Floor ??? — Labyrinth of the Deadly Embrace
Adonis, now fully recovered from his harrowing encounter with the monstrous bat, pressed deeper into the depths of the labyrinth. The air grew heavier, laced with the faint tang of danger. His goal was clear: hunt monsters, level up, and master the powers coursing through him. The bat, a nightmare of screeching wings and gnashing teeth, was a foe he vowed to avoid until he was ready. For now, survival demanded precision, and Adonis was determined to hone his abilities.
The labyrinth was a merciless crucible. In its upper reaches, Adonis dispatched weaker creatures with relative ease—goblin-like fiends and skittering vermin fell to his burgeoning skills. But as he descended into the deeper, shadowed corridors, the monsters grew fiercer. Hulking beasts with iron-like hides and razor-sharp claws pushed him to the brink of death. Each battle was a test, and Adonis teetered on the edge of oblivion more than once. Yet, with every near-fatal encounter, he learned. He observed the creatures' patterns, their weaknesses, and devised strategies to outwit them. It was a strange realization for someone like him—a reckless soul who once charged headlong into danger without a second thought. Was this newfound cunning born from the scars of near-death, or was it something else stirring within him?
Adonis's system, a mysterious crimson interface that governed his growth, held the answer.
Through trial and error, he uncovered a pattern: repetition forged progress. By relentlessly practicing a single action, he could unlock new abilities or elevate existing ones. To test this theory, he turned to the labyrinth's venomous monsters. Consuming a poisoned monster nearly killed him, his body wracked with agony as the toxins burned through his veins. But his Regeneration (D) skill, a faint pulse of life within him, pulled him back from the edge. Again and again, he ingested the poison, each attempt less excruciating than the last, until the system rewarded his persistence with Poison Immunity (C). Emboldened, he trained his Fire Manipulation skill, conjuring flames that grew from flickering embers to roaring infernos, ascending to rank A. His Teleport skill, however, proved more elusive. It allowed him to blink across short distances, but teleporting with another being was a puzzle he couldn't yet solve.
Days blurred into weeks as Adonis grappled with the mechanics of teleportation. The labyrinth's endless corridors became his proving ground, each failed attempt a lesson etched into his body and mind. He began to question the source of his growing ingenuity. Strategy had never been his strength, yet here he was, analyzing, planning, adapting. Could it be tied to his Intelligence stat? On a hunch, he allocated points to it, and the effect was immediate. His thoughts sharpened, the world around him coming into clearer focus. It was as if a fog had lifted, revealing connections and possibilities he'd never noticed before. His Appraiser Eye skill, previously a rudimentary tool for glimpsing basic information, surged to rank B. Now, it revealed intricate details about objects, people, and monsters—weaknesses and strength.
With his enhanced intellect, Adonis returned to his teleportation experiments with renewed clarity. He began to understand the skill's essence: teleportation wasn't just movement—it was the act of scattering his body into billions of particles, shifting their position, and reassembling them. The system allowed him to carry inanimate objects effortlessly, but living beings were another matter. His first attempt to teleport with a monster was gruesome. The creature's torso materialized intact, but its lower half was a mangled ruin, severed by the incomplete process. Adonis pressed on, undeterred by the grotesque failures. Years passed in the labyrinth's timeless depths, each attempt refining his control. At last, he succeeded—a monster teleported whole, alive, and intact. The system chimed, and his Teleport skill ascended to rank B. The breakthrough, he realized, was tied to his bolstered Intelligence stat, which had unlocked a deeper understanding of his abilities.
Time wore on, and Adonis emerged stronger, his body and mind tempered by the labyrinth's trials. At level 25, his stats reflected his growth:
Name: Adonis @#!@#
Level: 25
Physique: (Locked)
Stats:
Strength: 45
Agility: 32
Endurance: 30
Intelligence: 30
Luck: 31
Durability: 35
Stamina: 50
Skills: Fire Manipulation (A), Teleport (B), Appraiser Eye (B), Regeneration (D), Poison Immunity (C)
Stat Points: 0
Tower Points: 250
Adonis studied the interface, his eyes lingering on a new addition: Physique. The word glowed faintly, marked as Locked. Why had it appeared now? Was it tied to his level, a milestone unlocked at 25? He scratched his head, frustration gnawing at him. "No use thinking about it," he muttered, dismissing the interface with a wave of his hand.
With renewed resolve, Adonis ventured deeper into the labyrinth's uncharted heart. The shadows grew thicker, the air colder, and the hum of unseen dangers louder. Whatever lay ahead, he would face it head-on.