Chapter 20

Rhys ran without looking back. He ran until his lungs burned and the forest was a meaningless blur of green and brown.

He didn't stop until the sun had begun to set, casting long, distorted shadows that danced like specters.

He finally collapsed at the base of a large tree, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

He was safe. He had escaped.

Rhys breathed a sigh of relief, the tension draining from his body, leaving him feeling hollow and exhausted.

The image of the girl with crescent moons for pupils was seared into his mind.

The terror she had inspired made every coping mechanism disappear; he shivered violently until his constitution produced a warm energy that finally dispelled the chill.

Anyway, this encounter was a reminder that there were beings in this world so far beyond his comprehension that he was nothing more than an insect to them.

[The Host has successfully evaded an entity of unknown origin and power level. Survival probability has increased from less than 0% to a statistically significant 0.01%. Congratulations.]

'Don't congratulate me,' Rhys grumbled in his mind, his heart still hammering against his ribs. 'Just tell me I never have to see her again.'

[Probability of future encounters cannot be calculated. Data is insufficient.]

'Useless.'

He pushed the encounter from his mind. He couldn't afford to dwell on it. He had a more immediate, more tangible problem to face. He had a Labyrinth to crash.

By dawn of the next day, he had arrived. The trees thinned, and the Dragon's Tooth mountain range dominated the horizon.

They were jagged, black spires of rock that clawed at the sky, surrounded by a perpetual, unnatural thunderstorm.

The ground squished beneath his feet. It took great energy to move without making a sound. He approached cautiously, using the terrain for cover.

From a ridge overlooking the entrance valley, he saw them. An army. No, two armies.

On one side, a massive, fortified encampment had been established. Banners bearing the crests of the five great families—Ashton, Thorne, Sterling, Crestfall, and the Royal Azure—snapped in the wind.

Armoured guards patrolled the perimeter with calculated efficiency, a wild contrast to the chaotic group from before.

They had sealed the entire valley. Since three of its sides were covered by the mountain range, they only had to defend the front.

On the other side, facing them, was a makeshift coalition: a chaotic collection of tents and banners representing dozens of minor families, merchant guilds, and a large contingent from the Adventurer's Guild.

They were outnumbered and out-equipped, but they stood their ground with a stubborn, defiant anger.

The two forces were locked in a tense stalemate. In the no-man's-land between the two camps, two figures stood, their voices raised in a furious argument that echoed through the valley.

One was the Royal Regent, Marcus Azure. The calm, authoritative mask he had always worn was gone, replaced by a face contorted with rage.

The other was a burly, bear-like man with a wild mane of red hair and a massive Warhammer strapped to his back.

Rhys recognised the emblem on his armour: he was the Guild Master of the provincial Adventurer's Guild.

Both men radiated the immense pressure of Core Formation experts.

"This is an outrage, Marcus!" the Guild Master roared, his voice like a thunderclap. "You hoard a discovery that belongs to the entire province! You treat the rest of us like peasants to be kept outside the gates while your children feast!"

"This 'discovery' is a matter of provincial security, Guild Master Landu!" the Regent retorted, his voice sharp with fury.

"It is the right and the duty of the great families to control it! We will not allow a chaotic gold rush to destabilise the region!"

"Destabilise? You have already done that! You found a training ground that will further double the strength of the entire province and decided to monopolise it.

What do your families think of us?

We know about the Feral beasts! We know a storm is coming! And you choose this moment to keep the greatest opportunity for strength for yourselves?

Does everyone in the great families have peanut-sized brains? Oh, no... I am sure even hamsters have more brain cells than all of you combined."

"You..."

'That's true,' Rhys mentally clapped. He then glanced towards the labyrinth.

There was nothing visible except palpable energy fluctuations and a transparent barrier that created a shade on the ground.

Labyrinths didn't usually show many changes on the outside, as they were portals that opened underground, leading to a pocket dimension.

Direct entry was impossible. The political situation had escalated far beyond what Rhys had anticipated.

He would be vaporised before he got within a hundred yards of the entrance.

'System, find a way in.'

[Analysing perimeter defences... The main entrance is protected by a multi-layered Spirit-Tier formation.

All ground and air approaches are monitored by Core Formation experts. Direct assault is impossible.]

'Spirit-Tier formation?' He was taken aback. The only publicly known formation master in the entire province was an Apprentice.

If one wanted to make a Spirit-Tier formation, they had to upgrade their profession to Artisan.

'Did anyone reach that stage already?' he frowned. 'Whatever, System, just find its weakness. Every formation will have one anyway.'

[Searching for loopholes... Analysis complete. The shield formation is powerful. It was designed to stop threats from above and the sides.

Its energy does not penetrate more than twenty feet into the earth beneath it. However, the labyrinth is protected by a formation the System failed to analyse.

It appears to be from a higher world. You have to enter through the main entrance; you can't dig through.]

'So, I can dig under the first formation, but to enter the labyrinth, I have to emerge and go through the entrance?'

Rhys glanced towards the short distance between the first formation and the labyrinth formation.

[Correct. The Host must dig under the energy field and then emerge upwards on the other side.

This will place you inside the shield's perimeter, but outside the physical cave entrance. You will be exposed.]

[Warning: The moment the Host passes through the energy barrier, a localised alarm will trigger, alerting every guard in the encampment to your exact point of entry.]

'How long will I have?'

[Calculating reaction times of Core Formation experts... You will have approximately three seconds before the first attacks land on your position.]

Three seconds. Rhys took a deep breath. It was a suicidal plan.

A millisecond's difference might kill him. But rather than the panic he expected, Rhys was oddly excited.