Through the Maze

The Goblin suddenly jumped out of the darkness and pounced on Levi.

"SHIT!"

Levi didn't even have time to react, but thankfully, his injury worked to his advantage!

As he tried to bring up his spear, his injured right leg gave out, and he suddenly couldn't feel it at all, causing him to slip.

He tried to balance himself, but in the process, the spear turned towards the goblin in mid-air. In the next second, his spear had pierced through the goblin's shoulder, coming out the other side.

-GRSSHHHIKKK!

The goblin shrieked loudly as it felt the pain through its shoulder. With its weight bearing down on the spear, Levi could no longer hold it.

The goblin fell to the ground with the spear still stuck in its shoulder, frantically thrashing around.

Levi also stumbled back. Now that he had a chance, he looked at the monster that had been seconds away from taking his life.

It was a green creature, roughly the size of a six-year-old child. It had a long nose and pointy ears, with eyes a shade of red and teeth completely yellow.

Even as someone who had lived in the slums, Levi felt disgusted to look at it.

But he had no time to think about such things. The goblin was not dead yet, and now he didn't even have a weapon. If it recovered from the shock, he would be dead meat.

Realizing this, Levi didn't waste a second and jumped on the monster, his two hands clenched into fists with the sudden rush of adrenaline. He smashed down on the goblin's face with all his power.

-Shriek!

The goblin let out painful shrieks, but Levi didn't stop.

As if something had possessed him, he punched the goblin repeatedly.

He hit, hit, and hit again. He didn't stop until the goblin completely stopped moving, and he heard the voice of Providence.

[You have killed a Nasant Essence Monster - Goblin]

***

It had been around an hour since the three boys had entered the maze. In that time, all of them had tried to find the path out on their own, attempting various strategies.

Among the three, however, the tall boy turned out to be the smartest. He moved through the maze, marking the walls on either side with his axe and crossing off paths if he met a dead end.

But being the smartest didn't mean he would find the way out, as what was happening now.

"You have to be kidding me..."

The tall boy, now with torn clothes and exhaustion written all over his face, despaired as he stood in front of the crosses he had made not too long ago.

He had entered the maze about an hour ago and noticing that he didn't have the bell - he decided to move on his own to find the one who had it.

He had been moving carefully, marking every wall that he went across and marking every turn he took. But even with all that - he had ended up in the same place where he had started!

"It's not a normal maze!"

He finally realized that the maze was not normal and that maybe it was filled with illusions. It seemed like the only way out would be through using the bell mentioned in the trial.

"Fuck!"

He had already encountered three monsters on his way—two ordinary monsters and one Essence Monster—although he had somehow managed to defeat them, he was now back at square one.

The tall boy sat down and closed his eyes, realizing it would be no use to continue searching for the way out. Instead, he decided to wait for the one with the bell to ring it.

***

If there was someone among the three who was suffering the most, the it would definitely be the fat boy.

First, he had the means to find the exit in his grasp but couldn't use it, and on top of that, he stepped on a trap- his whole left leg becoming paralyzed by poison!

Thankfully, he didn't get attacked by the goblin, maybe it was not nearby. But he also encountered some ordinary monsters like others, which he barely managed to defeat—not because he was weak but because of his choice of weapon.

It was hard to fight with a bow as is, but now that he was alone, it was even harder!

Cursing himself for picking the bow, he stopped and took out the bell from his pocket. 

"Should I just use it?"

Not considering the monsters that would be attracted to its sound, he was still wary of the tall boy who could steal it from him.

"Damn it"

Cursing. he held the bell in a fist, barely holding back his desire to ring it…

At that moment, however, the fat boy saw something that made him jump back in terror.

"SO YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HAS THE BELL."

In front of him, from the cross wall, appeared a young man—half of his body covered in blood and his clothes torn apart, with an expression that invoked dread in him.

It was Levi!

---***---

Lore Snippet 06 - Providence

What is it? How did it come into existence? What is its purpose? These questions remain unanswered. What is known, however, is that Providence facilitates contracts with the gods and conveys their messages to humans. It serves as both a navigator and a bridge between the divine and the mortal realms. Occasionally, Providence rewards humans who kill monsters with artifacts and avatars. Despite these rewards, it does not increase the power of humans in any way.