Changes in the Maze

Mirar Labyrinth, Second Floor.

The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the faint metallic tang of monster blood, blending into a nauseating stench.

The rough, uneven walls of the passage were coated in slick, dark green moss. A mere touch sent a cold, slimy sensation crawling up one's fingertips.

Obscure runes were carved into the stone surface, some still pulsating with a faint, dark purple glow that illuminated a radius of barely ten feet.

It was gloomy, cold, and damp.

Water seeped through the cracks in the ceiling tiles, dripping down with a rhythmic *plip-plop* every few seconds, splashing against the gravel below.

The narrow, winding corridor allowed only two people to walk abreast. The shadows on either side were littered with the dense remains of monsters—some bones piled into small mounds, others frozen in their final, agonizing struggles, with twisted limbs and shattered ribs that looked exceptionally gruesome.

"So strange. Does it feel like there are fewer monsters in the labyrinth? Is it possible they've stopped respawning?"

A slender man dressed as a thief in leather armor hunched low. His fingertips grazed the moss on the wall as his eyes scanned the darkness ahead with vigilance.

A Silver-rank adventuring party was currently exploring the area.

Their composition—a warrior, a healer, a mage, and a thief—was a balanced formation capable of handling most situations within the labyrinth.

His leather boots crunched over gravel and bone shards, the crisp sound echoing clearly through the empty maze.

"Who knows? Maybe they saw the Great Me coming and were too scared to show their faces! Hahaha!"

The warrior was a towering figure clad in heavy iron armor, a broadsword resting casually on his shoulder.

"Shh! Don't be so loud in the labyrinth; you'll attract a horde."

The healer girl clutched her staff, her white nun's habit stained with specks of mud. She furrowed her brows and kept her voice to a whisper, terrified of disturbing whatever unknown entities lurked in the shadows.

The magic lantern in her hand emitted a soft, warm glow, bringing the surrounding skeletons into sharp relief. Most of the bones were a grayish-white but possessed a faint sheen, indicating that death had claimed them only recently.

"I have indeed noticed something odd." The mage stopped in her tracks. A wisp of faint fluorescent light gathered at her fingertip, illuminating the skeletal remains of a monster at her feet.

It was the skeleton of a Fanged Demon Wolf. Its skull was askew, the neck bone snapped completely, and the ribs were riddled with irregular holes.

"That is strange. Why does it look like these monsters were gnawed on by something?"

The thief squatted down, carefully brushing away the gravel and moss covering the skeleton before running his fingers over the fracture in the wolf's bone.

"Indeed, there are a lot of bones along this path. Could a monster from the lower levels of Mirar have wandered up here?"

He picked up a relatively intact rib. The bone was cold and hard, the fracture jagged as if torn apart by immense force. A strip of dark red flesh still clung to the edge—fresh and devoid of any rot, which was terrifying.

"What's so weird about that? Monsters have their own food chain. Maybe they just got eaten by a natural predator?"

The warrior leaned in, his calloused fingers pinching the rib bone. He weighed it in his hand—it was far heavier than a normal beast's bone—but the teeth marks on it made him frown.

"Let me see..."

"I've definitely never seen teeth marks like this before." The thief leaned closer. Under the fluorescent light, the indentations on the bone were clearly visible.

Each tooth mark was deeply embedded, with jagged, torn edges. They lacked the curved arc of a magical beast's fangs or the flat profile of a Megalodon. Instead, it looked as if dozens of sharp, thick teeth had clamped down simultaneously. Even the dense cortical bone had been gnawed into an uneven, pitted mess, revealing fine scratches left by the friction of teeth.

"Why does it look like a human bit this?"

"H-Human?" The healer girl's face went pale, and she instinctively took a step back, causing the light of her magic lantern to waver. "Stop it, don't say such scary things! How could human teeth possibly leave marks on a monster's bone? Wouldn't that hurt?"

The bones of monsters were far harder than steel; ordinary blades struggled to scratch them, let alone human teeth.

"No, I also think they look like teeth marks." The mage crouched down, her magical light drifting slowly over the skeleton to reveal more details. "Look here. The spacing of the marks is very even, and the depth is consistent. It doesn't look like the chaotic tearing of a beast, but rather like... someone was systematically gnawing on these bones."

But a human...

The members of the squad looked at one another, a collective sense of unease settling over them.

At that moment, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the darkness deep within the passage.

*Thud, thud, thud...*

The steps were dragging yet possessed immense power. Each footfall caused the ground to tremble slightly, making the loose gravel and bones groan under the pressure.

In the narrow corridor, the sound was amplified indefinitely, drowning out the dripping water from above and striking the hearts of the squad members like a heavy hammer.

"Who's there?!" The thief shot to his feet, his dagger instantly unsheathed and pointed vigilantly toward the depths of the darkness.

The mage immediately took a half-step back, a pulsating fireball coalescing at her fingertips. The warm orange glow cast a pale pallor over her face as it illuminated the approaching silhouette.

The shadow slowly emerged from the gloom. It was a man.

He wore shattered armor, his body caked in dark red blood and monster slime. His exposed skin was riddled with wounds of varying depths. The edges of these injuries glowed with a faint, pale green light, as if some healing magic were constantly at work, yet blood continued to seep from them, creating a grotesque sight.

His hair was as messy as withered grass, obscuring most of his face. Only a pair of unfocused eyes were visible—cloudy pupils devoid of any reason, holding nothing but beast-like madness and bloodlust.

The most heart-stopping feature was the weapon in his hand—a greatsword the size of a door panel. The blade was thick and heavy, plastered with minced monster flesh and bone fragments. There was even a half-gnawed bone hanging from it. As he dragged it along the ground, it struck sparks and scraped against the walls with an ear-piercing screech.

"Hey! Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" The warrior gripped his broadsword tightly, stepping forward to shield his companions. "It's dangerous down here. Are you lost?"

The man did not respond. His vacant gaze settled on them, but his pace did not falter as he continued his slow advance toward the squad.

He staggered as he walked, yet carried an unstoppable momentum. A thick aura of blood and rotting flesh radiated from him, far more pungent than the scent of the labyrinth's monsters.

"Something... something's wrong with him..." The healer girl hugged her magic lantern, her body trembling uncontrollably. The warm light wavered over the man, illuminating bloodstains and bone fragments clinging to the corners of his mouth. "His eyes... they have no focus!"

"Communication impossible. Prepare for battle!"