1 Labyrinth of the First
"I already know the answer, but I must ask. What's the first thing you remember?" asked a mature woman to the crowd of people in front of her.
She was beautiful and tall with raven-black hair that reached her waist. Her bosom... would stick in anyone's mind after just one look at it. Her clothes resembled a barrier trying to hold back a flood in the chest area. When her black-framed glasses were added, she should have been a feast for the eyes of the crowd. However, no one was in the mood for such things, so no one cared.
The crowd said nothing. All the people had puzzled expressions on their faces.
"As I thought. Then, let me tell you about the hell in which you-the empty heads- are thrown. Listen carefully. I won't repeat myself."
She adjusted her glasses.
"This place is called [The Labyrinth of The First], and The Elevator you are currently in is the dungeon's entrance. I'm here to welcome you."
"Every month, hundreds of people have been coming here through the elevator. My job is to give them the minimum amount of knowledge they need."
"Why the minimum? Shouldn't you tell us as much as you can?" A girl's voice was heard from the front of the crowd.
"I don't mind answering some of your questions, but... You shouldn't talk before you get permission. The mature woman stared at the girl.
"The labyrinth consists of many floors and houses various kinds of monsters. The more we humans kill them, the better we live."
"The number of humans that have arrived here has reached hundreds of millions. However, the current number of humans in the labyrinth is only half of a million. You'll see with your own eyes when you come out of this elevator how common the concept of death can be."
"I'll be honest. The more of you that die, the better it is for us. Since this place is a dungeon, there are limited resources. There is no free meal or a warm bed in this world, so no one would want to share anything with empty heads like you."
"Let me warn you again. After leaving the elevator, no one will help you. The people of this dungeon believe in equal trade. Since you have nothing valuable on you, it's better that if you don't even try. Otherwise, you might come across a 'vulgar' person."
"However, you need not to be upset. The situation is fair enough for you. The first humans who came here started from zero too. You can also do it."
"All the humans that have come here until now have something in common. All of them are amnesiacs. That's why you lot can't remember anything other than your names."
"Legends say that the dungeon contains fragments of your memories. They can be in a container, or a monster might own your memories. All you need to do is find them. If it is a monster, kill it. Of course, I assume that you want your memories back."
"And there is 'the system' of everyone. It works through the thoughts. Now try to summon it, just thinking is enough."
She paused.
The crowd immediately started to make a fuss. They did what the woman said, and the interface of 'The System' appeared before their eyes.
"As you can see, there are options on the system's interface. I am not gonna divulge them. You can ask The System for more detailed information. You'll know how to do it from now on."
"Most of the people living in [The Labyrinth of the First] don't have a goal in life. They are just trying to survive. Every day is the same for them."
"However, if you want to leave this place, try to find your memory fragments. Make yourself whole and know who you actually are! Become stronger, and one day, you leave this dungeon forever! As you thread down on this path, you'll find answers to your questions!"
"That's all I have to say. Now, dismissed!" The woman said, showed the crowd to the exit.
The Elevator was big enough to host about two hundred people. Its walls consisted of numerous iron bars. The top of it resembled a giant iron tent.
The people of the labyrinth called this structure 'The Elevator', but it wasn't really an elevator. It wasn't movable at all. The people it brought would suddenly appear inside of it.
With the 'command' of the woman, the crowd headed for the elevator's exit. They had to admit, the woman was scary.
Among the crowd, there was a short black-haired youth named Dante. He was average looking in all the areas except his face. He didn't have a lot of muscles, a tall body, and he didn't look like an athletic person. He was all about his handsome face and sharp eyes.
Dante had listened to the mature woman with utmost attention. To him, she had a unique charm.
He didn't forget to throw one last look to the woman's huge breasts while crossing beside her. He did so sneakily, of course.
The crowd had a common destination: The Sunfell Town.
When the crowd passed through the elevator's door, the new world showed itself in front of the two hundred humans.
In their memories, they had nothing to compare the scenery before them. Thus, many of them said nothing.
The City of Sunfell was just a hundred meters away from them.
It was almost nighttime. Under the disappearing sunlight, the town looked hideous. With its gloomy wooden rooftops, murky wooden walls, and creaking woods, Sunfell had a little frightening atmosphere.
The crowd was complaining about the nonsense they were currently in. The information that the mature woman had given them was precious, but it wasn't enough.
They didn't have money. Being at level one, they were the weakest, and they had all kinds of disadvantages.
However, unlike the crowd, Dante questioned nothing. He kept calm, and didn't look confused or panicked.
'The first thing I have to do is examine the system. The second should be gathering knowledge about the world. If I am lucky enough, I can do both at the same time.' That was what he was thinking.
The crowd's number was lessening as they walked along the Sunfell City's roads. Soon, Dante spotted an old-looking tavern and left the group's ranks.
He walked toward the tavern and sat on a rock near the door.
Dante had chosen to sit outside because he didn't want to mess with 'vulgar' kind of people. Since he did not know anything about the world yet, it was best to stay away from suspicious people.
With a thought, Dante opened the interface of The System. He didn't need to hide his actions. The System was everyone's system.
The System's interface was quite simple. It had the following options: profile data, inventory, quest journal, skills, maps, achievements, classes, and hidden classes.
Dante didn't know anything, so he chose the first option.
A window popped out. On top of the window was a three-dimensional model of Dante on a turntable, and the model was wearing the same clothes as him. It wasn't hard to understand what the model signified, so Dante didn't spend much time on it.
At the bottom of the profile window, his various stats were shown.
Character Level 1 (% 0)
EXP Required to Level Up: 10
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Name: Dante
Last Name: Doesn't have
Class: Doesn't have
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Health Points: 10
Mana Points: Doesn't have
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Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 4
Vitality: 1
Stamina: 2
Attunement: 0
Luck: 3
Memories: 0%
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Status Effects:
'Ugh. Except for intelligence and luck values, everything looks normal. Hmm… So most of the stats of a normal person are set on 1. My memories... I actually wonder who I was.'
Dante chose the Inventory option next. The window that opened was empty.
Quest Journal Window, empty.
Skills Window, empty.
Achievements Window, empty.
Maps Window, it wasn't empty. From the elevator to the tavern, the road was shown on the map, and a white light ball was beside the tavern.
'It seems like the maps consists of places I have seen earlier, and that white ball should be me.'
Dante chose the classes option. There were just five sub-options: warrior, mage, rogue, priest, and ranger. The system did not allow him to open the class sub-options.
The Hidden Class window was also empty.
'Hidden Classes, this should be the key to reach the peak!'
