CHAPTER 64: INTO THE 9TH FLOOR

I handed the driver some bills and stepped out a block away. No need to draw attention. I walked slowly, activating the Faceless Cloak’s passive aura — suppressing my presence, muting my mana signature, and gently bending light around me to avoid detection.

Like a shadow, I slipped through the outskirts of the crowd.

And then... I stood at the edge.

The Crimson Rift towered in front of me now, its jagged red chasm carved unnaturally into the land, surrounded by fractured earth and blackened stone. Faint whispers floated from the depths, not loud enough to understand, but enough to remind me what this place truly was.

The moment I jumped through the Rift, the world snapped.

No twisting vertigo this time. No disorientation. Just a solid thud — boots landing firmly on cracked stone.

The air was dry.

The wind... hot and heavy, like it came from some vast underground furnace.

Then, the system chimed.

-

[You have entered the 9th Floor of the Labyrinth.]

[ Quest Type: Extermination ]

[ Requirement: None ]

[ Objective: Eliminate the Ravaging Howlbacks – 0/8 ]

[You cannot exit this floor until the objective is complete.]

-

My eyes scanned the terrain immediately. This was a war-torn canyon — wide, open, littered with shattered stone pillars and rusted armor pieces strewn across the cracked earth. The ground was stained with old blood, and a distant howling wind echoed through jagged cliffs like an omen.

Then the earth trembled.

Slight, but rhythmic. Footsteps.

A massive shadow emerged from beyond a broken ridge, and then another — and another.

Ravaging Howlbacks.

They weren’t just ogres. These things had ogre blood, yes, but something had warped them. Each stood over four meters tall, their skin blackened like obsidian and marked with burning crimson runes that pulsed in sync with their heartbeats. Their mouths were too wide, stretched unnaturally, filled with jagged teeth that looked carved rather than grown.

And their arms... were wrapped in what looked like fused armor and bone. A grotesque fusion of war beast and spell-forged construct.

Then came the howling.

Ear-splitting, guttural, primal.

It reverberated through the stone walls like a declaration of violence.

I shifted my stance, slowly raising my fists.

The Emberfang Style whispered beneath my skin, mana flowing in subtle, practiced pulses.

"Let’s see if you’re tougher than the Apex on Floor 8," I muttered.

-

The first Howlback lunged.

Its massive foot shattered stone on impact as it launched forward with terrifying speed — faster than its bulk should allow. The fused bone-plate gauntlets on its arms crackled with residual mana, a crimson haze trailing behind.

I slid low.

Mana surged beneath my feet — precise control — and I twisted my torso mid-dodge, narrowly avoiding a boulder-sized fist that crashed into the ground where I stood a second before.

BOOM.

Debris flew. I raised my arm to guard, sliding back across gravel as my boots carved short furrows in the dirt.

"Faster than before..." I muttered, narrowing my eyes.

Back in the last timeline, the Ravaging Howlbacks were brutish and predictable. Tough skin. Average reaction speed. Just another elite ogre variant with enchanted musculature and a weak point under the ribs.

But these? This one adapted mid-swing.

Its knees compressed and kicked off a second time, twisting its whole frame into a backhand strike mid-lunge — a combo it shouldn’t have been capable of. I ducked again, this time retaliating with a precise punch to its exposed lower ribs — Emberfang Style active.

[Burn Stack: 1]

The hit landed — but the impact was shallow. Like punching armored leather.

I clicked my tongue. "High-tier dermal resistance. Possibly enchanted plating."

Another Howlback landed behind me with a quake.

A flanking maneuver.

"Tch—!"

I burst sideways using a mana-infused dash, skimming just between them as the two beasts’ fists collided into each other by accident — a shockwave exploding between them. Dust burst outward.

-

Assess:

▸ Greater speed than before

▸ Pack coordination instead of single rush

▸ Bone-forged gauntlets are siphoning ambient mana

▸ Intelligence: Moderate

▸ Weakness: Unconfirmed. Suspected underplates still exist, but reinforced

-

"Definitely upgraded. Someone — or something — is tampering with their evolution," I muttered, weaving between blows.

The third one began to charge — but instead of joining the brawl, it let out a piercing howl. The sound was low, vibrating through the canyon, and the runes across their bodies all flared at once.

[Warning: Ravaging Instinct Triggered – Physical Stats Temporarily Increased by 30%]

"Damn it," I hissed.

I ducked a sweeping strike and countered with a knee into the first one’s chin, following up with an elbow to its throat — both carrying flame-infused strikes.

[Burn Stack: 3]

The ogre reeled slightly, but its HP barely budged. A tank. These things were built to drain stamina and win wars of attrition.

’I couldn’t let that happen.’

I weaved left — right — then leapt over a charging Howlback, flipping mid-air. Emberfang Style pulsed under my skin like coiled fire. As I descended, I slammed my heel into one’s shoulder joint, rotating and striking downward with a burst of mana.

[Burn Stack: 5]

The skin blistered. A sizzling burn crackled upward.

It roared in pain, finally faltering — a window.

I dashed in, sliding low and hammering into its ribcage with three consecutive body blows. The final strike ignited a ripple of burning energy that sent it skidding backward — chest smoldering.

[Burn Stack: 8]

"I have to isolate them," I muttered. "If they keep coordinating, this will become a war of stamina — and I don’t have time to waste here."

I leapt onto a broken pillar and baited them forward.

Two followed.

The third... remained in place, slowly cracking its knuckles and exhaling smoke.

"Smart one," I noted. "Probably the pack leader."

The other two clambered up after me — heavy and aggressive, but now spread out.

’Perfect.’

I exploded forward with a feint, ducked a swing, and drove a flaming palm into one’s side, then uppercut the second with mana reinforcement. The heat surged.

[Burn Stack: 11]

[Burn Stack: 12]

The first one slowed. Its movement staggered. The flames were beginning to cripple regeneration — the soft tissue damage accumulating.

Now I had momentum.

I entered the Explosive Ember Form.

Every strike now hit harder. Each motion burned hotter.

Two more strikes.

Then another.

Then—

[Burn Stack: 15 Reached]

[Target: Healing and Defense -30% for 3 seconds]

"Burn," I whispered — and drove my fist into its core.

BOOM.

The force sent the ogre flying backward into a stone slab, engulfed in searing crimson.

One down.

The other roared in defiance — but even it seemed hesitant now.

I stood tall, exhaling flames from my fists as ember smoke curled from my shoulders.

The smart one was watching now, unmoving and calculating.

"Come on, then," I muttered, staring them down.

"Let’s see how much stronger Floor 9 really is."