2 The Sword of Three Ashes
Floor 25, Labyrinth
After lurking for 7 hours, Tyson reached Floor 25. Labyrinth was not the way
Tyson had imagined it to be. Instead of a maze which had confusing entrance
and exits, Labyrinth was a maze which had portals called Worm Holes that led
to the other floor. But, it wasn't as simple as it sounded. A contender must find 3 Portal keys to activate the portal. The keys were 3 daggers on which several ancient runes
were carved. First ten floors of the Labyrinth were easy as they were connected by stairs that went up to
another floor but, after floor 10, The Labyrinth became more complex and confusing than fearsome.
From floor 11, the portals or wormholes connected the floors with each other.
Till floor 15, there were no keys but had more than two wormholes that either took the contender
below to a lesser floor or led the contender to the start of the floor. As for Tyson, he
was trapped three times, First on floor 18 which made him restart from floor 15.
Second on floor 22 which took him to the start of floor 22 and Third on Floor 25
which led him to a dark area and in the center there was an old Well.
A Giant of about 10 feet 10 inches tall sat in front of the well.
The Giant stood and started yawning he saw Tyson walking towards him. The Giant was wearing a white cloth which was tied at its neck and came down till its muscular thighs. He wore a pair of sandals.
"Young Contender, After so many years someone like you had visited this place," said
the Giant as he walked towards Tyson. Dust started circling around him as his heavy steps followed.
"Who are you, and how would I get out of this place?" questioned Tyson maintaining his calm
attitude.
"I am Kratos, 'The Giant of Wisdom' and This place is known as 'The Hall of Wisdom'. As you can see
I am currently guarding 'The Portal of Teleportation'." answered Kratos.
"Oh great Kratos, I mean no disrespect but, where is the portal of transportation and how does it
works?" asked Tyson, a feeling of excitement flooded throughout his body.
"I can see that you are a humble person, I can let you pass through the gates which are the only way to
get out of this place, if you agree to do a quest for me. As for your questions, I
will answer them if you pass this test of mine," explained Kratos.
"I see, another test... Ok I am ready for the test," said Tyson after thinking over it for a minute.
"Ok then, Here is the Quest"
[Side Quest: The Book of Wisdom]
[Description: Giant Kratos, 'The Giant of Wisdom', lost his 'Book of Wisdom' in the Desolate Ruins. The Book of Wisdom is the only key to open the portal of transportation without it, The Gates to Aceheim is closed forever and no one could enter or leave the realm.]
[Objectives: Find the 'Book of Wisdom' in the desolate ruins and return it to Kratos. So, he could control the entrance to Aceheim.]
[Rewards: Unknown]
[Would you like to accept this Quest?]
{YES}
{NO}
[Quest: The Book of Wisdom accepted!] the system announced as Tyson tapped on the {YES} option
in the Quest interface.
[System: The Book of Wisdom is now your Active Quest]
"Beware, The Desolate Ruins is crawling with monsters and you have the coordinates of the book
in your map. As for your protection, I can provide you with this." Kratos said as he went behind the
well and picked something from the ground.
A crimson red blade came into view as the giant walked back to Tyson. He handed the blade and a
scabbard to Tyson. Who in turn tied the scabbard tightly at his back in a slanting position.
As for the blade, Tyson held it firmly in his left hand. The blade was corroded and had blunt edges.
It looked like the blade was no more of any use.
"Huh, Thank you for this." greeted Tyson as he places the sword in the scabbard.
A broad smile appeared on Kratos' large face as if he knew what exactly was Tyson thinking after
seeing the corroded blade. He then led Tyson to the mouth of the well and started chanting a spell.
After two minutes of non-stop chanting, Kratos thrust his right hand towards the mouth of the well
and the well started glowing in a purple spreading its radiance throughout the hall.
"Jump into it and you will reach Desolate ruins. For your return, take this warp scroll. It will take you
out of the ruins once you get your hands on the book." said Kratos as he handed Tyson the scroll.
After greeting the Giant once more, Tyson jumped into the well without another thought.
"Good luck, Contender Tyson Blaze. I will await your return." wished Kratos as the image of Tyson faded in the purplish glow of the well.
Soon after Tyson jumped into the Well, The purple glow that came out of the well a few moments ago, faded and the well became as it was before. Suddenly, a bright light once again flooded the hall and a tall figure came out of the light as it slowly faded away. The figure wore a white shroud with gold stripes on it which made him look more like an angel than a grandmaster. He held a silver staff in his left hand. The red stone that was adorned on the staff was glowing faintly.
"Master Wallace, Everything is going according to the way you planned it for the contender, Tyson Blaze. I have handed him, 'The Sword of Three Ashes'." informed Kratos as he saw the figure walking
towards him.
"Good Work Kratos, If Tyson Blaze is to become the Flame King, He must be able to wield the
Legendary fire sword, 'Three Ashes'." praised Wallace as he turned around to leave.
"Wait, Master, I want to ask something which troubles me," said Kratos hurriedly
"What is it Kratos that troubles 'The Great Giant of Wisdom'?" teased Wallace as he turned back towards
Kratos.
"I want to know, Why did you choose Tyson Blaze as your representative for Aceheim? question Kratos.
"Kratos, All the Grand Masters decided that one Master would choose three contenders each
neither less nor more. But, I had my eyes on Tyson Blaze since long and I see a burning desire,
dedication, and justice in him so, I chose him as the first contender and for the other two, I
chose them on the basis of strength and intelligence. Tyson Blaze has a mixture of everything
in him and I know that he is a person who could unite all of the Altaria into one Empire," explained
Wallace as he again turned around to leave.
"But Master, Isn't it wrong to favor a contender," Kratos asked humbly.
"Well, there aren't any rules against favoring a contender whom I think is worthy of ascending the
throne of an estate. He has the ability as well as the capacity to control the powers of 'The Flame King'.
"But, What would happen if any of the other Grand Masters finds out about your plan." questioned
Kratos, imagining the scene.
"Kratos don't worry. No one would be able to find out," assured Wallace.
"What about the Quest and most importantly, 'The Sword of Three Ashes'. Any of the grandmasters
would immediately notice the legendary weapon." warned Kratos.
"I know that already and I have sorted that matter already, " reassured Wallace.
"May I know, how Master Wallace sorted this matter," said Kratos in a sarcastic way.
"I had have cast a powerful sealing spell on the 'Sword of Three Ashes' which sealed away the actual
powers of the blade. Though the blade is more effective than a normal weapon, it would look like
any ordinary weapon bought by a contender on the floor 75. As for the solution to the problem of
the sword getting noticed by any of the grandmasters, I placed an illusion spell that covered the
Sword of Three Ashes inside a veil which could only be seen through by the observatory relic."
explained Wallace
"Now, I understood your intentions, Master Wallace. I apologize for doubting your decisions,"
"Don't worry Kratos. I know what I am doing," assured Wallace as he opened a portal and bright streaks of light bathed the hall.
"Just a last question before you leave the hall." requested Kratos while looking directly into the eyes of
Master Wallace. The pupils of the eyes were fiery red in color which gave Kratos a feeling of warmth.
"What is your last question that cannot wait until next time," asked Wallace in a calm tone.
"I want to know... Where and How you found Tyson Blaze. Also since how long you were keeping an
eye on him" questioned Kratos.
"I found him two years ago when I was observing a specific planet in Milkyway Galaxy. The planet is
called Earth which is mainly inhabited by creatures known as Homo-sapiens or Human Beings. I
set eyes on him when I decided to observe some of the humans out of interest. Tyson Blaze was a
a high school student in Kalven Academy. He is an exceptionally talented lad with a good sense of
humor. He has intelligence, strength and leadership qualities which I thought were perfect to
unite Aceheim as it was on the brink on destruction. I secretly planned to summon him and erase
his memories but then the other grandmasters thought of granting special powers to the individuals
who had the strength to unite the continent of Altaria and then I planned on passing my powers to
him." Wallace explained briefly and patiently.
"I see. So what about the memories of the 33 contenders, Did the grandmasters erased their memories? inquired Kratos as the feeling of excitement took over him.
"Yes, all the memories related to every contenders' life had been sealed away by the Sealing Spell.
But, the eleven contenders that would be chosen by us would slowly regain their previous memories
so, they could handle the situation as it might shock them if their memory returned instantly.
Wallace explained.
" What about the lost contenders?" questioned Kratos.
"What do you mean, Kratos?" Wallace asked softly.
"Master Wallace, I meant what about the 22 other contenders who would lose in the tournament of heavens?"
clarified Kratos explaining his question.
"The other 22 Contenders would have their memories back but, their memories of this world would be erased as it might be proved dangerous for us to let the lost contenders keep their memories of this world. Then, all the lost contenders would be sent back to their worlds in their universe." Wallace explained the whole plan to Kratos.
"I understood everything, Master Wallace. What are your orders for me?" Kratos asked expectantly.
"I want you to keep an eye on Tyson Blaze and keep him out of any danger until he returns with the.
Book of Wisdom. It would be too early even for him to beat that Minotaur that guards
'The Book of Wisdom', and he must be ready for the 'Tournament of Heavens' as early as possible.
Give him two teleportation scrolls as a reward for returning the book of wisdom and also open
the portal to floor 50 for him to get out of this place." ordered Wallace as he entered the streak of
light and his body started glowing heavenly like an angel.
"I will do as you told Master Wallace, and don't worry I would protect Tyson Blaze until he returns with the Book of Wisdom," assured Kratos as he looked at the already disappearing body of Wallace.
