Nothing is Impossible

Atlas and his party eventually found themselves in front of the portal to the next floor. Once everyone was ready, they hopped through. They found themselves in a narrow obsidian corridor lit by glowing purple runes. The air seemed to twist and churn and there was a light mist. Not enough to obscure vision, but enough to make shivers crawl down someone's spin. The only light sources were the glowing runes on the walls, barely allowing them to see anything.

Mental pressure seems to pulse and writhe in the air. It felt like it was emanating from their brains, but also externally. It wasn't enough to hurt, it was just… unsettling. Deeply unsettling.

Jay grumbled. "I already hate it here."

Dane looked at him. "Agreed, I feel like spiders lurk around every corner."

Lars began to glow dimly allowing them to see through the murky darkness more easily. "Follow me." Just as he took his first step a purple transparent eye floated up from the obsidian ground.

The eye turned slowly, looking at each of them in turn. It looked like the eye of a ghost, with no pupils, only a white void. A voice flowed into their minds, powerful and masculine, with an almost palpable weight to it.

Welcome, intruders from outside realms. I do not take kindly to you infiltrating my hallowed labyrinth. I will warn you in advance. Me and my fellow practitioners of the Mind Arts will not hold back if you venture further into my labyrinths depths. Praise be to the Mind Tender. We hear your thoughts intruders, we hear it all…

The voice trailed off, and the eyeball disappeared with a *pop!*

The party all looked at each other.

Nex was the first to speak up. "That does not bode well for our travels in this dungeon. I have a feeling that the difficulty has ramped up drastically since the first floor. Maybe we did it too quickly?"

Lars grunted. "That could be it. Or it could have something to do with the levers. Maybe they let us get a better prize, but also unlock some sort of better prize at the end of the dungeon."

Jay just grinned. "Well, if the worst comes to worst, we go back to floor one and wait for the Guild to come and fish us out." he said with such gusto, Atlas felt himself gaining confidence back. The words from the eyeball had unsettled him.

Lesli coughed. "I'm afraid that won't be possible." Everyone looked at her in confusion, and she simply pointed at the portal.

Or rather, where the portal should have been. Now there was only an empty wall, not even holding any of the purple runes along its breadth.

Silence fell over the group.

"Well that's not good." Jay summarized what they were all thinking very well.

Atlas peered into the gloom. He could vaguely make out the form of 4 or 5 creatures heading towards them. "I think I see some monsters headed this way. Do we attack first or let them come to us?" He turned, directing his question at Lars, who everyone thought of as the leader.

Lars smiled. "We attack first."

Lars took point again, with his shield and armor glowing dimly. Jay and Atlas took their places next to him, and Dane, Nex, Lesli and a newly summoned Scurrid Rockmaster were all behind them.

They crept forward, and Atlas was able to see the monsters in closer detail.

There were a total of 5 monsters. Three of the monsters were covered in black scales with purple veins, much like the walls of the labyrinth. Their heads seemed far too big for their bodies and their skulls were slightly cracked at the crown of their heads, revealing a glowing purple metal of some type embedded into their skulls.

Master Inspection.

Mindspike Kobolds

Tier: 3 Level 200

Description: Mindspike Kobolds are Acolytes who have taken a piece of the Mindhorn upon themselves. Their magic has warped and evolved, become much more Mind Magic focused though they still retain echoes of their previous power.

Highest Skill: Shadow Double (SSS)

Highest Spell: Neural Dart (ZZ)

Endurance: Low Constitution: Average Strength: Low Dexterity: Very High Wisdom: High Intelligence: Very High

Atlas then looked at the two kobolds that were different from the Mindspike Kobolds.

They were wearing armor with more of those glowing purple runes, with a similar shard on their helmet. They each bore two blades, each one shimmering and reflecting light like glass. The swords seemed to change from time to time.

Kobold Psiblades

Tier: 3 Level 250

Description: Kobold Psiblades are Grunts who have taken a piece of the Mindhorn upon themselves. Their bodies have warped and evolved, becoming much more Mind Magic focused. They are now balanced between strength and Mind Magic.

Highest Skill: Psionic Slash (Z)

Highest Spell: Focus Breaker (ZZ)

Endurance: Average Constitution: Average Strength: High Dexterity: High Wisdom: Average Intelligence: High

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Atlas turned to his team. "The ones without armor are evolved Acolytes, they seem much more like Murp now, not as strong as him, but in a similar vein of skills. The ones wearing armor are basically Grunts with Mind Magic and a little stronger. Key skill of Mindspike Kobolds is Shadow Double, and for the Psiblades, its Psionic Slash. Be on guard, people."

Everyone nodded and then started the offensive.

A rock leaped over their heads shooting straight for one of the Psiblades. It simply raised its blades and pointed at the rock, causing it to fall from the sky. Dane gasped, not in pain but alarm. "Watch out! They have a skill to temporarily disable the skill you're using, which seems to last for 10 seconds."

So that was what the focus breaker spell did. Good to know. "Got it."

Atlas and Jay glanced at each other before dashing at the Kobolds in sync, Atlas on the left, Jay on the right. Atlas used Defence Form, running straight at the Psiblades. The nearest one swung, its blades in a cross cut, purple energy trailing behind the blades, but Atlas ignored it, summoning his scythe and swinging it with all his might.

The Kobolds glass-like blades hit Atlas, chiming ineffectual as the damage was reflected back at the Kobold with two purple cuts slicing at it. It managed to dodge, but only just. Atlas's scythe hung only inches away from the Kobold when he felt a burst of pain spike through his brain. He stumbled, missing the Psiblades head before regaining his footing. He glanced around in confusion. All the Mindspike Kobolds were locked in combat with Lars and the others, so how…?

In a burst of understanding, Atlas glanced down, noticing the purple energy still clinging to his armor. The Psiblades Psionic Slash must have done this, though he didn't know exactly what it had even done.

Atlas swung his scythe again, fully intent on taking the Kobolds' life. The kobold swung again, but Atlas had attacked first this time, the kobold wouldn't be able to disrupt him now. His armor suddenly vanished, and Atlas found his scythe bounce of the Psiblades armor, barely denting it. Then the kobold's blades dug into his sides. Atlas stumbled back, pain exploding from his sides. He screamed in agony as not only his sides burned with pain, but also his very mind. It seemed his armor had blocked the brunt of the kobolds skill the first time, but now he got to experience the full effect.

Atlas collapsed to his knees, his brain felt like someone was actively scrambling it with a mixer, and the two deep cuts in his side didn't help anything. He tried to think, but it was like wading through thick sludge. It was similar to when he gained Avatar of Sloth, but to a lesser extent. His thought seemed to writhe against him, and thinking cost far more energy than he felt it should.

He glanced up, and he found the Psiblade running at him, blades held high. The Kobold blurred, and suddenly it was before Atlas swinging its blades like an executioner. But it hit nothing but mist.

Atlas appeared behind the kobold, and he shot a fireball directly at its head. He didn't have the strength to power it up, and casting the spell at all drained him of more mana than he would have hoped, but it did the job.

The kobolds helmet superheated, and now it was the kobold who was screaming. It tried in vain to lift its helmet, but the metal was simply too hot. With a grunt of exertion and pain the kobold firmly grabbed it and threw it off, crying out as his hands were burned. It turned to look at Atlas, only for a scythe to chop off its head in a single blow.

Atlas let out a breath of relief. Their armor is still metal, even though it doesn't look like it. Good to know.

Atlas's armor reappeared then and he instantly activated Recovery Form, his sides almost instantly fixing themselves. He flew up high into the air, or as high as he could with the twenty foot ceiling- and scanned the battlefield. Jay was still struggling against his own Psiblade, and Atlas threw a fireball to help him out. "Burn." This fireball was a lot more effective, superheating the entirety of its armor instead of a single section.

The rest of their group had killed two of the Mindspike Kobolds, but there were still two left. Atlas blinked in confusion and checked again. Sure enough, one of the kobolds seemed to have used shadow double, as there were two kobolds even though two had been killed already.

Atlas was planning to go and help them, but Lars suddenly glowed brightly and shot towards the kobold on the right, beheading it and launching towards the other one, killing it in similar fashion. He did it in such a way that there was no time for the kobolds to react. He must have had multiple buffs on him to move in such a way. Lars didn't have very much dexterity. He was Constitution and Faith based.

Atlas flew down to them, joining up with them while Jay made his way over. "That was… A lot harder than I had expected."

As Atlas spoke, the final kobolds head hit the ground with a dull thud. The shard embedded into its skull pulsed briefly, and the eye appeared once more.

You ignored my warnings, continuing deeper into my home and killing me fellow Mind Artists. Foolish, stubborn minds you are. The voice boomed, more powerfully than before, echoing with what sounded like amused disappointment. You are not ready for the next trial. For it will not test your strength or magic… but your Will. How will this play out? Will you succeed? Coming deeper into my lair? Or will your minds break, leaving you to suffer for untold eons? I will not kill you. That would not be… satisfying. No. I need you to shatter, become broken like no mind has been broken before.

The voice faded away, leaving a faint ringing in Atlas's mind. He shuddered. "Creepy."

Jay looked queasy. "That entire time, I felt like something was crawling around in my brain. Not the most pleasant feeling."

Lars looked dazed. "I just got a skill called Minor Mental Resistance. I think it was from the Mindspike Kobolds."

Jay perked up. "Hey me too!"

Lesli, Dane and Nex all had gotten it as well.

Atlas opened his own notifications.

Powerful Mental Resistance has reached Level 26!

Tiering up…

Cannot Tier up any further…

Ranking up…

Powerful Mental Resistance (A) -> Fortified Will (S)

Tiering up…

Cannot tier up any further…

Ranking up…

Fortified Will (S) -> Throne of Clarity (SS)

LUCKY BONUS!

Throne of Clarity (SS) -> Crown of Sanity (SSS)

Crown of Sanity (SSS): Your mind is a citadel of sanity and you are the sovereign of your own mind. Because of this, your mind can shrug off weaker attacks and weaken stronger attacks. You are the master of your own mind. You are fully immune to mental attacks Z grade and below, and ZZ grade and higher effects must first bypass a powerful resistance threshold. Attempts to read or influence your thoughts fail or cause backlash to the caster. Minor aura of sanity projected around you, weakening illusions within 10 feet of you.

Jay looked at him. "What are you grinning about?"

Atlas smiled wider and sent them all his skill.

Jay cursed and glared at him, and everyone else laughed.

Lars clapped Jay on the back. "Best not compare yourself to Atlas in the skills department, he has us all beat. But in raw stats… I think we all have more than him, though not by too much."

They all prepared to continue on, and suddenly the labyrinth began to shift violently, and they found themselves standing in front of a large metal door, with runes coating its surface.

At the top were words.

Enter and face yourself. Will you break? Or will you come out stronger?

They steeled themself and glanced at each other, before pushing through the large door.