The bright light of the teleport faded. One second, Daniel was standing on the safe metal platform.
The next second, he was somewhere else entirely. This new place felt… weird.
He stood in a long hallway. The walls weren't made of rock or metal.
They looked like smooth, grey stone, but they pulsed with a faint, strange blue light, like veins running under skin.
The air hummed with a low energy that made the hairs on his arms stand up, different from the wild energy of the jungle he'd been in before.
There was no sky, just a high ceiling lost in shadows. It smelled dusty, old, and a little bit like electricity after a storm.
"Welcome to the Shifting Labyrinth, I guess," Daniel muttered to himself.
Nyx whimpered softly from inside his pouch, probably not liking the strange humming sound.
"Yeah, me neither, girl."
He looked around. Where were the other recruits? When the teleport light faded, he'd seen others nearby, but now he was alone in the hallway.
Had the labyrinth separated everyone on purpose? Or had he just been teleported to a different starting spot because of his high rank?
Either way was fine with him. Less chance of someone trying to stab him in the back for his (now slightly famous) SSS-Talent.
He started walking, his E-grade boots making almost no sound on the smooth floor.
He kept his hand near the C+ Twin Fang daggers strapped to his thighs.
His D-grade bow felt ready on his back. He activated his [Aura Sense+] skill.
It felt different here. Usually, it spread out easily, like ripples in water, letting him feel living things nearby.
Here, the humming energy in the walls seemed to push back a little, making his sense feel thicker, harder to push out.
He could still feel things, but the range seemed a bit shorter, maybe only 35 meters instead of 40.
And he felt… movement. Not creatures, but the walls themselves. They were shifting, sliding almost too slowly to see, like the whole place was breathing.
"Okay, 'Shifting Labyrinth' wasn't just a fancy name then," he thought.
"This could get annoying fast." Getting lost seemed like a big part of the test.
He walked for about ten minutes. The hallway twisted and turned. Sometimes side passages opened up, sometimes they closed off.
He kept checking with [Aura Sense+], making sure nothing snuck up on him.
Then, he felt it. A single life signature, moving jerky, up ahead around a corner.
It felt cold, not like a warm-blooded animal, but not like the dead cold of the Skeleton Wolf either. Something else.
He slowed down, activating [Ghoststeps+]. The faint camouflage effect helped him blend into the dim blue light of the hallway.
He peeked around the corner.
It looked like a giant centipede made of the same grey, pulsing stone as the walls. It was maybe three meters long, with dozens of sharp, clicking legs.
Its head had no eyes, just a big, round mouth filled with grinding stone teeth.
It crawled slowly along the wall, seeming to chew on the pulsing blue veins.
Daniel used his Nexus Interface to scan it.
[Stone-Eater Crawler - Level 3]
Stats: Moderate Strength, High Vitality, Low Agility, Very Low Spirit.
Abilities: [Wall Camouflage], [Rock Bite], [Tunnel Sense]
Threat Assessment: Slow but Tough. Blends with environment. Can chew through defenses. Relies on sensing vibrations.
Level 3. Slow, tough, bad eyesight, probably feels things moving through the floor. Good thing he had [Ghoststeps+] making him quiet.
Its High Vitality and likely tough stone body meant his daggers might have trouble unless he hit weak spots.
But its Very Low Spirit? Perfect target for magic.
Daniel decided to start with a bang, literally. He stepped silently into the open, about 20 meters away.
The Crawler didn't react, still munching on the wall. He raised his hand, gathering energy. "[Mana Bolt+]!"
FZZZT!
A bolt of purple energy shot down the hallway and slammed into the Crawler's side. Sparks flew!
The stone hide cracked where the bolt hit, and the creature flinched, letting out a high-pitched screech like rocks grinding together.
It stopped chewing the wall and turned its eyeless head towards Daniel, sensing the attack's origin.
It hissed and charged. 'Low Agility' was right. It wasn't fast, more like a determined shuffle, but its grinding mouth looked like it could bite through his D-grade vest easily.
Daniel grinned. Too easy. He sidestepped the clumsy charge. As it passed, he drew one of his C+ daggers and activated [Venomous Strike+].
The blade glowed faintly green. He slashed quickly at one of the leg joints where the stone plates seemed thinner.
Shink!
The dagger bit deep! Greenish poison spread quickly into the joint. The Crawler screeched again, stumbling as that leg buckled.
Daniel jumped back before it could swing its heavy body around.
It tried to charge again, slower this time, dragging the poisoned leg. Daniel just danced around it, his Agility (over 115 now!) making him seem like a blur to the slow creature.
He peppered it with two more [Mana Bolt+] hits, aiming for the cracks the first bolt had made. More sparks flew, chunks of stone armor broke off.
The Crawler seemed confused, unable to pinpoint the fast-moving, quiet target.
It stopped, lowered its head, and seemed to listen to the floor, trying to feel his footsteps.
"Not gonna work, buddy," Daniel said quietly. He used [Ghoststeps+] again, circling behind it silently.
He saw a spot near its tail where the armor plating looked thinner, maybe covering some kind of power source or nerve center?
He decided to try his physical powerhouse move.
He focused energy into his fist. "[Kinetic Hammer]!"
"Boom!"
He punched the spot near the tail with all his might. The impact sound echoed loudly in the narrow hall.
A visible shockwave pulsed outwards from his fist, rippling through the air.
CRACK-CRUMBLE!
The Crawler's back end exploded into stony dust. The front half spasmed violently, clicking its legs uselessly, then went still.
The blue light pulsing in its body faded out.
[You have slain: Stone-Eater Crawler (Level 3)]
[EXP Gained: 65]
[Level 2: 186/500 EXP]
Nice chunk of EXP. Daniel walked over to the dusty remains. He placed his hand on the largest chunk.
A wave of cold, stony energy flowed into him. It felt different from animal or human essence,
dry, heavy, ancient.
[Soul Assimilation successful on Creature: Stone-Eater Crawler (Level 3).]
[Gain: Strength +6]
[Gain: Vitality +9]
[Gain: Adaptability +4]
[Assimilation Charge Consumed (10/15 Remaining).]
Good stats, especially Vitality and Adaptability. Useful for getting tougher. No skill this time, but that was okay. The attributes were worth it.
He looked down the hallway. The walls seemed to shimmer slightly faster now. He continued walking, more alert.
After a few minutes, he came to a T-junction. Left or right? [Aura Sense+] didn't feel any immediate danger either way. He chose left randomly.
He walked about fifty meters, then the floor ahead suddenly glowed with faint blue lines, forming a complex pattern.
A trap? He stopped, observing. The pattern pulsed rhythmically. He crouched down, looking closely. Pressure plate? Magic rune?
He remembered the Hunter class skills he'd unlocked. [Trap Mastery (Basic)] gave him some fundamental knowledge.
This looked like a simple pressure-activated energy discharge trap. Stepping on the lines would likely trigger a blast from the walls or ceiling.
How to get past? He could try jumping over it, but the hallway wasn't very wide. He could try disabling it, but his trap skills were basic.
He looked closer. The pattern didn't cover the entire floor. There was a narrow strip, maybe only thirty centimeters wide, right against the left wall that wasn't glowing.
Risky, but maybe the safe path?
He activated [Ghoststeps+] for maximum quietness and balance. He carefully placed one foot on the narrow safe strip, then the other, moving slowly, hugging the wall.
His heart beat a little faster. One wrong step… He made it across. The glowing lines faded behind him.
He let out a small breath of relief. This labyrinth wasn't just monsters; it had tricks too.
He continued on. After another turn, he heard sounds ahead ,the unmistakable fzzzt of magic bolts, a panicked shout, and the screeching sound of another Stone-Eater Crawler.
He slowed down, using [Ghoststeps+] to approach silently.
He peeked around the corner. A young woman, maybe one of the recruits he vaguely recognized from the platform, was desperately fighting a Crawler.
She wore basic F-grade gear and was using an E-grade fire spark Talent, shooting tiny embers that barely seemed to annoy the stone beast.
The Crawler was slowly backing her into a corner. She looked terrified, her mana clearly running low.
Daniel paused. He could easily step in. One [Kinetic Hammer] or a few [Mana Bolt+] hits would end the fight instantly.
It would save her life. But… it would also reveal his power level. It would draw attention. Questions would be asked.
And honestly, saving every struggling recruit wasn't his job. Instructor Rostova's words echoed: Relying solely on individual talent is a recipe for a short, brutal career.
This recruit had clearly relied only on her weak Talent and hadn't prepared well. Maybe this was her lesson to learn, harsh as it sounded.
He made his decision. Survival of the fittest. It was the core rule of the Verge.
He pulled back from the corner, his footsteps completely silent thanks to his skill. He took a different passage, leaving the recruit to her fate.
A flicker of something cold passed through him, but he pushed it down. This was the path he had chosen.
The path of the lone hunter, the scavenger of power.
He ventured deeper into the maze, the strange blue light pulsing on the ever-shifting walls, feeling the weird energy of the place seep into his bones.
This labyrinth was just beginning to show its teeth.