NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49: First Challenge
"Where are the so-called hidden challenges?"
Ainen continued in the east after ravaging the forest.
'You gotta find them. Look for any kind of anomaly or anything that catches your eye.'
Ainen was moving at moderate speed with the foxes.
The eerie forest wasn't the only forest. There were other types of forest as he continued, with each area having unique attributes and monsters.
Ainen roamed for two hours, didn't encounter anyone, and just killed monsters.
And finally, he found something.
A small statue of a humanoid with fish ears on a pedestal covered by vines. It was amidst thick, damp greenery.
"That looks like something."
'Yeah. It might trigger a challenge. Once you get your first challenge, you will be able to track the progress of the first floor.'
Ainen arrived before the statue and stretched his hand forward to touch it.
A moment later, the statue glowed, and Ainen heard the monotone voice of the Labyrinth.
[You have found a challenge—One hour survival]
A strange mist manifested from the statue, sparkling black and purple. It formed a whirling portal.
Ainen's eyes glinted with anticipation.
Without hesitatio, he entered inside and vanished into the portal before finding himself on a small island with no greenary.
It was just 50 meters in radius, and everything else was blue. A vast ocean without end.
"So I have to survive here for an hour?" Ainen looked up. "From an eerie night to under a bright sun. Are all Labyrinths this magical?"
'Yes. Labyrinths are an amalgamation of pieces of different dimensions put together and thriving by birthing monsters and resources by absorbing dimensional Mana. At least, this is the popular theory for centuries.' Lord Black informed.
'I see.'
Ainen turned his head to his left. 'Something is coming.'
The water bubbled and suddenly splashed out as a bunch of small monsters jumped out.
Murlocs. Each one had a weapon in their head, their froggy limbs, and an ugly, humanoid figure, as well as a fish face with terrifying fangs, which made them look dangerous.
[Warrior Murloc] x 2
Level: 60
[Wizard Murloc] x 2
Level: 60
[Assassin Murloc] x 2
Level: 60
[Guardian Murloc] x 2
Level: 60
Ainen stood with his arms crossed, facing directly at them.
Saffa, Clovelle, and Fraise sat down. It was time for them to hunt yet, since the Monsters were too weak, and Ainen also didn't want them to fight lower-level monsters.
The Murlocs charged at Ainen. Some released long-range elemental skills, and some sped up, charging at Ainen.
Meanwhile, five splendid-looking Blastbows manifested around Ainen before shooting the arrows in the next second with loud bangs.
All eight Murlocs were utterly destroyed.
"Killing small fries is so boring. I want some good challenge." Ainen sighed as he created a chair made of glass and sat down.
A couple of minutes later, more Murlocs came, but Ainen simply used 1 Mana per Murloc to give them Heat Mark before shooting a different type of arrows without aiming.
Arrow-type: Homing Serpent.
These arrows had a structure similar to snakes, with their heads tracking the Heat Marks. So even if the target moved around, these arrows would easily bend and change their direction, unless they were obstructed/defended by something before hitting the target.
'I don't think you will get any real challenge on the first floor. Although this floor should be a bit challenging for Adventurers similar to your level, your combat arsenal is too strong for your level, mainly because of your S-rank Fire Manipulation, and how you are using other assets with it to become stronger due to your arcane aptitude.'
"Well then, let's clear the first floor fast. I hope other parties find and clear the challenges fast."
Ainen yawned. "For this challenge, it seems I'll have to waste one hour here whether I like it or not."
More Murlocs arrived, their levels gradually increasing.
But their fate didn't change.
After half an hour, the number of Murlocs entering every two to three minutes increased significantly.
Fifty Murlocs arrived from all directions, each one above level 70.
Ainen stayed in the center, unbothered.
Two glassy-sandy grounds glowing with heat were floating to his left and right.
He was bored, so he made another spell to absorb Mana, a better one, using not just Heat, but also sand to create a container that could absorb and store Mana.
Mana Gourds.
Ainen's normal Mana Recovery was already 10 Mana per second, and a single Mana Gourd could hold 1000 Mana. Although the Mana automatically dispersed if he didn't absorb, these Mana Gourds continuously absorbed Mana while maintaining their structure from that Mana, so they were always filled.
As such, it didn't matter if fifty Murlocs came or one hundred.
The array of Blastbows floating in the sky annihilated everything that shored up on the Island.
Ainen had switched to Arrow-type: Spherical Explosion ten minutes ago due to Murlocs coming in big numbers from all directions, so whenever Murlocs came, he just blasted the border of the island, destroying them before they could even cross ten or twenty meters.
Finally, when only five minutes were left, a boss also arrived alongside one hundred Murlocs who were between level 90 and 100.
"Oho?" Ainen blinked, inspecting the boss.
[Murloc Champion]
Level: 100
It was almost the height of an adult human, and its body was also more refined. All of its stats were over a hundred.
"Now that looks like a challenge."
Ainen grinned.
Snap!
The Blastbows bombarded the island.
All Murlocs except for the Murloc Champion died.
Murloc champion was protected by a cracked blue shield.
"Nice, it managed to defend." Ainen finally got off the chair as Tyrant Mage's Arms appeared like gloves rather than gauntlets.
"Come on. Let's have some fun." Ainen beckoned the boss with his finger.
Murloc Champion grunted before icy shards manifested around him, transforming into spears that shot at Ainen.
Murloc Champion also charged towards Ainen while glowing in icy patterns and boosted by Wind.
'Ice, eh?'
Ainen snapped his right hand's finger, causing fireballs to manifest that struck the spears, nullifying them.
The charging Murloc arrived in front of Ainen right then, its speed fast and power rampaging.
"Sigh, the only problem is you are slow."
Jet Blaze Flight fired two small jets from his left side, pushing Ainen to the right instantly.
Murloc Champion was fast to react to this failure. It twisted to the side and whipped its arm towards Ainen, releasing a rain of icy shards like bullets.
But an intense flame maw akin to a fire dragon's head manifested as a shield, devouring all the icy shards, melting them instantly.
"Tsk, I guess this is it."
Ainen's right glove suddenly extended into a high-frequency heat blade, the deadliest Ainen could make, before Ainen vanished from his spot, turning into a streak of flame that swept past the Murloc Champion in a blink.
A moment later, its body split into two cleanly.
[You have killed a level 100 Murloc Champion. You have reached level 90.]
[Congratulations, you have acquired level 90 Mystery Box.]
Ainen sat back on the chair, waiting for the last three minutes' countdown.
No more Murlocs came after that, and Ainen successfully cleared the challenge.
[You have cleared a challenge. You have acquired five Tier-2 Treasure Chests.]
Ainen found himself back in the place where he had found the statue and
[First Floor Challenge Index]
-Total Challenges: 50
—> Challenge completed: [1/50]
-Total challenges required to complete until the Floor Boss's awakening. [1/10].
'Oh?'
'This is it,' Lord Black said. 'So once ten challenges are completed, the area of Floor Boss will unlock, and once we defeat the Floor Boss, we can go to the second floor.'