"Sorry, buddy," I muttered to my imaginary audience, already half-dashing. "I'll tell you later what happened next." A massive explosion had just rocked the Labyrinth, and my instincts screamed Investigation! I hastily stuffed my fruit ration into my satchel, fumbling like a clumsy squirrel and dropping a few precious peachmangoes in the process. No time for spilled snacks!
More explosions detonated in the distance, each one rattling my bones and urging me forward. I ran toward the ruckus, leaping across crumbling ruin slabs, scrambling over jagged rocks, and expertly dodging ancient, gnarled trees. As I pressed on, a chorus of laughing howls pierced the wind-whipped foliage. Direwolf lizards, my mind guessed with a shiver that had nothing to do with the Labyrinth's chill. Bad news, I mumbled under my breath, my internal monologue already updating my threat assessment.
The explosions grew louder, closer, like a monstrous percussion section warming up. I zipped left, then right, with the precision of a seasoned gamer executing a perfect strafe. I launched myself across a gaping crevice, the wind whooshing dramatically past my face, threatening to redecorate my internal organs. I landed, executing a roll that would have made any parkour YouTuber proud—or at least, less likely to sprain an ankle. I'd seen the moves countless times in the loops, mentally practiced them in my head, thought of my muscles doing it, and then—BAM!—execution. I'd stumbled like a newborn gazelle at first, sure, but after a couple of repetitions, I was nailing it with increasing degrees of success.
"I must find a higher vantage point," I pondered, more to myself than to the wind. "Away from the imminent danger, with a good view, and maybe some invisible popcorn for the show." To my right, a ruined building, perhaps three stories high, sprawled with an unruly beard of overgrowth, beckoned. I zipped right and began to climb, scrambling up the crumbling stones like a terrified gecko. I reached a section where the ruined wall was missing a huge chunk, creating an impassable gap. I looked around frantically and spotted my solution: I could jump from the wall, bounce off a tree behind me, and spring up. I took a deep breath, channeled my inner ninja, launched myself from the wall to the tree, and then pushed off, soaring upwards to what seemed like the precarious remains of a broken veranda. I nearly plunged back down, flailing my hands wildly like a confused octopus to regain my balance. "Whew," I gasped with relief, my heart doing a frantic samba. "That was close."
Then, from my newly acquired perch, I peered towards the direction of the explosions. In a clearing to the northeast of the Labyrinth, vaguely in the direction of the gargantuan giant's statue, I saw them. "Adventurers!" My mouth flung open, hanging agape like a broken hinge. They were tiny, at least as big as a 25-centavo coin from this distance, but undeniably human-shaped. My heart pounded with a mix of awe and sheer disbelief. Finally, after all this time, I was able to see what they looked like for the very first time. I remembered Toni's cryptic warning: Be careful, and never say you're a fallen one. Also, my current strategy involved not engaging yet. I needed to assess the situation, see what I was dealing with. And besides, they were drawing a ridiculous amount of unwanted attention. "It looks like they're a party," I muttered to myself, watching the chaos unfold. They were being swarmed by various kinds of monsters I couldn't quite make out, but I definitely spotted some of those nasty Direwolf lizards among the fray. And in the thick of it all, they had a tank—a towering figure that looked like a shiny tin man from my distant vantage point—drawing all the monsters towards him. He was big and bulky, a living, breathing meat shield. He wielded a tower shield and what looked like a massive Warhammer, if my blurry vision served me correctly.
General Awareness:
Name: ???
Class: Imperial Paladin
Race: ???
Level: 47
Title: ???
Level 47? I mused. Is that a high level or not? What's the level cap of this world anyway? Imperial Paladin, huh? Probably a tank with holy skills, like healing. My gaming mind went into overdrive, furiously cross-referencing this real-life spectacle with my extensive library of virtual adventures.
Another figure caught my eye: a spellcaster cloaked in dark red robes, hurling fire spells with an enthusiasm that bordered on arson. Is that a tome levitating beside him? A sinister red aura fumed from the book—damn, that's so cool! He moved his staff in a wide circle, and then, poof! a magic diagram shimmered into existence above his wand, launching what I believed to be five glowing projectiles. Magic Missile! my brain supplied instantly. So, he was the one creating those booming blasts, drawing even more monsters into the already overflowing monster mosh pit. I instantly recalled the Labyrinth's feedback mechanism, which the giant in the cutscene had mentioned: the higher the level of disturbance, the higher the resistance. These guys were basically ringing the dinner bell for every beast in a five-mile radius.
General Awareness:
Name: ???
Class: Red Wizzard
Race: ???
Level: 51
Title: ???
Red Wizzard, huh? Fire spells specialist, I guessed. Level 51? He's even higher level than the paladin! I thought, crouched amidst the ruins, munching on a peachmango fruit, my personal version of invisible popcorn.
More and more monsters, a terrifying tide of scales and fangs, rushed towards their location, like white blood cells aggressively fighting off an infection. Whoa, I realized with a sudden chill. The Labyrinth is like a big living organism that protects itself from foreign bodies. And somehow, I've managed to survive this long due to my now advanced sneaking skills, coupled with my new hood's shadow ability. It was scary, even from this safe distance, how the Labyrinth reacted to its unwanted visitors. The Adventurers were eventually overwhelmed, swallowed by the monstrous horde. Then, out of nowhere, a blinding flash of light erupted. The attacking animals stopped for a second, then began to scramble, sniffing around frantically as if looking for something that had just vanished. "Did they use a Town Portal?" I whispered to myself, half-expecting the GameMaster to chime in with a tutorial. That whole encounter was short, brutal, and incredibly informative. I now understood just how frighteningly reactive the Labyrinth could be if I were to announce my presence with might and, heaven forbid, explosions. "Time to go," I told myself. "Before these monsters notice me and decide to vent their frustration on me. I'm not having that."
"What? You want me to continue what happened next on my date?" I addressed my audience, a cheeky grin spreading across my face. I descended from my perch, gracefully jumping from the ruined wall to the tree, executing a perfect roll once I hit the ground. Oh yeah, I am really getting the hang of this.
Well, nothing much happened, actually. We continued talking—about our jobs, our accounts, and even gossiped a bit about Garry, her team lead and my old friend. It was around 11 AM when I dropped Mimi off at her dorm, since technically we both still had work that night. I walked her to the gate, the sun unforgivably warm and glaring, stinging our sleepless eyes. I watched her as we walked side by side, Mimi happily recounting something, but I couldn't quite remember what. I was too busy soaking myself up with her image and presence. It was dreamy, heartwarming, and gave me butterflies in the stomach. She laughed, and though I didn't know what was so funny, I just kept smiling, genuine and free. I was happy. We reached her gate, and I confessed how truly happy I was that she had forgiven me, and that I'd had this day with her.
She smiled, but then a mischievous glint entered her eyes. "Why so serious? Hoy, we still have work tonight! You sound like you're going somewhere and saying your goodbyes." She puffed out her pinkish cheeks, her fist raised to the side like an angry, adorable toddler.
I laughed awkwardly. "Di naman" (Not really). To her, she'd probably see me tonight. But for me, I had no idea when I'd find that golden fruit again, when I'd next see this world.
We said our goodbyes with an awkward wave. I turned and started walking away. "Kiko!" I stopped, looked back, and bam! She pecked me on the cheek. What? You don't believe me? You say I'm lying? I'm telling you, it happened! Not like an animal peck, but you know what I mean. Well, you're the one who asked me to tell you the story. Why don't you believe me now?
Going back to that moment, she said, "I enjoyed today, thanks!" She blushed furiously, covered her face with her brown hair using her hand for some reason, and then ran away in a hurry. I was dumbstruck, smiling foolishly as I watched her disappear. "See you tonight," I whispered, a promise I wasn't sure I could keep. And that's it. I slept and woke up back here. Happy, right?
General Awareness:
Raptorbill:
Description: Highly aggressive, attacks head-on, carrion eaters, moves in flocks of 6-10. Stands 5'3" - 5'6", males larger than females. Vulture-like head the size of a football, with feathers on the neck that resemble a collar. Raptor body covered with dark red feathers, with raptor claws on feet. Has wings but cannot fly; only used to leap up to 5 meters high. Screeches when aggro.
"Hey, a lone Raptorbill." It must have been lost; I didn't see its flock around. "I think I'll have meat tonight," I thought with a sinister grin. I unfastened my knife-sword and snuck closer to the beast as it busily tore at the carcass of an unknown critter.
I hid behind a tree stump. Around 10 meters, I guessed, measuring the distance with my eye. I moved closer as it busily tore meat and gulped. "6 meters," my mind declared. I dashed as fast as I could, everything blurring around me. I zipped towards the overgrown dino-chicken with amazing speed. Just before collision, I saw the raptorbill swallow, its eyes widening, its jaw dropping. A loud "Toink!" echoed as we collided, sending us both rolling down a slope.
My body ached, and my head spun as I forced myself to get up.
A prompt popped into my vision: "Force Dash learned."
"Why now?" I groaned in pain. Then I heard a loud thudding sound coming towards me. I looked to my left, and there was the raptorbill, running towards me, mouth open, head ducked, going for the kill.