The elves in the area were getting ready to have their dinner. Some of them were zing around while others were looking at the pot with the food being cooked. All of a sudden, they felt a strong breeze passing through the area and the sound of a whoosh.

  The fmes uhe pot trembled for a moment, but they soouro normal. Some of them looked around for a moment, but they didn’t notiything odd, so they returo their usual activities.

  Meanwhile, G and I took a peek out of the byrinth and looked around. The pn had been a success… using Shadow Step with the leap effects of the boots. We could move a certain distand we would appear a few timeters above the air if we kicked the ground hard enough. At that moment, the effects of the boots would work and then we would cross a rger distance. While it wasn’t instantaneous as Shadow Step, we could cover a bit more than two times the same distance.

  “Good wirl. Now, let’s do what we o do here.”

  I whispered and G remained silent. Unlike me, she wasn’t taking any ces. We also had to keep fighting silently since we didn’t know if people were inside. I didn’t notiyone leaving the byrinth in several hours.

  In any case, it didn’t take long for us to find the first mohe creature emerged from the walls like a golem. It was a giant stone spider. The creature’s legs were posed of dark stone across their surface. pad angur in shape, their segmented legs resemble sharp stone bdes, grinding ominously as they move. Instead of typical spider eyes, glowione-like orbs pierce the darkness, adding an eerie aura to their appearanbsp;

  When still, the stone spider looked almost indistinguishable from rubble or carvings, a perfect camoufge in the byrinth. The trast between their rugged, inanic design and their predatory, lifelike behavior creates a chilling enter for adventurers, blending the maze’s enviroal hazards with a deadly, animated threat., or so it was written in the alchemy book on the side of the part that says that their poison restore stamina if they are mixed with lesser chimera poison and then purified by kobold fur… it was a rather dubious process.

  You received 08 experience points.

  Regardless, the creature died after getting hit in the head by several wind shurikens. They didn’t have a physical shape or any real weight, so they didn’t make any noise as they cut the head of the monster.

  I couldn’t leave the body behind, so I took the poison from the fangs of the beast and stored it in a bottle and threw the body in anic bag… I wonder if I could use them to smash my enemies if I let them fall from a certai. Their bodies were heavy thanks to the stone arms, after all.

  We began to move again and I couldn’t help but wonder when I would have the ce to use a guild. The stones of the monsters seemed useful. Perhaps they could be carved into something iing. Still, given that I am no longer ied in hiding my face, this robably impossible.

  ‘As I keep leveling up Shadow Step, eventually, no one will be able to stop me from entering a dungeon or a byrinth, uhey have some sort of magic barrier. Well, I guess I will be fine as long as there are no rivers, kes or an o nearby for people to try to drown me ihem.’

  While I was thinking about that, G suddenly bit my shirt and then pulled me to the wall. In the moment, I put a mana core on my amulet and on the amulet that she had on her neck. It didn’t take long before I was able to hear some footsteps.

  A group of elves approached in silend crossed the corridor. They looked quite exhausted and not very excited by the fact that they finally could leave the byrinth. They were so on the edge that they never noticed half a meter away from them.

  ‘This works for me, but why do I have a bad feeling about this?’

  I made sure not to leave any traces behind of our steps hts, so I wondered why I felt like that… I didn’t let the feeling bother me for long and then turned around to the area, but then I turned around again and began to tail those guys.

  ‘Let’s hope that I am not wasting my time here…’

  The group didn’t talk even on the way back to the exit of the byrinth and soon I uood why. They sighed and soon began to take out all the materials from their magic bags and the guards outside began to split everything. In the end, they only were returned one fifth of what they had brought.

  The group left without saying a sihing… I could only think that they had a lesser rank in the Elven society. e to think of it, Crice mentiohe ranks, but I didn’t notiy division until now.

  Still, if the elder of the area was an asshole enough to hire that annoying elf, he would be an asshole enough to tax his people this mubsp;

  ‘I hought that elves that are so long lived would worry too much about attainih… is this guy just different from the others or is he pnning something?’

  People with shorter lifespans often prioritize wealth because it represents security, fort, and a tangible measure of success within their limited time. The urgenake the most of life leads to a foaterial gain, as it provide immediate satisfa and leave a sting legacy for loved ones. Scarcity of time amplifies the importance of achieving visible milestones, with wealth often serving as a symbol of aplishment and a means to access opportunities or luxuries that might otherwise remain unattainable.

  In trast, individuals with longer lifespao ignore wealth, as their broader time horizons allow them to explore pursuits beyond material gain. Over time, the y of wealth diminishes, and its limitations in providing sting fulfillment bee apparent. They may shift focus to intangible values such as personal growth, retionships, and intellectual or spiritual pursuits, whiore enduring significe. Having the luxury of abundant time fosters a more patient and reflective approach to life, where the accumution of experiences and wisdom outweighs the tra satisfa of material possessions. At least this made sense in my head.

  ‘I don’t think that the elders of this area would have any es with the humans or with the dwarves, but now I ’t discard any possibility.’

  I decided to return in a hurry to the byrinth and then clear it as soon as possible… it would be troublesome if that group had defeated the bosses. That would make me have to wait for a full day. Still, w about it wouldn’t help. A couple of mier, I reached the end of the first floor and soon got a new opportunity. Sort of.

  You pleted a trial. Please choose between the csses: Spearman, Enter, and Toxic Assassin (Thief, Poison Crafter, and Ranger)

  I wondered why I didn’t get this option when I got the Thief css… I already had the other two csses, so this was all making my head hurt. Was it because I was reag some sort of milestone? Maybe it was because this new css could only be granted in this kind of a byrinth. Regardless, I made my choice… I wasn’t going to keep running away anymore. I had to face my demons.

  You obtaihe Toxic Assassin css.

  You improved the Magic parameter.

  You unlocked the Aptitude: Toxic Mastery.

  You unlocked the skill: Toxic Strike.

  You unlocked the skill: Venom Cloud.

  Toxic Mastery: Gain 1 point of experience for every sed an enemy is affected by your poisons or toxins. The amount increases acc to the damage caused.

  Venom Strike: Infuse your on with a potent poison that deals damage over time equal to half your strength and magibined. Poison sts for 10 seds.Cost: 10 mana. This effect stack when used in a succession.

  Toxic Cloud: Release a poisonous gas in a small radius around you, dealing damage equal to yic power per sed to all enemies caught within. Enemies affected are slowed by 20% for 5 seds after leaving the cloud. Cost: 30 Mana.

  ‘I am trying to bee aal archer, but it looks like I am destio bee a poisonous ohe only problem is that I didn’t hear anything about a poison affinity parameter.’

  I didn’t hat sidering how my blood was deadly, in a way that no antidote would be able to fight against it. In any case, I decided to head to the floor since G was itg to fight. It was hard to imagihat more people would be so te and deep in the byrinth and I could trust her instincts too, so I decided to hurry up.

  … …

  Ay was returning to the byrinth where the dark Elves lived after she firmed that Regulus disappeared and had left the area. She kept a calm expression as she moved, but soon her heart began to race when she saw signs of torches ahead. It was impossible to miss the light that they offered to the forest so te at night.

  Ay knew very well that the other dark elves wouldn’t be stupid enough to use torches outside and in front of their byrinth, so there was only one expnation… people that shouldn’t be there were nearby.

  Using one of her skills, Ay mixed with the darkness and then began to move toward the area where the suspicious individuals were… and soon enough, she firmed that they were heading in the dire she came from.

  The group was made of several elves carrying silver bows and a single swordsman in the middle of them. They were following the traces of the bike that Regulus had left before.

  ‘They had e too fast… it looks like Renna isn’t as trustworthy as our leader expected. That or something else must have happened…’

  Ay could tell that Regulus wahe alchemist css in that byrinth, but he will have to reach the thirtieth floor to get that css. It was hard to imagihat he would pull off before he finds himself surrou the entrance of the byrinth.

  When they disappeared in the distance, Ay returo the Ioids byrinth, but sooopped when a silhouette emerged from it. It was their leader, showing a serious expression on his fad with a piece of paper in his hand…

  WritingMaeGun