"Don't worry, kids, I have a plan."
To execute my plan, I had to run in a wide area first, covering as much ground as possible, sprinting across the terrain to confront and defeat Şahmaran.
"Make sure you keep her distracted, Aiden! She shouldn't approach me until I finish my job."
Aiden was engaging in a fierce battle with Şahmaran, dodging her attacks at the last moment and making loud noises to distract and divert her attention. He was putting all his strength into the fight, avoiding her attacks and yelling to distract Şahmaran. With just one strike, she could finish him off, so he had to be extremely cautious. Despite the risk of death, he was helping me, showing his trust in me. Even though I could attempt to touch the crystal and escape while Şahmaran was focused on him, Aiden knew this, yet he continued to fight by my side. I couldn't betray his trust.
Aiden: "Hurry up, my friend! I can't hold her much longer, and my energy is running out!"
"Give me a little more time! I'm about to finish it!"
He didn't reply. Was it because he couldn't respond in the midst of battle, or was it because he was out of breath?
"Hey, Aiden! AIDEN!?"
When I looked towards Aiden, I saw him lying on the ground, covered in blood. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be. I couldn't afford to lose another person.
"DAMN IT, AIDEN! ANSWER ME!"
With his last breath, Aiden replied to Daichi.
Aiden: "THE REST IS UP TO YOU, DAICHI! GET OUT OF THIS DAMN PLACE AND AVENGE US!"
"Damn it, DON'T DIE, AIDEN! HEAR ME? WE WILL GET OUT OF HERE TOGETHER. JUST STAY THERE AND REST UNTIL I COME!"
Damn it, Elara, Malik, and now Aiden. I haven't run as much as I wanted, but there's nothing I can do. The monster will come for me soon. Why doesn't it just kill everyone with a single blow? Could it be enjoying our agony by inflicting superficial wounds instead of a quick death? Damn monster.
"HEY, COME HERE, YOU BIG SNAKE!"
It's time to move on to the second stage of my plan. Do you know why I've been running like crazy for so long, you cursed snake? You're about to find out.
Şahmaran started rushing towards me at full speed. The only thing I had to do was activate my plan when she was right on top of me. But if I wanted to do that, I had to wait until the last moment. I had to do it when there was only a centimeter between her face and mine; otherwise, we would all die here. Come at me...
We were 100 meters apart. 50, 30, 20, the last 10 meters. She was advancing extremely fast, 5, 1, 0.1.
"Now, you've fallen into my trap, you cursed creature."
[Portal]
I had intended to use my portal ability to escape this labyrinth, but the system hadn't allowed it. However, I realized that I could freely use my ability within this labyrinth. This was my plan. We couldn't harm this colossal snake, and catching up to its speed was impossible. But what if I could render it immobile? Then it would be nothing more than a harmless, albeit large and terrifying, snake – at least with a very sexy upper half.
I opened the entrance of my portal ability right in front of me, and placed its exit ninety degrees to the right of the direction the snake was coming from. This way, the snake would pass over itself, and even if it realized the situation later, it wouldn't be able to slow down easily due to its extreme speed. Taking advantage of this speed, I planned to open several more portals, and boom, a snake knot.
[Portal]
[Portal]
[Portal]
[Portal]
...
"I guess you can't move anymore, you cursed creature."
The snake, which was meters long, couldn't move anymore because it had turned into a knot. The more it tried to move, the tighter the knot became, and it seemed like it would take a long time for it to untangle itself.
When I turned around, I saw that Aiden had already fainted.
Shahmaran: "Do you think this is the end?"
Did it just speak? I think I understand it thanks to my communication ability.
"What do you mean?"
Şahmaran: "They won't stop with this. They will continue to do whatever they want to make you suffer more and have more fun. Just like what they did to me and my people."
"Who are they? Will you stop speaking in riddles, or should I leave you and go, because believe me, I have more important things to do than talking to you."
Şahmaran: "They have no name. They are extremely powerful beings with power over everything. I think you humans call them gods. I used to believe in gods too, hahaha, how funny, isn't it? I used to pray to them and try to be a good person, and what did they do? When I was just a child, they slaughtered my people, tortured our men, kidnapped children, and raped our women. As for me, they cursed me with this body and trapped me in this maze. For hundreds of years, I have been fighting with people like you who come here. Until now, no one could defeat me; they all reached the crystal by sacrificing those around them, but you are different. Also, you can talk to me. Are you one of those cursed gods too?"
"No, I'm not a god or anything. If I were, would I stay in this cursed place for even a minute?"
As angry as I was at this monster, I understood the reason behind its actions. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the bones in its body were visibly prominent. Probably, the only way for it to survive is to eat the people who come here, but despite that, it must not be eating anyone until it reaches the brink of hunger.
"What about the people who come here? Is eating them your only option? But you don't seem to be overweight. If you're not eating them, why are you killing them? Why not just let them pass?"
Şahmaran: "It's true that I have to eat them, but I try not to do it as much as I can. Also, I can't kill them because the gods want me to do it slowly, or they will kill me. I don't care about dying, but I'm the last one of my kind, and I'm the only one who can continue my lineage. I have no other choice but to hope to escape from here one day."
"Why don't you touch the crystal then? If you do that, you can escape from here."
Şahmaran: "Only humans can enter the place where the crystal is, so it's impossible for me."
I think I understand the situation it's in. It's no different from us. It is also forcibly held here and compelled to do things it doesn't want to do. I can't trust it immediately, but if I don't give it a chance, I won't be any different from those f****** gods.
"If you had a chance to escape from here, would you serve even a single person?"
Şahmaran: "What? Are you making fun of me?"
"Just answer my question."
Şahmaran looked at me with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Perhaps she had already understood my intention to get her out of here, or maybe she was thinking something else, but I had never seen her so calm before.
Şahmaran: "Yes."
"Then I promise you that I will get you out of here, just stay here and wait for me."
Şahmaran continued to gaze at me without saying a word. Maybe she didn't believe that I could get her out, and perhaps she thought my words were just empty promises. But hearing such words from someone she spoke to for the first time in years seemed to have an impact on her.
I quickly ran to Aiden.
"Are you okay, my friend? We defeated the snake, so now we can leave. I'll carry you to the crystal, and then I'll bring Malik too, so no worries, okay? Most likely, when we touch the crystal, we'll be teleported back to where we started, so when you return to Drynsoll, it would be good to heal your wounds unless you want me to come and kill you."
Aiden: "Hahaha, *Coughing sounds* I won't die without having a beer with you."
"So, do you have beer in your city? My friend, I'm really an unlucky guy."
To prevent Aiden from fainting, I continued to chat with him and carried him to the crystal. After Aiden touched the crystal, he was teleported. From now on, all I could do was hope that he would be okay.
Then, I rushed directly to Malik. As I expected, his condition was better than Aiden's, but he still couldn't walk on his own.
"Hey big guy, it's your turn. Let's get you to the crystal too. When you come back, make sure to find Aiden and buy him a beer for me, okay?"
Malik: "We'll wait to drink beer with you, so you better visit us soon."
"You can count on that. By the way, did you eat something while I was fighting the snake? You seem heavier than usual."
Malik: "I guess you want to die without drinking beer."
"Hahaha..."
After taking Malik to the crystal, I went to Şahmaran.
"Alright, because you're so big, this is going to be a bit difficult, so give me some time to think."
Can it fit here? If I had enough mana, I could enlarge the entrance, but since I never allocated any points to mana, it was impossible.
Şahmaran: "Big? Would it be easier if I were a bit smaller? Could you save me then?"
"Yes, it would definitely be easier."
A light appeared around Şahmaran, and suddenly, she transformed into a very beautiful, large-breasted woman. She was also completely naked.
Şahmaran: "I've seen my family do this a few times; I had never tried it before, but I guess it worked. I'm not used to being in this form, but I think it's better this way, isn't it?"
While she was talking, I noticed that her language was like a normal human language but definitely longer.
"Alright, do you remember those portals I set up to trap you? I'll ask you to enter one of them again, but this time, I won't create any exit portal. My plan is to touch the crystal and return home, then reopen the portal, but I've never entered a portal without creating an exit before, so I don't know what will happen when you go in. It's up to you whether to take this risk or not."
As I spoke with her, my eyes unintentionally wandered over her body. She had a very beautiful figure and long silky hair covering her breasts. I felt something moving below, so I had to quickly finish the conversation, or it would become a very embarrassing scene.
Şahmaran: "I prefer to take this risk rather than staying here. Besides, if I stay here, I won't be able to continue my lineage, so even if I die, at least I will have tried."
"Very well then, ladies first. Or should I call you Şahmaran?"
"Call me Lilith, that's the name my family gave me. That absurd name is something the gods bestowed upon me, and I don't like it at all."
"Alright, Lilith, I'm Daichi. Please, after you."
[Portal]
Lilith entered through the portal, and then I went to touch the crystal. The moment I touched the crystal, I was teleported to a white area.
"Where is this?"
As soon as I entered this area, I saw something similar to the figure that helped me choose my class before being sent here, but the color of this figure was white. I also noticed that my wounds healed here, so Aiden and Malik probably healed as well.
[Task 1 Completed, Main task and side task completed, rewards are being distributed.]
[Main task reward: None.]
[Side task reward: Random A-level item crate given.]
Did she also accept the side task? Does this mean Lilith died the moment she entered the portal? Or maybe she appears defeated because she is no longer in the labyrinth. I guess I'll find out when I turn back.
"What about your situation?"
"Welcome to the end-of-mission trader. With the gold coins you earn at the end of each mission, you can shop with me."
"Shopping? So, was that what the money I earned was for? Let's see what you're selling."
[Books]
[Weapons]
[Armors]
[Potions]
[Information]
In the books section, there was information about magic, farming, war techniques, and anything else you could think of. In the weapons section, there were swords, axes, magic wands, and similar items. As the names suggest, armors and potions sections had armors and potions, but what caught my attention the most was the information section. For 1000 gold, I could ask any question and get a definite answer. Although I had many questions to ask, I only had 130 gold at the moment, so I had to either buy something else or save my money. I decided to spend it for now to increase my chances of survival. The cheapest weapons were between 10 and 50 gold, all resembling ordinary swords that could be found in regular markets. The better quality swords were over 100 gold. I won't even mention magical or special power swords, as the cheapest one started at 500 gold and went up to tens of thousands. The prices for armors and potions increased according to their quality. Having armor could be beneficial, but the armors available here were of the same quality as ordinary ones found in cities. I didn't need any potions at the moment. However, the prices for books weren't too high; even though there were books sold for tens of thousands of gold here, simpler ones were cheaper. I decided to spend my 130 gold here.
[Beginner Blacksmithing Book - 10 Gold]
[Beginner Alchemy Book - 10 Gold]
[Poisonous Plants Book - 5 Gold]
[Healing Plants Book - 5 Gold]
[Beginner Sword Mastery Book - 50 Gold]
[Introduction to Wizardry Book - 50 Gold]
"I guess I used all my money efficiently. So, how do I get out of here?"
"To exit, just say 'Exit.'"
I guess this torture was finally over, or was it just beginning?
"EXIT!"