Edited by: Kuro and Lille
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After resting on floor 35, Grey and the rest of the group continued to the next floor. They went back into the formation of having Reyner, Andrea, and Lamine in the front, Micah, Grey, and Felicia in the middle, while Genji protected the rear.
The floors were uneventful. There were monsters, traps, and treasure chests. They trekked carefully, but they didn't feel overwhelmed. Luckily, they didn't encounter another floor like floor 21.
When they finally got to floor 40, the appearance of the labyrinth changed.
It looked like the entrance of the labyrinth, with cave walls, moss growing, and humidity that stuck to one's skin. There were stalactites on the ceiling with water dripping slowly into puddles on the ground.
There wasn't much on this floor. There was a hallway that led to a large clearing. Passing this clearing there was a short hallway with a teleport crystal at the end.
"Tread carefully," Grey warned his team members, "I feel the presence of a large monster in the center of the clearing."
They could see the clearing but there was nothing in the distance so they were wondering how Edwin could feel the presence.
Well, System 225 told him but he could also feel something. His gut was pretty accurate.
They slowly walked toward the clearing and realized just how large the room was. It was about half the size of a sports stadium. The clearing looked just like the hallway. There were no signs of the Holy Relic either.
"Are we supposed to activate something?" Andrea said as he looked around. He didn't stray far from the group.
Lamine also checked around for traps but didn't see anything. "I'm not sure either."
When everyone stepped into the clearing, they felt a familiar rumbling sound. The ground shook a bit, but it wasn't enough to sweep them off their feet.
"Again with this? Can't this labyrinth be a bit more original?" Genji shouted as he took out his sword. He felt something sinister.
Everyone else took out their weapon and looked around. Before they could even move, a large object fell from the ceiling. It was a golem, two times bigger than the ones on the other floors. Another large difference was that the core, which was usually found in the center of the body, was at the golem's forehead!
Genji looked up. "Shit, how the hell are we supposed to get up there without dying?!"
Grey instructed, "Micah ready your bow. Show me the fruits of your training!"
"Felicia, conserve your magic. Make sure you aim for the core! If you can't, use magic to slow the golem down. Lamine, see if you can stealthily climb the golem. If it's unsafe, fall back. Reyner, do your best to tank but don't try to take any blows head-on. Genji and Andrea, you two help Reyner knock the golem down to the ground.
"Don't be hasty! If you get hurt, fall back and I will heal you. Don't waste your strength on hitting anything else but the core or the legs! I will protect Micah and Felicia so battle to your heart's content."
"Understood!" The rest of them shouted and got into formation.
Reyner activated his skill, rage charge. This skill increased his speed but also increased the amount of aggro he would obtain. The larger the opponent, the more aggro he got, so he rarely used this move. If he did use it on a smaller opponent, it could be used to send the other flying backward.
"Arghhh!" Reyner cried out as he dashed toward the giant golem. His battle cry passive skill was able to grab the enemy's attention, so he put his whole heart and lungs into it.
The golem tried to catch Reyner with his hands, but Reyner was too fast for it. He was also given a buff by Felicia, so he was much faster than usual.
Felicia taught herself some buff skills just in case there was another floor 21 incident. It seemed she was scarred for life when she was forced to run and was almost crushed to death.
"Beep, beep, enemy sighted, must be eliminated!" The golem suddenly said and began to stomp on the ground trying to step on Reyner.
Reyner was able to dodge and he used his mace to hit the legs when they landed. It didn't do any damage but the loud clanging sound showed just how tough this golem was. Genji and Andrea rushed up to attack the same leg, but they found that the legs were extremely hard.
"Damn, what are these golems made of?" Genji complained as he jumped away from the Golem that was getting annoyed.
"Don't worry about not being able to cause damage, just keep hitting it in the same places!" Grey shouted in response. He then turned to Micah and Felicia. "On my command, I want you to aim for the core."
"Yes!"
Lamine was slowly circling behind the golem. She took her time and used the shadows of the cave to her advantage. She had two daggers in her hands, ready to make use of them. She had the perfect skill for when she had to climb up the large golem.
Seeing the guardian golem slam both of his arms down, Grey took this opportunity. "Shoot right now!"
Micah quickly sent out his arrow and hit it directly on the crystal. It didn't crack or break the crystal, but it did shake a bit. Felicia followed up with an ice arrow.
Lamine also jumped onto the guardian golem with a skill called feather steps and dashed across it. She stabbed her daggers into the crystal quickly before jumping off. If she stayed for too long, she would lose her footing and fall off. She was afraid of getting stepped on.
After three consecutive hits, the golem tumbled forward and fell to the ground. Everyone had to move out of the way in fear of being squashed by the golem that fell fast to the ground. Its head was to the side so that it could protect the crystal from the impact.
"Genji, Andrea, hit the crystal right now! Don't stop until I say so." Grey also dashed forward and used a sword skill, flame slash, to damage the core.
Genji, Andrea, and Grey took turns hitting the core, but it wasn't cracking. After 20 seconds, the golem stood back up and its eyes turned red.
"It's in berserk mode. Everyone, stand back!" Reyner shouted and activated another aggro-pulling skill called provoke. It used up 25% of his MP, but it increased the aggro by 100%. It would be better if he was the only one who got hit rather than his squishy team members. He knew Grey was by his side to heal him, so he went all out.
The guardian golem stomped and flailed its arms around to try to hit those on the ground, but everyone scattered and ran. Reyner made sure to stay in a specific area so no one else would get caught in it.
Seeing that he failed to hit or step on anyone, the guardian golem slammed his arms into the ground, creating a shockwave. Everyone but Reyner was swept off their feet, landing on their butt. Their legs shook, making it difficult to get up.
Without a moment to lose, the golem twisted its body and spun with its arms out, tilting its body as it moved to try to catch the ones on the ground off guard.
"Shit, I've never seen a golem move like that!" Andrea shouted while trying to scramble himself up.
Grey was the first to move and he easily picked up Micah in one arm and Felicia in the other and ran away from the approaching golem. Felicia and Micah were too scared to think so they held onto Grey for dear life.
Lamine and Genji also got up and ran in the opposite direction hoping to confuse the guardian golem.
Reyner did his best to dodge, but his shield got hit a few times. His arms tingled with every hit and a visible dent could be seen in the shield. Grey made sure to keep Reyner healed, but seeing his man get hurt made him upset.
"When is this thing going to stop?!" Genji yelled as he ducked under one of the arms and ran for his life.
It had been spinning for three minutes but there were no signs of it stopping.
After another minute, it finally stopped and walked toward the middle of the room. Its eyes slowly turned back to their original black color.
"Micah, Felicia, hit the core now!" Grey didn't want to give the guardian golem any more time to move.
Micah shot out two arrows one after the other while Felicia shot out three more. Each time, the golem stepped back but didn't fall.
The core didn't crack at all but it was clearly stunned.
"Keep shooting until it falls!"
Micah and Felicia shot the golem one after the other for four more rounds. Finally, the golem fell on its back, its core facing the ceiling. Still not a crack in sight.
Grey dashed over with Genji, Lamine, and Andrea and they assaulted the golem without stopping but it still didn't show signs of damage.
"What do we have to do to kill this thing?" Grey annoyingly stabbed at the core but couldn't break it.
He stepped back for a moment to look at it. He thought back to all the hints and remembered the one on floor 30. To find the helmet, one must reach out their hand and summon the light. He realized those hints weren't there for nothing.
"Andrea, use your Light magic around your sword and slash at the core until it breaks!"
Andrea looked at his sword and then back at his hand. "What? How do I do that?!"
"Imagine your sword as an extension to your arms, coat your magic around the sword. You need to pour your magic in and around the sword like you would your own body! It's the same principle."
"Hurry, we don't have much time!"
Reyner was utterly exhausted from grabbing most of the aggro. If they continued, he and Felicia would eventually run out of MP and Micah would also run out of arrows. This would make battling extremely difficult.
"Extension, pouring in, coat…" Andrea mumbled to himself as Genji, Lamine, and Grey hit the core to prologue the stun.
"I got it! Everyone, move out of the way." Andrea shouted as he readied his sword. He coated the sword with his Light magic and it turned into a large sword made of light!
"Take this, you crazy bastard! Eat my Light Shattering Strike!"
It was the most cliché name Grey had ever heard, but when he saw the giant light sword he knew it would get the job done. He could ignore the name of the skill even if it made him cringe.
Andrea slashed down at the core and it instantly shattered, as the name proposed. With the core gone, the golem that was about to get up went limp and collapsed on the ground for good.
Just like all the monsters in this labyrinth, it disappeared leaving behind a few items.
Since Andrea defeated the golem, everyone let him pick up the items. The first item he picked up was the guardian golem's core. It was much larger compared to the others. It was also a very beautiful dark purple color, rich with magic. The second item was a tower shield made of the same metal as the golem. It was a silvery grey with tan rims. It also had a magic crystal in the center.
Lastly, he picked up a lump of metal. It was probably the material the golem was made out of. He couldn't check to see what it was so he had to wait to go into town.
Andrea gave the tower shield to Reyner, as he had no use for it. He asked Grey what they should do with the other items and was told to hold on to them.
"Alright, now that we beat the guardian golem… where's the helmet?" Andrea asked as he looked around the center of the clearing. There was nothing. At the end of the hallway, they could see the teleport crystal but that was it.
"Use your light magic. This place is too predictable." Grey replied as he sat against the wall near the hallway leading to the teleport crystal. He wasn't physically tired, he was just mentally exhausted. Micah and Reyner sat next to him, not saying a word.
Andrea, with the limited amount of MP he had, summoned a ball of light and waited.
Nothing happened for a good 20 seconds.
"So that's it?" Andrea muttered in disappointment.
As soon as he said that, the ground underneath him began to shake, causing him to jump back. When he looked up, he saw a pillar with a helmet on it. Before he could say anything, the floor around it began to shoot upward, making him run for his life.
Grey only watched at a distance but felt it was pretty funny to see Andrea run away like a headless chicken. Genji, Lamine, and Felicia were also nearby watching the scene unfold in front of them, chuckling to themselves.
"Stop laughing at me! This isn't funny at all!" Andrea cried out aggrieved.
After a while, the floors finally stopped moving. It was in the shape of a pyramid with the top cut off. There was a set of stairs in front of Andrea. At the top, a light shone on the helmet. It was floating in midair. The helmet was white and gold, just like the other colors of the Holy Relics.
Andrea looked over at Grey and saw Grey prompted him to go grab it, so he cautiously walked up the stairs. There were no railings, so he felt one wrong step would make him eat shit on the way down.
When he finally got to the top, he went to grab the helmet but it flew past his head and plopped itself on his head. Oddly enough, the helmet was a perfect fit.
At that moment, System 225 chirped in.
[*Chirp chirp* Congratulations, Grey, for completing the side mission: Find out the mysteries of the Labyrinth. You have completed all the missions available. Would you like to stay in this world?]
'Yes, please. Thank you, System 225."
[It's no problem at all. Enjoy your stay in this world.]
After Andrea got the helmet, they left the labyrinth and reported the completion of it to the Adventurer's Guild. The city celebrated for a week and many parties were excited to try their hand at the completed labyrinth.
After getting the Holy Relic, the lower floors changed, making it possible for those who weren't Heroes to complete it.
When the celebrations ended, the group left the labyrinth city and went to a hot spring to celebrate their survival and victory!