Chapter 2113: A Large Hedge Maze
Chapter 2113: A Large Hedge Maze
Adrian waited at the entrance with a small Dodu relaying information. He did not need to traverse the maze himself as he could just wait for his soulbounds to do it for him. He was keeping aware of each of his soulbounds location due to Dodu keeping track of everything. The connection via the soul link was still there but another point of view made Adrian help his soulbounds as well.
When his soulbounds could not decide which path to take then he would relay what to choose. He also got reports of enemies inside of the Everchanging Labyrinth. What surprised Adrian was that the enemies were not strong at the first floor. In fact, the enemies were none other than Hedge Bunnies which were level 5 monsters. These monsters were either roaming or laying in ambush via the hedge.
This sudden development made Adrian a bit wary as it might mean that there is already a player or another being (an NPC since the Labyrinth does not discriminate) to be in the upper floors. He might actually be the most current participant of the Everchanging Labyrinth and is lagging behind everybody else. Still, he did not get discouraged as he suddenly got a report from Kimat.
“Master, all my paths lead to a dead end.” Kimat stated in a sad tone.
Kimat is sad not because he failed but because there was a contest among the three of them. Well, Dodu does not really understand the competition much, but Sirius and Kimat do. It seems that Kimat has become a bit too confident in itself and challenge the older soulbounds to a contest. The first one that finds the exit will win. Adrian did not know what the winner will get as the soulbounds themselves seem to decide on that.
“If that is the case then you can circle back to the start and check on the paths that the other two have yet to traverse.” Adrian stated as he cared more about completing the first floor of the Everchanging Labyrinth.
“Since master says so.” Kimat stated in a rather happy but naughty tone.
Kimat returned to the start like lightning and blitzed to the left side where Sirius was searching. Dodu did not need any help in searching for paths as it just split itself when the path forks about. Adrian could also feel that Kimat is being a bit mischievous which is why he also chose the path that Sirius used.
Adrian needed to complete the first floor because he found out another special set of instructions and that is in exiting the Everchanging Labyrinth. Adrian tried activating the return function of the key and another set of rules suddenly popped up. He suddenly felt that the Everchanging Labyrinth is such a rule heavy place to explore.
[You wish to exit the Everchanging Labyrinth. Exiting without saving on the gate point before each floor will negate all the progress that you have made and refresh the floor.]
[Do you still wish to exit?]
Adrian is now told that all the progress he made will vanish when he exits without a gate point. He could understand that the gate point might be where the stair to the next floor is located. If he exits without finding the stairs to the next floor is then the maze that he tried to traverse will reset. The floor resetting means he will be returned to the start of the maze.
“I think I now know why the name is the Everchanging Labyrinth. It is not because it changes always but it changes whenever one gives up midway through. The rules basically tell you to finish one floor before exiting out of the Everchanging Labyrinth.” Adrian muttered as he saw two sad looking soulbounds return back to the start line.
“All of it is a dead end.” Sirius stated with his ears going down and his tail swaying slowly
“To think that I am this unlucky. I wanted to win against big bro.” Kimat stated as it plopped to the ground.
“Since the paths that both of you chose are not the correct one, Dodu can lead the way.” Adrian stated as Dodu gave the best route that it has taken.
Sirius and Kimat were no longer competitive as they already accepted that they have lost. They do not want to blitz the path that Dodu take as it was just a small child unlike them that are older. They still view Dodu as a Baby Slime even though it is now a different kind of monster. To the both of them, Dodu will be like the small younger sibling that they will spoil.
“Master, it seems that I have reached the end of my path. I did not see any stairs or gate though as it just opened up to another maze.” Dodu stated.
Adrian managed to catch up to the Dodu that found the next maze. Adrian and the others waited for the other smaller Dodu to return as the next maze suddenly opened up to two paths. Adrian wanted to exit the Everchanging Labyrinth, but all his progress will be lost. They might need to traverse the first floor once again as it will definitely change.
“Let us quickly finish this as we already spent one day traversing the previous one. I only have six hours of in game time left before I get forcefully logged out.” Adrian stated as he commanded Sirius and Kimat to blitz the paths.
This time, he had Dodu split into two with it riding both Sirius and Kimat. Dodu would then split its body when they encounter split paths. The soulbounds traversed the second maze and saw new monsters called Hedge Goblins that are level 10. The monsters became more powerful as they delve deeper into the maze, but it was still at the beginner level. In the end, Adrian was able to the gate point in under five hours due to the combination of his soulbounds.
[You have saved the First Floor Gate Point to the Everchanging Labyrinth.]