'Take Heed,' the largest letters began. In bold red, they were clearly meant to draw attention. The message itself was written small, in plain black text. There was a slight sheen to the sign, but it didn't distract from reading.

  'Take Heed,

  I desire no one die here. Before you is the path into my labyrinth, which I have been informed has now become a legacy dungeon within the system. As much as this saddens me, it is beyond my control.

  I created this out of my own pure joy for creation. Few did I allow to ever enter, and only those who I was confident could overcome the challenges ahead. Alas, that decision, too, has been taken from me. And so, now my greatest joy has become my greatest regret.

  I have been allowed this message, and allowed to discourage challengers. However, with that comes the price of being honest about the rewards.

  Within this labyrinth lay my greatest achievements, secrets I have uncovered, and power that can be taken for your own. The culmination of what I learned in my lifetime lies within, for the taking.

  Yet, I beg you to turn away. If not now, on the first level. If not then, the level after. If not then, the next. But I beg you, do not allow thirst for power to bury you here, because if you are driven by only such desire, this will be your grave.

  For those who ignore my warning, good luck.

  Finally, I warn you, should you begin a level, you shall be unable to escape that level until it is complete. If you do complete a level, take time to consider before attempting the next. Perhaps, that may be enough to save some.

  Please, turn back.

  And, welcome to my Labyrinth, The Dangers of Unfocused Genius.

  -Zazooki, Grand Architect of Wonders, Master of the Undiscovered, Student of Compassion, Third Princess of the Binhaniem line, Drividian, and, more than anyone ever remembered, a person foremost.'

  Levi turned to check Paige's reaction. It took her a bit longer to finish reading than it had for him, but he watched as she scanned through the final lines of the text.

  When she finally finished she just nodded and turned her gaze to Levi. He waited for her to say something, but she just stared back at him. After a moment of waiting, he couldn't take it anymore.

  "So?" He asked.

  "So...what?" Paige replied.

  Levi pushed down his frustration. "So... What do you think of the message?"

  Paige glanced to the sign and then back to Levi. "Oh. Probably dangerous. Also, she had some really sick titles. Plus, she was a third Princess... So you know all of those accomplishments had to come from her own pure ambition. That's pretty cool."

  Levi facepalmed, rubbed at his face, and took a deep breath before answering Paige. "Yeah. I agree. But... What do you think? You still want to risk it?" Levi raised an arm toward the path ahead of them.

  "Oh," Paige's face settled into realization. "Oh. Well yeah, obviously. We're here, aren't we? We agreed to take risks."

  Levi studied Paige's face for a moment, but only saw calm determination. 'Another reason I love her so much,' he thought, before pushing the thought from his mind from the embarrassment it made him feel. Still too early. He managed a smile, "Me too. But we do need to be careful."

  "Yep," Paige agreed as she began to stretch.

  "I'm serious, Paige. Listen. It sounds like each level is only going to get harder and harder. We need to make sure we don't get in too deep."

  "Yep," Paige agreed as she arched into a back bend and began move her hips from side to side.

  "I'm serious, can you pay attention for a moment?" Levi said, voice raised in exasperation.

  Paige continued to shift her hips back and forth in her stretch. "Uh huh," she finally said, springing upright. "So, we stop before each level and discuss if we want to move forward."

  Levi stayed tense in frustration for a second before deflating. "Yeah, that's what I was going to say."

  "Yeah, but you were taking way too long trying to do it, and you were kind of doing that lecturing thing you like to do," Paige answered with a shrug. When Levi only stared back with his mouth agape, Paige continued. "So you ready to do this or do you need to meditate or something first?" She asked.

  "No... I mean, my debuff just reset, so I'm good. I just..." Levi said staring back at Paige, feeling like he'd had a lot to say before and suddenly had nothing. "I mean, yeah. I guess I'm ready."

  "Good," Paige said with a grin. Before he could react, she turned and began up the path. He saw a shimmer as she passed through some invisible barrier. He almost yelled out for her to stop. There was no point. Even if she cared, she was already past the barrier. With no other choice, he sprinted after her.

  ---

  It didn't take long before the rough dirt and stone path turned into a cut stone stairway. Until that point, there had been no enemies or even branching paths to take. It was a simple, straight upward path, right until they made their way to the carved stone stairs.

  Just beyond where the path turned to cut stone, perhaps 25 meters, stood a tall, bulky golem with a shield. It appeared to be made of brass or bronze, standing at least 3 meters high. Blueish-green corrosion covered every inch of the mechanical monstrosity. As tall as it was, it was nearly as wide.

  As Paige and Levi came into view, turning on the winding path, it slammed its shield down. "Please turn back." Came a rumbling voice from within the Golem.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Paige and Levi both skidded to a halt.

  "Your poison isn't going to work on that," Levi said casually.

  "Yeah, well I doubt your knuckles will do much, either. Maybe your sword though?" Paige answered.

  "Eh. I don't know. It costs a lot to use. I don't want to run out of energy right away," Levi explained.

  "Well... Maybe it's not as tough as it looks?" Paige suggested.

  Boom! With a force that was enough to rattle their bones, the massive Golem slammed the shield into the ground again. "Please turn back," it rumbled.

  Both Paige and Levi found themselves crouching under the intensity of vibration it sent beneath their feet.

  "How the fuck is the first enemy of the first level so strong?" Paige asked in a growl. "There's no way. I bet it is just a speed check. Like, if you just go fast enough, you can easily get past him."

  "I'm not sure. I'm thinking it may be a puzzle or riddle of some sort," Levi disagreed.

  Paige looked at Levi, eyebrows raised. "Seriously? A puzzle or a riddle? The thing is only saying three words. The same three words."

  Boom! The Golem slammed his shield down again, repeating the same words. The vibrations were enough that Levi's knees buckled slightly. Paige's balance was better, so she managed to fare better, but her attention was drawn to the Golem momentarily.

  Then her glare swiveled back to Levi. "How is that a puzzle or a riddle?" She snarled.

  Levi took a deep breath and forced himself to relax and let go of his irritation. "You know what? You might be right. And it's the most straightforward solution to the problem. But only one of us should go. The other should stay back, just in case things go wrong and we need to heal the one who attempts speeding past it."

  Paige turned to Levi and smiled. "Really? You think it is a good idea?"

  Levi hesitated before answering. "I think it has a reasonable chance of workin-"

  Boom! The next shield slam made Levi bite his tongue. Then the Golem repeated his words. But Levi noticed one slight difference. "Turn back, please."

  "Okay then," Paige began after the world stopped shaking. "I'll wait here. You push your...uh... energy stuff-,"

  "It's Go," Levi cut in.

  "Yeah... that..." Paige continued, rolling her eyes. "And find out how fast we need to be to get past it." She said, leveling a stare at Levi.

  "I was thinking you could do it. You have all of those new crazy flexible moves and stuff. I think you'll have better luck," Levi answered, keeping his face blank.

  "But I'm the one with the healing horns..." Paige argued.

  "Yeah, but I have potions. I can get to you fast. And it is your idea," Levi countered with a shrug.

  "But you're the man!" Paige answered, giving Levi an incredulous stare.

  Again Levi shrugged. "I'm a feminist. It's your idea. There's a reasonable chance it will work. I don't want to take that win from you."

  "Oh you dick. I see what you're doin-"

  Boom! Again the world shook beneath them. Again the golem repeated its message.

  "Paige," Levi responded after they'd recovered. "I have no idea what you're talking about. It was your idea. I feel like you should get to do it. If you're right, this is your win."

  Paige's eyes narrowed on Levi. "I'm not right, am I?"

  Levi shrugged. "Could be. Only one way to find out."

  Paige wanted to back out, but if she was right... If she was right, she was going to rub it in his face. Slowly she turned from Levi and crouched, tensing her body for the explosion of force she was about to send through it. "Okay then. Right after he slams his shield the next time."

  "Got it," Levi answered.

  Boom! The Golem began its words again, and before his speech was finished, Paige was on the move.

  Levi snatched a healing potion from the pouch at his waist, one he'd stored for quick use, and uncorked the bottle with his teeth as he watched Paige's mad dash.

  To her credit, it looked like she was going to make it. The Golem swung its shield and she managed to duck beneath it. Then, the golem's torso kept spinning, completely independent of its lower body.

  Paige didn't expect or even see the shield coming around again as she made it just past the golem. Boosting himself, Levi watched as Paige's Cat-like Reflexes were only capable of registering the impact just before it landed. He followed her trajectory as she skipped back toward him. He used his skills to meet her where she stopped. She was unconscious, but he poured a small amount of healing potion on her head and then down her throat.

  And he did his best not to laugh.

  ----

  "So, yeah. Maybe I was wrong," Paige said after her head had cleared.

  "You could have been right." Levi said, trying to keep his amusement in check. It came across a bit robotic.

  "You're an asshole," Paige said as she sat up and gave Levi a dirty look.

  He shrugged in return. "I guess so. When I don't have any other choice. I try not to be, though." He stood, cutting that discussion short. "Now, can I try my idea? Same deal. Heal me if I get slapped so hard I think my childhood wasn't abuse?"

  "That's... dark," Paige said, looking up at Levi.

  "Just a joke. But seriously, have the heals ready. I'm not really certain my idea will work."

  Paige nodded and forced herself to her feet. "For the record... I hope he knocks you senseles-"

  Boom! "Please. Turn back."

  After they'd recovered, Paige shrugged. "Best of luck."

  Levi smiled at Paige. "Thanks. But if I am right, I don't need it."

  Levi took a step toward the enormous Golem and then spun around, facing away from it. He gave Paige a wink, and then started walking backward.

  ----

  "I hate you sometimes. You know that right?" Paige said as they stood at the door to the next level. The Golem had sunk back into a stopped hibernation of sorts, quiet after they'd made it past him.

  Levi didn't even try to keep the smirk off his face as he answered her. "No you don't. In fact, I'd say you're quite smitten. If not by my incredible intelligence and general awesomeness, definitely by skills when we... spar..."

  "First, you can't pull off cocky and confident, so don't try. But it was cute that you did try," Paige said with a smile, before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. "Also," she waved and arm at the now sleeping golem. "That was dumb. Zazooki, or whoever, was supposed to be some Wonder Architect or-"

  "Grand Architect of Wonders," Levi corrected.

  Paige narrowed her eyes at Levi. "Yeah. That. Anyway... Still pretty lame for a puzzle. Basic as hell. Too simple."

  Levi shrugged. "It actually makes a lot of sense, considering she wants people to abandon her dungeon before it gets dangerous. It is a simple puzzle, but she puts a huge discouraging golem who repeats the message to turn back. She probably hoped it would scare people away from moving on without people having to die. And it is just the first level, you kind of expect the puzzles to be simple."

  "Well, I still think it is stupid as hell," Paige disagreed.

  "And I'm sure that has nothing to do with you being wrong."

  Paige glared at Levi for a few seconds before huffing and crossing her arms. "Are we moving on to the next level or what? I'm tired of standing around."

  "I'll take that as you agreeing to continue... So yeah. I think we can handle the next level," Levi answered, placing his hand on the large stone door. He looked back to Paige. "Ready?"

  She began bouncing on her toes and gave a nod.

  Levi pushed against the door, expecting resistance, but the large stone door responded to his push as if it had been waiting for it. The large slab of stone began moving on its own. Though it made a loud grating sound as it slit open, and moved slowly, it moved even as Levi withdrew his hand.

  Before them were three paths. To the left, a staircase led upward, to the right another led down, and the center path continued forward.

  "Okay." Levi said staring at the paths ahead of him. "It's a labyrinth, a maze. I don't see any immediate enemies. So, if we use the idea of just following the left wall until we find our way out... Well shit, this one is vertical." Levi scratched at the back of his head. "I mean, we can still use the theory, but it means we'll be tracing the ceiling until it dead ends. Then the floor once it dead ends. Then the ceiling again once we find our way back to a fork. Should be alright as long as we do that. What do you think?"

  "Uh." Paige said with a shrug. "That sounds like a good plan."

  "You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?" Levi asked.

  "You're sleeping alone tonight, aren't you?" Paige grumbled.