The darkness receded, and Allen opened his eyes in a daze.
He found himself bound to an inverted cross, completely unable to move.
Scorching heat waves surged up from below, singeing his hair.
Allen struggled to lower his head, and the sight before him made him let out a scream; beneath his feet was a sea of molten lava, dark red bubbles bursting on the surface.
The heat felt as if it would ignite his very soul.
On the inverted cross beside him, the mad Rogue Jack was bound as well.
Jack was grinning foolishly at the lava below, drool dripping from his mouth.
"No… this can't be. I was in the corridor… where is this place?!"
Allen struggled as the black chains binding his wrists rattled with a piercing metallic sound.
A brilliant silver light lit up in midair.
A throne woven from white crystal thorns appeared in the air.
Labrynth's petite figure sat lazily upon the throne of thorns.
She looked down from above at Allen, who was like an ant, her eyes filled with amusement.
"Welcome to my infernal playground, esteemed mage. Are you satisfied with the environment here?"
(＾-＾)
Allen stared in shock at the white-haired loli with demon horns seated on the throne, his mind going blank.
He could not connect this cute girl with the master of the maze.
"What exactly are you?! Let me down! I am a high-tier mage of the Noxar Kingdom!"
He shouted fiercely, trying to mask his fear with his ridiculous status.
Labrynth let out a disdainful, cold laugh and snapped her fingers.
"It seems you still haven't realized your current situation. Then let me help you wake up a little."
With the snap, the skill Labyrinth Mirage was activated.
The inverted cross binding Allen began to sway, then started to fall toward the lava below.
"Ahhh…! Help me! Help me!"
Allen watched helplessly as the lava drew closer, his soul nearly leaving his body from terror.
His feet plunged into the molten lava, and the pain erupted—his flesh vaporized, his bones melting through, the agony shattering his sanity.
"It hurts! It hurts so much! Please kill me… just kill me already!"
Allen twisted his body on the inverted cross, letting out beast-like howls.
The pain produced by the Labyrinth Mirage was more than ten times stronger than real physical injury.
Labrynth sat on her throne, comfortably listening to the Emotion Point notifications ringing from the system panel.
[Absorbed Extreme Pain Emotion from a Silver Rank mage: Emotion Points +300]
[Absorbed Extreme Despair Emotion from a Silver Rank mage: Emotion Points +400]
"What a wonderful scream. Now then, are you willing to obediently answer my questions?"
Labrynth smiled darkly, her soft voice chilling to the bone.
She snapped her fingers, and the inverted cross stopped descending, suspending Allen midair.
Allen gasped desperately, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.
He realized in shock that his feet were completely unharmed; the scene just now had all been an illusion.
But the pain had completely crushed his will to resist.
"I'll answer… I'll tell you everything! Please don't torture me anymore, I'll be your dog!"
He wept miserably, his dignity as a mage trampled into the mud.
Labrynth nodded in satisfaction, a glint of light in her eyes.
"Very good. First question.
"Tell me everything you know about this floor of the dungeon."
Allen swallowed in fear, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"This is the sixth floor of the dungeon, called the Silver Ruined City by adventurers. The terrain is complex and dangerous."
He stammered out the information, afraid that even a moment's delay would get him thrown into the lava.
"The outer areas are filled with wandering skeleton soldiers and carrion demons, while the main paths and deeper zones are forbidden areas."
"Those places are occupied by regional overlords like the Headless Knight and the Abyss Watcher… no one dares to provoke them."
Labrynth listened quietly, her fingers tapping on the white crystal armrest of the throne.
"And how did you worthless lot end up in my territory?"
Painful memories flashed in Allen's eyes, his voice turning low.
"Our Silver Blade squad encountered a gargoyle swarm awakening in the abandoned courtyard."
"The captain died holding them off so we could escape. I fled in panic and ended up running into your territory."
Labrynth now had a clear understanding of the danger level of the sixth floor.
It seemed that the area she currently occupied was only a remote edge of this Silver Ruined City.
"Continue. Tell me everything about the fifth floor as well. If you lie even once, you're dead."
Allen shook his head frantically, nodding repeatedly like a pecking chicken as he swore loyalty to the demon loli.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare lie. The fifth floor is called the Crystal Fungus Swamp. It's a disgusting place."
"It's damp all year round, and the air is filled with deadly, toxic spores. Antidotes are required."
"There are bottomless marshes everywhere, with cunning swamp frog monsters lurking within."
He struggled to catch his breath, a look of fear toward the fifth floor showing in his eyes.
"The most terrifying area is the Flytrap Hell. Once you step in, you'll be digested alive."
"And the regional overlord of that floor is a massive man-eating plant that can spew corrosive, poisonous mist."
Hearing this, Labrynth fell into thought.
She realized that her newly established maze was in a dangerous position.
If she could not quickly strengthen the maze's defenses, then if a regional overlord happened to wander over, her crystal-white fortress could easily be crushed into ruins.
Allen then continued, spilling out information about the upper floors.
"Last question.
"Tell me everything you know about the human world on the surface."
Labrynth looked at Allen, her mental pressure bearing down like a tangible force.
Allen let out a pained grunt, his very soul trembling under the pressure.
"The surface is the vast Noxar Kingdom. The closest human settlement to the dungeon entrance is called Blackedge Town."
"There are elite border troops stationed there, along with large branches of various adventurers' guilds."
He closed his eyes, betraying the core intelligence of the human world to the demon.
"Blackedge Town is guarded by a powerful, retired legendary knight, with extremely strict security."
"Every day, hundreds or even thousands of adventurers enter the dungeon from there to hunt monsters and seek treasure."
Labrynth listened quietly, finally piecing together a grand picture of the world in her mind.
A vast human kingdom, a prosperous adventurer town, and a constant stream of greedy adventurers.
This was practically a perfect, inexhaustible super resource of Emotion Points.
"Hahahaha, I see now… so the world outside is this interesting!"
Labrynth laughed freely, her laughter echoing through the empty infernal space.
She casually snapped her fingers, and the infernal illusion shattered.
The molten lava and inverted crosses vanished without a trace, and the surroundings changed abruptly.
Allen collapsed onto the smooth white floor in a miserable heap, feeling as though every bone in his body had been shattered.
He opened his eyes in shock, finding himself lying in a purely white room.
Beside him lay the still-grinning Rogue Jack… it had all been an illusion.
Labrynth's petite figure did not appear; only her soft voice echoed through the room.
"Since you obediently answered my questions, I'll show mercy and spare your life for now."
"From this moment on, you are my loyal slave, and the perfect bait to attract more human flies."
Allen lay on the ground, not daring to utter a single word of resistance, only silently shedding tears.
He understood that he would never escape this demon's grasp for the rest of his life.
In the safe bedroom at the deepest part of the maze,
Labrynth decisively cut off the mental connection and lay comfortably on her back on the soft velvet bed.
The warm, magical fireplace burned quietly, casting a reddish glow on her face.
A gleam shone in her eyes as her mind worked rapidly.
"Well now, there are so many greedy adventurers on the surface… what a tremendous source of wealth."
(☆▽☆)
Labrynth happily hugged the lace pillow and rolled around on the bed, her face full of delight.
But her calm mind quickly analyzed the difficult situation.
If she continued to brutally torture and kill every human who entered the maze as she had just done, it would inevitably attract the attention and hatred of the human guilds on the surface.
With her current frail strength and this crude maze, she would not be able to withstand a collective assault from powerful humans.
A few powerful Gold Rank knights would be enough to easily flatten her base.
"It seems I can't just wipe them all out blindly. I need to cleverly adjust my management strategy."
Labrynth lazily stretched, a scheming smile spreading across her face.
She realized that a steady, long-term approach was the correct way for a capitalist to exploit resources.
She decided to cleverly reduce the difficulty of the maze, no longer relying on crude instant kills.
Instead, she would carefully design various torturous traps, making adventurers swing repeatedly between despair and hope.
She would turn this desolate Silver Ruined City into a dungeon within a dungeon.
Every greedy human who entered would become her personal Emotion Point generator.
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]