"AAAAAHHHH!!! — I'm not dead? I'M NOT DEAD!" the youth exclaimed after his close brush with death. Meanwhile, Rika was still in a daze after the sudden tackle by Sylva. Though, of course, she didn't get hit and was transported out right before the impact.
Seeing the familiar circle and the quiet man and the bald guy in sight, she finally registered what was going on. It seemed that when they were about to sustain life-threatening injuries, they would get teleported out of the labyrinth.
"Oh, just shut up, would you? You better be thankful we couldn't die in that labyrinth." Rika, still thinking about her encounter with Sylva and frustrated she couldn't have a closer interaction, took it out on the youth. She returned to the teleportation circle, attempting to go back into the labyrinth.
As expected, the circle failed to activate. At the same time, information popped up in her head, telling her there was a cooldown period before she could use the circle again.
'Just you wait, little cutie, I'll come back for you again~' Now knowing there was no real danger in the labyrinth, Rika was determined to meet Sylva again. As the cutest thing she'd ever seen in her life, Rika was obsessed with Sylva. She would get Sylva. And when she did, she'd do this... and do that... and...
Sinking into her imagination, Rika left the cave, along with her group of deadweights.
---
'SIIIL!!!' At the same time, Sylva shuddered, feeling the weird sensation coming back again. She countered it by sinking her entire body into Axel's chest, seeking comfort and trying to eliminate the weird feeling.
[Congratulations, Master Axel, you have successfully repelled your first batch of intruders. You have gained the following rewards:]
1. Energy limit increased by 200.
2. Energy fully replenished.
3. A Magic Tome (Beginner's Guide for Apprentice Mage).
4. An Iron Sword (Extra Sharpness & Durability).
"Huh? Magic tome? Iron sword? Hmm, is this supposed to be based on the intruders?" Axel wondered, thinking of the mage girl and the sword the youth had wielded.
[That is correct, Master Axel. Based on the intruders, the labyrinth will randomly select their powers or possessions and convert them into rewards. Keep in mind it is not just a duplication; the powers or possessions will also be enhanced. Take the sword, for example. It was just an ordinary sword in the intruder's hands, but as a reward, it has extra durability and sharpness.]
"That's sweet. Hmm, this tome is great too. I wonder how my affinity with magic will be." After replacing his old sword with the new one, Axel skimmed through the magic tome. It listed some spells the mage girl had used, like flash and fire spells, as well as some other spells.
"Oh well, on to the main stuff first. Now that the energies are full, it's time to try creating more monsters! First of all, some anti-mage monsters!" Truth be told, if it wasn't for Sylva, the monsters and traps at the moment would be quite easy for mages like that girl to pass through.
After brainstorming a few monsters, Axel decided on the best possible one at the moment. As he started visualizing it, the monster began materializing. It had a humanoid shape, excluding the head. Its entire body was made of stone, with no eyes, standing about two meters tall, slightly taller than Axel.
"Ah, the brute of the labyrinth, a stone golem. I hope you can resist them spells just like I imagined." At the cost of 150 energy, they could pair well with the void crawlers. With golems being frontline tanks and void crawlers acting as agile rear assassins.
With that, Axel began creating more golems and sending them into the labyrinth in groups with the void crawlers. He also created another mimic to replace the one burned by the mage girl. None of the void crawlers were killed; the girl had only blinded them and run past. In the end, after creating seven golems and one mimic, his energy count dropped from 1200 to 100.
"Hmm, what about the traps? They're practically useless against a mage with detection... Ah, fuck it, I can reset them anyway. Maybe there won't be a mage in the next batch? Or maybe some careless dumbass will trigger them." Axel reset the traps in the labyrinth, not holding out much hope after their poor performance.
"Now that all this is done, what else can I do?" After finishing his tasks and having a cuddle session with Sylva, Axel wondered what else he could do.