"Drake, do you really want to do this? We"ve got a second chance in our lives, we could live normally - and have families," Billy asked while petting his horse."I told you. You don"t have to come if you don"t want to," Drake replied in an annoyed tone.
Billy sighed in disappointment even though he had probably already guessed this was how Drake would respond.
It was afternoon and the bright sun was up. Everyone was preparing the necessary things before entering the labyrinth.
I was carrying the sword Aurora that the Duke sent for me and a small bag with basic things like some food and knife.
The sword was surprisingly light and balanced. The sharpness of the edge made up for the force lost during the impact.
"Okay everyone, no matter what happens we must stay in a group. Lucy will be our guide, she is going to check if there are any dangers ahead and only after she says it"s clear we will move forward," I said carrying my bag.
Lucy nodded saying "Umm-hmm" while folding her arms. But her tone quickly changed when she realized the danger of what I was asking her to do, "W-w-wait, why me?"
"Well, you said you were our guide and mentor," I replied. She was small so the traps that were set for us may not work on her. I was also planning to use Flare for scouting, so this was just an extra measure in case.
"Princess Anna, can you summon King and send him ahead of us too," I said looking towards her.
"Okay, but I am not sure if I can maintain his presence for more than 3 hours a day," princess Anna replied.
She then summoned King and started giving him instructions. But since I couldn"t understand them, I moved on to others.
"Drake you should stay close to us if possible. It can be dangerous if you go around alone," I said looking towards Drake. But as usual, he ignored me.
"Man, that guy."
[Flare, can you check if it is safe to enter?]
After I said that, Flare entered.
[Master I got in. Everything looks fine inside.]
After Flare gave a green signal, I looked towards Princess Anna and nodded. She understood what I was trying to say and sent King inside.
But right after it entered, it disappeared.
"Nara, I don"t understand what happened, but I couldn"t supply magic to King," said Princess Anna in a confused tone.
"Hmm... It looks like there is something that acts as a barrier between the mana inside and outside."
"Something must have cut off your mana supply. Flare said she is fine inside so you will probably be able to summon him again when we are inside," I replied and walked inside the entrance.
"What the heck!"
After I entered and looked back, there was nothing but an old wall behind me. I looked around and noticed this was nothing like the cave we saw from outside, I was in a big dark pa.s.sage.
"Was it teleported here or something."
[Flare, can you hear me?] I tried communicating with Flare telepathically.
[Yes master. I am not sure what happened, but everyone disappeared right after they entered and there is something preventing me from coming to where you are.]
[Ah, I am alright so don"t worry. Try looking for others, they must be in here somewhere inside too.]
[Okay master. But please re-summon me if you come across any danger.]
[Yes, I will so don"t worry.]
There was a big door around 500 meters away in the pa.s.sage, so I walked towards it. I created a small fireball on my hand to light the way.
There were many skeletons on the way, but they weren"t showing any sign of movement, so I ignored them and looked towards the entrance.
"After watching what Beelzebub did to the villagers back then, this could hardly be called scary."
When I reached the door and touched it, I heard a mechanical-sounding voice in my head.
"Welcome unchosen challenger. You are certainly interesting, but you are definitely not the chosen one, do you still want to enter the Labyrinth of Panacea?"
"What is this place and who are you?" I asked in surprise.
"I am the "Voice of the Labyrinth". This is the place where the unchosen challengers face trials to prove that they are worthy to challenge the Labyrinth. You can either die here or pa.s.s the trials."
"Guess I have no choice then."
"What will I have to do to prove that I am worthy?"
"You will have to answer the three questions. If you answer them honestly, I will take you to the floor of another trial, but if you fail to answer any of them, you will be left here to die."
"Okay then, what are the questions?"
"First question, what do you hope to accomplish by entering the Labyrinth?"
"I just want to get the medicine that can save my friend."
"Hmm... Then you are no different than others who came here before. They all came here seeking the same thing as you want. Some said they wanted to save their child while others wanted to save their wife, lover, or friends. Are you sure that is your answer?"
"Yes, I have no other reasons. But was that your second question?"
"Erm... No. The second question is: What if there is no such medicine and you only end up losing your other friends?"
"I am not sure," I replied. This was my biggest fear in this journey. I could probably use Zagan and Flare"s power together and destroy the whole place but what would I do after that? My anger may be settled but the regret would never let me live.
"Third question: Do you fear death and desire to become immortal?"
"I do fear death like everyone else and want to be immortal. But that being said, I don"t have a strong desire for it," I replied.
"You pa.s.s!"
"Huh?" I asked in surprise.
"Don"t act surprised now. I just told you to answer "honestly" not "correctly". There were no wrong or right answers to those questions."
As the voice was saying that, the door opened with a cracking sound.
"Well, with this you pa.s.s the trial of truth, there are still nine more trials that you will have to pa.s.s before entering the labyrinth."
"Isn"t that a bit too many for just entering the labyrinth?"
Right after I entered and before I could even look back, the door I entered from closed. When I looked around, this room had no skulls like the earlier one.
I was surprised since the way my first test went, there should be many who could pa.s.s the trial of truth.
As I was looking around, I heard a heavy voice that said, "Welcome to the trial of strength."
Next Chapter: The Chosen One - Part 2