Tower of Avarice: A LitRPG story

While the crowd stood in silence, the Apostle strode onto a raised dais in front of them. His bright and flamboyant clothing was joined by a yellow cloak that swirled through the air behind him like ink in water. He had a cane in his right hand, and he tapped it dramatically onto the ground as he walked.

When he reached the center of the stage, he spread his arms in welcome, and his expression had an almost mocking smirk as he scanned the hundreds of people assembled.

"You've run," The Apostle to the God of Games began, his voice carrying across the intervening space with ease. "You've climbed, jumped, scrambled, and, in some cases, have fallen quite spectacularly. The obstacle course was meant to test you, to have you draw on the power of the masks in order to succeed." The Apostle bowed slightly to them as if he were genuinely impressed.

"Yet, here you are. You have overcome the odds, resisted temptation."

"And then, there was the giant. Strength beyond reason, a force of nature given form. Some of you stood your ground, and some of you…well, some of you learned the hard way that running isn't an option." The Apostle tightened his grip on his cane as his smirk grew into a smile.

"But now comes the third challenge. This is no simple test of speed or trial of strength. This will be different." He tapped the ground with his cane, and the air seemed to shift. Pillars of rock slowly rose from behind him to form walls that reached the sky.

"The Labyrinth of Choices awaits. Every turn is a question, and every path has its consequences. Some roads lead forward, some in circles. Then there are those that lead to places where you do not wish to go. Do not hesitate to draw upon the abilities of your masks, but beware, the more you take, the more susceptible to possession you become!"

Mathew stared at the grey walls in front of him as the words delivered by the Apostle rang through the air. At first glance, they seemed ordinary enough. They were towering stone walls carved with symbols that flickered and changed when he blinked.

But as the crowd moved silently into its depths, things began to shift. The passages stretched forward in neat, inviting pathways, all uniform and uninteresting. In the beginning, the Labrinth seemed almost disappointing.

From the moment they stepped inside, the noise of the outside world vanished as if it were smothered by the suffocating sameness of its grey walls that stretched endlessly ahead. They were smooth and unmarked by any cracks or carvings, only the shifting magical symbols that left no reference or guide to follow.

The sky above was unchanging blue that didn't lighten or darken, no matter how much time passed inside. So they continued to walk forward, step after step, in eerie, unbroken silence, and nothing changed.

Mathew was taken by surprise when they finally reached a fork.

It came without any warning; one moment, the passage stretched endlessly, and the next, it split into two identical paths. One led to the left, the other to the right, with walls as unremarkable as before. There were no signs, no markings and no hints on which they should choose.

"What do you think? They look the same, but they probably won't be." Mathew asked Greg and Alivia, who were standing next to him and looking from one direction to the other.

Greg exhaled sharply, crossing his arms as he thought and assessed the situation.

"We go right. Right is always right."

Alivia turned to him, her expression clearly unimpressed despite the mask covering her face.

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"That's just a phrase, Greg. It's not a strategy."

Greg shrugged his shoulders.

"Call it instinct."

Mathew glanced at him doubtfully.

"And what if that instinct is wrong?"

Greg met his gaze, unbothered.

"Then we deal with it."

Alivia signed as she ran a hand along the smooth, unmarked stone of the left-hand corridor.

"There's an actual rule for mazes. If you keep your left hand on the wall and follow it, you'll eventually find an exit." Alivia explained.

"That's if the walls don't shift or move. We aren't dealing with a mundane maze in a cornfield. I say we stick with the right side." Greg retorted.

As they were discussing the options, the group of masked humans split into two, each having selected aside. Oddly, they soon disappeared from sight as if they were walking into a fog, despite the fact that there was nothing to explain how it occurred.

In the end, the group chose the 'right' direction and moved onward. The corridor stretched ahead, but the moment they had begun to let their guard down, something changed. The silence now carried a distant sound, a rhythmic clicking like gears beneath their feet.

The ground suddenly shifted, and with it came a punishing increase in gravity that pressed down upon them with intense weight. The stones beneath their feet began to slide apart in precise, mechanical patterns, and Mathew barely had time to step back before he would have stepped onto nothing.

"A Trap." Aliva said, her voice tense and ragged as she struggled against gravity. It felt many times stronger than before, and it required her to draw more power from the mask she wore. Greg let out a breathless laugh and shook his head in exasperation.

The gravity fluctuated with each passing moment, sometimes lessening and sometimes getting even stronger, leaving them unable to respond.

The only way forward was a shifting pathway of floating stones, each one sliding into place for a few seconds before vanishing beneath the floor again. The pattern wasn't obvious, with some stones lingering while others disappeared after only a moment.

Mathew carefully judged the timing, all while his knees threatened to buckle from the weight of his own body.

"We move together; watch the timing." Mathew stated, not taking his eyes off the ground. One by one, they stepped onto the shifting stone path, testing their footing before making any commitment to the move and counting the time between each shift of the path in order to learn the pattern.

To make things harder, the gravity swings became even more extreme, interfering with the movements to the point where they had to fight for every step.

Then, just as they reached the final few steps, the walls themselves came alive. Sections slide open with a hiss to reveal long, silver blades that shot out in a sweeping arc. The air vibrated around them, and the gravity doubled once again.

Alivia cursed as she kicked off the ground and flipped backward, barely avoiding a silver arrow shooting past her face. Landing heavily on the shifting ground, she sprang to the side just as another trap triggered.

"Keep moving!" She shouted before leaping off the path once again.

Mathew's mask glowed faintly with power as he dug his fingers into the stone and braced himself against the shifting incline. His enhanced strength pilfered from the mask, allowing him to hold his ground while he lowered himself below a blade before reaching out and grabbing the dull edge and, ripping it from the wall and using it to block a spear that shot out from the side.

Greg extended his hands forward and sent out twin beams of searing light from his palms that sliced through a barrage of projectiles. The beams continued past, striking a row of rotating saws that emerged from the walls, melting them to slag.

Gravity shifted once again, sending a crushing weight slamming down on them all at once. Alivia collapsed to one knee, gasping as her limbs felt like lead. Mathew staggered, barely remaining upright as the mask funnelled more strength into his body.

"Are you kidding me?! What is this, ten times normal gravity?!" Greg groaned as he forced his hands upward. Even his energy beams were bending under the intense force of gravity.

"Move!" Mathew roared, although whether he was trying to encourage his companions or push himself forward, even he didn't know. The immense pressure made it feel like the ground beneath his feet would crack and break with every step.

A barrage of spiked arrows shot toward him, and he raised his arm to protect his face and chest. Grimacing in pain, he ripped them out of his flesh and tossed them to the ground as he continued onward.

"Enough of this bullshit!" Greg shouted. He charged a concentrated blast of energy between his palms that crackled dangerously before he let it explode outwards. The surge of energy sent shockwaves rippling through the chamber, disrupting the traps.

Even the gravity faltered for a split second, allowing the trio to run forward. Once they were clear, they collapsed onto the ground, exhausted and bloody.

"Right is always right? You're an idiot." Alivia said to Greg.

By the time they escaped the labyrinth, each of them was heavily injured and pushed beyond their limits. The masks on their faces glowed with power, and, for Alivia and Greg, the whispers from the presence within were now deafening.