"Don't be an idiot! I don't steal another man's prey. I really am here only to protect my guild members. If it means that I kill the monster that is about to kill them then that is purely coincidental, nothing more nothing less."
Tristan had a Paladin sound of his trumpet, and called out his private army.
"If we do manage to kill all of the wyverns in this swamp, we will move further east, on to the unexplored lands of Grand Malodorant Dragonis."
* * * * * *
Smoke opened his eyes and found himself lying down on a dank floor and tied up with thick ropes. Still fully equipped in his Ruby Gora Knight Armor set.
The chamber was wide and had torches evenly distanced at ten meters apart. The DarkElf looked around and searched for Macher, but instead got a game notification.
- Entered Labyrinth of Zuchthaus
- Monsters inside the labyrinth are beyond logic.
- Suggested level for entering the labyrinth is 400.
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Macher's smug face came into Smoke's view.
"Finally, you're awake, Ilad. I was beginning to think that I'd just leave you here without a single explanation, but that would be just too unfair of me. After all, you're the reason why I can now afford one hundred Knights as members of my private army. Well, for the next two months at least."
"Macher! You bastard! I knew your offer was too good to be true."
"Then why did you take it?"
Smoke stayed silent and simply stared at Macher with hatred and bloodlust.
"If looks could kill, huh? I bet you're wondering what really happened right?"
The DarkElf tried to wriggle his way out of the ropes, but remained tied up.
"No need to get all excited. You don't have anywhere to go."
"Fine! What's the real deal here? Why did you offer to pay for my registration fee?"
"I thought you'd never ask. I'm on my way to acquire one of the main cities in Chayotl Kingdom(Western Kingdom). I know that this sounds crazy, but I really do want to be partners with you. Before you scream in disgust, just hear me out. It's just that I needed someone to round up all the royals into betting on one person."
Smoke's face became puzzled as he heard Macher talk.
"Royals? Betting? I don't understand what you're saying."
"Oh, of course you don't. All the nobles of Chayotl Kingdom had a bet on who will survive the Mounted Race event. It wasn't a bet on who would win first place, but who was certain to cross the finish line. I received a quest to find an individual that will gain one billion zecs worth of bet from the nobles, and make all of them lose their shirts. In turn I would receive 10% of the commissioned bet."
Macher went closer to the DarkElf, and helped him sit up properly.
"There, that's much better isn't it? Now, where was I? Right, the schmuck who would gather the bets of the nobles. Before I met you, I was gonna offer the position to Sagen, but I was already hesitant that he could catch all of the nobles' interest. When you made a fool out of Sagen in the finals, I knew that you were the man for the job."
The DarkElf remained stoic. He silently listened and stared at Macher.
"Thanks to you, Ilad. I now have all the requirements I need to win over Centzo city. Now, I just need a good right hand man to help me secure it."
The DarkElf shouted at Macher.
"Are you insane?! Why in the world would I ever trust you again?!"
Macher scratched the back of his head.
"Would it help if I told you that I didn't harm anyone else? Well, except for you of course. Your two Lioumerean friends made it to the finish line, and they won second and third place."
The DarkElf couldn't believe what Macher told him.
"No way! You're lying! Who could have defeated Gandiva and Laernea?"
"It was one of your Non Aggression Pact members. A Druid by the name of Soutien."
Aside from the winners of the Mounted Race, Smoke was also curious about their attack on the second largest Brandal base.
"What about the men under my command against the Brandal base? What did you do to them?"
"Nothing, nothing. They executed your last command perfectly. You were considerate enough to stay away from your men. Giving my Stealth Knights and Cavalry Knights the perfect opportunity to grab you."
"You had men inside our Non Aggression Pact? But that would mean that they would have Chaotic Evil alignments now."
"No, they weren't a part of your tricky little pact. They just mingled in among your men. They were smart enough to avoid head counts and other poor organizational methods that your Aqua Knight friend came up with."
Smoke took note of the flaws of his Non Aggression Pact. It didn't have a clear indicator that a person was a member without an explicit display of their Pact symbol.
"What about Ental, my hell boar. What have you done with her?"
"Oohhh. Let me rephrase myself. Nobody got hurt, except for you and your hell boar. It was unfortunate, but she wouldn't leave your side.”
Macher patted the DarkElf's left shoulder.
“I tried to shoo her away. I didn't want to hurt your mount. You know to help convince you that I mean well, but she just wouldn't leave. We were forced to kill her. I'm sorry, but don't worry about it. When I become mayor of Centzo, I'll buy you a better mount than your old hell boar."
Smoke slumped down lower when he heard Ental died. He thought that Ental didn't care for him, but she tried to protect him until her death. It took all of Smoke's patience to sit still.
"Ilad, are the gears in your head turning? Ohh… I think you're starting to consider my proposal of joining me on Centzo, right?"
The DarkElf shook his head left to right.
"You really are insane."
"I get that a lot, but believe me. I'm as sane as they come. I don't expect you to join me now, but maybe this piece of information will help me gain your trust. This labyrinth isn't inescapable. You just need to find a statue of a gargoyle and offer 30% of your level to it. After that you can escape. If you decide to join me I'll be waiting for you in Centzo city. Also about the Duke..."
Macher wasn't able to finish his last sentence. Duke Burmistrz arrived with six Brandal raid leaders. The mayor of Coatl walked up to the tied up DarkElf.
Smoke smirked when he saw the mayor of Coatl. He thought that the city's corruption was widespread, and he had his suspicions that the Duke was at the center of all this depravity.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the great uniter, Ilad, the Flame Knight. Winner of my city's tournament and a thorn on my side.”
Duke Burmistrz clapped loudly in a sarcastic beat.
”You had the gaul to rally up the racers and attack my Brandal bases."
Duke Burmistrz called for one of the Brandal leaders and asked for a spiked club. The Duke hit Smoke's face, the only unprotected part of the DarkElf.
"Did you know that I didn't want to send you to the labyrinth? I just ordered Macher to capture you, and to make sure you were unable to finish the race. But you were too good for that weren't you? You just had to attack my Brandals?"
The Duke bashed Smoke's face with the spiked club for multiple times. One of the Brandal's raid leaders called out to the Duke.
"My General, Ultimo Maire. It's time for us to leave. High General Lizardo is waiting for your call."
The Duke stopped his attacks on the DarkElf.
"Time sure flies when you're having fun. After your little fiasco, the Brandals stationed around Coatl were reduced to less than 400 men. If it weren't for my campaign in Centzo, I would have all of my 10,000 Brandals come here, and they would slaughter all of the mounted racers."
The mayor of Coatl wiped his hands clean from the DarkElf's blood.
"It's sad, but it's time for me to say farewell, Ilad. Don't worry I won't remove a single item from you. I wouldn't want you to say that I didn't give you a fair chance against this wonderful place. I doubt that any of your items will be useful to you though."
The Duke mockingly slapped the DarkElf's face.
"However, before I let you go. I'd like to inform you that the Tenebris have made special additions to the labyrinth. I think you'll find that this place is beyond the things that you might've heard about."
The supreme leader of the Brandals snapped his fingers, and all six Brandal raid leaders carried the DarkElf into a teleportation circle.
Red lights started to appear on the markings of the teleportation circle. In the next moment the DarkElf was gone.
"Before we talk to High General Lizardo. Order all 400 scattered Brandals stationed in Coatl to discreetly rally in the ruined base near Selatan. I want them to deal with a red Werebear and her Farmers and Fishermen."
* * * * * *
Smoke's saw a blur of flashing light. He had been teleported into a different part of the labyrinth. He used his ability 'Cunning of the Dire Fox', and detected no presence whatsoever.
He was teleported into a pitch black room. His first priority was to be free from the rope and to get a hold of his surrounding.
"Igniz, Flame on!"
His dark ember sprite released his hottest flames and burnt through the rope. Smoke removed his tri-horned helmet. Igniz flew out of hiding and whizzed across the new chamber that they were in.
Igniz illuminated the room. Smoke saw that this chamber was smaller than the one where Macher and Duke Burmistrz had previously held him.
Smoke's Rzeka glaive was too long and would be disadvantageous to use in a narrow place like this. Instead, this made him decide to equip his Flamdius sword and Armored Armadillo shield.
He took out his Beggar's tablet and started to create a map of the labyrinth. Smoke had prepared the things he needed inside the underground dungeon. He never thought that he would use them before the end of the Mounted Race.
Ten minutes later, Smoke discovered that he was in a sealed rectangular room with a size of 40 square meters. Despite the chamber's small area, the room had a height of 8 meters. There were four Corinthian columns on each corner which supported the room.
Since he was locked up inside, he thought to replenish his strength, and started to prepare a medicinal meal.
As Smoke cooked his food, his mind was deep in thought.
Smoke hated Tristan to his core. However, there was something that he had learned from his Archenemy which he had incorporated to his daily life in Zectas. His strong distrust for other players.
Sierra was the only exception to this rule. He knew that once he would get to a main city, he would be forced to interact with other players.
This idea gave birth to another persona. A facade that was meant to interact with other players.
Hence, Ilad was born. Smoke told the members of his private army that Ilad was there to disguise his identity, but the truth was, Ilad was there to protect himself from ever trusting another player.
He never trusted Macher from the start. The whole time he interacted with the Cavalry Knight as Ilad, was purely to gain Macher's trust.
Smoke knew that Macher's offer was too good to be true, and Smoke had experienced the reality of such a situation.
He assessed that the worst case scenario of accepting Macher's proposal was his death. However, the benefits outweighed the risks.
If Smoke learned Macher's true goal then he would be one step closer to the truth about Coatl's corruption. He never imagined that his plan to uncover Macher's aim would lead him to the labyrinth, and now he also knew the Ultimo of the Brandals, Duke Burmistrz.
The DarkElf silently thanked the Duke's egoistic nature that allowed him to be teleported further into the labyrinth with all his equipment intact.
Smoke drank his medicinal soup, and rested until his HP was fully recovered. He tried to use his 'Earth Manipulation' ability but the wall, ceiling, and floor of the chamber did not respond.
He tried to call Sierra, Darius, and everybody else on his contacts, but he wasn't able to get in touch with anyone. Communication to the outside world was impossible.
With his HP fully healed, he stood up and scrutinized the chamber walls once more.
"Igniz, come here. I need you to shine brighter, and show me these markings."
Smoke saw a six inched sphere like cavity in the wall. He tried to push it, but nothing happened. He tried to use the labyrinth key that Mitleid gave him, yet it was useless.
