CHAPTER 55: THE WATCHER & REWARDS

Somewhere in the depths—far beneath the known floors of the Labyrinth...

A realm untouched by challengers. Where time distorted and reality thinned, pulsing with crimson veins of pure Rift energy.

There, a throne of coiled obsidian chains sat at the edge of an infinite abyss.

A figure lounged across it, wreathed in a living flame that whispered the secrets of broken dimensions. His eyes, burning gold over pitch-black sclera, widened with delight.

The 100th Floor.

The Warden of the Abyss, Ignil.

He had watched everything. The fury. The willpower. The refusal to die.

And most of all—the destruction of the Titan. A feat even the Rift had not foreseen.

A crack of delighted laughter echoed through the void.

"WELL DONE!" Ignil roared, rising from his throne, flames spiraling around him.

"Absolutely delicious! You broke the balance again!"

He waved a clawed hand, and before him floated a shimmering image of Blank, half-kneeling amidst scorched ruin, steam rising from his skin, eyes still burning with purpose.

Ignil’s grin widened, fangs flashing like daggers.

"This one’s not just surviving... he’s playing with death. Bending my rules like threads."

"Interesting...!"

"You have pique my interest, Human!!"

Behind him, standing silently within a shadowed circle of sigils, was a cloaked figure — the Herald.

Veydril, Keeper of the Depths.

Still as stone. Bound by command.

Ignil turned to him. "Do nothing to him."

Veydril stirred faintly, as if to protest.

"He’s not to be touched. Not yet."

"Let him claw through my trials. Let him rage."

"Let him ascend."

Ignil chuckled again, voice like molten iron.

"If he survives all 99 floors... then I’ll meet him myself again."

"And if he dies before that—" he smirked, voice dropping into a growl, "—then he was never worthy of my interest to begin with."

He turned back toward the image of Blank, watching intently.

"Run, little Vassal. Climb. Struggle."

"Make it to the depths."

"And show me a death worth remembering."

The image faded. The abyss pulsed in time with Ignil’s laughter.

-

[System Update – Quest Complete]

[You have cleared the 8th Floor of the Labyrinth.]

[Quest Type: Survival – Complete]

[Time Elapsed: 1 Hour, 49 Minutes, 26 Seconds]

[You are the First to Survive the 8th Floor.]

[You are the Fastest to Survive the 8th Floor.]

[Distributing Rewards...]

[Adjusting Reward Parameters...]

[Reward Tier Increased.]

-

The scorched field around me flickered as the mana storm began to fade. My breath was heavy—chest rising and falling as sweat dripped down my chin and hit the broken stone. I could feel the raw ache in my muscles, the screaming of nerves pushed to their absolute limit.

Still. I won. Barely.

The system’s gentle chime rang in my ears again.

-

[Skill Experience Allocated]

Your mastery has grown.

[Emberfang Style – Evolved Variant]

➤ Level Increased: 7 ⟶ 9

➤ Precision Flame Stance and Explosive Ember Stance gain enhanced transitions.

[Fusion Skill Recognized: Crimson Recast – Ember Conversion Form]

The fusion with Emberfang Style has been completed.

Adaptive combat form unlocked.

-

[Unique Reward: Shard-Touched Titan’s Cinder Heart (Epic)]

A crystallized core formed from a Rift-Born entity’s failed self-destruction. Still radiating unstable energy.

Can be consumed to gain a passive resistance to mana-based explosion effects or converted into a Catalyst-type evolution item.

[Currency Drop: Unique-Grade Magic Stone (Tradable)]

Estimated Rift Market Value: ₱1,000,000,000

Rare crafting component or universal high-value currency among Astral Traders.

-

I stared at the glowing gem that floated in front of me. The stone pulsed like a second heart—deep crimson with slivers of gold cracking through it.

₱1 billion.

’Back then... this amount could rebuild entire guilds. Now? It was the kind of money that started nations.’

-

[Set Drop: The Nullshade Vestments – Phantom Variant]

Grade: Unique (Untradable)

Type: Stealth / Anti-Magic Armor Set

Set Bonus: 3/3 Required

Nullshade Mantle – Disperses ambient mana around the wearer, canceling passive detection skills within a 10-meter radius.

Nullshade Veil – A faceless mask that auto-cloaks the user when still or walking slowly. Becomes fully invisible when crouching or hidden.

Nullshade Wraithbind – Flexible armor that nullifies minor enchantments and reduces magic damage taken by 20%.

Also grants passive mana presence suppression.

Set Effect: Vanish Protocol – Upon full set activation, the user becomes completely invisible to magical detection, scan skills, and aura tracing.

Effect disables automatically upon high-speed movement or active skill use.

-

As the last line faded from the system feed, the Nullshade Set shimmered into form before me—wraith-black silk and metal, woven with anti-magic threads and sealed by a crimson rune. When I reached for the pieces, they phased slightly, like they were rejecting the world around them.

A perfect set for someone who walks in both shadow and flame.

"Yeah," I murmured, letting the fabric brush against my fingers, "this fits."

With a single thought, I equipped it.

"Perfect," I muttered, my voice low behind the mask.

[All rewards have been transferred to your inventory.]

[Updating Floor Access...]

[You may now enter Floor 8.]

[Fast Travel Unlocked: Floor 1 ↔ Floor 8]

I opened my Inventory with a flick of my hand. A flash of system light unfurled in front of me, revealing the mess of items I’d accumulated. My gaze immediately locked onto a [Large Healing Potion], its deep crimson contents glowing softly.

"Let’s fix this mess first."

I gritted my teeth as the pain finally caught up—my ribs ached, my limbs trembled from mana depletion, and my knuckles were raw from the earlier exchanges. My body was practically hanging on by instinct.

I popped the cork, tilted my head back, and drank.

The healing surged down my throat like molten fire, and then—

Warmth.

Relief.

A cooling numbness spread through my core as the worst of the pain dulled, my wounds stitching up beneath the armor.

[Minor Internal Fractures Stabilized]

"Better."

I rolled my shoulders. Still sore. Still exhausted. But ready. I glanced up at the ceiling of the labyrinth, where traces of mana still trembled from the final wave’s collapse.

[System Alert – First Clear Recognition]

Your achievement shall be recorded in the Hall of Firsts.

A name is required for the inscription. This name will be eternal, visible to all challengers who follow. Choose wisely.

Please input the name to be etched into the Hall of Firsts:

(....)

And as usual, I entered the name "Blank"

[The name ’Blank’ has been registered.]

[Labyrinth – 8th Floor: Cleared]

[Cleared By: Blank ]

[Completion Time: 1 Hour, 49 Minutes, 26 Seconds]

[You are being returned to Earth.]

[Please stand by.]

-

’There’s one remaining floor before I reach the 10th. I better be ready tomorrow. Let’s get outta here.’

-

[You have cleared Floor 8.]

[Returning to Earth...]

[Cooldown started.]

[Time until reentry: 59 minutes, 56 seconds]