Ascension: Quest For Revenge

The Labyrinth (Part 2)

They continued to move through the labyrinth. By now everyone was on edge. Two were already dead.

After walking for the next two minutes, one of the contestants yelled: “When will this nightmare end?”

“Relax, it has only just begun,” the elven mage replied.

“Relax? Are you kidding me?”

“Screaming at each other isn’t exactly going to help,” another contestant said.

The group continued to walk aimlessly. After a while, the elven mage approached Axel, and asked, “Brooks, was it?”

“Axel Brooks,” he replied.

“How did you know about the control orb?”

Axel was a bit unsettled. He knew about the control orb because they were used everywhere in Bluegate when he used to live there; but mentioning that he was in Bluegate before the Great War would draw a lot of attention. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention.

“I happened to read a book about it,” Axel lied.

“Hm. Curious.”

“How so?”

“There aren’t many books in Raysig which talk about control orbs,” he said, staring at Axel. Raysig was the name of the district Axel lived in. “I should know, I’ve read all of them.”

“How do you know where I live?”

The elf chuckled. “Everyone knows where you live, Mr. Brooks. Your house sits in a crater.”

Some other contestants turned to look at Axel.

“You see, I’ve tried my best to collect as much knowledge on magic as possible.” He spoke quite formally, and sounded like he was proud of himself. “I’ve read every available book on magic in Raysig and the rest of Rayfort.”

“You mentioned.”

“And none talked of this control orb,” he continued. “Yet somehow you’ve ‘read’ about it.”

“You must’ve missed a book or two.”

“I doubt it.” Axel was starting to get sick of the mage. “And then there’s also the fact that you created a crater on the ground.”

“A magical experiment gone wrong,” Axel replied quickly, having practiced the same lie for the past five years.

“I’d love to hear about the details of this experiment.”

“What good will it do anyway? By the third trial most of us will be dead.”

“Well yes, that is correct,” he said. “However, on the off chance that you die, and I survive…”

Axel turned at the mage. “That’s not gonna happen. Trust me.”

“Your overconfidence will be your doom, Mr. Brooks,” the mage said with a smug smile.

“I suppose we’ll see,” Axel replied.

“Hm. I suppose we will.”

“Will yer shut up, all of you,” a dwarf yelled from ahead. “I can see the exit.”

Everyone turned towards the dwarf, then looked ahead. Sure enough, there was a bright light coming from an open door in the distance.

“How do you know that’s the exit?” one asked.

“What else could it be, you fool?”

“What if it’s a trap?” Belle said. Everyone turned towards her.

“That could be the case,” the Auremian said. “Or maybe we’ll set off a trap on our way to the exit.”

“We don’t have much of a choice,” another mage said. “This is the only shot we have at getting out of this mess.”

“I think the best strategy would be to charge towardss the exit!” The Reeper hissed. “Unless anyone else thinkss he’ss smarter.”

“I do,” the elven mage said. “Same thing as before.” He walked ahead and again used telekinesis to press all pressure pads, activating all traps before they get to them.

This time it didn’t work.

A pressure pad on the ground activated a trap, and instead of some walls closing or a trap door or spikes, it was a cage on the left wall far ahead, which opened up. A very loud and distinct shriek of a creature came from inside the cage.

“Oh no,” The elf said, backing up. “It’s a Reriken.”

The beast stormed out of the cage, slamming its huge horns into the opposite wall. It turned towards the group. It had a horrible, disfigured face barely resembling a bull, with two dense metal horns that could rip through almost anything. It walked on two metal legs, and had huge bulking arms with large metal fingers resembling claws.

It let out a terrifying scream. Everyone immediately drew their weapons. Axel summoned his long wooden staff with a curved tip and tiny red crystals attached on it. The elf’s rings glowed with energy.

“We don’t have to fight the monster, right?” A mage asked.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Belle said. She held her sword with her right arm while her left arm lit up into flames.

“What if we turn back?” a fighter said. The Reriken studied the group, quickly examining the warriors.

“We can’t outrun that,” the elven mage said. “We have to fight it head on.”

All of a sudden the Reeper charged at the monster, screaming loudly while holding both his curved knives in his hands. The Reriken didn’t move a muscle, waiting for its prey.

As the Reeper got close, he leapt off the ground. The Reriken swung his horns towards the fighter, missing by a few inches. The Reeper landed behind it; but instead of grabbing the opportunity and running towards the exit, he decided to pick a fight with the beast. He tried to stab its chest, but it immediately turned around and deflected it with its metal hands. Before the Reeper could make his next move, the Reriken grabbed his throat and picked him off the ground. Purple blood started trickling down from his throat as the rest of the warriors watched in horror.

“That i***t’s acting as a distraction!” The elven mage yelled. “Run towards the exit!”

“Reepers are excellent fighters,” one of the warriors argued. “Maybe we should save him-”

“You wanna commit suicide, go ahead,” the elf replied pointing at the Reriken who continued to choke the life out of the Reeper. The mage tried to run past the beast, but caught its attention. It swung the Reeper’s almost lifeless body at the mage, who ducked, then shot a blast of energy at the beast’s face, temporarily stunning him while he sprinted towards the exit.

The rest of the warriors immediately started running towards the beast, which let out another piercing screech towards the warriors.

Axel shot a continuous beam of energy, which the creature blocked with its left hand. It punched one of the warriors, launching him high into the air. The Auremian swung its club at the beast’s knee, causing it to buckle down on the ground. Axel created a glowing magical bond with his staff that wrapped itself around the Reriken’s right wrist, then pulled it into the nearby wall, causing the large claws to get stuck. One of the warriors chopped the arm off, causing it to roar in pain. It swung around with its left hand, knocking three warriors who were too close to the beast. Then it stomped on the ground, causing the entire platform to tremor like an earthquake. While everyone was dazed, it ran its metal claws into the chest of a fighter, killing him immediately.

Belle made way through the warriors and let out a stream of fire from her left hand into the Reriken’s gruesome face. It let out a brief scream, then immediately went quiet. Its metal horns started melting into its face. It fell on the ground with a large thud, and the battle was finally over.

“Nothing thirteen warriors can’t handle, right?” Belle said. Trails of smoke rose from her fingers.

“Twelve,” Axel said. “The elf ran like a coward.” He turned towards the Reeper’s corpse which lay on the floor in a pool of blood. He had bled out.

The dead human warrior’s partner kneeled next to his corpse, and then she held a crystal shard near his face. It was a soul crystal which absorbs life essence. It is a very expensive object often used to remember dead loved ones by; or alternatively used to create amulets to give magical powers to people born without them or who don’t have the patience to learn them. The practice of making amulets is hence hated by most people.

Axel made his staff disappear and the group walked towards the bright light. As they reached the exit, they squinted their eyes because of the bright sun. The elf was waiting with a frown out of the building. The audience started cheering.

“Took you long enough,” the elven mage said. The dead warrior’s partner tried to charge at the elf, but was held back.

“You’ll get your chance,” a mage told him.

“At last!” The announcer said, standing on a high platform. “The remaining eleven contestants have finally exited the labyrinth!” The audience cheer grew louder.

“Are you ready for the next trial?”