Gladesbale Grove [druid, litrpg, town building, slice of life, cozy]

Rud, Major, and Taz couldn't simply teleport to the spot. They had to go there on foot so as not to leave Elm behind. The druid shifted into his flying squirrel form, jumping from tree to tree and following along as the group thundered through the forest. The elf rode her deer-horse while Taz rode atop Major's back. While the bear wasn't the best mount, especially when compared to Dean or Daffodil, he did the job just fine.

Rud enjoyed pushing himself as he sailed through the trees. More than that, he could feel the trickle of experience adding to his Shapeshifting Magic skill.The flight through the forest was challenging for him, but he enjoyed every moment. By the time they finally arrived at the site several hours later, a system message had appeared that he had desperately wanted.

[Skill Gain!]

Your Shapeshifting Magic skill has increased to level 8!

Although it wasn't a milestone skill level, it still felt good to get to level 8. His mad dash to rank 1 had instead become a slow crawl with little progress, but he was almost there. Just a few more levels in a few more skills, and he would make it. But the tension was drawn away from his progress as the group approached the dig site. Mint, Dean, and Sarya had already revealed the source of the problem.

Massive mounds of dirt were piled up around a circular hole. The three wolves stood around it, their paws dirty, as they looked on with concerned expressions.

"I am very good at digging holes," Sarya said with pride.

Rud sailed through the air, landing near the hole before shifting back to his true form. He peered over it, squinting and not seeing very far at all. When Taz came to the edge, he looked over and gasped.

"What are those?" Taz asked, squinting harder and holding his hand over his eyes to shield against whatever light filtered through the boughs of the trees above. "Those stones aren't randomly arranged. This place was built."

Elm jogged to the edge of the pit, holding her staff aloft and chanting some words Rud didn't understand. A moment later, an orb of light appeared, descending slowly into the pit until it illuminated the scene below. Just as Taz described, an open area had been revealed. It was made from finely hewn stone, laid together in a floor about 20 feet below where they stood.

"What is that?" Rud asked, scratching his head.

Elm tried to say something, but the words caught in her throat. She coughed a few times, shaking her head. "I think that's a labyrinth," she said, almost breathlessly. "How did that get here?"

Mint shifted into her human form, coming closer to the pit's edge. She pressed her hand against what might have been an invisible barrier and strained before her hand went through. "I'm not restricted from going in like the dungeons," she said. "Are you sure this is a labyrinth?"

Rud stood by, feeling left out. He didn't know what a labyrinth was or why it was so important. "Does anyone care to explain to me what all this means?" he asked. "I'm not familiar with a labyrinth."

"They're just like dungeons," Elm said, "except significantly more expansive and dangerous. Of the three types of system formations in the world, this is the second most dangerous."

"Well dang, what's the most dangerous one?" Rud asked, taking a few steps away from the pit.

"It goes dungeons, labyrinths, and towers," Elm said. She had a look of confusion on her face. "How could one have appeared below the grove? I don't understand."

"Could this be connected to our problem with cursed objects?" Mint asked.

"Perhaps, but more than likely this has been here for a very long time, and it was only recently activated. Of all the places for a labyrinth to be, right under the grove is inconceivable."

Rud looked back towards where Ban was. He narrowed his eyes, pointing at both of them before pointing into the forest. "I'm on to you, sneaky little tree," he whispered.

"Don't tell anyone you've figured out my big secret," she said with a giggle. "No, I'm unaware of such a thing."

Rud clapped his hands together. "Okay, what's the deal with the labyrinths then?" he asked. "Are they dangerous? Are they good? Should we go in there and get some loot?"

Elm offered a shrug. "Labyrinths are very similar to dungeons. They're an area that contains monsters, loot, puzzles, and so on. This is the single entrance, I would assume. When you go down in there, you'll experience a twisting maze of tunnels. As you descend through the levels, the labyrinth becomes harder, and it should reset based on a fixed timer. The important thing is to go in there and kill monsters so the energy isn't as intense."

Well, good thing they had a magical expert visiting the grove. Rud didn't know what he would do if Elm wasn't here. The labyrinth would have gone unchecked for quite a while before they did anything about it. Before he could instruct the spirit animals to do anything, the wolves were digging a staircase. They worked with easy efficiency, pulling large mounds of dirt out of the way and revealing a set of stairs within 15 minutes. The entire time, Elm was casting minor spells and recording information.

"Shall we descend?" Mint asked, gesturing to the stairs.

"After you," Elm said with a shallow bow. She had a smile on her face that was infectious, even if Rud was feeling nervous about the descent.

As expected, the strongest of the spirit animals could pass through whatever invisible barrier lingered there. Rud, Taz, Elm, Mint, and Dean had no trouble, but both Sarya and Major couldn't pass the threshold. The young wolf lingered near the barrier and whimpered, but Dean offered her reassurances, and instead, the two who were left behind stood sentinel near the pit.

There was more dirt than needed, clearing out within the labyrinth's platform. Eventually, the group revealed a passageway leading deep into the earth right after that. At the doorway, there was no more dirt, as though it had been held back by some magical force. Of course, the entire time, Elm was still recording information. She had her notebook out and was scrolling at a speed Rud could only describe as impossible.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"So these walls are system-generated?" Rud asked, pressing his fingers into the stone and feeling the cold surface. The stones were a pale grey color with flecks of white interspersed throughout. The surfaces were smooth, as though they had been hewn by an expert hand and polished to a shine. Although each was smooth, he felt his feet grip the ground with no problem.

"This is a condensed point of magic that resulted in the labyrinth. Scholars don't really know what differentiates a dungeon, labyrinth, and tower, but we suspect there are different expressions of this condensed magic."

Rud was realizing something about Elm. The first time he had met her, she was incredibly grouchy. At first, he thought it was her nature, but meeting her in town had revealed a completely different personality. That's when he thought she would just swing between being grumpy and happy. But now he realized it was likely her proximity to Oak. When the two were apart, Elm had a more studious personality that seemed more interested in revealing the mysteries of the world than being a grouch.

Rud wasn't sure which one he liked better.

"I'll lead the way," Mint said, drawing her curved sword from its sheath and delving into the labyrinth. Rud was the last one in the formation, and he squinted against the darkness until Elm's hovering orb illuminated the path.

The druid felt something shift in his body the moment they delved into the labyrinth. It was as though his body was wreathed in a type of magic he was unfamiliar with. The temperature in that cramped hall was comfortable enough, and after about five minutes of walking, they encountered their first intersection. There was a path to both the left and the right

"Thus is the danger of a labyrinth," Elm said with a shrug. "You can get lost very easily."

"I'm wondering if we should delve any further," Mint said, clicking her tongue. She growled, looking down both passages with a shrug. "What is your expert opinion, elf?"

"That we should turn back. I'm not certain what we'll encounter in here, but I doubt it will be good."

"Yet diminishing the energy is of grave importance," Mint said with another growl.

"I may have a solution for that," Ban said, speaking into their minds.

"Hold that thought, Elm," Rud said, snapping his fingers. "We have an important announcement from the sacred tree."

"I'm working on something, but I can't yet tell if it's going to work," Ban said. "I'll need some time to see if this harebrained scheme will work, but if it does, I should have access to much more energy to work with."

"Right, I think we should retreat while the tree probes the labyrinth," Rud said. "Only then should we come back."

There was some debate about that, but everyone eventually agreed. They made their way back to the entrance, coming outside of the pit and checking in with Major and Sarya.

While the others talked strategy, Rud got to work on a little project. He used his Shape Plant spell to create a fence around the pit. He made it high, weaving together branches and vines to ensure no animals or adventurers would accidentally enter the place. He put a placard on the gate he crafted, describing what was within and stating that nobody should enter without due cause. When he finished, he wasn't quite satisfied with it and added some brambles near the base on all sides but the gate. That would discourage both wild animals and adventurers from entering. He didn't want to take any chances.

"Mighty fine defenses you've erected," Major said, circling the fancy fence he created and nodding with appreciation. "You have a way of turning the forest into something beautiful."

"Wow, I don't think anybody has said something like that to me," Rud said, grinding his foot into the ground and pretending to be bashful. "Aw, shucks. You're gonna make me blush."

"This way we can leave the entrance exposed without worrying that forest creatures will wander in," Major said.

Elm walked over, breaking into the conversation. "I'd really like to stay here and study the labyrinth, if that's okay with you," Elm said. "Mint said I needed your permission."

"Mint said you needed my permission," Rud said, looking around. "I don't think so. This sounds like something the tree should decide."

"I leave this to you, Rud," Ban said, speaking into his mind. "The mortals are your domain."

The mortals might have been Rud's domain, but he didn't know the first thing about labyrinths. He barely knew what dungeons were, so why was he in charge of this? He took a steady breath and braced himself for the weight of responsibility. Declining Elm's desired research would not only sour his relationship with the wizard, but it would also be throwing away a valuable resource. She was incredibly smart and very good at what she did.

"We can make things easy for you, Elm," Rud said, reaching an easy decision. "I'll create a road from the main road to the labyrinth. That should make it easier for you to come here for your research. Well, I guess the other option is for me to build a house right here, but then it'll be harder to feed you."

"I would prefer to stay near the sacred tree," Elm said, petting Daffodil on the head. "So the option for a road would be much more agreeable."

Either one worked for Rud. He needed to get his growth magic and Construction Magic to level 9 if he wanted to hit rank 1. Building the road would require a lot more work, which meant a lot more experience for his skills. He decided that was the best idea and agreed with the elf when they were done marveling over the labyrinth. He shifted into his squirrel form and sat upon Daffodil's head as they ran back to the sacred tree. Elm seemed giddy with excitement for her chance to study the magic of the labyrinth. Whatever research she was doing back in town seemed to fall by the wayside as she considered this new chapter in her life.

"So, do you want to stay in one of the rest stop areas, or would you like your own home? Perhaps a mushroom house right next to mine?" Rud asked with a wink.

Elm giggled politely, shaking her head. "I don't want you to go out of your way for me, Rud."

"It really isn't a problem," Rud said with a shrug as he walked over to his mushroom house. He patted it on the side. "I've got access to quite a few druid spells that make stuff like this a breeze."

"Well, I shall endeavor to watch a master druid at work then," Elm said with a nod.

Rud got to work on her house right away. Compared to the first time he had constructed a mushroom house, he was now a master mushroom shaper. He felt both his Construction Magic and Growth Magic skills expanding as he worked on the shape of the new house. He would create a two-story dwelling for her, complete with a wood stove on the first floor and a bed. As long as Mint could pilfer him one.

"I just have a question for you," Rud said. Holding his hands out as he shaped the first floor of the washroom house, it was almost ready for lacquering, even though he had only spent 30 minutes carving out the shape.

"What is it?" Elma asked, looking up from her notebook with interest.

"Do you hate Oak?" Rud asked, finding no way to cushion the question.

Elm frowned as she considered the question. Eventually, she sighed and placed the book in her lap. "It isn't as though I hate her," she said, shaking her head. "But I've always been upstaged by her. Healers always steal the limelight during adventures. No matter how hard I've tried, she's always outshone me."

"See?" Rud asked. "Even though you're just thinking about her, your personality has shifted."

Elm scoffed, snapping her book closed and returning it to her bag. "I know. There are some other things between us, but I'm fine. The further away she is, the less I feel down about myself."

"Well, this is gonna cheer you up," Rud said, rubbing his hands together. "I'm almost done with Casa de Mushroom. If you want to get a quick tour, I've gotta go talk to a wolf about stealing some furniture."