#02: Labyrinth

The ground was rough and grey(in color) bounded by rocky walls, in turn, creating a passage with a roof covered in stalactite-like structures; appearing as teeth of some ferocious beast. There was very little light provided by glowing crystals, grown at the sides of the path. Soon, several sounds were reflected by the walls as a group of short, gruesome-looking creatures passed through. They were holding tools and some sort of bags. Still, they were unaware that a figure was observing them from shadows and when they went away, it came out.

He was none other than Adam, wearing a piece of fabric around his waist and the rest being naked. He also carried a long stick-like black object(stone carved) with a sharp end. After looking at his surroundings, he moved quietly in the opposite way to that of those creatures, passing through several pathways, jumping through a hidden hole, and arriving at a chamber.

The place was impressively big, supported by pillars(natural) from the sides. There was a kind of light-blue liquid dripping from the ceiling, forming a small pond in one part of the chamber. It was very clear and glowing, like some magical elixir from fantasy novels and movies(surprisingly, was drinkable too). Adam went to a corner where some stuffs were scattered, put his spear or whatever by the wall and took out a pouch from his waist.

"So much hard work for these sour things," Adam mumbled with an irritated expression, taking some 'vegetables' or plants out of the pouch and moving on to wash them in the pond.

It has been more than two weeks since Adam was "legally" brought here by that mysterious voice. He opened his eyes in this place inside a new body. His reflection in that pond was of a teen around 18, possessing royal-blue eyes and white skin(to the point where he could try for a vampire role). His build wasn't remarkable, just what a teen would have. He had made that piece of cloth and pouch from plant fibers and hunting small animals around.

The place was like a <labyrinth>, a connected maze of caves, chambers, and passages. For the past weeks, Adam was adapting to his body(new) and finding stuff to eat and use(cloth, tools, etc). Not only this, but he also had to fulfill the task assigned to him- Get out of this shit-hole alive. For this to be possible, Adam needed to explore the place and find an exit from this puzzle-hell. To make things worse, there was a group of certain goblin-like creatures(mentioned before) having their <nest> a few distances away from here, acting as an active threat to Adam.

"That bitch! Not only did she kidnap me, but also left me to die in this place. Saying {Survive and escape this area, then we'll talk} easily as if this was Mario*!" Adam burst-out while swallowing those plants(the sour taste was making him put weird faces). "Fuck those goblins too," cursing those short creatures, "Despite being 'vegans', they're bloodthirsty. I've been running all this time from them...ahh! Thinking all this makes me want to kick that bitch more," and so...he went to sleep.

----<Another part of labyrinth>----

Unlike the whereabouts of Adam, this place was much livelier as it was the camp of those goblin-like creatures whom Adam was concerned about. The place was what you would expect from a barbarian and nomad's home- no tents or shelters [who wants those in a cave, lol], everyone lived in the open. Again, the area was lighted with shining crystals growing out of the walls and grounds in some corners. These creatures seemed to be of the lower ranks and had no sense of individuality(at least for the pack), living like animals(though they could stand/walk upright). Their skin was tortilla colored with signs of a rough lifestyle and the physique of males was almost identical to that of the females, being distinguishable only through their uncovered genitals.

Everyone was doing their own business as part of the group. Some were blabbing to each other, some were <dueling> while others were busy chewing those 'sour' plants. Away from all the bustle, there was a raised platform on which a big member of this crowd was settled. He was huge in size and height compared to the others and could measure up-to a ripped human. A pair of male and female came to him while the male straightened his head and looked him in the eye.

[A/N: the symbols (**) indicates people/animals speaking in a tongue which Adam(MC) can't understand.]

**A-a u-u ghwah!** The male spoke with a flat expression.

Hearing this, the big one's eyes flinched, **What the hell are you doing?**

**Huh...The leader couldn't understand? I thought I had mastered the 'way of the beast'.** The next moment, a stone mug smacked his face.

**Pay no attention to him Zuke. We have a report regarding the food stock,** the female stepped forward. **The number of plants in the near region is reducing at a higher rate than before. This has been observed during recent days which indicates that either someone from the pack is stuffing their belly a lot or...a new group has arrived.**

The leader banged his fist on the ground, grasping the attention of some of his kin. His eyes looking as if they will pop out any moment and roll on the ground. These creatures were very possessive of their land and especially, food. Despite all the tension around, the other male(beast-way master) was yawning and fixing his nose after that "mug assault". He got up and tried to calm his leader,

**Don't worry leader, we have informed Group-2 of the report. They will do their work and bring anyone they find--**

**No need to bring those thieves! Tell to slaughter them on sight. No one steals from us- Breves,** Zuke, the leader growled with a frown(on face).

--------------------------------

"Look! He is so small!" It was the voice of a little girl.

"Yes he is, and that is why you have to protect him," a deep call of a man replied the girl.

"Yes!....always."

Adam wakes, the light enters his eyes as the voices in his head faded away. To him, the chamber was so quiet that he could feel his pulses and his eyes showed traces of sorrow, which he couldn't comprehend. He sat still for some time before rising, getting fresh and then gathering his belongings(his pouch, the black spear, and a stone tablet).

The stone tablet was the fruit of his hard work during the past days. It depicted a rough network of lines which in reality were the passageways of this <labyrinth>. It wasn't very accurate, neither it was complete but was enough for Adam to find a way out. He looked back at his awakening place for a moment then left, arriving at a junction in three minutes by following the tablet.

There were three paths in front of him. Based on his expeditions, one of them lead to those Breves'<nest>(he escaped by a hair last time), the one beside it was the <wild path>(containing various species of plant & animal) making it a farm for 'those' monsters. The last one was what Adam looked forward to, a path that he explored till halfway before. He was dead certain about the possibility of finding an exit in here {Adam's thoughts: there must be a way out if that harpy wants me to escape}.

Adam's expression now serious, eyes glimmering and his lengthy, shadow(grey) hair tied up, revealing his boyish but firm face. He clasped his weapon(the spear) and advanced into the tunnel, in hopes of finding freedom.