System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)-Chapter 362: The Shifting Labyrinth

While Helen was being emotionally dismantled at the inn, Ethan was deep within the bowels of the earth. He had spent the last six hours scouring the caverns, but the results were frustratingly stagnant. He had descended back to the grand hall where the matrix sat, searching every crevice and scanning every obsidian surface, yet he found nothing new.

He checked his watch. The sun would be setting on the surface soon.

"Nothing. It’s exactly as it was. The only variable is the time," said Ethan.

[Perhaps it is a specific window, Master. Or perhaps the mechanism requires a certain atmospheric pressure that only occurs at twilight. I suggest we remain vigilant,] Crul said.

Ethan sat on a smooth stone ledge, pulling a couple of sandwiches and a rehydrating drink from his pack. He ate in silence, watching the "fire serpent" of energy above. Just like the day before, the flow was beginning to dim, the vibrant gold fading into a sickly, flickering purple. Another hour passed. Still, the cavern remained a silent tomb.

"It’s no use. We’re missing a trigger. Maybe it’s a specific day of the lunar cycle or a solar alignment. Let’s head back," said Ethan.

He began the long climb up. This time, he had been careful, leaving small fluorescent markers on the jagged walls to ensure he didn’t lose his way in the dark. He moved with a steady, tireless pace until he reached the mid-level tunnels.

Then, he heard it.

The same rhythmic scraping sound from the previous night echoed through the shaft. Ethan stopped, his hand going instinctively to his side.

"I was right. It’s the timing," said Ethan.

He turned toward the sound, moving deeper into a side tunnel. But as he walked, the markers he had left behind seemed to vanish. The walls felt closer, and the air grew thick with a metallic tang.

[Master, stop. My sensors are detecting a spatial shift. The internal structure of these tunnels is changing. It is acting like a rotating labyrinth—the paths are physically moving as the energy of the matrix fluctuates,] Crul said.

Ethan came to a halt in a narrow corridor. The sensation of being watched was no longer a suspicion; it was an oppressive weight. A cold, sharp wave of killing intent washed over him, making the hair on his neck stand up.

Ssssssss...

A strange, hissing sound filled the air. Ethan’s instincts screamed. He spun around, activating his amethyst eyes to their maximum output. The darkness shattered, revealing a monstrous sight: a giant, segmented mouth filled with thousands of needle-like teeth was inches from his face. The stench of rotting meat and sulfur was overwhelming.

Knowing he couldn’t maintain his full ocular power while fighting in such tight quarters, Ethan moved with a blur of speed. He didn’t reach for a gun; he reached for the black dagger he had taken from the Union assassin.

With a single, fluid strike, Ethan drove the blade upward and pulled it across the creature’s neck. The giant worm-like beast thrashed violently as Ethan decapitated it in one clean motion.

Thick, emerald-green blood sprayed across the floor, hissing as it touched the stone.

[Warning! The blood is highly toxic. It is emitting a neurotoxic gas. Do not inhale, Master,] Crul said.

Ethan leaped backward, covering his nose with his sleeve as a green mist began to rise from the carcass. He looked down at the dagger in his hand. The blade was spotless, the green blood sliding off its surface as if it were made of liquid diamond.

"Wow... this really is a hell of a dagger," said Ethan, a dark glint in his eyes.

He looked at the twitching remains of the beast. It wasn’t just a monster; it was a spiritual beast, exactly what Crul had described. The hunt had officially begun.

Ethan stood back as the green mist slowly dissipated, his eyes locked on the twitching carcass.

[Environment stabilized. It is safe to breathe, Master. I suggest you inspect the specimen,] Crul said.

Ethan approached the remains. Up close, the creature was even more grotesque. It resembled a massive anaconda, but its skin was a series of hard, overlapping chitinous plates. The head was nearly 40 cm in circumference, and the body stretched over three meters long. It was a nightmare designed for the dark.

"What exactly am I looking at?" said Ethan.

[Analysis identifies it as a Steel-Tooth Burrower. They are quite common in low-tier spiritual worlds. They feed on high-density minerals and residual mana. This is excellent news, Master,] Crul said.

"Why is that good news?" said Ethan.

Suddenly, a chorus of ssssssss erupted from the cracks in the walls. The sound didn’t come from one direction—it came from everywhere.

[Because, Master, they are never alone. They always travel in a swarm... or is it a ’tangle’ of worms? My linguistic database is slightly conflicted,] Crul said.

"Not the time for a joke, Crul!" said Ethan.

He spun on his heel as three more worms burst from the ceiling. Ethan moved with grace, his black dagger flickering like a shadow. He didn’t just cut; he dissected. Slash. Thrust. Pivot. Three heads fell to the floor in rapid succession, the green toxic smoke rising in small puffs.

At first, the small burrowers were easy to handle. Ethan’s physical stats were so high that their speed felt like a crawl. But as he carved his way through the first wave, the stone walls began to vibrate violently. Massive sections of rock shattered as much larger shapes forced their way out.

These new creatures were dark gray, their hides looking like reinforced steel. They were over a meter in circumference and stretched at least five meters in length.

[Warning! Soldier Burrowers detected. It seems we’ve hit the jackpot, Master. Their presence is irrefutable proof of a Queen nearby. If we can kill her, her blood will be potent enough to act as the primary medium for the matrix inscriptions, provided we mix it correctly,] Crul said.

"Then I guess I’m going hunting," said Ethan.

A dozen Soldier Burrowers lunged at once. Ethan lunged forward, using his sheer physical strength to kick a charging worm in its side, the impact sounding like a sledgehammer hitting a steel pipe. The beast was flung across the tunnel, smashing into another.

He moved like a blur, the black dagger cutting through the "steel" hides of the soldiers with terrifying ease. However, the sheer number of them began to fill the narrow tunnel. One massive soldier burst from beneath his feet, its thousands of teeth snapping toward his waist in a perfect ambush.

Ethan didn’t have room to jump.

In a flash of violet light, he activated his lightning ability. A sharp crack echoed through the tunnel as he shifted his position in a micro-second, reappearing five meters behind the swarm. He didn’t use the lightning to attack—he didn’t want to risk a cave-in—but the boost in speed allowed him to dive back into the fray.

He grabbed the tail of a passing soldier, braced his feet, and swung the five-meter beast like a whip, using its own massive weight to crush the heads of three other worms. The sound of cracking chitin and wet thuds filled the labyrinth.

"How many of these things are there?" said Ethan, his breathing steady despite the chaos.

[Sensors indicate hundreds more in the surrounding strata. But look at the orientation of their tunnels, Master. They aren’t just attacking; they are guarding. The Queen is just ahead,] Crul said.

Ethan wiped a smudge of green ichor from his cheek, his amethyst eyes glowing with a cold, ruthless light. The "Etienne" who had smiled at Helen was gone; in his place was the king of a dead world, ready to harvest what he needed