Arad stared at the stairs in silence, "Here they are, he's really dead,"
"More than dead, his soul was destroyed," rlin said, "I don't know what happened to him, but it was a stroke of good luck,"
"Luck?" Amber looked at her with a tired face, "This is Arad we're talking about. I won't be surprised if he could pull sothing like this off,"
rlin thought about it, ^The devil's curse affects souls and enslaves them. I'm sure he tried to enslave Arad.^ She stared at Arad.
^Wait, if that's the case he must have touched her soul, she and Arad are tied together,^ rlin thought, ^The witch of curses Doma. I expected her soul to be powerful, but for her to beat a devil's soul. It must have been a close fight, but it's good she ca on top,^
"Let's check the stairs," Arad said as he approached them.
"Wait," Amber called them, "This devil didn't drop anything,"
"Of course he won't. He wasn't created by the maze but instead was captured by a few years ago. He must have been trapped here and defeated the boss,"
"So he wasn't the boss," Arad looked back.
"Of course, he isn't," rlin replied, "Devils don't just pop out of nowhere."
Amber looked at Arad, "It's extrely rare to find a nad race in a labyrinth. Unless it's people who got trapped there,"
"Speaking of that," Arad looked at them, "Do you think they figured the rules by now?"
"I doubt it," rlin replied, "Analysing the labyrinth's magic can take days, even with my help. Basic rules still apply but those won't be of help,"
"What are the basic rules?" Arad asked.
"Natural mana-less objects can enter, animals unbound to any druid or a mage, and non-magic air," rlin replied, "All aren't of help to us,"
****
Outside the labyrinth. "GAAAAAA!" A mage scread, rolling on the ground, "What the hell was that?" He growled, holding his arms. "Sothing hit my back,"
"I didn't see it, it's dark here," Another mage replied.
"Sorry, I can barely focus on the seduction barrier, I wasn't paying attention." Another said, "Did sothing hit you?"
"It smacked across the street," He stood, his back still hurting.
"Whatever it was, it must have run away," Another mage sighed, "Check your stuff. It's dark out here. It might have been a thief."
****
Arad approached the stairs door and held the knob, "I'm opening it up,"
"Don't worry, the monster can't spawn in the stairs," rlin stared at him.
"We aren't sure of that," He looked at her.
"This at least I'm sure of. If they existed in the stairs their magic would disturb the flow of mana between the layers, causing the whole place to collapse." She replied.
"If that's the case. Then can we destroy this place by shoving one there?"
"No, they can't physically get in there. To them, it's like there is an invisible wall blocking them." rlin approached the door, "This is a safe spot where we can retreat and rest,"
"Can we rest?" Amber stared at them, resisting a yawn, "I know we're in a dire situation, but we need so rest,"
"I'm used to staying awake," rlin stared at her, smiling.
"No, you two need to rest as well," Arad said, "I did sleep for a while. You two should take this chance,"
rlin nodded, "You're right," She then looked back, "Should we rest here or climb the stairs first?"
"Here we have firewood. We don't know about the third layer," Arad looked at them.
"We can sleep beside Arad," rlin said with a smile.
"You know the inside of the stairs is made of cold stones?" Amber stared at her.
"Don't worry, I have a plan," rlin smiled, "You take off your robe, and we will sleep in Arad's embrace, using that as a blanket,"
"No way," Amber stared at her, "I'm wearing so layers, but I would be in my underwear. You know I use fire magic to heat myself most of the ti,"
"You'll be in your underwear," rlin lifted the shirt she was wearing, "I'm completely naked. It's not the ti to complain."
"How about we take firewood with us?" Arad looked a them.
"Too much to carry, and you'll be exhausted again," The two stared at him. "We either sleep here or risk the cold upstairs,"
"We aren't risking the cold," rlin looked at Amber, "You're just risking sleeping in your underwear in Arad's lap,"
"That's a risk, and we don't even know. It might be an ice layer!" Amber glared at her.
rlin lifted one finger trying to say sothing, but she stopped for a mont.
"See? We can't risk it,"
"No, we can," rlin smiled, "Amber, can't we teach Arad how to control fire magic better?"
"It will take ti," Amber looked at him, "It's not worth it now. We have to survive with what we have."
"It's a safe space, isn't it?" Arad looked at them, "I'll carry the wood. We can then all sleep up there. Is there even a need to go? Can't we just rest here beforehand,"
"Depending on the nature of the layer we might need to prepare. It's best to have more ti," rlin looked at him, "It's all about not wasting ti. The longer we remain here, the stronger the labyrinth will get."
"She's right," Amber agreed, "We're pressed on ti,"
"How strong could this labyrinth get?" Arad asked.
"Probably high s-rank if it absorbed my and your powers." rlin replied, "That wouldn't have been a big problem if it was in the mountains, but it's in the middle of a city,"
"And that's your fault," Amber stared at rlin.
"Don't look at ," rlin cried, "I did provide the labyrinth core I got from a quest, but it's a constructed phylactery that failed." She flailed her arms in frustration, "The lord provided it saying he bought from the capital, I knew I should have made my own or sourced from a mage I know in person,"
"I don't know what that is, but you should've inspected it first," Arad sighed.
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