Denizens of the Labyrinth

Jazmel had been alone for less than an hour. Tera Nema and he had gone their separate ways he was alone again. Before making sure nobody could find him, Jazmel took some time to go through the system updates he had to skip.

NEW PLOT CREATED

PLOT CREATED!

HOME OF THE TREE

TAKE THE BRANCH TO MIRETE

WITNESS THE NIGHT OF THE DIVINE

PLANT THE BRANCH.

The system chimed into his mind, and he thought of the branch, he remembered that there was a trickle of Mana inside the branch when he had first found it. But he did not know what to do about the tasks of the plot. He did not even know what Mirete was, but it seemed the system believed he would find his way there soon.

PLOT CREATED

MARCH OF THE MONARCH

BEFORE THIS SEEKER BECOMES A MASTER, A MASTER TIER TRIBULATION ITEM MUST BE USED FOR EACH PART

REWARD!

ONE MONARCH TIER TRIBULATION ITEM OF CHOICE

This was remarkably interesting; he had not even heard of a Monarch before and now it seemed like the system was trying to prepare him for becoming one. He would ask Sadé or Patton about it when reunited with his group. His stats were the same, he had not even gone up a level after killing the spiders and the ghouls. But he was not worried, something would happen for him. Jazmel was sure of that and after situating himself, he began to head towards the foot of the mountain.

The marshlands had cleared out and now Jazmel was within the vale, grasslands all around but nothing of imminent danger. In fact, this was the first part of the dungeon where he had felt peaceful. The serenity that surrounded him was blissful, it felt like a dream. The river slurred a song, and he followed it on foot and by ear until it bled out into a wide and yet placid lake.

There was a single path that had been built across half the lake to a large open plan pavilion that had been erected in the centre of the lake. Painted pillars of peach and royal blue held up the octagon shaped roof and Jazmel was mesmerised by the beauty of the peaceful pavilion. There was a small table and a single man sat drinking tea. Jazmel could smell the fragrances, walking up the path. The man placed his teacup down and smiled earnestly.

“Welcome.” He motioned for Jazmel to have a seat and Jazmel did.

“Will you join me for a cup?” he offered, and Jazmel rose to pour but the man stopped him.

“Thank you for the offer, but it is my tea to share.” He said with a smile, Jazmel looked at him and studied this old man for a while.

The man was small, he sat upright beneath the table, but Jazmel could tell he was shorter than him. He wore simple robes of blue and white and his hair was tied back. Grey and streaked with black strands, Jazmel knew he was old, but he realised he could not tell how old he may be. He switched his eyes, but the man tutted his teeth.

“Let us not peer too deeply.” He said and Jazmel realised he could tell about his eyes. This stunned him, nobody had been able to see them before and so he stopped what he was doing immediately.

“Few ever make it to the pavilion.” He told Jazmel, as he held back a sleeve to pour a cup for Jazmel.

“Why?” he asked.

“Few are interested in the world. Everyone sees the end, the goal that they have in mind. But they forget about the journey, and where it took them.” he moved the cup over to Jazmel who thanked him and sipped.

“You stopped to look around and that is why I imagine this path opened itself up to you.” He sipped his tea too and grinned again. They sat in silence and simply enjoyed their cups and each other’s company.

“What do you hope for inside the Labyrinth?” the old man asked Jazmel and he realised that the man also knew this was simply a dungeon inside something much larger.

“I am trying to find out who I am.” He said honestly, he knew he was looking for Tango too. But he was growing curious with every step and every trial he overcame. He wanted to know who he was.

“Good answer.” The old man smiled and nodded, clearly pleased by what Jazmel said.

“Usually, I gift a single thing to those who make it here. But your answer pleased me so much, that I will do something else for you.” He said and with a rub of his chin he clicked his fingers.

DING!

The system chimed immediately.

MANA EYES ARE EVOLVING.

…

DING!

…

MANA EYES HAVE EVOLVED!

MANA EYES HAVE BECOME EYES OF THE DIVINE!

EYES OF THE DIVINE, eyes that see Mana and now the attributes attuned to it

Jazmel felt his eyes tingle, just a little and then the feeling was gone just as soon as it had come. He could not tell any physical difference but immediate he recognised that he did not need to switch eyes at all. He could see the Mana of all things as if normal for him. Now he could see it flow along veins that were intwined with the veins that carried blood around the body. He bowed deeply to the man and smiled gratefully.

“Tier I but coming up on your tier II tribulation soon. What are you lacking?” he asked, and Jazmel simply pulled his items from his storage. The twilight crown and the Nemean lion bone. Which drew an interesting sound of thought from the wise old man.

“Those are particularly good tribulation items to come across in the labyrinth. Though you are a newborn in here, you are walking a path few have walked before you.” He surmised and Jazmel wondered about his words.

“You need something of equal quality for your mind.” He thought for a moment and then a smile formed upon his lips.

He clicked his finger again and out of the lake a large fish landed beside him. There was no splash nor were there any fighting from the fish. It simply breathed its last as it awaited its destiny. It was a beautiful koi, as white as marble with a single jade bead in the centre of its forehead. Its fins were like silk and Jazmel realised he had never seen a fish such as this.

“This is a Celestial koi. They are rare this low in the labyrinth, but impossible things happen to happen all the time.” He winked at Jazmel this time.

“Celestial koi are the stage before they become divine and those that become divine go on to become dragons.” He explained and Jazmel sat there amazed.

“I am afraid I do not have a divine koi in this lake, but I also do not think your mind would be able to endure the most of that transformation either. So, the celestial koi is the next best thing for you. Seek stillness, I see you use a sword. stillness is keen as a blade edge.” He told Jazmel and something stirred in him.

He pulled all three items back into his storage and the man nodded while he sipped from his tea again.

“This is exceptional tea. But it was time you started to make your way.” He said with a smile, Jazmel nodded and sipped his tea a final time before bowing low to the man and then making his exit.

“I think I just met a rising star.” The wise old man said to nobody. Jazmel had already walked away from the pavilion.