CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32 : INVISIBLE CREATURE

Theo and Amelia had once again returned to their starting point — for what felt like the hundredth time.

Ever since they had been teleported into this dark, eerie place, they hadn’t stopped exploring the maze-like corridors. Yet no matter which direction they took, they always ended up back at the same spot.

Each attempt played out the same way: they would venture into a new hallway, convinced they were making progress, only to find themselves right back where they started — without understanding how. The situation was starting to seriously get on their nerves... especially Amelia’s.

Theo had already tried several methods to break the loop, but all had failed. They were literally trapped, with no way out in sight.

"Theo... do you think if we tried breaking the walls of the maze, we could move forward?" Amelia asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Hmm, I already thought about that... but why not?" Theo replied after a moment of reflection. "I’ll just need you to give me a hand."

"Got it," she nodded firmly.

Without wasting any time, Amelia made a flute appear between her fingers. A soft, soothing melody filled the corridor — calm, yet charged with a strange energy.

"Random Buff," she whispered.

It was her innate skill — one unique to bards: Random Buff.

As its name implied, it increased one random stat of her allies by 15%. It might not seem like much, but in skilled hands, the ability held tremendous potential. Amelia hadn’t yet pushed it to its limit — it was only Rank B — but its effects were far from negligible.

A moment later, Theo heard the familiar sound of a system notification.

Ding!

[ You have received a buff ]

[ Luck +15% ]

Theo froze, dumbfounded. Of all the stats it could have boosted... it had to be luck.

"Guess I’m not that lucky after all," he muttered bitterly.

Amelia frowned at his tone.

"You got a buff that doesn’t help? I can try recasting the skill if you want."

"No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it," he replied simply.

Even if it wasn’t the stat he had hoped for, Theo didn’t want to waste Amelia’s energy. Taking a deep breath, he raised his massive sword, lightning crackling along its edge.

"Greatsword Technique — Mountain Crush!"

He brought his weapon down hard against the labyrinth wall.

To his surprise, there was no impact. His powerful strike had been completely absorbed by the wall itself.

"The walls aren’t soft... so how the hell does that make sense?" he muttered, frowning.

"Theo..."

Amelia was about to say something when the sound of footsteps echoed behind her. Instinctively, she froze.

Theo immediately felt it too — a hostile presence. He spun around, sword at the ready.

And then, their hearts stopped.

Something was moving around them... something invisible.

They could hear a raspy breath, light steps scraping against the stone floor — but their eyes saw nothing.

"What... what the hell is that thing?" Theo whispered, his voice tense, his sword trembling slightly.

"I don’t know," Amelia murmured cautiously. "But... maybe it’s better if we don’t find out."

The invisible creature drew closer. Theo felt a hot breath brush the back of his neck. He spun sharply and swung his sword — but struck only air.

"It’s there!" Amelia cried, pointing toward a corner of the corridor.

Theo dashed in that direction, but the creature had already vanished. Instead, a muffled laugh echoed — coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"What are you doing here?" asked a deep, disembodied voice.

Theo and Amelia froze.

The creature... was speaking.

Unlike the other monsters they had encountered, this one spoke clearly — almost like a human.

"Could it be... a person? Or an intelligent monster?" Theo thought, tightening his grip on his weapon. Amelia, on edge, could feel her instincts screaming at her to stay alert.

"What do you mean by ’what we’re really looking for’?" she asked warily.

"Ah, the question is simple," the creature replied. "You came into this dungeon for a reason... but is it truly the one you think? Motivations are often far more complex than they appear, aren’t they?"

"A dungeon?" Theo frowned. "Wasn’t this a portal? A dungeon inside a portal?"

"And if we answer correctly, you’ll show us the way out of this loop?" he asked.

"Exactly," the creature answered, almost playfully. "But if you fail... you’ll be trapped here forever. And I don’t mean simple death... I mean oblivion. The loss of your very self in the depths of this dungeon."

It paused briefly before adding, in a darker tone:

"And don’t count on your friends to save you."

Theo and Amelia exchanged uneasy looks. At least now, they knew — Deon and Alexia were still alive.

"And if we answer correctly? What do we get?" Theo asked defiantly.

"Ah, that depends on your answer," the creature said, voice dripping with mystery. "Perhaps you’ll discover something about yourselves... or perhaps you’ll finally find what you’ve been seeking all along."

Silence fell once more.

Theo stared into the void, tense. His decision was already made — there was no way he was going to trust a monster. The fact that it could speak made it even more dangerous.

He had to find a way to kill it.

Even if it was risky, he had no other choice. Playing along was the only way to protect Amelia. He didn’t want his decisions to put her in danger.

By pretending to listen, he hoped to make the creature drop its guard... and strike when the time was right.

Amelia, however, knew instinctively that provoking this being was a bad idea. If it had wanted to kill them, it would have already done so. Yet for some reason, it was talking to them. That was... unsettling.

She knew Theo too well — his calm expression was a mask. He was planning something. And the last thing she wanted was for his impulsiveness to doom them both.

"We entered this portal to grow stronger — and to close it before it becomes a threat to the outside world," she said finally, her voice steady.

Theo looked at her, stunned that she had answered so directly.