At the base of the pillar of light, a massive fifty-meter-tall golden gate appeared with a crackle of magic. Countless magical scriptures decorated the double door, sparking with blue threads of magic that all collected in a single large magic circle that floated facing the gate.
Arad stood before the gate and looked at it. The pillar of light seemed to be ethereal, just a haze of light and magic. Wind and objects can pass through it unharmed despite the blindingly roaring magic that forms it.
But…looking at anything besides the gate was extremely hard. Arad’s attention would quickly shift back to the golden glimmer as a deep sense of ambition, greed, excitement, and lust for wealth surged through his brain.
All of the girls, except Kali, froze for a second, their eyes fixated on the gate with dazed gazes. “Look at that… Did Merlin make it?” Aella gasped, and Kali looked back at her. “Of course, who else could?”
Eris smacked Aella on the back, “Did the hell’s stench wreck your mind?” Her eyes then shifted to Kali, “Let’s hurry then, we must enter before Arad and Merlin start to fight. I wonder what we’ll find inside.”
“Yeah.” Mira said with a large smile on her face, “I heard that the last Labyrinth created by Merlin had a lot of strange monsters. I bet their hides and bones can be used to make powerful weapons.”
“I helped her master her magic.” Betty flew forward and landed in front of Kali with a large grin on her face, “Now look how perfect this Labyrinth has become. I know she only needed some effort and strength of will.” She started floating, “But…I’d better explore its insides to make sure there is no flaw there.”
Kali looked at the girls for a few seconds. Something felt off, but her eyes were quickly drawn back to the beautiful, golden door. “I guess it’ll be fun to explore the insides. At least more exciting than the abyss.”
They marched forward and reached the massive golden door. Arad had already gone inside earlier. Kali approached the door first to see if it was trapped. To her surprise, merely standing close to the door felt nice; the rich magic in the air meant that most mages would feel at ease. Even fighters who never use magic would feel their bodies growing a bit stronger due to the mana supporting it.
But… she could sense several types of magic coursing through the gate and the golden light. Time magic was especially violent; one hour inside was equal to one minute outside it.
“Hmmm…” A voice came from between Kali’s legs, and when she looked down, Yog was sitting there, looking at the base of the door with a curious gaze. “When did you come here?” Kali gasped, shocked that Yog managed to slip past her senses.
“Just now…” Yog looked back at the girls and waved her hand, “You all go inside first, I have something to talk with her about.” Strangely, everyone thought it was fine and walked inside without a moment of doubt…only thinking about what exciting things they might find inside.
“Why did you show up?” Kali looked at Yog with a sharp gaze, and she shrugged it off, “Nothing, I just missed you. If you hate seeing me this much, you can go inside.”
“See you later then.” Kali was about to take a step toward the labyrinth’s gate when Yog tripped her. “Hold your horses and put your ass to the ground.”
Kali was unharmed by the fall. She rolled around and looked back at Yog, “Care to explain?”
“You’re the one who should explain.” Yog’s eyes shifted toward the rumbling gate, “Why is your divine magic in there?” She pointed at the Golden Gate.
“My divine magic? Yeah, I gave Merlin the power to fracture magic back to mana and consume it.” Kali looked at the gate closely. She could indeed sense a faint hint of her magic inside, but it wasn’t anything powerful enough to cause any harm.
Yog’s face twisted and contorted. She looked both amazed and disappointed, a deep sigh came out of her lips as she leaned on her hand and started rubbing her toes together. Soon her body started to float upside down as she began thinking. She first started doing this to get the blood rushing down to her brain, but now it was all just a habit.
She extended her foot toward the Golden Gate, and when the sharp nail of her big toe touched the pristine golden surface, a jolt of magic sparked, making Yog withdraw her leg with a worried face.
“She knew I’d come… I gotta give it to her, I’ve never dealt with a wizard as bat-shit insane and smart at the same time like her.” Yog looked back at Kali, “It’ll take me a while to analyze this labyrinth. Don’t go inside, no matter what… All gods are forbidden from entering.”
“Is this such a dangerous place?” Kali clenched a fist, “I can crack it and pull them out.”
“Don’t even think about it. Sit still and guard it, this world is empty, but I’ll be clear, no one else should be allowed inside, especially the gods.” But at that moment, Yog’s face twisted… “Damn it! Merlin, you’ve got me this time.” She glared back at the gate with an amused grin and sweat rushing down her forehead.
“I have to go.” Yog’s body got covered in blue magic, and Kali cried, “What’s going on?”
Yog halted for a second and looked at her, “Merlin is treading the red lines of what Mortals are allowed to do with magic without breaking them. I’ll look for any mistake so I can shatter this whole thing.”
Kali looked at the gate and sat down. She never seen Yog worried like that, Merlin must’ve created something far above what anyone should be able to with magic.
DING! Yog appeared floating in the middle of the sky beside Alina, and just as she feared, she could already sense them. Ten other labyrinths in this world beside the one that was inside Hati’s world.
One was right outside Alina, bordering Arad’s land. The other was close to the elvish capital, and another should be seen in the mountain range beside Hati’s house. One was beside the magic university, and one beside her Magic Tower, there was even one down at the dwarven lands and in the gnomish fields. She could even sense one that appeared in Star Islands where the chromatic dragon castle is. One was in the far land of Titans, and one seems to have appeared close to the half-angels and half-devils’ continent.
Yog growled, “She spread it all over the world…right under my nose.” She closed her eyes and sensed the magic in the whole universe, her expression growing worse and grimmer. Those labyrinths were appearing even in her world, with more than thirty ones there… no, some were even showing in the abyss and the hells.
“I see… She already spread those seeds long ago. The time she needed to gain by calling all of those summons was to simply connect with all of her creations.” She growled, “How did she manage to get past my forbidden knowledge? I’ve underestimated her.” Yog disappeared in a flash of light.
At that time, people were already preparing to start raiding the labyrinths spawning all over the world, everyone of them seeking riches and glory. Some wizards managed to read the scripture of the mysterious golden doors and cried, “He who reaches the summit shall be granted a wish.”
****
Aella opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, eyes looking at the moving white clouds. Without even looking, she could sense everyone else beside her. She sat up and looked around. “Kali isn’t here? She didn’t enter.”
Her body felt a bit weird, warm, cozy, and relaxed as if she had just had a good nap.
{Floor 1/1000: Endless Plains.}
{Endless Plains} [A safe zone with only level 1 monsters around. Endless and fertile green plains suitable for farming and living, the sun is always bright, and the breeze is always cool. In this place, no harm shall befall you.]
Aella blinked several times and rubbed her eyes, this strange thing floating in front of her eyes. A purple screen with several worlds floating inside it.
“MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” A strange voice came from behind, and when she looked, a herd of sheep was slowly approaching her and the still unconscious girls.
***
{Plain Sheep: Level 1}
{HP: 14}
***
The strange thing is that this place only houses level 1 monsters… those sheep looked like normal animals, but Aella didn’t want to risk a whole herd of them getting close… they might start breathing fire for all she knew.
Aella pointed a finger at one big sheep and fired a wind bullet. The bullet pierced the sheep’s lungs and heart, causing it to disappear into a puff of smoke. In its place, a chunk of meat and a bag of wool appeared.
{You Have Slain a Plain Sheep.}
Aella could see those items dropping on the ground.
{Plain Sheep Meat: Delicious, fat-rich meat.}
{Plain Sheep Wool: Soft, fluffy wool.}
As Aella was distracted by the words popping before her eyes, the whole herd of sheep charged at her, enraged at the murder of their brother. As expected, they got all wiped out with a single gust of wind.
{You Have Slain a Plain Sheep.}
{You Have Slain a Plain Sheep.}
{You Have Slain a Plain Sheep.}
…
{You Have Slain a Plain Ram.}
{You Have Slain a Plain Sheep.}
{You Have Slain a Plain Sheep.}
Something was mixed in there, and new items appeared.
{Plain Ram Meat: Extra Delicious, tough meat.}
{Plain Ram Wool: Strong and durable wool.}
{Plain Ram Horns: A pair of strong, durable horns.}
“What the hell is going on here?” Aella could only look at the sky with a worried face.
****
Far away, Arad opened his eyes in a soft bed. He sat up and looked to the side. His head throbbed like he had been hit with a hammer.
“Dear, did you get better?” Merlin, who was wearing an apron and cooking breakfast in the kitchen, looked at him with a smile.
Arad could remember, he had an accident yesterday while he was chopping trees.
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