Ep. 7 — Chapter 27: Time on the Clock (3)

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Freeze! Take another step and..!"

I dashed forward, bringing forth the chains and swirled it around in circular motions, moving it to and back. At once, I was able to take a number of them down. There were those that managed to evade the incoming chains and they were dressed in different uniforms. Superior officers, I guess? Either way, my aim wasn't them but their radios.

But with a little bit of display of my power, I managed to take down a good number from them. The others that were out of reach moved back, tightly clasping onto their weapons with a threatening glare, but also fear and anxiety.

The senior officers, however, remain unflustered. Instead, they took several steps forward and uncovered their weapons. Unlike the other officers, they seemed to be equipped with higher grade weapons, most likely to subdue players than normal monsters. I was a bit baffled, seeing five rare-tier items being pointed at me so menacingly.

"We will let you off easy. Drop your weapon and get on your knees, now. If you refuse, I shall kill you, no matter who you are."

"Tempting, I must say. But I shan't." I shot back at the big guy in the centre. He was muscular, his muscles bulging and stretching the fabrics of his uniform. An aviator sunglasses sat on the bridge of his nose, even though it was nighttime now. Despite my provocation, the man remains composed.

"Of what guild are you?"

"And why do you ask, Sir…Lieutenant Schroeder?" I read the nameplate on his chest. So even the Guild Tower has that sort of hierarchical system.

Lieutenant Schroeder. I knew that name. He isn't a real person. Rather, he's a creation of the Game itself. I'm certain of it because I've talked to him a few times in the game, and he would be the one dropping me off at my mission sites with his car. And one thing about him is that he hates the Guild Tower and the major guilds of the 'current era'.

"Enough chit-chat. I give you my word. Drop your weapons and I won't inflict any harm on you." His muscles bulged, stretching the fabrics of his uniform even more. His hairless head glimmered under the barely lit area.

No matter what, I won't be able to win against him. If I remembered correctly, he was at least twice the level I'm at. He should have already surpassed level 50 and reached his 'Ascent'.

However…

"Lieutenant Schroeder, let's make a deal." I said, a grin appearing on my face.

"Deal?"

It's true. This guy definitely would listen to anyone out and would consider as long as he's on the winning end of things. There's one thing I could do to convince him. Hell, it's been my original plan anyway.

"Save me this once and teach me the [Secrets of Killing]."

His eyebrow raised and a bemused expression took his rough face. A hint of his teeth could be seen from his grin, "Hah. I'm not sure where you know of the [Secrets of Killing], but this ought to be fun. In exchange, what will you do?"

"I will take down the Guild Tower for you."

"…"

The look on his face. It was solemn. Probably since he was thinking of my offer, seriously considering it…huh?

"…Are you kidding me?"

At that moment, a huge figure reached out at me at a blindingly quick speed, and before I could react, the fists had already reached several inches from me.

"This ends here."

.

.

.

Leon entered around 5 minutes ago. When he was closer to the entrance, he could hear the ruckus being made outside. Rayes fights off the groups of reinforcements and subdues them. But as he got further away, the noises became nothing more than background noises. And now, he can't hear anything but the crawling of the creatures within this underground dungeon.

He had passed by several hordes of the monsters. Blood dripped down from the end of the shovel, and the baton also had some stains earlier. But the electric shock mostly evaporated it all, leaving dark marks on it.

The dungeon's structure was like the underground of a building. A mix of a parking lot and an endless tunnel. Looking back behind him, a trail of bodies were left behind.

['Weapon Mastery Lv. 6' has levelled up exponentially!]

['Weapon Mastery' is now at level 10!]

Most of his Points he'd given to Rayes to help purchase the items they were utilising, such as the [Obscuring Cloaks]. However, Rayes had told him to keep at least 2,000 Points for himself. Something about an entrance fee at their next location.

Suddenly, the floor started to tremble faintly and Leon staggered about, planting the shovel on the ground to hold himself up.

"What is this…?!"

[Dungeon boss has been made aware of your presence!]

[Dungeon boss has been made aware of your presence!]

[Dungeon boss has been made aware of your presence!]

…

The message appeared several times, causing Leon to be disturbed. The shaking started to increase, sounding like something had started moving. Dusts started to fall from above and that's when Leon finally realised what the time limit was for.

In 3 hours, the dungeon will collapse. This was a race against time. However, as he was instructed by Rayes, he continued to move forward, finding himself before an opening. There were two ways to pass. Just by a glance, he could already guess the structure of this dungeon. Leon mumbled something under his breath and turned around, seeing if Rayes had made his way down or not.

Still no sign of him.

He managed to walk towards the hole, stepping on something that made a clicking sound. It was then that a message appeared in the air before him.

[Dungeon Quest initiated…]

—

Dungeon Quest: [Labyrinth]

Difficulty: ★★★★

Requirements: Enter and defeat the boss of the dungeon to complete the dungeon quest. A treasure awaits within the labyrinth belonging to an ancient King.

Time Limit: 3 hours

Compensation: Dungeon treasures, possible boss drops, 4,000P

Upon Failure: Death by dungeon collapse

—

A maze. Leon contemplated whether or not he should enter. However, more dust fell on his shoulders and the place continued to shake unsteadily. Three hours. He didn't know just how big the labyrinth was, but three hours didn't seem to be a lot. After some time, Leon decided.

.

.

.

The structure of the maze was massive. But there doesn't seem to be any dead end. There was the possibility of moving in circles, but he already covered that part down. Leon made sure to leave marks all around, so he would know if he had just moved in a circle. Though that did leave him exposed, since the boss could easily locate his whereabouts.

Even if Leon wasn't an avid reader, the story of the Minotaur should be well-known throughout the world. So Leon could guess who he was going up against in this labyrinth. It was someone he should steer clear of at all cost, knowing the might of the Minotaur.

[You have left a 'mark' in the labyrinth.]

[Your story will be recorded in the 'Book of Myths'.]

There was also that message that kept appearing whenever Leon marked a new section of the labyrinth. Maybe he should have read more books about Greek Mythology, since there might have been a way for him to know about the passage of the labyrinth. It was certainly massive, him being less than one-tenth of the height of the walls of the labyrinth.

Leon hastened his speed and turned corners sharply, still not forgetting to mark the areas he had passed. He continued to run forward, coming up to a turn a bit further away.

[Your 'mark' has been spotted!]

At the message, Leon choked up. He turned around and felt vibrations slowly coming his way. Somehow, he was able to know that it was in his best interest to run away. As far as he could from her. Without any thought, Leon dashed forward, continuing to move forward.

He reached the end and turned the corner, continuing to run ahead. The shaking behind him got even stronger now. Like gigantic footsteps, it kept coming closer. He thought he could hear a wall tumbling somewhere within the labyrinth.

Another message appeared, startling him. As he read the contents, he continued to speed up, his face turning pale.

"Oh no…! Damn it!"

[You are currently being 'hunted'!]

[Beings slumbering within the labyrinth have been awakened and made known of your presence!]

"No, no wait?!"

After that, screeching noises came from the front. Black clouds emerged and headed straight for him. Only when it got closer did he realise that those weren't clouds, but bats.

Their red glowing eyes made clear that they weren't typical bats. Monsters within the labyrinth. That's what they are.

Without thinking any further, he swung his shovel while continuing his run. The blade of the shovel moved swiftly and caught several bats at once, cutting through them and killing a number in one move.

Blood parched the shovel and the air, splashing to the walls of the labyrinth. The bats that missed him turned around and redirected back towards him. But Leon kept moving forward, turning corners sharply to have the bats slam into the walls. He continued to swing his shovel at the bats in front, killing or swatting them out of his way.

This time, he was running down a long stretch of the labyrinth. He couldn't see the end of it, but continued to run. It could very well be a dead end, but there was nowhere to go but here. Especially because the thing was right behind him now.

He could hear the crumbling of the walls and the footsteps that teared down the floors of the labyrinth close behind.

He nearly made it to the end when a message appeared and he heard a deafening roar. Startled, he ran without checking the message and found a passage in the walls to his left. Ahead was a dead end. So he leapt into the small opening and rolled on the ground.

Leon managed to get up quickly, finding himself in a large circular room. Pillars were set up all around the room.

[You have entered the 'Boss room'.]

Ahead of him was a large throne with tiny cushions. The armrests of the throne were made of gold, sculpted into lions baring their teeth. And on the steps to the throne sat a golden chest.

The treasure of the labyrinth belonging to an ancient King.

It was there.