CHAPTER 46: LABYRINTH OF THE SEA GOD

There wasn’t even a leak or a drip; it was as if the water had spawned out of thin air. One of my classmates, Nightwalk, I think his name was, stumbled back as if to retreat to the exit, which was closed behind us.

"This isn’t normal behavior for a labyrinth, is it?" he asked, fear evident in his voice.

"We should stay calm," Amelia said, quick to assess the situation.

At the end of the room was a winding staircase. The system indicated we should reach the top floor, so it stood to reason we should go up.

CRACK!

An ominous crack sounded; it was faint at first but gradually increased in volume. It was coming from the stone sculptures, as if they were shedding their skin to reveal their true form.

From the statues emerged creatures that looked vaguely humanoid. Their skin was like black ink, with bioluminescent veins running over their bodies.

"They’re Thalassian Wraiths!" Amelia shouted. "Be careful of their ink; it can weaken your body!"

I instinctively began to separate myself from the group. Fighting while clustered together was a bad idea. As I created space between myself and the others, I noticed Hikari and Amelia pressing forward from the center of the room, seemingly trying to protect the others.

Their instincts to save everyone always baffles me. I guess it would be fine if they were smart about it but they were reckless.

Attacking from the center leaves both flanks open; the monsters could easily encircle them or slip past from the sides to go after the very people they were trying to protect.

There wasn’t anything I could do to stop them, so I quickly signaled to Luna to secure the left while I took the right.

Most of the students were huddled together in the center of the room, banking on their own strength to beat the monsters, while others were just cowering.

To be honest, I had forgotten almost everything I learned in class about the Thalassian Wraiths. I remembered something about their ink weakening the body’s defensive system, so it would be best to steer clear of it.

I steadily approached one of the gnarly creatures as it growled and hissed. When it finally spotted me, it broke out in a sprint. I raised the Middle Finger at the last second, hoping to take it down in one strike.

SWOOSH!!

It dodged.

I was careless.

The beast pivoted and evaded at the last moment, and with the awkward position I was in, it would be difficult to dodge its incoming attack. With nothing else to do, I braced myself to take the hit, hoping to absorb as much force as possible from the attack, but just then...

SKREEEE-THOOM!

An ear-piercing blast ripped through the air, causing the creature to explode right in front of me.

"You okay, man?!" the perpetrator of the attack that killed the Thalassian Wraith asked me.

It was the rank 3 hero of our class—Echoflare.

"I’m fine," I responded. "Thanks for the help."

He gave me a thumbs up and went to assist some other students.

That was close. If he hadn’t stepped in, I would’ve been seriously injured. This was the first time a beast had ever dodged one of my attacks like that. It wasn’t as simple as it dodging my strikes; it knew I would leave myself open after I swung.

It had intelligence.

A beast using its brain instead of relying on pure instincts was honestly terrifying. I had underestimated them and let my guard down.

It won’t happen again.

I quickly regained my composure and refocused my attention back on the monster. Its movements were sharp—not the usual wild swings you’d expect from a beast.

I was no master swordsman by any stretch of the word. Alliah had only taught me the basics of what she knew. To gain the upper hand against these monsters, I had to utilize my speed while mixing in some feints in my attacks.

I hacked at the beast, chopping away pieces of its flesh with each strike.

SKREEEE!!

The creature let out an ear-shattering screech that left me a little dazed. Then, out of nowhere, a spike flew off its chest. It barely scratched my mask as I pivoted out of the way.

It began launching more pointed black projectiles from its body. The more attacks I landed, the more I realized that most of its body was made of ink. Only a few parts were actually flesh and bone.

I used the Middle Finger to deflect its attacks, and when I got in close again, I slashed off its head.

Just like the harpies, the Thalassian Wraiths were a set of C-ranked beasts, so I only gained 15 skill points from it. By this time, the water level was up to my knees, and we were nowhere near the stairs at the back of the room.

It didn’t help that most of the students were useless either. If we were to continue exploring the labyrinth for the foreseeable future, it might be best to cut the dead weight.

Luna’s curses seemed to be doing well on the other side of the room. A few students had come to back her up, while Amelia and Hikari were drawing most of the beasts’ attention to themselves.

They were making quick work of them as they pressed forward. I did the same, cutting down the wraiths as we edged closer to the stairs, but it was getting increasingly harder for us. The water level was now at our waists, and a number of students had begun to pass out from the effects of the wraith’s ink.

They were being pulled by a few other students who were stopping them from drowning. When all the wraiths were finally killed, we began focusing our attention on the staircase.

The pathway was narrow, allowing only one student up at a time. With the water level steadily increasing and the only entrance to the stairs being submerged, we were forced to stall as only one could enter at a time.

When it was my turn, I hastily went up the stairs, but as I reached the top, a dizzy spell hit me—the same one I experienced when I traveled through a gate. As I got to the top, I realized the terrain had completely changed, resembling more of a cave.

I quickly turned to look at the staircase I had just come up on, and to my surprise—it was gone.