Chương 44: The Maw

"Hey, come on, kid. I am parched," the middle-aged man said after seeing that he had been stopped by a Skeleton.

"Yes, we haven't drunk a drop of water for the past week." A few more people gathered around the middle-aged man, ready to snatch the water from the package. Arthur simply sat there, waiting for Bathory to feed him water. Currently, he could not understand anything that was going on around him. His thoughts swayed as if they were a boat in the middle of the ocean. He needed time to understand the situation. Finally, Bathory twisted open the seal of the water bottle and fed him small gulps of water.

Once the water touched his dry mouth and throat, he felt his life force starting to return. Feeling slightly better, he slowly gulped down a quarter of the one-liter bottle.

"Do you feel better now, Arthur?" Susanne asked, seeing Arthur relax after drinking the water. Arthur nodded. He slowly started to recover from that strange fever dream. Whenever he thought about that falling sensation, his head started to feel heavy, making him want to lie down. Hence, he grabbed his head with both hands and relaxed for a short while.

"Where are we, and how long have I been asleep?" Arthur asked. He had been unable to sense the passage of time while he was falling.

"We do not know where we are. It has been a few hours since we arrived here," Susanne said. Did those vines directly engulf and transport us here? Arthur speculated. He had originally expected the vegetation to consume them for its growth. However, they had been sent to this place instead. Arthur lifted his head to observe his surroundings and determine his current location. After drinking the water, he felt much better. He could now clearly see his surroundings. There was a stone floor and stone walls.

Tilting his head upward, he noticed a high ceiling. When he turned his head around, he discovered a hall that stretched far into the distance. He could not understand anything. Why did those damn vines send them here? Was this some sort of Dungeon or Gate? Even if it was, why did those vines need to lure people here? He wished he could obtain an answer to every question. While he was inwardly cursing his lack of knowledge, a voice suddenly sounded.

"How were you able to awaken from the slumber?" Lifting his head, Arthur stared at a man who appeared to be in his thirties. The man stared back at Arthur intently, his face filled with disbelief and surprise. What does he mean by awakening from a slumber?

"What do you mean by slumber?" Arthur asked, squeezing out the words. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"The slumber is what you were in just a few moments ago, just like those who never awaken after they come here." The man pointed beside Arthur, where people were lying flat on the ground in a deep sleep. Suddenly, Arthur recalled the sensation of endless falling. Were these people also experiencing the same phenomenon? If they were, it was certainly not a comfortable situation. It would eventually drive anyone to the brink of insanity.

Arthur looked around, suddenly noticing that two of his party members were missing. A sudden jolt shot through his stomach. Currently, he could only see three party members: Susanne, Nickolas, and Charlton, one of the men who possessed a sword affinity. The other two party members, Finola and Roddy, were missing. Turning his head to the side, he noticed the two of them lying flat on the stone floor as if they were sleeping.

"Kid, let us have some water. We are on the verge of collapsing," the middle-aged man said. He no longer raised his voice but simply pleaded.

"Before that, answer my question. What is this place? Tell me everything that you know," Arthur demanded. He needed to understand where he was and what kind of situation he was currently trapped in as quickly as possible.

"Look, kid, I do not know much about this place and we weren't the first party to arrive here," the middle-aged man sighed and started to explain so he could drink some water.

"As far as I know, based purely on my own knowledge and the rumors I've heard, we are currently inside a Maw," the middle-aged man said.

"A Maw? What is that?" Arthur asked. This new term caused his heart to pound. The name itself was terrifying.

"A Maw is a concentric trial. One must pass through seven labyrinths until they reach the center to complete the trial and return to the real world," Susanne muttered, the information seemingly at the tip of her tongue.

"A trial," Arthur repeated. Once he learned where he was, he had guessed it would be something of the sort, considering they had not been eaten by the vines.

"Yes, we have to clear every labyrinth until we reach the center. However, the accursed thing is that we have to fight monsters in each labyrinth, and the strength of those monsters increases with each one. We will eventually have to fight an Omega-standard monster to pass the trial," the man explained. When he mentioned an Omega-standard monster, the area fell into a cold silence. Nobody made a sound as their faces darkened.

"So, are we currently at the Alpha-standard labyrinth?" Arthur asked.

"No, we are currently in the waiting area. We have to kill all the sprawling monsters to reach the Alpha-standard labyrinth," the middle-aged man said.

"We have to travel five kilometers to reach another safe place like this one. However, we do not have enough strong people to fight our way that far. The majority of the people dragged into this place were Utility-type Awakeners and a few researchers." Researchers. Arthur thought about the quest they had taken. However, it no longer mattered, since they were currently in a much graver situation. Arthur looked at Finola and Roddy, who were still fast asleep.

However, what was the reason people fell into a slumber after being sent to this trial?

"Take the water, but use it wisely and share it with everyone," Arthur said to the middle-aged man, who was waiting for his permission. Dolph stepped back, allowing the man to take a few bottles from the bundle and share them with the others. Seeing this, more people gathered around, drinking water for the first time since they had been sent here. When they thought about this Maw concentric trial, everyone must have long since lost all hope of returning to the real world.

After all, who in the world could defeat an Omega-standard monster with only Utility-class Awakeners?

"Susanne, what do you think?" Arthur asked. Since she knew what this Maw trial was, Arthur thought she would be the best person to ask for advice.

"I think we are doomed," she said, staring blankly into space.