Chapter 643 Mirror Maze
Evan calmly informed them that they were at the bottom of the dungeon, but before they could ask how they hadn't lost any other skills, he continued.
"The Dungeon Effect that seals skill every 2 floors only activates when 'the Boss Room Door Closes with you in it'.
Since we did not go through any of that, only the effect from the second-floor stays."
The boy drank a potion to replenish the energy he lost in activating the Elevator that helped them bypass all the dungeon's floors, before walking towards the massive set of double doors in front of them and placing his hands on them.
"Before we enter, I need to ask some things of you guys."
Turning to Eliza, he started.
"No matter what happens, do not use Lifeforce Sensing inside the Boss Room, okay?"
The teenage blonde gave him a questioning look but Evan just said to trust her on it and she eventually agreed.
He then turned to the others and using appraisal, inspected their skills and asked them not to use one particular skill out of their arsenal. All except for Kolvar.
"David, do me a favour and deactivate your Mystic Eyes.
I don't want you to die without even realising how."
Before David could even question how that could happen with Kolvar here, Evan followed up.
"Your father would not realise it too."
Now this had Kolvar very curious about what lay behind the Boss Room doors.
He had explored this dungeon normally in the past and had defeated a normal Final Boss Monster; a giant Three-Headed and Three-Tailed Wolf that liked summoning smaller two-tailed versions of itself.
Leaving aside how the man took on a Raid Boss all on his own, he had heard that the boss of the dungeon was never the same, so he challenged it again and the second time he fought a Cockatrice that nearly turned his left arm to stone.
But from the way Evan was acting;
'It's as if he knows exactly what Boss monster would be inside and is taking precautions. I don't understand him asking them not to use skills, though.
He also didn't say that to me as well.'
The man silently wrapped his aura around his children, as they entered the doors opened to reveal a dark, gloomy-looking tunnel.
Evan entered first with Eliza and the Deadly Sin Siblings following right after.
However, the instant the two Siblings stepped foot inside the Boss Room, their expressions instantly changed into one of shock.
"This feeling…!"
"As I thought."
Noticing their reactions, Evan barely held in his laughter as he spread his arms out and spoke.
"I don't think I mentioned it earlier, did I? The name of this dungeon."
The Hero turned around with a mischievous grin on his face, his Mystic Eyes shining brightly as he continued.
"The Depths of Nature's Jealousy."
It was an apt name for a Dungeon that deprived its challengers of their skills. The Story behind it was that an Ancient Spirit was jealous of the 'Skills' people had which were far better than his and created this dungeon to deprive them of these skills.
Since spirits were beings closely related to nature, it was said that the Spirit had been used as a means to express the Jealousy of Nature itself.
But to Evan, Pride, Greed, and now David, that whole lore was just bullshit.
When they emerged on the other end of the tunnel, they were met with a very 'bright' room.
The boss room resembled a dazzling maze of mirrors, with luminescent pearls strewn across the floors and ceilings.
Reflections danced on every surface, creating an intricate web of images that captured every move in a mesmerizing display of light.
The abundance of mirrors added an extra layer of complexity, offering a surreal experience where every step was accompanied by countless reflections, turning the room into a radiant and disorienting spectacle.
"Damn, 'Third' would have a field day in this place."
"Tell me about it."
Evan and David joked to one another as they moved in through the maze of mirrors, but it only took them a few seconds to notice that the number of people behind them had reduced.
"Huh? Where's the Margravine? And Uncle Dandeyr?"
"Liz is also missing too."
They could still see the reflections of the people on the Mirrors on both sides, but they could not see said people when they turned around.
From the reactions that Eliza, Selah and Dandeyr had in their reflections, it could be seen that this was the case for them as well.
"Those two siblings are also missing…"
Kolvar took a few steps back and tried to return to the beginning of the maze, only to notice that it had been covered up by mirrors.
"This Maze… its form is changing continuously, but you wouldn't notice since it's silent and all the walls have mirrors."
Looking up, he saw the maze walls extended to the ceiling so there was no hope of jumping or flying.
"Let's try to find our way out normally."
"Evan, don't you have a map for this like you did for the dungeon?"
When Kara asked Evan this in response to his suggestion, the boy pointed at Kolvar and replied.
"You just heard him. It changes form continuously, even as we speak, its form is changing. No number of maps would help with that."
Like so, they continued down the maze, pretty much walking blindly as any attempts to mark the walls in order to remember their positions were rendered futile since the walls regenerated any damage.
Evan tried painting them but the paint was absorbed as well.
"Why do you even have paint in your inventory?"
"Don't bother asking because I can't remember why."
David only sighed when Evan spoke, but not long after, he heard footsteps approaching them and glanced in the direction of the noise.
He had slowly began to accumulate energy in his fist, but when he saw it was Eliza who came around, he relaxed his tension slightly.
"Huh? Oh, Evan. Finally found you."
Eliza exhaled a sigh of relief when she noticed them as well, only to turn around and have her expression transform into one of surprise.
"Where's Uncle Dandeyr?"
"He was with you?"
"Yeah…but he suddenly vanished-oh."
She turned to the side and saw Dandeyr's reflection looking dumbfounded as well, as if surprised that she had suddenly disappeared.
"This place is messing with my senses."
Evan chuckled lightly when he saw her press her hands to her temple, throwing a side glance at her shadow from the corner of his eyes.
"Somehow our group remains together…"
When Kolvar pointed it out, Evan reminded the man that the reason was probably because he had his aura wrapped around his three children's bodies.
"How does that even work?"
"Honestly I have no idea."
Evan shrugged as he replied, before turning to Eliza and asking.
"Eliza, have you tried Lifeforce Sensing yet? Maybe that could help us get a hang on their general direction."
"Would that even matter?"
David asked before Eliza could answer, but Evan once again shrugged as he spoke.
"Better than nothing."
"Well, I tried that the moment I noticed we were separated, however, with the way this place messes with my sense of direction, I somehow found myself getting further away."
"Too bad then."
Evan didn't seem particularly bothered that the Lifeforce Sensing didn't work, and he turned around once more, sending a side glance at Kolvar who was looking at him with narrowed eyes.
"Let's carry on."
The boy grabbed onto Eliza and pulled her along with him, with David and the others following closely as they once again tried to find their way.
"Where is the Boss? Is it trapping us in this maze so it can pick at us one by one?"
Kara's suggestion sounded plausible and the others seemed to agree, but Evan rejected that idea. Naturally, they were curious about why Evan seemed so confident about the answer and Eliza was the one who voiced out the group's questioning thought.
"Why are you so sure that's the case?"
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