Clearing

Fifth floor.

Everybody are resting a bit.

When they first entered the labyrinth, they thought that they will enter the last floor they were in.

But they forgot that there were new additions.

Namely: Mina, Aira, Cedric, Melrose and Zion.

France and Jovanna paired with each other. Basically, they are lovers so they don't want each other to be paired with others.

Niana got paired with Cedric.

Louis is paired with Melrose.

Keith walked towards Aira.

Then, Celestine is paired with Mina.

Zion is a free solo for he engaged from time to time, and can fill some gaps in their works.

Resting at the 5th floor, Zion noticed that all of them, have no gears nor armours except for the rings he gave. He did not give any attention to it, just maybe they are preserving the endurance of their gears.

"Uhm, Niana, can I solo the tenth floor?" Zion asked.

"Tenth floor? Solo?" Niana was not the only one who is bewildered, all of them.

They looked at him for a moment, hoping that he was joking, but a change did not happen.

"Let's clear the floors first. From my investigation, it looks like there are a hundred of Z ranks and a handful of Y ranks in the next floor. We will talk when we reach that floor." Niana said.

"Got it." Zion said as he walked towards the next floor.

"Niana, is there a need to agree?" Louis came towards Niana, asking.

"If he can clear it, it means we gained a great ally. If he ever double-cross us, we can know how strong he is." Niana walked towards the next floor.

There is a reason why Zion asked for a solo on the tenth floor.

When he entered the labyrinth, a sudden quest entered his interface.

{Quest: Void Disposal}

The Void Labyrinth is the origin of the Void Creatures. They are considered as a threat to this land. Dispose of the Void Creatures and lessen the threat looming.

Rewards:

Rank U - Z : 1 Gacha Point per ten kills.

Rank O - T : 1 Gacha Point per five kills.

Rank I - N : 1 Gacha Point per two kills.

Rank C - H : 1 Gacha Point per kill.

Rank B and up: 5 Gacha Points per kill.

Bonus: Every kill rewards random numbers of Gold Coin.

*Gold Coin can be used in the Shop.

And that's the gist of the story.

From the past, it was said that V ranks are in the tenth floor, but now, V ranks are common at the seventh floor, making the clearers a hard time.

From shooting the Water Revolver and the Lightning Revolver from time to time, Zion already got ten Gacha Points, enough for him to buy the five classes.

He then opened the Shop interface.

There, he fancied some items such as Mobility Boots, Rapid Fire Gauntlet and the thing he set his sights on: Infinity Vest.

This vest is an armour, but it can change its fit depending on the body of the user.

The price of the said vest is two million gold coins. By now, by killing almost a hundred Void Creatures, he earned 4,481 Gold coins.

Although a bit low, he is not fazed by it.

Because Gold coins in his market can also be converted to the currency of this land, which is also gold coins.

There is also a panel for Mechanic Engineers, Poison Apothecaries, and Inscription Diviners. These three are locked for the meantime.

There is also a skill and ability shop. There, he can use Gold coins to buy skills and abilities of lower tiers.

Another thing that is good about the shop is that when you buy the skills or abilities, they are removed from the gacha machine. They can only be upgrade points for that specific skill or ability.

Foe example, the skill Grapple Hook. It is a skill that locks the opponent and delivers a punch on their guts. He can't get another Grapple Hook skill in the gacha machine, but he can get Grapple Hook Upgrade Points, and can level up the skill.

There, he bought a certain skill that helps him in using his guns: Slide Shoot, and an ability to help him move while shooting: Moving Snipe.

Together, he can move and accurately shoot at the same time. Although the cooldown of Slide Shoot is only three seconds, Moving Snipe has a cooldown of one minute, and duration of ten seconds.

Using his free ability points, he upgraded Moving Snipe to level 5 and Slide Shoot to level 3.

[Moving Snipe Lv. 5]

Increases accuracy of shots while moving. The farther the target, the more accurate the shot is.

Cooldown: 40 seconds

Duration: 15 seconds.

[Slide Shoot]

A sudden burst of speed while shooting.

Cooldown: 2 seconds

"Cool." Zion said as he looked at his interface.

Also, he discovered that using the skill and abilities again and again can level it up.

One thing that Zion learned from Solas is the Gun Fu, a style of using guns and martial arts, and how to use distance, balance, coordination and wits in a fight.

Zion learned a lot from Solas, and it's time for him to use what he learned.

Eighth Floor. A dozen V ranks appeared. There are also a hundred of W and X ranks.

From time to time, Zion will fire his gun to a place, and the pack that surrounds that Void Creature will scatter due to their leader being dead.

This floor's clearer are Celestine and Mina. The others will help when the wave is too big and they can't clear it.

They will pounce on the fleeing flock, and kill the others before going to another wave. Zion also did his part and did a great job controlling the waves.

If there are creatures that are a bit too close, he will shoot at them to make room for the clearers. Also, he will shoot down some creatures to make way for the helpers, and make more room for flexibility.

Jovanna is also doing her best, using her bow to shoot down some flying creatures and others that crawl on the walls. France is also with her, fending off the waves that will come too close to her.

Zion is using four kinds of bullets on his guns, namely: Paralysis Bullet, Hydro Vortex Bullet, Splash Bullet and Shutout Bullet.

Hydro Vortex Bullet and Splash Bullet are bullets that came out from the Water Gun. One is for damage, and one is for pulling aggro.

Paralysis Bullet is for paralyzing enemies, while Shutout Bullet is a bullet that pierces the enemies. They are bullets of the Lightning Gun.

After a long fight, they decided to rest and get some rations to eat. Zion was busy polishing his gun, but he bit a jerky that was given to him by Mina.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself?" Mina said as she sat beside Zion.

"A bit." He smiled as he chewed on the jerky.

"I guess it's better that we came here." Mina mumbled.

"Come again?" Zion said, inquisitively.

"Nothing, just forget it." Mina said and he gave Zion another jerky.

"Thanks." He said. Mina then stood up and headed towards Celestine.

"Better, huh?" Zion told himself.

--------------

Ninth floor.

The labyrinth has a special characteristic. If it sensed another challenger, the monsters will double. If there comes another challenger, it will double again.

The number of group of monsters is directly proportional to two raised to the number of group of challengers.

In a mathematical sense:

Let y = number of group of monsters

Let x = number of groups of challengers

Then, y = 2^x

That was why Niana and the others always rests first, because someone else came here before them.

But now, Zion and his team is facing twice the number of enemies, and the other party that made the "accident" is just watching.

"Is this the strength you only amount to?" One of those people mocked.

"You can't even clear the Ninth Floor?" And they all laughed.

"Oi, oi, oi. Don't tell me that the 'princess' is this weak?" One of them mocked. He then pulled his two middle fingers up.

If one may see, his facial features are a bit more like Keith. His face is just like rougher and his skin is lighter.

"Hey man, that's the kid who ran his mouth on the podium, right?" One of them then pointed on Zion.

"Yes, you're right! But why is he not moving?" Another one asked.

"Are you dumb? That's because he's scared!"

Bang!

After the man that looked like Keith said, a gunshot was heard.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After four shots, all the other creatures ran away and flee.

They then pounced on them, and defeated every single one, without letting anyone live.

"Where did the shots came from? Is anyone helping them?" One of them exclaimed while the others are still having their jaws dropped.

It was a spectacle that you cannot see everyday, and anyone that can see it are shocked.

Including the two people hidden in the shadows.

"Where did that came from?"

Where? No one will know.

------------------------------------

"Thanks, you morons." The second group went towards the next floor.

As they vanished from sight, Louis ran towards Zion, but stopped after walking for a few steps. Zion then sat down and cried like a kid.

"Mama, I thought I was gonna die. Thank you guys!" He wiped his tears. "Thank you so much."

The others were completely bewildered by the scenario. But then, they heard the voice again.

'Play along'

Niana took the reins and stood before Zion.

"It is what heroes do." She smirked and showed her smug face.

"And it's what we do." Aira chimed in.

Mina was healed as fast as possible, and is now back to the line up. And then, there it was.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Four pairs of hands came out of the view.

The other two in the shadows also came out.

Zion did not stop crying, and he knew there are more people with those people, that's why he decided to act.

"How've you been, Niana?" After the first six people, there is also another one who went out, with a group of twenty behind him.

Niana irked when he heard the voice. He knew exactly whose voice is this.

"Oh my, what an incompetent fellow we have here. If I were you, I will just dump him down the drain." The voice said again.

Another five came out, and they are wearing the Glorious Star College uniform.

"I remember when I pushed him down this very labyrinth. I wonder how he got up?" One of them said.

Right now, Zion can see the five people that was the mastermind of his agony two months back.

"Levi, don't waste your time on him. Let's just get you some experience down." The voice said again.

He is a tall man, with a pair of eyeglasses, but also has the same features of face as Niana.

He wears a white cape on his back, and his slim body is accentuated by it.

"Don't be so quiet, dear. It is not like you. You used to shout to me whenever I tell you something." The man laughed.

"Or maybe our little princess had a change of heart?" The man smiled.

"Well anyways, we will have our leave first. Take care, and maybe you can clear a floor for us again." The man laughed as he walked by.

"Also, father said that your fundings are cut off. Good luck living on your own, princess." He said that while crossing his index and middle fingers. They laughed as they walked towards the next floor.

When he felt that no one was looking, Zion stopped sobbing and wiped his tears.

"Am I good at acting?" He asked.

"You suck!" Celestine was the first to hit him.

"Crappy skills." Keith commented.

"Hey, that's harsh." Zion answered the comment.

And they all laughed.

"These rings..." Louis broke the laughter after he got a heartfelt of it.

"Yeah, I went to School Master Edwina to divine it so we can talk with telepathy." He pointed his temple and smiled.

"By the way, who was that?" Zion asked Niana.

Niana just showed a wicked smile and said:

"Trouble."