Tale Of Unknown: Hero From Zero

16. Labyrinth Lord

As usual, Riyan did what became his daily routine, exploring the sixth floor of the Hexaphilia labyrinth. Almost every day he came out of his cave to find a way out, but until now there has been no clue about it. When he returned, he would always drag one or more monster corpses, big and small.

But today, he discovered an oddity that he had never discovered.

"Glay, do you know what this door is?"

No voice answered his question. In front of him there are two large door leaves as high as 4 meters with a pattern that describes death. Riyan did not recognize this door because there is no data about the door that is more suitable called the gate in the book that contains various knowledge and information of the Hexaphilia labyrinth.

He just looked at the gate in front of him with a complicated face. His brain was filled with all the possibilities that could occur when entering the room behind it. After a while, he got four possibilities.

'First, the door is the one that can return me to my home world. Second, there is a secret room that may be the final resting place of Luctas Hadwin, the founder of this labyrinth. Thirdly, the place where it was sealed was an extremely powerful monster like a boss or something. Fourth, the exit.'

All four of those estimates appeared in his brain in turns. Since there were no clues, he could not choose one to believe in. Although there are four possibilities in his mind, but his heart has two choices, enter and examine it or let the door that may contain the room, closed until he is ready.

According to him, the highest possible percentage is the third possibility, the place where a monster is sealed is very strong. Riyan was not a short-minded person who immediately lunged in without preparation, he thought of all the forecasts that could happen.

"Well, tomorrow. After all, I also felt tired from all day exploring the labyrinth and killing these monsters."

While saying that, he looked back. There are various kinds of monster bodies that are lifeless and tied with ropes. The reason why Riyan conducted a large-scale hunt was an experiment. He took the internal organs of the creatures he had conquered, then flowed a certain amount of mana into them to see what his reaction was. If useful, then he would continue to conduct large-scale hunts against these types of monsters. If not, then the opposite.

He turned around and walked back to his cave, of course the corpses of the monsters he also brought. In order not to be heavy, he dragged them roughly, as if no matter what the conditions were. Since it was a corpse, there was no reason to care about it. Arriving in the cave, he immediately separated each organ of the monsters, then his flesh in the asapi to make it more durable.

It had been quite a while since he had fallen to the sixth floor of this Hexaphilia labyrinth alone, he had started to think about the outside world. He had hardly thought about it before, as his brain was constantly working in order to survive in the terrible conditions of the floor. The food chain here is also chaotic due to the many unique mixed monsters.

Giant lizards fall prey to four-legged monsters, while they will become food from cave bats. And even more terrifyingly, Riyan had seen a frog-type monster, devouring a whole goblin. At the beginning he fell here, often his life almost floated because of the pursuit of these terrible creatures, but with his [Distract] skill, he managed to escape from every hunter.

"Hm, how are Typhany and the others, huh? I'm quite worried."

He dropped his body on a pile of skin that had transformed into a small mattress. To his right was a bonfire over which were the flesh of monsters that had been hung by ropes.

While daydreaming at the ceiling of the cave, he wondered what Typhania and others were doing in the palace. Maybe they go back to their exercise routine every day, without worrying about anything. Suddenly, he recalled Gilbert's actions for the last time, the moment of determination. Recalling this, Riyan's forehead shriveled for a moment, then smiled.

'Gilbert, he doesn't seem to hate me that much.'

Satisfied with daydreaming, he sat up and raised the meat of the monster he smoked in panic, because an unpleasant smell began to smell. When lifted, the part closest to the fire looks hard textured and black, in other words charred. Subconsciously, he hung it too short to cause the meat to burn. Because his stomach started to sound, inevitably he had to eat it.

***

The next day, after filling his stomach, he went straight to the giant door he had met yesterday. Inside the labyrinth was extremely dark, there was hardly the slightest light sneaking in. On the other hand, the outside is very bright because the sun is reaching its highest point, inversely proportional to 180 degrees. Fortunately thanks to [Owl Vision], Riyan was able to see in the darkness as clearly as possible.

"Hm. I still have my doubts, even though all the equipment I have brought."

While staring at the giant door that was in front of him, he muttered. Unlike usual, this time he carried everything he needed in a sling bag that was once a robe. His clothes were still the same after two months more fell on this floor, only wrapped in monster skins that he sewed so that it became a simple leather armor.

In terms of appearance, Riyan did look very unfit, because of the many stitches on his shirt, but he did not care. He is more concerned with the defense status obtained from the results of his hand skills. If viewed using [Appraisal], it would be like this.

---

Name: -

Type: Armor/Leather

Defense: 410

Effect : -

Material: Leather [Minotaur], yarn [Wild Gwinwydd]

---

Indeed, the defense status provided by the armor is nothing compared to the defense status of Riyan, but this is better than nothing. After all, in order to avoid all the negative-effect possibilities, he had to prepare everything as mature as possible, moreover this time there was a possibility that he would fight against this floor monster boss.

Then, he advanced to approach the door until it was about half a meter away. He lifted his right hand and placed it on one of the doors. He began to tense his muscles and push so that he could pass through the door that looked like the gate.

After a few seconds, the door opened little by little and he stepped inside. When he made it through the tightly shut gate, Riyan immediately looked around to check what was there. It did not take long, he realized that he was in a room that was quite spacious.

Suddenly the torch around the room spewed out a huge fire, then shrunk to fit his container which might only be as big as a restaurant tray. As a result of the fire that suddenly lit up, Riyan suddenly closed his eyes because he was not used to the bright light. A few moments later, he opened his eyes again while blinking many times to get used to it.

But, when his eyes opened, he saw a throne made of stone, located at the end of the room. There was a creature that looked like a human being sitting there. Riyan's heart that saw it immediately cheered happily and wanted to approach him, but thanks to his [Sense] skill, he felt something strange from someone. A viscous death aura surrounded the body of that figure.

"Ho, did anyone make it in here?"

Hearing a voice from the front, Riyan immediately reached for the [Glayster] hilt that was on his back and formed the horses as firmly as possible. Even so, he did not concentrate all his concentration on the human-like creature in front of him, as there was a possibility that a monster would attack him from another direction while being off guard.

The voice sounded trembling like the voice of an old geezer, but it sounded very clear, this made Riyan stand by without much thought. Then, that human-looking figure rose from his throne, then walked slowly closer to Riyan. Riyan immediately pulled out his sword from his back and prepared for the fight, due to this death aura from the figure before him.

'Undead?'

Getting closer, the human-like figure's face had been seen as a result of the flash of torchlight, and Riyan's guess was not wrong. There were many large wounds that hollowed out the rotten flesh on his face, so that bones were visible and so on. Then his right chest showed an intact rib, while his left chest had rotted flesh after a long time. If explained easily, these figures are those called zombies.

"Well, today is my lucky day. It's been a long time since I last saw a human."

The zombie opened its jaws to let out its voice. Riyan was shocked to death, not his voice, but his words. He took off his horses and stood up as usual, without loosening his guard of course.

"Anu, are you an undead who used to be human?"

"Huh? Isn't that sure? Can't you make sure it's from my ear?"

Hearing that, his eyes immediately moved looking for a pair of ears on the left right side of the undead head in front of him, but unfortunately he did not find it.

"I'm sorry, but you don't have ears."

"really? Hm, I forgot that now I am an undead."

'This guy forgets he's an undead? I can't say anything about that. Well, at least, I got a talking buddy.'

A wry smile formed in Riyan's lips when he received a positive response from the undead. He put his sword into the sheath, then approached the undead with a light step without fear, but he would not let go of his vigilance. Before getting closer, he deployed [Appraisal] to the undead.

---

Name: Luctas Hadwin

Race : Undead

Class : King, Destroyer, Master of the Labyrinth

Level 865

Life: 237800/237800

Where : ∞/∞

Physical Strength: 970

Magic Power: 13230

Attribute: Darkness, Lightning

Skill : Summon Undead, Summon Undead: Army, Turn Undead, Undead Slave, Yin Release, Blackhole, Eye of Dark, Thunder Release, Thunder Storm, Comprehension, Anti Illusion, Sharp Nail, Intimidation, etc, Black Rose, Freeze Gaze, Dark Knife, Thousand Hands, Shadow Golem, Thunder Golem, Thunder Bird, Thunder Storm, Thunder Branch, Black Spear, Identify, Dark Phantasm

---

Knowing the status possessed by the undead before him, Riyan's move came to a sudden halt. His expression faded, his face turned deathly pale, his hands and entire body trembling violently while letting out cold sweat bit by bit. Then, he looked into the undead's eyes before him.

"What's up, son?"

"No, there's nothing."

The undead who looked like old man just smiled. In an instant, Riyan became extremely tense and worried, accompanied by overwhelming fear of course. How not? With such a monstrous status, one could destroy a kingdom alone. And again, their difference in status was more like heaven and hell than heaven and earth.

"Oh right, my name is Luctas Hadwin, the founder of this Hexaphilia labyrinth. Greetings, Riyan Klaint."

Hearing his name spoken from his interlocutor, Riyan immediately jumped away as far as possible and pulled back [Glayster] with a face of difficulty. The Luctas just smiled at Riyan's reaction. Of course, who would not react that way if faced in the same situation?

"Where did you know my name?"

With a sharp look, Riyan asked directly at the point. On the other hand, Luctas kept smiling without answering the question posed to him. Ten seconds passed, no reply was given by Riyan. This upset him, but he should not act rashly, given the difference in their status like ants and elephants.

"I am the master of this labyrinth, I know almost everything here. Well, even though I've been asleep for more than seventeen centuries anyway."

Before Riyan's curiosity grew, Luctas decided to answer him first. However, Riyan was not satisfied to hear the answer just now, he wanted more. During this labyrinth, his personality began to change slowly, so his greedy nature also developed.

"So, what is your business with me, Luctas Hadwin, creator of the labyrinth?"

"Well, spooky spooky. Don't be so dong, I just want to chat with others after approximately 2 millennia."

Hearing that, Riyan gasped. Knowing that someone experienced what he experienced, even much longer than him, suddenly made him surprised. He lowered his sword, but did not return. His heart softened upon hearing the statement. Finally he sighed softly because his first interlocutor after two months was an undead, whereas he expected a human or a humanoid monster who could speak human language.

"Do you really just want to talk to me?"

"Hm? Don't be so heavy-hearted, I know that you're eager to talk to someone like this right now."

Throwing out that line, Luctas threw a disgusting warm smile, if not for the rotten appearance of his undead. Riyan could only give up and throw a wry smile. He does not have the right words to reply to the words of his interlocutor.

Luctas turned around and walked towards his throne which he had temporarily left behind, Riyan followed him from behind, as the undead did not appear to have any ill intentions, except for the thick aura of death from him. There Luctas sat on a chair, while Riyan was cross-legged on the floor. Perhaps he was aware of the class difference as well as his status with the creator of this labyrinth.

"So, Riyan Klaint, try to tell me about yourself and how you got to this floor, when two thousand years ago this labyrinth stood up, nothing broke through it."

"What's the reward?"

"Huh?"

The master of the labyrinth was surprised to hear the reply from the human. It seemed that he did not expect to be charged such a fee. His face was confused, though not completely.

"Grabble?"

"Of course, what you're asking is my personal information, there's still a possibility that you're a fellow demon sent here to steal the Alivonia Kingdom's information."

Getting an unexpected answer, Luctas burst into laughter. His voice echoed to and fro, due to the reflection of the walls of the room. There was nothing in the room, other than a throne occupied by an undead and torch flames on each side of the wall.

"Absolutely interesting! All right, I'll take your offer, young man!"

The sound gets louder, making Riyan disable his [Sense]. A moment later, Luctas stopped his still-continuing laughter, then opened his jaw to speak.

"I'll give you something useful."

"What's that?"

"Well, you'll know after you tell me about yourself."

In her heart, Riyan wanted to refuse to tell her everything about herself because the rewards were unclear. But that desire was instantly scorched when given how big of a difference their status was. He did not know what would happen if he did not obey his words, so this time he relented. Then, he began to tell everything he could tell an undead man before him.

***

"Hiks, what a pathetic."

"Stop, my history isn't that bad."

"No! This is one of the saddest stories I've ever heard!"

Riyan's expression became flat because he saw the overreaction of the undead creator, as well as the ruler of this labyrinth. A long sigh rang out from the crack of his lips, complaining about the nature of his interlocutor. He didn't understand what Luctas was really thinking. Perhaps he was just mocking to provoke Riyan's anger, then a fight ensued. Too bad, Riyan was not a person of high temper and short thinking.

"Well, where are my rewards?"

"I'm really crying over the experience your life knows!"

"I don't care."

Luctas' face turned sullen once retorted by Riyan. But not wanting to prolong the problem, he finally relented after being pushed by Riyan several times. Despite having lived for more than two millennia, I don't know why he behaves like a child.

"Well, I'll give you the things I'll give you in return for your life's information, but..."

Before he finished his sentence, his words stopped. Because it stopped in the middle, Riyan was even more curious to make it. He got up from his throne and walked past Riyan who was sitting cross-legged in front of him. Up to the midpoint of the room, he stopped, then turned his body to look at Riyan.

"I want to see your abilities first."

When he completes the sentence that was stopped, suddenly Riyan's body is hit by super heavy pressure. Because of his weight, he was unable to stand normally. He got up with more energy than usual. The heavy pressure came from the combination of Luctas' skill, [Intimidation] and [Freeze Gaze].

As the name implies, [Intimidation] is a skill that can intimidate individuals or groups. Usually the effects of this skill could only be felt a little, but due to the influence of status, [Intimidation] became much more powerful and effective. [Freeze Gaze] was a skill similar to [Intimidation], the difference was that this skill could only be deployed to an individual. Even so, the effect was five times greater than [Intimidation].

Cold sweat pours out through the pores, and begins to fall freely onto the floor. Fear and other negative feelings again enveloped Riyan. His body could barely resist the pressure Luctas exerted, but he kept trying.

In the dire situation, Riyan forced himself to raise his voice. Overwhelmed with overwhelming fear, Riyan was still able to say a word, even though it might have been his last words.

"Do I have to fight you?"

"Not me, but 'him'."

While answering Riyan's question, he raised both of his hands forward with a palm that pointed towards the floor. Riyan swiftly took his sword and prepared to face what he was about to face. There was created a giant magic circle with a diameter of 10 meters glowing white dim.

"Rise you, the predator of all things in the realm of death. Come, Moarleth!"

From the magic circle, a giant winged creature slowly appeared. His body is protected by hard green scales, some of which are visible open wounds to reveal a layer under the skin, his eyes blood red. His chest was empty, there was only a rib and backbone inside. The wings are torn in several places so that the malkhuk can not fly.



Seeing the creature appear before him, Riyan's eyes widened and his jaw opened hanging in the air. [Glayster] the tighter he clutches, the more afraid he is.

'Undead dragon!?'