It was the butt crack of dawn, with the morning sunlight just barely beginning to appear in town. This would normally be too early for my comfort, or at least, would have required a LOT of coffee to get me moving, but I’d found that I didn’t need quite as much sleep as I used to.
My whole team stood in front of the Labyrinth entrance, all geared up and ready to go. However, we weren’t alone. We had company, not only in the form of Maya Ramirez, but also that of the other Wardens who’d wanted to see her off.
Simon and Davis stood off to the side, both looking half-dead in spite of the large mugs of coffee that they each held. I remembered that feeling well, which made me even more grateful for my youthful body and high vitality. Nash and McNichols were also present, both looking a little more awake and energetic than their superiors and seeming slightly smug about that.
After looking everyone else over, my eyes settled on Ramirez. She looked just as geared up and ready to go as the rest of us, which didn’t surprise me since Simon had been the one to train her. He’d always been a firm believer in punctuality, and it seemed that Ramirez had picked that up.
Ramirez wore the typical lightweight armor that Wardens provided for combat situations. On the surface, it resembled grey combat fatigues, but the material was tough and hard to cut through. Lightweight fiberglass plates were woven in at key points, as were some thin layers of impact absorbing material. This was better than the armor that most of us were wearing, making me feel a bit self-conscious about my own.
Of course, Ramirez was fully armed as well. She had a crossbow slung across her shoulder with two quivers of bolts, one on each hip. In addition, she also had a round shield and short spear, both of which she seemed confident with using, along with a combat knife strapped to her thigh.
Once I was done looking over Ramirez’ equipment, I glanced to the small pack she wore, which would be packed with food, water, and a few emergency supplies to help survive inside the Labyrinth. I was familiar with the contents since I was currently wearing a similar pack myself.
“Is everyone ready?” Bunny asked, her eyes settling on Ramirez, who stood there with a serious expression.
“Ready,” the Warden answered immediately.
“Ready,” I said as I held up my mace in demonstration.
Everyone else did likewise, and a few seconds later, Turtle marched forward and stepped through the entrance. The rest of us followed close behind.
Once we were inside the Labyrinth, we all paused to look around. Ramirez was immediately ready for a monster attack, which was a good sign. Olivia just pulled out her notebook and took a few notes.
“It looks like this area has changed,” Olivia commented.
That wasn’t a surprise since the Labyrinth frequently changed on its own, though the changes were usually relatively minor. Sometimes new tunnels could appear while old ones might go in new directions or disappear entirely. And sometimes, the types of monsters that occupied an area might change overnight, so you could go to an area filled with giant spiders one day, and the next day it might have venom spitting snakes instead.
“This area usually has giant rats,” Bunny told Ramirez. “When we get further away from the entrance, we’ll start to see more variety to the monsters.”
“Understood,” Ramirez responded.
“We have a formation we usually use when we go in,” Bunny continued to explain as Turtle started moving ahead. “Our tough guy in the front, while us squishy ranged fighters tend to stay back.”
It didn’t take long before Ramirez got to see us fight. A group of rats came charging at us from a side tunnel and Turtle immediately stepped up and grabbed their attention, while everyone else did their usual thing. Sir Fluff and three smaller rabbits all charged into the rat swarm while Ace and Olivia attacked from range.
“I usually watch for surprise attacks,” I told Ramirez, “and catch any of the strays that get too close.”
For most of the first battle, Ramirez stood back with me, but when a couple rats approached, she finally jumped in. She fought a bit like Turtle, using her shield to protect herself while reaching over her shield to stab at the rats with her spear.
We finished the first group of rats without much trouble, then continued on. When another group of rats attacked us a short time later, Ramirez took a more aggressive role, unloading a couple shots with her crossbow before shifting over to melee.
“There are a lot of these things,” Ramirez said once we were finished. “I’ve fought monsters before, ones who escaped the Labyrinth, but not so many at once.”
“It’s pretty common in here,” Turtle told her. “If you’re not careful, you can get overrun.”
“And it’s why we always go in a team,” Olivia offered.
“Except for this bitch,” Bunny added with a smirk, gesturing to me at she did so. “She survived down here, all on her own, for a couple hours. Pretty damn good for a new respawn.”
Turtle chuckled at that, then asked me, “How many rats did you kill before we found you?”
“I don’t know,” I answered with a shrug. “I lost count after using up all my fingers and toes…” I made a show of counting on my fingers, which got the others to laugh, even Ramirez.
“You do seem to be more prepared than most new players,” Ramirez said, giving me a curious look. I could tell that she was trying to figure out how to get more information out of me.
“Be prepared is the Boy Scout motto,” I told her with a chuckle.
Ramirez asked, “You were a Boy Scout?”
“Nope,” I answered cheerfully. “But they do have a good motto.”
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There were only three monsters, but that was more than enough. Each of the monsters was an enormous lizard, about nine feet long from snout to tail. They had dark red scales that were like armor, mouths full of sharp teeth, and little spikes on the ends of their tails.
“LOOK OUT!” Bunny shouted as one of the lizards charged Turtle.
Turtle crouched down and leaned into his shield, taking the hit and being pushed back several feet. However, he didn’t go down. Instead, he shook it off, then slashed at the lizard with his sword.
Ramirez glanced down at her own shield, then at the next lizard, which was quickly approaching. She paled at the thought of trying to repeat Turtle’s feat, though she still braced herself to do just that.
“That won’t work,” I told her as I opened fire with an ‘Invocation of Spite.”
“Yeah,” Bunny agreed almost cheerfully. “At least, not unless you get a class for that kind of thing.”
“And the right stats,” Ace added as he fired two blasts at the oncoming monster.
Sir Fluff rushed onto the lizard and began attacking, doing a quick stab and then moving on before it could retaliate. At the same time, three horned rabbits charged it from the other side.
I noted the fact that Bunny’s horned rabbits were a bit larger and stronger than they used to be. She’d said that increasing her focus let her put more power into her summons, and it looked like that was really paying off.
Olivia stood back, slowly gathering her arcane energy before firing a powerful blast at the monster Turtle was dealing with. Then she stepped back and winced, looking for cover until she was ready for another attack.
My eyes darted between the three monsters, the one that Turtle was fighting, the one that Sir Fluff was keeping occupied, and then the final monster…which hung upside down on the ceiling over thirty feet above. That one was completely out of range for the moment.
Just then, the lizard on the ceiling finally dropped down, crashing into the ground almost right beside Ramirez. It was shaken from the impact, at least enough for the Warden to back away and get some distance.
The third lizard recovered in seconds and then rushed straight at Ramirez, probably attracted to her movement. She threw up her shield in time to block the snap of its jaws, though she was knocked back and lost her spear in the process.
“Mierda,” Ramirez snarled.
I rushed towards Ramirez, raising my mace to strike. Before I reached her, she grabbed her combat knife and drove it right into the lizard’s eye. It hissed and began shaking its head before lashing out with the spiked tail.
“Good one,” I told Ramirez right before I slammed my mace into the lizard’s hip. There was a crunching sound before the lizard pulled away, now limping badly. “Now we need to give it a couple more.”
“Easier said than done,” Ramirez responded as she recovered her dropped spear. She glared at the monster with a look of fierce determination. “It would probably be easier if I had one of those abilities you players all have.”
“We also start out with three extra stat points,” Ace cheerfully pointed out, right before firing a blast from one of his scepters. “And that’s just a level one player, straight out of the respawn pool.”
“Yes, I am aware that I am behind the curve,” Ramirez grumbled. “But that is the whole point of this exercise.”
“She’s doing great for not having any player advantages,” I said as I reached for my dagger. “Clearly, she’s well trained.”
I smiled at that, feeling an odd sense of pride. After all, Ramirez had been trained by Simon, and since I was the one who’d trained Simon, I felt that I had a hand in her training as well.
With that, I threw my own dagger which hit the monster in its remaining eye, blinding it completely. The lizard thrashed around snapping its jaws and whipping its tail at nothing as it desperately tried to fight back against opponents it could no longer see.
“Nice,” I said with a grin.
I never would have been able to throw a knife that accurately if it hadn’t been for my talent with knives. I’d always been fond of knives, but ever since I’d unlocked that talent, they had become even easier to use.
A few seconds later, Ramirez was able to get close enough to drive her spear deep into the lizard’s throat. While she was doing that, I was shifting position and waiting for an opportunity. As soon as I saw her hit, I rushed forward and slammed my mace right onto the monster’s head. It collapsed to the ground, and after a couple more hits, it stopped moving.
One of the three monsters was down, but two still remained. I turned my attention to the other monsters, only to realize that between Bunny and Olivia, the second of the lizards was in the process of dying as well.
Then I looked to the first lizard, the one who’d attacked Turtle. Turtle had been keeping it occupied and had even injured it with his sword, but that one was still fighting. I hit it with an ‘Invocation of Spite’, then watched as Ace blasted it with a couple of his attacks. A couple seconds later, that lizard died as well.
Everyone backed away from the monsters bodies and then began dropping to the ground. Ramirez was on her knees, gasping for breath and wiping the sweat from her brow. I was the only one who remained standing since I wasn’t willing to lower my guard when another monster could show up at any moment.
“I really hope this pays off,” Ramirez finally admitted. “If I go through all this and don’t become a player myself…”
“That would be disappointing,” I said.
I’d seen other Wardens who’d attempted a Labyrinth run, and not all of those who’d survived the experience had even become players. For some people, it just didn’t seem to work, and I hoped that she wasn’t one of them
“Everyone rest up,” Bunny called out. “The stairs going down are just over there.”
“That is when the real challenge starts,” Ace told Ramirez. “That level is rough for us, so it’ll be even worse for you.”
“I know,” Ramirez responded with a look of determination. “I know what I signed up for.”
“Good,” I said, finally going over to recover the dagger I’d thrown at the lizard. I cleaned off the blade and then sheathed it. “I would have been real disappointed in your trainer if he hadn’t prepared you for this, especially after how well you’ve done so far.”