As Nero approached the glinting object, he used [Identify]. The response was immediate:
[Object: Waypoint Crystal
Type: Transportation Focus
Status: Active (Auto-triggering)]
"Wait, what do you mean auto-triggering—"
The crystal pulsed with azure light. Nero tried to step back, but it was too late. The light enveloped him, and the sensation that followed was like being pulled through honey - slow, disorienting, and slightly uncomfortable. The world stretched, twisted, and then...
He hit something with a metallic clinking sound. Multiple metallic clinking sounds, actually.
Something was digging into his back, hard and irregular. Groaning, he pushed himself up to sitting position, fighting back a wave of nausea as his head spun. His stomach lurched, and he had to take several deep breaths to keep from emptying its contents right there. He froze as he finally got his bearings.
"Tsk. Transportation crystals," he muttered, waiting for the world to stop swimming. "Would it kill their makers to add some stabilization magic? Even a basic momentum dampener would..." He swallowed hard. "...would be nice." Groaning, he pushed himself up to sitting position, and froze.
Gold.
Not just a few coins. Not even a chest's worth. Gold coins spread out beneath him like a metallic beach, flowing down in gentle slopes. Gems caught the light of... wherever it was coming from, throwing rainbow sparkles across the chamber. Ornate cups and plates peaked out between coins, their precious metals tarnished but unmistakably valuable. A sword hilt studded with rubies protruded nearby, its blade still miraculously gleaming after all these years.
His mouth went dry. He'd seen the imperial treasury once, during a special ceremony. This... this was more.
[Location Discovered: The Serpent's Labyrinth - Treasury Chamber]
He stood carefully, coins sliding and tinkling around his feet. The chamber was vast, its ceiling lost in shadows above. The treasure spread out before him wasn't a mountain - you couldn't swim in it like those ridiculous children's stories - but it was more wealth than he'd ever seen in either lifetime. Enough to buy a small kingdom. Enough to...
Something moved in the shadows at the far end of the chamber.
Nero's heart stopped.
This, he realized with growing dread, was definitely not in the shepherd's story.
Nero's mind kicked into survival mode. First rule of unknown magical environments: gather information, don't panic. Stay alive long enough to think.
He maintained [Identify] as a constant thread of magic while his eyes scanned the chamber methodically. The skill's feedback was concerning - multiple magical signatures, some he'd never encountered before. Ancient protections, probably. No one left this much wealth unguarded.
His hand found the ruby-studded sword, lifting it carefully. The balance was surprisingly good.
[Item: Flamebrand Sword (Class S)
Type: Enchanted Weapon
Status: Active
Properties: Unknown]
Better than nothing.
He kept his casting hand free - in his experience, magic was always more reliable than steel. The [Flame] spell still hovered above him, casting moving shadows that made everything more uncertain.
Another movement in the darkness. Then another, from a different direction. The coins shifted somewhere to his left with a gentle tinkling sound.
He was in the open. Exposed. Amateur mistake.
Slowly, deliberately, Nero began moving backward toward the nearest wall. Keep your back covered. Control what can approach you. Basic combat principles he'd read lifetime ago.
The magical signatures were getting stronger. Or closer.
Something slithered in the darkness.
The chamber suddenly felt a lot smaller, and the shadows a lot deeper.
Nero canceled [Flame]. Relative darkness swallowed him for a heartbeat. In that same instant, he wove [Fireball], launching it high into the air above.
The chamber exploded with light, and time stopped.
There was no time to see all the details, but one thing Nero was sure of.
Snake. Massive snake. Jaws open. Coming straight for him—
Nero's body moved before his mind could process. Pure instinct threw him sideways as the massive head struck. The impact shook the chamber, stone cracking where he'd stood a fraction of a second before. Coins sprayed everywhere like metallic rain.
Nero rolled to his feet, already weaving another [Fireball], this one with enough power to drain half his mana. The spell struck the creature's scales with a thunderous roar. The beast screamed - a sound that belonged in nightmares - as flames engulfed its head. There was no smell. No smoke.
The first fireball above was fading. In its dying light, Nero spotted an archway across the chamber.
He ran.
Gold coins scattered under his feet, treacherous as marbles. Behind him, the creature thrashed, its massive body sending treasures flying. Something hot brushed his back - its breath? Poison? He didn't want to know.
"Shit shit shit shit—"
He vaulted over a fallen pillar, nearly lost his footing on landing. The archway seemed impossibly far. The sound of scales on coins grew closer. Too close.
A fang caught his shirt, almost ripping it away. Nero didn't look back. Looking back meant death. The archway was just ahead, ten steps away, five—
The beast lunged. Nero dove forward, rolling through the arch as massive jaws snapped shut behind him. He scrambled to his feet, running blindly into the darkness beyond, the creature's frustrated roar echoing off the walls.
"What—" Nero gasped for air, "—the actual hell?!"
He wove [Flame] with shaking hands, nearly botching the spell. The light revealed stone corridors branching in multiple directions.
"A maze?!" His voice cracked. "A MAZE?! That idiot shepherd just found some gold in a cave my ASS!" He stumbled forward, still trying to catch his breath. "Nobody said anything about a giant snake! Or a labyrinth! Or—" Another roar echoed through the corridors, making him jump. "Or THAT!"
The sound of something massive moving through stone tunnels came from... everywhere? Nowhere? The maze's acoustics made it impossible to tell.
"If I survive this," he wheezed, picking a direction at random, "I'm finding that shepherd and—" He caught his foot on an uneven stone, barely keeping his balance. "And I don't know what I'll do, but it'll involve a very long conversation about the difference between 'I found some treasure' and 'THERE'S A GIANT SNAKE GUARDING IT IN A MAZE!'"
Another roar, closer this time. Or was it? Damn these echoes.
"And what kind of idiot am I?!" He turned a corner, then another. "Oh look, a mysterious rune and a sealed cave! Let's just walk right in! Brilliant, Nero. Absolutely brilliant!"
Nero slumped against a wall, chest heaving. No. Panic wasn't helping. Panic would get him killed. He needed to think.
He forced his breathing to slow, trying to quiet his thundering heart. Think. Analyze. Solve.
The crystal had transported him directly to the treasury. No path in, just... there. Which meant finding his way back to the entrance wasn't an option - there might not even be one. And now he was in a maze with...
Another distant roar. Right. That.
"Okay," he whispered, organizing his thoughts. "Facts. That fireball was strong enough to kill a horse. It's still alive. Probably resistant to fire magic." He grimaced. "Would've been nice to know that before using half my mana."
The sound of something large moving through stone echoed again.
"Can't fight it. Can't outrun it forever. Can't find an exit I don't know exists." He closed his eyes, thinking. "There has to be a way out. Nobody builds something like this without an escape route. The crystal brought me in, so..."
He opened his eyes. "There has to be another crystal."
The question was: how to find it before that thing found him?