Niro and Zara team up in order to beat the Labyrinth, but as strangers can they learn to work together?
Niro paused. He’d followed the corridor for at least an hour and it had finally come to an end. It seemed he now had a choice. Two wooden doors were set into the stone of the dead-end in front of him. One had been painted white and the other black. From experience, he knew one path would be relatively easy and lead to a sizeable hoard of treasure. Focusing on the floating coin icon in the top left corner of his vision, it was clear by the two digit number next to it that he was in dire need of treasure.
However, the other door lead to danger – high-level monsters, pit-falls and traps. The silver lining to this choice was the even bigger hoard of loot that would be waiting if he survived.
His luck had not been good lately. More often than not, the path he chose was the dangerous one. He’d only managed to beat the hard path once and the treasure from that win had almost run out.
This choice was critical. He really needed an easy path in order to get some more cash so he could repair his gear. It was beginning to show the wear and tear.
So. White or black? He could never judge it by the colour. It was like the designers of the maze wanted to mess with his mind. Assigning the doors colours seemed to make it harder for him to choose. He was always second-guessing it.
Fast footsteps echoed down the corridor. Moments later, a girl skidded to a stop in front of the doors. Panting, she put her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath. She managed to give him a quick wave. “Hi.”
“Uh … hello.” Niro hadn’t seen many other players in the maze. It was always a slight shock to remember that he wasn’t alone in here. The town not far from the Labyrinth was bustling, but the maze was a notorious dungeon that many players avoided.
The girl flicked her electric blue hair out of her face and beamed at him. “I’m Zara, you?”
“Niro.”
“Have you decided what door to take yet?”
He shook his head, glancing at them. “I can never tell. My luck with these things is atrocious.”
She giggled. “Mine too! I was always picking the wrong door, until I defeated one of the monsters on the hard path. He dropped this item.” She pulled a golden compass out of her bag.
“The Compass of Theseus!” Niro gasped. “That’s one of the rarest drops in this dungeon!”
Zara nodded. “It’s been awesome. This Labyrinth has become my money-making machine since I got this. I can always pick the easy path, or go the hard one if I think I can handle it.” She shrugged self-consciously. “I’m not much good on my own though. I chose Druid Class, so I’m supposed to be more of a support player.”
“Druid’s are pretty good choices,” Niro said. “But they’re definitely better in a team. You couldn’t find anyone to team up with?”
“I’m more of a solo player. I’ve had … unpleasant experiences with large groups.” She looked at the ground.
“They’re not all bad, but I prefer solo playing as well.” He smiled and shook his head. “I still can’t get over the fact that you got a rare item. I’m beyond jealous. You’ll get to the Enchanted Treasure at the centre of the maze in no time!”
Zara nodded, but seemed uncertain. “I might make it there with no problems, but the monster in the centre is supposed to be incredibly tough to beat.” She sized him up. “Are you Angelic Knight Class?”
“Yeah,” he scratched his head. “It’s not very popular because it takes so long to level up to the better attacks and magical abilities.”
“Why don’t we team up for the time being?” she suggested. “I’m not so great at fighting, and I need help levelling up. I’m guessing you could use the extra XP as well. Plus, I know all the best routes to take. We could beat this Labyrinth and both come out stronger and much, much richer.”
“I’d really appreciate it,” he said, honestly. “My gear can’t take much more of a battering unless I get it repaired and unfortunately my gold has run out…”
“Then it’s settled.” She opened her menu and a second later, an invite popped up in front of him. “Let’s go kick some Minotaur butt!” she said happily.
Set in a Virtual Game 🙂
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