Cherreads

Chapter 16 - Luminous Labyrinth

"Okay, Adrian, where are you taking me today?"

"Young Master, glad you can join us. A couple more of us will be coming along today as well. You will still be going solo, but we will set up a base camp you can return to when a need arises."

Jack looked puzzled. Adrian and his father, Alaric, were both skilled. They wouldn't suggest more people unless it was necessary for some unknown reason.

--

Upon entering the dungeon, Jack saw a large chamber with one way forward. The large room was covered in moss and large grass.

Suddenly, a prominent notice appeared in Jack's face.

[The Luminous Labyrinth]

[B-Rank Dungeon]

[WARNING!!! STRONG FIELD BOSSES DETECTED!!!]

'Strong field bosses?? Wait, there's more than one here?'

[Yes, Jack. That's what I said. Try to keep up.

"Jack, we're going to set up camp here. You'll know when you need to return." Adrain said.

"Really, I'll just know?"

"Yes, you will," Adrian said as he chuckled.

--

Jack checked his weapons and gear, ensuring he was ready to go.

'System, is there a mana potion or something I can get for future use?'

[Yes, there is a recipe available in the reputation store. Or you can purchase some in a few towns over from Sorne.]

'I should probably just make some, that would be the best.'

Alright, anyway, let's get going to see what this Dungeon has.

As soon as Jack stepped through the passageway, he was in shock.

'Wait, this is a labyrinth?? That's freaking cool!'

A large labyrinth was laid before him. Stone walls stretched left and right. There were three large openings scattered throughout the maze.

'Those must be the Field bosses.'

But Jack knew deep down that it came with its fair share of trouble from all the games he had played.

Jack was a completionist at heart, so he knew deep down he was going to be spending a lot of time in this maze.

--

"Captain, are you sure you didn't want to tell him about this dungeon? It can be quite dangerous for someone who doesn't know what he's doing." A knight said.

"Yes, I'm sure. He'll be fine. He won't make it to a field bosses any time soon. He'll just come back here when he needs mana potions."

"Okay, I hope he doesn't run into a Terror or Dread rank monster."

--

Jack walked down the maze and entered the labyrinth.

[Enemies detected]

[Field Boss:3]

[Enemies: 10,072]

'WHAT! 10,000 ENIMIES!!'

[Did you forget how to read Jack?]

'No, I did not. I'm just checking there are that many enemies.'

[Enemies:10,142]

[Enemies: 10, 265]

'WHAT!! Is it going up?'

Jack realized this could be a gold mine. The enemy count continuously goes up.

Even if Jack only earned 10 EXP, if he killed 1,000 monsters, Jack would rank up his lightning mage class to Rank 7.

[Quest received: Slay 200 Monsters | Reward: 20 Skill Points.]

[Quest received: Slay a Field Boss | Reward: 2,500 EXP.]

[Quest received: Reach the End | Reward: ??, ??, ??]

'That's weird. A quest with three rewards, but I can't see any of them.'

Jack walked for what felt like 10 minutes. No creatures were in sight, and no sounds could be heard.

Bubble! Dribble!

Jack began to hear strange sounds, and the darkness in the labyrinth grew deeper.

A glowing, lime-green ball appeared before Jack.

'What is that?'

[Enemy Detected: Slime | Rank: Vile]

'Wait, a slime is vile rank?'

This seems easy enough. It's just a slime.

Jack had watched enough TV and read enough manga to know that slimes were the starting point for monsters. This would be a walk in the park compared to the last dungeon.

Jack approached the slime and stabbed it with his spear. Nothing happened.

He gripped his spear firmly. Planted his feet and struck the slime again, only this time he swung harder. Nothing happened.

'It must be immune to physical attacks. Let's try some magic.'

Lightning Shock!

A purple colored lightning spark erupted from Jack's spear. It entered the slime's body, and it evaporated.

A pile of goo was left on the floor.

[Congratulations on slaying your first Slime. Reward: 10 Skill Points.]

[Congratulations on slaying your first Vile Rank monster. Reward: 500 EXP, 10 Skill Points.]

[Reward: 60 EXP]

'Analyze'

[Description: Slime ectoplasm. A worthless monster ingredient.]

'System, how do I store this material?'

[To avoid having people get confused. You will want to get a small cube and pretend it's a storage cube. Just stick your hand out and think about it.]

--

A monster-drawn carriage approached the Kaiser's mansion.

It was a luxurious carriage that was pulled by a massive creature. Anyone who kept up with the Kaiser knew who this was.

Right beside the carriage was a 5-meter-tall creature. It had crimson red scales. Large black horns that emerged from its head. Giant red eyes and occasionally spat fire from its mouth.

Its most striking feature was its giant black wings!

It was a wyvern! Not many families could tame wyverns. Signifying how important they were.

Wyverns were intelligent creatures. They could sense when someone was calm or when someone was afraid. If not for the fact that it was tied to the carriage, the wyvern would have tried to eat some livestock by now.

The carriage opened, and Cassius Sunblade, Violet Sunblade, and Aurora Sunblade stepped out of the carriage.

"Ah, Alaric, my dear friend. How's my son-in-law doing?" Cassius yelled as he exited the carriage.

"He is off in a dungeon right now. He'll be back later today." Alaric said with reverence as he greeted his old friend.

"You're sending him to the dungeons already? He's been awake for what, a month?"

"He needs to be strong if he's going to take my title. You know how I was raised. I was thrown into dungeons by the time I was eight. He's behind everyone. I look forward to him catching up. He needs to be strong."

"Yes, yes, I know. But, enjoy some time with him before you turn him into a warrior." Cassius said with a slight frown.

"Enough about Jack. How are you doing, Aurora and Violet?"

"I am doing very well, my lord," Violet said, curtsying.

Aurora just curtsied and bowed her head as she headed inside.

"Has she always been this quiet, Cassius?"

"Yes, she doesn't really speak anymore. I'm hoping Jack can bring her out of her shell." Cassius said with a disappointed smile.

"So tell me about this Rhys Lufiel boy. Why is he so interested in your daughter?" Alaric said as he clenched his fist.

"I haven't the faintest idea, but as soon as he heard Jack woke up, he rushed to throw his hand for Aurora," Cassius said as he threw his shoulders up.

"Fucking elves," Alaric whispered under his breath.

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