The Primal Hunter

Arnold stared at the wall for a good while before he returned his attention to his tablet. Taking out a pen, he began to write on it as he slowly nodded, taking down notes and trying to solve the puzzle in front of him. Hours passed as he never moved, and after nearly half a day, he finally reached a satisfactory solution.

Raising the tablet, he pointed its camera toward the wall, and the magical scripts were recorded and translated according to the algorithm he had written. There were still a few minor flaws in the solution, but with repeated scans and a bigger data sample, those would quickly be hammered out.

Reading the clue and seeing the unclear outline of a path displayed on the tablet, he began to make his way down one of the long hallways while scanning all the walls for more clues along the way. After another hour or so, his data sample was sufficient, and he no longer had a need to collect more.

Summoning a mode of transportation, he got into the ball-shaped orb of metal and soon after shot down one of the hallways. Whenever he spotted signs of traps, he sent in a number of disposable drones to scout it out or clear a path while he entirely avoided any of the gatekeepers.

Like Jake, Arnold was also currently doing the Endless Labyrinth. However, his approach to solving it was far different from Jake’s. He actually did it the intended way.

At the beginning of every new Labyrinth Section, there would be a unique cipher to that specific section. Solving this cipher will allow you to decrypt and understand later clues that could be found on the walls throughout.

Arnold was quite good at this, and while each section did have a unique cipher, some elements did repeat, allowing him to slowly improve his methodology and speed. His void-related abilities had little value inside of this labyrinth, outside of some of the trap rooms. It had also been good when he could still fight the gatekeepers, but after reaching Labyrinth Section 95 or so, he had solidly reached his limit when it came to direct confrontations. Also, even if he could fight, they would take too long, making it more efficient to take another path altogether.

After passing section one hundred, the difficulty increased once more. Another layer was added, and the cipher jumped severalfold in difficulty. It took Arnold nearly a full week to solve it, but at least he managed to do so and complete the section in time.

He also did the next few, but he lost an attempt on section one-hundred and six and another on one-hundred and seven as he simply wasn’t fast enough. In fact, he only did these sections because he could spend one attempt solving the cipher and another actually navigating his way through the labyrinth.

Arnold lost his next attempt on one-hundred and eight, which he barely completed in time, even with the cipher being done on the first attempt. One-hundred and nine was even closer, but he had learned a bit and placed drones at any triggers to move around doors. His problem was that the range at which he could activate them was severely limited within the labyrinth due to the special mist. However, he could still use them when relatively close due to his void affinity having some ability to pierce the mist.

Alas, section one hundred and ten proved to be too much. The addition of more floors to the labyrinth marked a ridiculous increase in difficulty. Even if Arnold completed the cipher, he would barely have enough time to navigate the labyrinth. If he even had enough time. The man had no way of knowing how close he got to the exit as his final attempt was spent, Arnold failing to pass Labyrinth Section 110.

He was a bit disappointed. Not just because he had failed but because he would no longer be able to be presented with interesting ciphers to solve. Appearing in the white void, he did wonder how he did, with the system quickly providing him an answer.

Grand Achievement earned: Successfully completed Minaga’s Endless Labyrinth while performing exceptionally and near-perfectly consistently. With your sharp mind and deep insight, you navigated the labyrinth as a true savant, making full use of the clues supplied as you solved every puzzle put before you. Your speed, tenacity, and deep analytical abilities allowed you to perform exceptionally well, passing Labyrinth Section 109 successfully. A feat to be proud of. 82.201 Nevermore Points earned. Due to completing a Grand Achievement, you will receive a 20% multiplier of all Nevermore Points at the final calculation.

While he had performed worse – as seen by fewer Nevermore Points earned – Arnold had enjoyed the labyrinth far more than the Test of Character. Solving magical and mathematical puzzles was simply much more engaging than social problems that had too many annoying and illogical aspects to consider.

He had enjoyed the puzzles so much that he envied anyone yet to do the Challenge Dungeon and their ability to solve all those interesting ciphers for the first time while improving their analytical abilities. It was an invaluable experience he couldn’t imagine anyone not enjoying immensely.

“So people seriously just sit there and try to solve some damn math problem or whatever at the start of every Labyrinth Section?” Jake asked Minaga as he stared at the magical script in Labyrinth Section 215. No matter how much he stared at the damn thing, he didn’t get shit. He even wondered if it could even be solved or was just some stupid scribbles to fuck with people.

“That is indeed how you are supposed to do things,” Minaga answered. “Well, one of the ways to do things. There are many solutions to the same problem, and ultimately, the challenge is to navigate through the labyrinth within the given time. Some have certain scouting methods that still work, others use summoned creatures to assist them – even if that is limited severely – while some bloody arseholes use their overpowered Bloodline to cheese the entire thing.”

“Why do I feel like that was directed towards me? Nah, it couldn’t be. Anyway, I do wonder how someone like the Fallen King handles this place. He isn’t exactly the fastest, and I don’t think he has any scouting tools worth much,” Jake shared thoughtfully.

not tell you how badly or well your

he is doing badly, huh,”

say

he did badly. Not if he did well. I am guessing

just being pure guesswork based on a very shaky

I’m right. Which I

pretty well-rested, with the period of weakness from

to have one final moment

stretched as he looked upward. “Ready to feel catharsis as you see me

dying. There is a reason people don’t train too much in Challenge Dungeons with multiple lives. The mental toll dying has on the soul isn’t non-insignificant, and you may end up suffering

smile as he got a bit more serious. “While I appreciate the concern, I am good. If I felt like there would be any true consequences, I

Royal Road. If found

go ahead and enjoy dying a horrible death!” Minaga

finally reached a barrier. Curiously, he looked to see what kind of

Gatekeeper

any kind of enlightened being within that helmet. Instead, It was more like a golem or maybe a living armor kind of deal. The knight stood in front of the barrier it guarded with both hands resting

wouldn’t really have taken the knight for anything powerful. It looked like the kind of foe you could find

he placed a hand on the shimmering wall to enter the room. As he did so, the space expanded once more as an

a bow appeared in his hand. Right as it did, the silver knight that had been standing entirely still slowly raised its head as silvery light filled its eyes. Its aura expanded

properly before Moment of the Primal Hunter triggered

another arrow after his first one had already been annihilated by the first swing, having been cut in half mid-flight. Right as time returned to normal, Jake

might. Jake could only try and shake his head as he was very clear that there was no fucking way he was dodging that. A net of silvery strings of magic cut through the entire hall as Jake’s body was cut into hundreds of pieces instantaneously, marking his end of the road

white void. His heart was pounding, and sweat appeared on his brows, but he quickly calmed himself

Minaga answered. “Was it really worth you

Also, should you really still be

in my Challenge Dungeon, so I can. Besides, it’s

a thing with Minaga as he simply turned his attention to what else would come in this white void. Something that popped up only a

Minaga’s Endless Labyrinth with ease, conquering every section effortlessly. You only met the end of your journey far after the impossible had already been achieved, passing a ridiculous 214 Labyrinth Sections, long past where there was much more to earn. A near-irreplicable feat. 148.205 Nevermore Points earned.

always been that 25% bonus, and he had earned that… well, probably quite a while ago. Jake wasn’t sure how many sections you had to pass to unlock it, but based on the amount of Nevermore Points he had earned, he had probably gone quite a bit beyond even the “impossible.” By at least

Points than even when he had beaten Valdemar. In fact, looking at the number of points, Jake got a theory that the maximum one could ever get was 150.000, where getting that number was actually impossible unless you performed absolutely perfectly. Like…

here to the Colosseum of Mortals didn’t really feel fair. Jake would say the Colosseum had been way fucking harder, but he reckoned most others in the multiverse would view getting this far in the labyrinth as far,

60% bonus from the Challenge Dungeons alone so far, with two to go. Looking at those numbers, Jake couldn’t help but have