I laid back on the mattress, arms folded behind my head, staring at the cracked ceiling.
The second floor.
I needed to remember everything.
Back then, in my first life, I entered blindly. No plan, no preparation. Just desperation and trial by fire. But this time… I had the chance to do it right.
I closed my eyes and pulled the memories forward.
-
[ Floor 2 – "The Silent Garden" ]
[ Quest Type: Survival ]
[ Requirement: None ]
[ Objective: Survive the fog. ]
-
It looked simple on paper. All you had to do was reach the exit.
But nothing in the Labyrinth was ever that easy.
The floor was one giant maze — twisted trees, crumbling ruins, and endless dead ends. And worse, the entire place was covered in a strange fog. Thick, pale green, and always shifting.
The moment you stepped in, the countdown started.
Five hours. That's all you had.
Stay any longer, and the fog would seep into your lungs. Slowly. Silently. Until your body started breaking down — nausea, weakness, blurred vision. Death, if you pushed your luck.
You could delay it with potions, or by finding high ground where the fog was thinner. But nothing stopped it completely — unless you had a resistance trait or a poison immunity skill.
I didn't.
Back then, I barely made it out.
But now… I had time to plan. Time to prepare.
And I knew what was coming.
-
I opened my eyes.
The key to the second floor wasn't strength. It was speed. Navigation. And efficiency.
There were no monsters this time—just the fog and the maze. But the pressure it put on your mind was brutal. You couldn't waste a second. Every wrong turn chipped away at your remaining hours… and your health.
If you panicked, you were done.
I checked the timer again.
[ Time until Rift reentry: 39 minutes, 14 seconds ]
-
I smirked to myself.
'It should be no problem this time.'
I'd already gone through it once. I knew the twists, the traps, the rising panic that came with every breath of that poisoned air.
The Labyrinth was cruel, no question about that. But it wasn't mindless. It had rules. Patterns. And if you paid attention, it always left something behind. A hint. A sign. A thread you could follow.
You just had to be smart enough to notice it… or desperate enough to try.
I sat up, elbows resting on my knees, staring at the floor like it might give me answers.
Most people, when they see fog, they avoid the thickest part. It's basic instinct. Common sense. The denser it is, the more dangerous it looks. So they skirt the edges, stick to where they can see their own feet.
But the Labyrinth doesn't care about common sense.
In fact… it expects you to follow it.
Back then, I made the same mistake. I took the safe path, hugging the walls, turning back when the fog got too heavy.
That's why I almost died.
Because the real path — the fastest one — cuts right through the worst part. The thickest fog. The place that looks like suicide.
That's the Labyrinth's idea of a joke. It hides the truth in the one place no one wants to go.
'I just have to go straight into it. Many died in there before, so I should post on the Astral Community to give them little information.'
Astral Community is the central hub for all Vassals — beginners and veterans alike — to share information, discuss Astral Patrons, compare pact conditions, trade survival tips, and decode the mysteries of the Labyrinth together.
It's where people post their Pact offers, discuss Patron behavior, debate rankings, and warn others about dangerous contracts.
I stood up and rolled my shoulders, letting the tension slide off me.
"I've done this before," I muttered. "And this time, I'm going to make it look easy."
[ Time until Rift reentry: 30 minutes, 02 seconds ]
I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
-
I stepped out into the hallway, my boots echoing softly against the cracked tiles. The air outside was cold, but I barely noticed. My mind was already racing ahead — toward the fog, the maze, the exit.
Still, I had a few minutes left. Enough time to make a small difference.
I pulled out my phone and opened the Astral Community.
And just like I expected… it was chaos.
[GLOBAL THREAD - URGENT: Floor 2 Unlocked?]
└ IS IT TRUE?? The Rift just pulsed again. Is the second floor really opening already?!
└ Holy crap, it's real.
└ Dude, what the hell is next? Anyone got leaks?
└ Bro we haven't even cleared Floor 1 yet 😭
└ I bet it's a boss rush. Gotta be.
└ My squad's prepping now. Poison resist gear, fire pots, anti-undead scrolls—
└ LMAO y'all guessing like this is a fantasy draft.
The screen was flooded. Reactions, theories, raw panic. Some were excited. Some were terrified. Most were just confused.
Dozens of users were posting makeshift guides, compiling rumors, even offering coins for information. Some people thought it would be a trap floor, others expected a puzzle chamber. A few joked about another round of sludges — "Sludge 2.0," someone called it.
Then I posted it.
[From: Blank ]
Title: [INFO] Vile Sludges – Weakness & Kill Method (Floor 1)
Body:
The Vile Sludges don't bleed, but they overheat fast.
Don't use blades. Don't use blunt weapons.
Use fire. Any source will do — oil bombs, torches, low-rank fire magic, even a burning stick.
Hit the core inside the body after it melts down. Wait for the squirming to slow before finishing it off.
And don't get greedy. One mistake is all it takes.
I hit Post and sat back for a second, watching the reactions roll in.
The username — Blank— lit a spark. That title wasn't just cosmetic. People knew what it meant.
It meant I was the one who cleared Floor 1 first. The one etched into the Hall of Firsts.
Some people took notice immediately.
└ @RadiantMage: Wait, is this real? This guy's in the Hall.
└ @SludgeSurvivor: FIRE?? No wonder we wiped...
└ @LowTierVassal: Bless you, Blank🙏
└ @MapleTactics: Makes sense if they overheat. Gonna test this.
But of course, not everyone believed it.
-
└ @DoubtfulOne: Lol anyone can fake a name
└ @ScornedVassal: Sounds like bait to get us killed.
└ @D3bunker: This guy's probably trying to mislead newbies.
└ @NullFaith: Post proof or shut up. No vid = no trust.
I didn't bother responding.
Let them doubt.
The ones who listened would survive. The rest… they'd learn the hard way.
I stood at the edge of the cracked street, my eyes fixed on the faint glow pulsing beneath the earth.
The Crimson Rift.
It had been quiet for the past hour — sealed shut like a heartbeat on pause.
But now… it was waking up.
'It's time for me to conquer you as well. Let me speed things up.'
A low hum rippled through the air, almost like a whisper under my skin. The red cracks across the ground started glowing brighter, deeper, as if fire was bubbling just beneath the surface.
Then—
[Time until Rift entry: 00:00:05]
[00:00:04]
I tightened my fists.
[00:00:03]
Rolled my shoulders.
[00:00:02]
Stepped closer.
[00:00:01]
Exhaled.
[Rift entry Unlocked.]
[You may now enter the Labyrinth.]
With a heavy crack, the ground split open again — a jagged tear glowing crimson, wide enough to swallow a truck. Heat and pressure blasted out like breath from some buried beast.
I stepped forward without hesitation, and vanished into the red light.