The party collapsed and took a good, long moment to catch their breaths.

  “Sheesh, that shaved off like ten years of my life,” Mili said, groaning and letting her head thud on the hard floor. Marco did the same.

  Jack, meanwhile, was busy bleeding to death. There wasn’t a single spot on him that wasn’t already covered in red, and although Lucius tried his best to attend to the man, it was no use. His arm was practically ripped open - bone and all. It was a miracle that Jack was even conscious at this point: in the next half hour, he would surely breathe his last.

  Marco and Mili found it difficult to look at him, the young musician most of all. She held his hand and began to tear up, rebuking him with harsh words meant for herself more than any other.

  “You’re a real stupid guy, Jack,” she said. “But I guess I’m even worse. Dammit… I should’ve been more careful. Maybe if I had blasted that thing earlier—”

  Jack interrupted her with a laugh, or rather a sputter with how weak his voice was. “Don’t be like that. I chose to take it, and you know what? I always wanted to be a hero. Glad my dream came true.”

  The man tried to appear casual, but it was evident how scared he really was. His chest rose up and down in panicked, uneven bouts, and his body trembled whenever he spoke. There was no denying it: Death approached with every passing second.

  At the very least, there was no regret in his eyes. How unfortunate… this was not the ending Lucius envisioned for the timid Mister Thames.

  The atmosphere was no different than a funeral’s. Everybody looked ready to say their goodbyes, but before they could, Jack coughed and reached out to Marco.

  “H-Hey, don’t go killing me off just yet. I need… um, it would be nice if Marco could come a little closer. Just a little.”

  Marco scrunched his brow in confusion, but he did as requested and hunched over. Jack wasted no time and snatched the old mobster’s hand before closing his eyes. Nothing happened at first, and for a moment the man seemed well and truly dead, but then something quite peculiar happened.

  Jack’s arm stopped bleeding.

  Of course it still looked like it was hacked by a meat cleaver, and his skin was still pale as a corpse, but his death was less of a certainty now and more of a very high probability. Which was good. A chance was a chance no matter how slim it seemed.

  “Phew, I sure am glad I chose Warrior for my class,” Jack said, fooling not a single soul. “Man, it feels great to have a passive healing skill. Like a Warrior would totally have. Yeah.”

  Marco rolled his eyes and gave the man a consoling pat on the back. “I’m glad you feel better, pal. You think you’re ready to move again, or do ya want to rest for a little bit more?”

  “No, no, it’s fine. We can get moving. Probably better anyway; we don’t know when that thing’ll find us again.”

  Mili began to voice her concerns, but promptly stopped. The memory of their recent encounter appeared to rush into her head, and so, too, was her fear.

  The young Jack was right. The longer they stayed in one spot, the more likely it was they would be found again. Their available combatants would have to be reduced to three for now. Fortunately, none of the abominations they had confronted thus far - save for an obvious outlier - posed any real danger. They were ghastly to look at, foul smelling and readily draining of sanity, but otherwise reasonably manageable.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Just not the swine. That was a lesson they needed not to repeat.

  After getting their bearings together, the party set out once more into the maze. Their pace was slower due to Jack needing to limp along; however, their vigilance was heightened. The four of them were more cautious now—smarter.

  They were like a gathering of battle-hardened experts. No stray sound went unnoticed; any traces of the Horned Exile were quickly avoided. They even encountered a few more treasure rooms thanks to Jack’s “intuition”.

  One was a ruby necklace that improved magic by five. That went to Mili.

  Another was a leather vest with an innate self-repair skill. Marco took that one.

  And finally, their most recent find was a new weapon for Lucius: a cane. But not just any cane, oh no… it was a stylish cane, shaft painted in a sleek black, with a hidden blade that could be pulled out with the handle.

  *(NEW!) Obtained [1] Gentleman’s Cane.

  Description: A cane sword that once belonged to the head butler of House Germaine. After the patriarch sacrificed his fiefdom to bring forth the Tides of Rot, the head butler made one final last stand alongside the kingdom’s forces to fight back the flesh horde. He perished in battle, but succeeded in sealing his former liege in the Forgotten Maze.

  Increases strength while wielded based on how elegant the user is (up to 10).

  Lucius couldn’t help but admire his newfound implement. It really was the perfect weapon for a man such as himself: the blade was tasteful, the shape oh-so refined, and even the name itself suited his dashing demeanor. No wonder he reached the maximum amount just by touching the lovely thing!

  With that, every one of the party members had a treasure of their own. All they had to do now was locate the exit.

  Except, that was the problem. Everything was progressing too smoothly. The danger had passed, his fellows were suitably equipped, and there was little way of bringing out Jack’s potential. Sure, the young man was still heavily injured, but he hadn’t quite exposed himself as much as Lucius hoped.

  Jack needed an opportunity—something to draw out his deepest, darkest secrets.

  And so it was up to Lucius to make things… interesting.

  He turned towards the wall and started to search for oddities: discoloration, cracks, anything that deviated from the typical stale patterns. Eventually, he found a brick that looked just like the one he pressed before. There was a subtle draft that wafted through the gaps, and upon closer look, it was aligned at a very, very slight indent.

  Lucius checked to make sure no one was watching him, and then pushed the brick.

  The ceiling began to shift; a familiar rumble broke the silence. The others had little time to react before another wall came crashing down.

  “Look out, Mister Thames!”

  Lucius jumped and snatched Jack away, pushing him ahead of Marco and Mili before the wall came down with a thud.

  Jack tried to yell out to the others, but Lucius covered his mouth and gestured to be quiet. “Hush now, Mister Thames. The worst we can do now is alert that monster of our presence.”

  Jack bit his lip. He did his best to remain calm, but it was clear his companion’s absence weighed heavily on his mind. “H-How did this even happen…”

  “Perhaps someone just so happened to step on a rogue tile,” Lucius said, making up quite the excellent ruse.

  “That can’t be it. I didn’t… I didn’t see anything…”

  Lucius pulled Jack up and flawlessly changed the topic. “How it happened matters not. We must prioritize regrouping with the others, and to do that requires us to travel alone for now. Remain strong, Mister Thames. Do not give up hope.”

  Jack stayed silent. After a long second, he picked up his spear with his good hand and nodded. “Yeah… yeah, can’t give up here. I’m sure Marco and Mili will be fine. They’re a pretty tough pair.”

  “As are we, no?” Lucius said with a wink.

  Jack laughed, quietly, and replied with a new bout of courage. “Right. I can’t think of any better company.”

  The human will to survive was a powerful thing. Jack bravely marched forward, determined to see them all reunited again. But how very tragic… the one beside him had something different in mind.

  Lucius smiled, for everything was going just as planned.