death, it's because they are transformed into Undead. It changes everything." She then continues with the same agitation.
Isaac also had the same concern in his eyes as he watched the small army come towards them at a slow speed.
"Do you think they will be rid of this curse and resurrect in the real world if I kill them?"
"I don't know, that's my first time to see such a phenomenon."
Isaac's answer made Maria's heart sink into sadness. She also focuses on former players, who had muddy and stuffy black bodies, with decisive eyes. "This dungeon is more dangerous than I thought. A priest will be more competent in such a situation. But unfortunately, we are not as lucky."
Isaac could feel the agitation in the tone of her voice as she uttered these words while squeezing her sword with dark eyes.
"How much time can you save me?" He finally breaks his silence and asks this question.
"...I intended to take care of all these corpses dried by myself at first; but given their level, I'm afraid you won't have more than ten minutes."
"Ten minutes...is too little. It will only allow me to have ten additional endurance points."
"I know, but that's the maximum time I could save you. The Undeads are immune to all spiritual competence. This makes the task more difficult than ever."