Vishwas stood still without making any sound while the man sitting on the chair closed his eyes as if in deep thought. Soon the man stopped stroking the small creature's head, prompting it to open its tiny, glimmering eyes.
At that exact moment, Vishwas glanced at the creature, only to find it turning its head to meet his gaze. Instantly, a shudder coursed through his body as an unsettling prickling sensation shot through his mind.
The creature's eyes, pitch black with an intricate swirling white pattern at their centre, seemed to draw him in, like a whirlpool of endless depth.
The longer Vishwas stared, the more the prickling sensation intensified, as though invisible tendrils were probing into his thoughts, dissecting his very being. He tried to tear his eyes away, but a suffocating dread held him captive, leaving him rooted to the spot.
Suddenly, as if losing interest in Vishwas the creature turned its head toward the man and started to make cute squeaking noises.
The man opened his eyes, looked directly into the creature's gaze without reaction, and smiled faintly. He resumed stroking the creature's head, and it quickly closed its eyes, content once more.
The man's smile vanished, replaced by a neutral expression. He glanced at Vishwas, who was still trembling slightly.
"You know Astra is a soul beast, yet you looked into her eyes. Be glad she recognizes you; otherwise, you'd be dead. And find something to raise your willpower stat. I don't want to lose a competent subordinate to stupidity."
Vishwas lowered his head, embarrassed. He had assigned people to find willpower-boosting items but hadn't had any luck.
The man continued, his voice sharp and commanding. "I don't care how you do it, but I want that Spatial Snake brought to me within two weeks. I've already wasted enough time because I can't enter that damn tier 2 rift myself. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to rely on anyone."
From a sleek cigar case that was on the table, he picked one and closed it with a metallic snap. Holding the cigar between his thumb and two fingers, he placed it between his lips.
A small fire orb flickered at the tip, igniting it. He took a deep puff, exhaled a thick plume of smoke as the flame extinguished, and then spoke again.
"Tell Kidwai to oversee the newbie training. I want Laurance to personally handle Team 17's training. Now, send Laila back in."
With that, the man closed his eyes and dismissed Vishwas with a wave of his hand.
Vishwas bowed slightly before leaving the conference room. Moments later, Laila entered, her expression calm and unreadable as always. She closed the door behind her, walked to the man's side, and stood silently.
The man exhaled another thick plume of cigar smoke, his eyes still closed. "How's the progress of Teams 6, 7, and 9?"
"Team 6 is still inside their assigned tier 3 rift. Team 7 has cleared their assigned tier 3 rift with no casualties but will require two weeks of recuperation before they're back to full strength. Lastly, team 9 is ready and on standby, awaiting orders," Laila reported, her tone steady as she awaited the man's instructions.
After a moment of contemplation, the man in the chair spoke. "Send Team 9 to outpost 3 to reinforce the defence lines. The governor has requested assistance because recently, a few tier 3 monsters have been spotted there."
"Tell Naila to get her strike team ready. Two days later Frost Shroud's strike team will join ours to clear the area beyond outpost 11. I won't tolerate any mistakes, so you'll personally lead our strike team, with Naila as your second in command," the man concluded, waving his hand to dismiss Laila.
"Yes, Master," Laila replied. She bowed her head and exited the room.
The man took another puff from his cigar, exhaling a thick plume of smoke while gazing out the window once more. The air near his chair flickered, and a black tiger with two curved horns jutting out from the sides of its head emerged from the distortion, stepping silently to his side and stood obediently.
"Follow Laila's team, but don't get noticed. When you find the opportunity, kill as many of Frost Shroud's members as possible. Make sure it looks like a random monster attack," the man ordered.
The black tiger growled softly before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
The man sneered, his thoughts venomous:
'Tansh, Tansh, Tansh... Do you think you can play these childish games with me by sending spies or bribing some of my employees? You have no idea what you're up against. Let me show you what happens to those foolish enough to go against me. And one day, I'll make you beg for death. But before I crush your neck beneath my foot, I'll make you witness the complete and utter destruction of everything you hold dear, including your guild and your precious family.'
Soon his sneer faded:
'And that old bastard has unexpectedly decided to come here. Though this meeting was long overdue, I'll have to be extra cautious from now on. If that wily old fox even senses something amiss, I might not live long enough to make him pay for what he did to me or to reclaim what is rightfully mine.'
*****
Girik wandered the maze's corridors for what felt like an eternity, encountering more tests along the way and gaining a bunch more perception stat points. But what made Girik concerned and feel somewhat uneasy was that it had been a long time since he'd faced another test.
At some point, Girik had started running while trying to find the exit. But, despite constantly running for all this time he wasn't physically tired, but mentally, he was starting to wear down. Slowly, negative thoughts and a growing sense of foreboding started to creep into his mind.
'What if there's no exit to this maze? What if I'm trapped here forever? Will I die in this place?'
More and more such negative thoughts began to surface, gradually consuming his mind.
Girik dropped to the ground, clutching his head, teetering on the verge of a mental breakdown. But once again, the calming wave washed over him, banishing the dark thoughts and restoring his clarity as it had done previously.
As Girik's thoughts cleared and a strange calmness washed over him, a realization struck: What if the maze itself is a test?
The longer he thought about it, the more it started to make sense. After all, he was inside a trial, why couldn't the maze itself be part of it? And, if that were true, then there had to be clues hidden somewhere.
In the beginning, Girik had walked through the maze, while carefully examining everything. But after encountering a few dead ends and clearing some tests, he'd decided to run, realizing he wasn't getting tired. Now, that impulsive decision seemed to have backfired.
He might have to retrace his steps all the way back to where he started, but this time, he would need to examine everything thoroughly.
But something still didn't add up. Every test he had cleared so far had one thing in common, nothing was ever as it seemed. If so, then why should this one be any different?
Girik steadied himself. All he could do now was trust his instincts. If the maze itself was a test, he would need to figure out how to solve it.
And if he was wrong? He could simply resume his search for the exit.
Sitting up, Girik took a deep breath to focus his thoughts.
'If this maze is a test, then what was the point of those earlier tests? Were they just for free Perception stat points? No. Those points came as rewards for completing the tests. But it's been a long time since I've faced another one. So... what changed?'
He began to retrace his memories, thinking back to the moment he entered the maze. If there was one thing that stood out, it was his Perception stats increasing after every test.
'Hmmm… Could I have met some kind of stat requirement?'
With that thought, Girik opened his status.
___
[Status]
Name: Girik Sharma
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Title: None
Tier: 0
Job: None
Level: 3
[Attributes]
Health: 27/27
Stamina: 19/19
Mana: 18/18
Strength: 21
Magic: 8
Speed: 30
Dexterity: 25
Perception: 92
Toughness: 16
Resistance: 7
Willpower: 13
Free Attribute Points: 15
[Active Skills: Combat Focus (T0)]
[Passive Skills: Trained Combatant (T0), Predator's Instinct (T0), Poison Resistance (T1)]
___
Girik was shocked to see his perception stat sitting at 92.
He had been so preoccupied with finding the exit that he had completely forgotten to check his status after he gained the stat points. His gaze lingered for a bit on the high number, but for some odd reason, it felt like something was missing.
Girik once more recalled everything, but this time he focused on every minute detail.
But, no matter what, he couldn't find anything that he could confidently say was odd or unusual. Yet that feeling of something missing still lingered in the back of his mind.
"Do I need... higher perception than I currently have?" Girik murmured, his tone containing hints of uncertainty.
Girik still had 15 free attribute points left, and he could raise his perception stat further, but he hesitated slightly. He wanted to improve his other stats to have a higher chance of survival, and his perception stat was already quite high as it was.
"Wait! What if I'm missing only a few points in perception to reach the supposed threshold needed to clear this test?" This sudden thought gave Girik a brief pause.
"But if that's the reason, why haven't I encountered any more tests like the ones before? Is it because I still have free attribute points?" Girik was stumped.
Was it really what he was thinking, or was he missing something?
For some reason, the more Girik thought, the more he felt that he was missing something. So he checked his status one more time while he tried to recall everything he had done since the last test he cleared.
For the most part, he did nothing other than keep running forward or backtracking when finding a dead-end, marking the dead-end and then continuing to move towards a new corridor.
Nothing in particular stood out to him.
"If I need more perception, then all I can do is put all the remaining free attribute points into perception and equip the kukri, which also gives me perception stats," Girik murmured to himself as he pulled the kukri from its sheath and wielded it.
The kukri's stat boost came into effect, and Girik's perception stat increased to 100.
Just as he was about to allocate the free attribute points into perception, he noticed some very fine lines on the wall before him.
Girik moved toward the wall and focused on the lines, as he had not seen anything like them before. While he was examining the lines, he noticed very faint traces of mana running through them. It was almost imperceptible, but he was sure that mana was emanating from those lines.
But then why didn't he feel any mana when he touched the walls before, while he was not wearing the gloves? Was it because his perception stat was not high enough at that time, but it was now?
Girik lowered his head and noticed that he was still holding the kukri. An idea struck him, and he sheathed the kukri. The moment he did that, the already barely visible lines and the very faint traces of mana vanished, as if everything before was just an illusion.
He once more equipped the kukri and was once again able to perceive the lines and mana as before.
'So I needed 100 in perception stat to even notice these lines and the mana they emitted, and my perception reached that threshold because the kukri provides +8 to perception while I'm wielding it.'
***********
Author's Note:
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