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*****
It had been about fifteen minutes since Deon and Alexia had been sitting side by side in the labyrinth’s corridor, taking a short break before continuing their exploration.
After desperately trying to remove the artifact he had taken from the mausoleum guardian’s body, Deon had finally given up.
Neither of them spoke. Only a heavy silence filled the air.
Beside them, a small fla floated in the air, serving as their light source. Alexia had conjured it because she disliked the oppressive darkness surrounding them.
Both felt awkward, yet neither could find a proper topic to start a conversation. To avoid saying sothing foolish out of discomfort, they each busied themselves in their own way.
Alexia had taken out her rune grimoire, trying to read it, while Deon stared blankly into space with a faint smile—or rather, at his status window.
The reason for his smile was simple: his stats had skyrocketed compared to when he first entered the portal.
"No risk, no reward," he thought with a half-smile.
It was as if he had already forgotten the pain he felt when the mausoleum guardian had torn open his abdon and smashed his skull.
---
[ Status Window ]
Na: Deon
Race: Human
Rank: E ~ D
Experience Value: 748 500 / 5000
Strength: 65 100
Agility: 57 100
Mana: 80 100
Endurance: 100 100
State: Normal
Intelligence: 100 100
Luck: 90 100
Aura: 80 100
Attribute: Neutral (None)
Stat Points: 600
Skill Tree: Innate Skill
1 - Enhanced Senses (100%) : S
2 - Sixth Sense
3 - Third Eye
Title: The One Who Overcos Adversity
Class: Mage
---
"Why are you smiling like that? Did sothing good happen?" Alexia finally asked, trying to break the heavy silence.
"Hmm, yeah, you could say that. I just leveled up," Deon replied.
"Huh? You an you just reached rank C?"
"No, I just advanced to rank D."
"What?! Rank D? So before entering the portal, you were rank E?!"
Alexia was stunned. She had always assud Deon was already rank D.
"Damn it, do you realize how dangerous that is?" she continued, both worried and angry.
"Calm down, I was already close to reaching rank D," Deon replied.
"Still, being able to fight monsters stronger than yourself is already amazing. Few people can do that. But I’ve been wondering... what’s your class? Are you a mage or a swordsman?"
"Hmm, Alexia?"
"Yes?"
"That’s a secret," he said with a teasing wink.
"Ugh... what was that look?" she muttered, a bit flustered.
"Nothing. But that grimoire intrigues . What is it?" he asked, pointing to the rune-covered book.
"Should I tell you?"
"Only if you want to."
"It’s an artifact I obtained after my fight against a mummified mage."
"Mummified mage?" Deon repeated, intrigued.
Alexia nodded.
"She was very strong... and she could talk," Alexia admitted, taking the chance to briefly recount her battle before they t.
Deon shuddered as he listened to her story.
"I’d better assign my stat points," he murmured, summoning his status window again.
As he reviewed his updated stats, his eyes caught on a new skill: Third Eye.
"Third Eye, huh..."
Deon was about to try it when footsteps echoed down the corridor. In an instant, his hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
Alexia had heard the sound too, but didn’t overreact. She simply turned her head toward the noise, her expression tense.
The small fla floating nearby grew brighter. As they both prepared to strike, two human silhouettes erged from the shadows. Their builds resembled Theo and Alia’s.
"Alexia, I think that’s Alia and Theo," Deon said.
Barely had he finished his sentence when Alia and Theo stepped out of the darkness, entering Alexia’s circle of light.
"Alexia!!!" Alia shouted softly before throwing herself into her friend’s arms.
"Alia, are you okay?"
"Yes, but it was hell getting here."
Unlike the girls’ emotional reunion, the boys’ exchange was brief and straightforward.
"Oh, you’re here?" Deon asked as Theo stood with his arms crossed.
"Yeah."
"Good. You’re not, by any chance, a monster in disguise, right?"
"It’s like you’re reading my mind," Theo muttered, shivering at the mory of the invisible creature before regaining composure.
"No, I had the sa thought, but I think we’re safe."
"Yeah, this portal really is strange," Deon replied.
"You’re telling ."
Unlike Alia, Theo was still wary of Deon and Alexia—and after what he’d just gone through, it was perfectly understandable.
"Theo, didn’t I tell you it was them?" Alia said.
"Yeah, you did."
Alexia understood Theo’s suspicion, but she knew Alia so well that even if soone tried to impersonate her, she’d notice imdiately—and the feeling was mutual.
Though so people underestimated Alia, Alexia knew how strong she truly was. That was one of the reasons she’d invited her to join the team as support.
"Tell , were you two together this whole ti? What did you face before getting here?" Alexia asked.
Theo and Alia fell silent for a mont before Alia spoke.
"After entering the mausoleum, Theo and I found ourselves trapped in a corridor caught in a loop. Every ti we tried to leave, we ended up right back where we started. Eventually, we tried breaking the labyrinth walls, but it didn’t work. That’s when an invisible creature appeared before us."
Alia recounted everything they had experienced in detail. As she spoke, Deon and Alexia’s expressions grew more serious.
"And that’s about it," she concluded.
"Hmm... An invisible creature with intelligence and wisdom. It could be human... or sothing close to it," Deon speculated.
"Could we defeat that thing if we joined forces?" Alexia asked.
But the answer she got wasn’t the one she hoped for.
"Probably not without being wiped out. Don’t forget—it can read minds and summon shadows... and that’s only part of its power," Theo replied.
"Damn... Every ti I get stronger, sothing like this cos along to remind I’m just a frog at the bottom of a well," Deon sighed.
"And you two? What did you encounter?" Alia asked.
"Unlike you, Deon and I were separated right at the start. While exploring, I ca across a mummified mage and fought her. Unlike the creature you saw, she couldn’t speak properly, but she did show so intelligence..." Alexia explained, briefly describing her battle while deliberately omitting ntion of her legendary artifact.
She then recounted how she had eventually found Deon and their fight against the skeleton horde, without going into too much detail.
Deon remained silent.
"Seems like you two had it rough as well," Alia said.
"We did. We were just about to continue exploring when you showed up. Are you tired? If so, we can rest a bit before moving on. Otherwise, let’s go now," Deon suggested.
"This place gives the creeps. I’d rather leave as soon as possible," he added with a grin, glancing at Alexia to gauge her reaction.
"Still no reaction. One day, I’ll get her to respond," he thought.
"Let’s not waste ti. Staying here won’t help us. And who knows what that creature is planning? We’d better hurry," Theo concluded.
Without delay, they set off toward the center of the labyrinth.
As they walked, Deon focused on allocating the stat points he had earned from leveling up.
> "Where should I put these 600 points?" he wondered.
After analyzing his last battle, he made his decision.
"I’ll prioritize Strength, Agility, and Intelligence," he thought as he distributed the points.
---
[ Status Window ]
Na: Deon
Race: Human
Rank: D
Experience Value: 1248 / 5000
Strength: 165 150
Agility: 157 150
Mana: 180 20
Endurance: 200 100
State: Normal
Intelligence: 200 150
Luck: 190 10
Aura: 180 20
Attribute: Neutral (None)
Stat Points: 00
Skill Tree: Innate Skill
1 - Enhanced Senses (100%) : S
2 - Sixth Sense
3 - Third Eye
Title: The One Who Overcos Adversity
Class: Mage
---
In his battle against the mausoleum guardian, his strikes had lacked power, and his agility had been insufficient.
As for his Intelligence stat, Deon suspected that without the 100 increase he gained when his innate skill reached S rank, he wouldn’t have survived the synesthesia.
During that ti, the amount of information his brain had to process was overwhelming. All his senses were feeding him input simultaneously, and his mind had to analyze everything instantly.
It would have been impossible without his increased Intelligence—so Deon had decided to keep prioritizing it.
"I wonder how strong I’ve beco compared to Alexia," he thought as they delved deeper into the labyrinth’s corridors.
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