Chapter 672 Labyrinth
For Shiro, the two month travel should have been a piece of cake. Especially since she was making sure that she followed the safe path. Unfortunately, one month into her travel, she had found herself to be lost.
". . ." Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, Shiro had a blank expression on her face. Even when jumping on the tallest tree, she couldn't find her way back.
For the first time in a long long while, Shiro had actually gotten lost.
"What the f*ck!" She shouted out in annoyance since this meant that she had wasted more time.
Gritting her teeth, she sat down on the branch and cursed under her breath.
Due to the fact that she could simulate the map in her mind perfectly and keep a track on her coordinates, she had never been lost before. Even if the map had been a little defective, she could always get herself back on track.
However, for a strange reason, this was not possible at the current time.
No matter where she walked, it seemed like the surroundings would change as nowhere seemed to be the same. Even after mapping out the surroundings in her mind and walking in a circle, the scenery always changed. It was as if each step she took brought her to a new dimension.
"Where the hell is this place." Shiro muttered with a serious expression.
Taking a moment to calm herself, Shiro searched her memories for anything that could potentially help her out in this situation.
"Since this place is heavily influenced by Greek myths, there should be something about this in the records."
Looking around her, she decided to take a few more steps to see if she could find out where she was.
After walking around for a little longer, she saw that the sun was beginning to set. The worst part of all of this was that she couldn't find a single sign of another creature in this place. Which meant that she didn't have any dinner prepared.
Furrowing her brows, Shiro decided to continue straight and see what happens. After all, unlike a maze, she wasn't able to map this area out with the help of walls since this was an open area.
As she continued to walk forward, the scenery continued to shift as no area was the same as the last even if she was to walk backwards.
As the sun set, Shiro had no choice but to set up a temporary camp in the trees for now.
Sighing softly, she wondered what she had gotten herself into and glanced at the map that Dimos had ordered for her.
"So far, I've already avoided 38 dangers that were scattered along the way to the Section of Sky. There shouldn't be anything else within this area for another three days so why the hell am I lost here." Shiro muttered.
Shaking her head, she stored the map away and prepared to sleep.
However, before she could even close her eyes, she felt the tree shake slightly as her eyes snapped open.
Sitting up, she summoned her bow and glared at her surroundings.
There was a distinct difference with how the tree would react to external stimulus and the last shake she felt resembled one of an earthquake. It was the ground that was moving and the tree was just affected by it.
Meaning, there was a large chance that either it was just a harmless earthquake or something large is nearby. And Shiro didn't want to find out what the second option entailed.
Unfortunately, she had no choice as a giant looming shadow could be seen through the trees.
Feeling the ground shake with every step, Shiro swallowed her saliva and kept herself hidden with the tree she was on.
Peeking out from cover, she narrowed her eyes at the figure. After a short while, its figure was slowly illuminated by the moon light which caused Shiro to widen her eyes in shock.
Minotaur.
With a bull's head and human's body, the Minotaur stood menacingly with a giant wooden clue in his large hands.
'The Minotaur. A mythical beast that was trapped in the labyrinth crafted by Icarus and Daedalus who was later killed by Theseus. I didn't expect his labyrinth to be located in the middle of a forest.' Shiro thought to herself with a forced smile.
She had hoped that the map would have at least told her about this place since there was no mention of a labyrinth. If it did, she would have avoided this place as best she could. However, seeing as though there had been no mention or warning of people dying once they got to this area, it meant that the Minotaur wasn't here all the time and the labyrinth could disappear along with the Minotaur.
However, there was also the chance that the labyrinth would remain and that she'll need to find her way out herself.
'After Theseus killed the Minotar, he had found his way back thanks to leaving behind a thread. I can probably map my way out if I do everything in reverse.' Shiro thought to herself. However, her main threat was the Minotaur and there was a very high chance that she'd need to kill it if she wanted to escape alive.
Taking a deep breath, she was about to dash out and fight when the Minotaur's ears twitched slightly and swung his club towards her spot.
"Sh*t! Do you have to be that sensitive to sound?!" Shiro cried out in shock while quickly jumping down to avoid the hit.
*BANG!!!
Watching as the upper half of the tree get demolished in an instant, Shiro could feel sweat drip down her back as a single hit would end her. Hell, even a graze would break her bones.
'I don't think I can fight this. Yup, f*ck that.' Shiro thought to herself and instantly turned around and ran for her life.
However, unlike other times, it seemed like the surroundings didn't change with each step, meaning she was stuck with the Minotaur.
Cursing under her breath, Shiro didn't need to look back to understand that the Minotaur was chasing after her. The sensation of the earth rumbling with each step was enough of a hint.
'Wait, if the surroundings don't change then maybe if I track my way back now it'll work and I can get out.' Shiro thought to herself as she decided to take a quick gamble.
Unfortunately, it meant that she'd need to get past the Minotaur but if she's careful, she could do it.
Summoning her bow, she pivoted on her foot and turned around. Pulling back on her bowstring, she was about to fire an arrow when the Minotaur leaned forward to bite her. With its giant size and a hand that was bigger than her body, he could swallow her in a single bite.
"F*ck that!" Shiro quickly rolled to the side instead of firing her shot.
Missing his target, the Minotaur fell toward and slid across the ground, tearing up large chunks of ground while Shiro barely avoided an injury since the club had almost smacked against her head.
Thankfully, she was able to duck down in time.
With death just around the corner waving hello to her, Shiro wiped her sweat away and took this chance to run.
Now that she was past the Minotaur, she could finally track her footsteps and see if she could get out of this place.
Focusing on avoiding the Minotaur's attacks, Shiro was able to barely dodge out of the way with the help of trees and such but each hit was coming closer and closer. While the Minotaur was said to be mindless, Shiro could tell that it was learning with every missed hit. Sooner or later, it'll get used to her movements and land a killing blow.
However, hope seemed to be around the corner as she finally recognised some of the trees that she had passed by before.
Before she could cry out in happiness, she crashed face first into a barrier which caused her nose to bleed as she finally understood that this was a sealed space. Even if she found the exit, with the Minotaur around, she couldn't leave.
"You've got to be f*cking kidding me." Shiro muttered while quickly getting back on her feet.
Rolling out of the way once more, she watched as the club slammed down on her previous location, creating a deep pit from the force.
Glancing up at the Minotaur that was glaring at her with blood red eyes that seemed to glow under the moonlight, Shiro summoned her bow.
"Fine I'll fight you." She took a deep breath and prepared herself for a tough fight.