"As per rules, you are the first entries in this new Labyrinth, and will be given one escape bracelet from the Sacred Aurelian."
Lilian waved her hand, taking out 136 bracelets that flew towards the Adventurers.
Ainen grabbed the one that came to him, and it glowed as if scanning him before vanishing and appearing on his right wrist automatically.
'This is alchemy and enchantment. This metal is created by combining iron with different materials that react to living beings and can transform into their blood to execute enchanted magic.' Lord Black informed.
"If you infuse Mana into this bracelet, you will be teleported out of the Labyrinth."
"However, this bracelet is not omnipotent. There will be some places in the Labyrinth where this will not work. Dangerous places. The bracelet will dim when you enter such zones, so pay attention. If you are not confident of surviving, escape from such places before using the bracelet."
'This is getting me excited.' Ainen grinned. 'I can't wait to enter.'
"Now then, you all may enter."
Everyone faced the giant labyrinth entrance, a monstrous protrusion out of the ground, in an unnatural way.
Slow mist, dark and purple with deathly green, poured from it like breath from some ancient dread beast, carrying with it the scent of damp moss, rusted iron, and something far older. The source of thɪs content is NoveI★Fire.net
The faint sound of chains rattling and stone grinding echoed from within, though no one could see past the shifting haze.
The first to enter were the parties from the Magic Towers.
As they entered, a large misty screen appeared above the Labyrinth, which quickly filled with neon dark green letters and numbers.
[Labyrinth Activated: 29 days, 24 hours, 59 minutes.]
1. Robin Scathe|Level 200|Points: 0
2. Liora Veylan|Level 200|Points: 0
3. Darius Thornveil|Level 200|Points: 0
4. Kayron Mireholt|Level 200 | Points: 0
5. Selene Draemir|Level 200 | Points: 0
'This Labyrinth is really game-like.' Ainen's eyes shone.
"H-How could this be?"
"Fuck, this is a nightmare difficulty. So I finally saw one with my eyes."
"Why did this have to be 30 days one? Should we still enter?"
People became noisy, their voices laced with uncertainty.
'What's going on?' Ainen blinked.
'Hmm, this could be a challenge,' Lord Black said. 'Each Labyrinth has an activation period that starts once one person enters.'
'Wait, so the Labyrinth resets or something?'
'Yep. But the pressing problem is that it becomes stronger in the next activation. And if you fail again in that, the Labyrinth would invert, pouring catastrophe outside. And the longer a Labyrinth's activation period is, the more dangerous it is.'
'Well, this will be a good challenge for you. You are strong, but you have to be careful, or you will die. But as long as you are careful, you have enough potential to come out of this Labyrinth far stronger.'
"Don't worry! The four parties from our Magic Tower have ten level 200 Adventurers, as you can see. All of them are at the peak of Adept rank, the ceiling of this Labyrinth. And they are all exceptional individuals."
"There's no need to worry. We will clear this Labyrinth before its activation time is over. Since this turned out to be a 30-day Labyrinth, we will call more parties from our places. So in fact, this is an opportunity you should not miss."
"You all may have heard rumours about the thirty-day labyrinths being dangerous, and it's true. They seldom appear, but they also yield you far more rewards."
"If you are confident in your skill and confident that you will improve, you can enter. And you also have a lifeline you can use to escape."
Raashik spoke in a loud, vibrating voice, suppressing other noise as his voice entered everyone's ears, informing them and increasing the morale.'
"And you all just ate Ainen's food. With the buffs you currently have, what are you afraid of?"
"Hahaha, can't deny that."
"Well said, elder Raashik! Ye bastards! Follow me!"
"Divine Horns! Enter!"
The parties from the Belrik Kingdom and Torion Kingdom started entering.
When Ainen entered, he heard a monotone voice and a screen telling him to write his name.
Not just him, but Saffa, Clovelle, and Fraisea also got it because they were entities qualified as participants due to having intelligence.
However, since they were bound to Ainen, they also had the option to be considered as assets of Ainen instead of separate entities.
Naturally, the fox girls chose to be assets.
There were two reasons, but the main reason was that the Labyrinth never sent multiple people to the same spot.
Even if a party entered together, all of them would be separated. So the first thing everyone had to do was to find partners in the surroundings before finding their teammates.
Ainen saw the darkness vanishing and soon found himself near a waterfall and an absolutely beautiful scenery of a strange nightsky.
There were no stars or moons, but big, colorful balls as if they were painted.
'That ain't sky, that's a ceiling!' Ainen's eyes glinted.
'This place is crazy.'
'Brother, this place is crazy!'
Ron and Syl, who were watching while eating popcorn inside the kitchen, were thrilled to see the Labyrinth.
Lord Black wryly chuckled. 'Due to this being a thirty-day Labyrinth, its floor will surely be vaster. Those who work in parties and require party members to survive will just die here first unless they get lucky.'
'Let's hope they get lucky.'
[ Floor 1: Gulliable Chaos of Tirindev ]
Ainen heard a voice in his head and a strange screen different from his system before his eyes.
Ainen looked around, and this area he was in opened itself like some twisted paradise painted by both dream and nightmare.
The waterfall thundered down from a jagged cliff of blackstone, its waters glowing faintly silver-blue, as though each droplet carried fragments of moonlight. Yet when the water struck the lake below, ripples spread in irregular shapes as if arcane clashed within.
Around him stretched a forest, but not of normal trees. Their trunks were twisted pillars of violet and obsidian, bark rippling faintly as if alive, while their leaves shimmered in hues of green and gold, bending against eerie black wind he could clearly see with his eyes.
Roots crawled along the ground like serpents, some of them digging into rocks, others slithering toward the lake, pulsing with a heartbeat-like glow.
'Interesting forest. Let's start our adventure in the Labyrinth from there.'
Saffa, Clovelle, and Fraise appeared beside Ainen.
Ainen smiled. 'Let's go.'