Chương 641: The Kraken’s Labyrinth

"My plan's still the same. I'm going to wait for Marten," Triss said. Doug had brought the group to her. They had only just arrived themselves. Luke was standing aboard her ship.

"I hope those people in the raft didn't die," Layla said.

"At least you managed to destroy one of the ships too," Triss replied. Out of the pirates' five ships, they were certain two had been destroyed. That left Marten to deal with the other three.

"None of my crew who went off in groups to clear a Beacon ended up here. Just me, because I was part of the last wave with my group," Triss said.

"The system must've flagged groups that had ships. That seems to have been one of the conditions for getting teleported into this dungeon," Eleanor said. They exchanged what information they had. Triss had arrived there two hours earlier and had already done some asking around.

"So the ships anchored here really have zero intention of clearing the challenge?" Luke asked.

"Some do. Some don't," she answered.

"Most of the people here got teleported into this place with their ships because they were already running from something in the city and entered a Beacon while escaping."

"If they were already scared of fighting skeletons and Stalkers, it makes sense they wouldn't want to go face a kraken," Evangeline said.

"This challenge has the advantage of not making us enemies, but I can't waste any more time," Luke said.

"We've got five days to clear it, and from what you've told us, it doesn't sound simple."

"I get it. I'll wait a few more hours for Marten, then I'm going. I don't know what happened to him," she said.

Luke's ship was approaching the cursed city, or rather, the version of the city inside that dungeon. Unlike the one they had found outside the dungeon, this one had many entrances. Rain hammered down. The storm still had not let up. Luke looked at the timer. [Time Remaining: 4 Days: 19 Hours: 33 Minutes: 23 Seconds] Every group that entered the dungeon received exactly five days to clear it.

"At least this one won't drag on for weeks like the last challenge," he said.

"The time Beacon 2 stole from us during Phase 3 was a huge problem," Evangeline said. Luke looked at Layla.

"Layla, this part's on you. If any notification appears, tell us immediately." Since she was the group leader recognized by the Beacon, she could receive exclusive notifications.

"So far, nothing," she said.

"But I can see all your names, and next to each one it says alive. I'm guessing... it'll notify me if any of you die." They were nearing the entrance.

"Your last name is weird," Layla said, looking at Charlie.

"It's Vesp —" Charlie slapped a hand over her mouth at once.

"I think I heard something. Don't make noise," she lied smoothly. The moment the group passed through the gates, a notification appeared. [Dungeon Challenge has been updated] Dungeon Challenge 2: Reach the Horizon! Objective: Ahead lies a flooded city overrun with creatures and monstrosities. The violent storm waters create waves capable of swallowing rowboats and even ships. Your objective is to cross the city, survive its threats, and reach the horizon.

But be warned: within the city roams a powerful creature capable of sinking ships and dragging the unwary into the depths. A terrible... kraken. Update: You have reached the labyrinth and discovered that it has three areas. Then a massive notification appeared, far larger than usual. It was not inside Luke's system. It manifested outside, directly ahead of the ship. Area 1: The Drowned Watchers In this section of the labyrinth, the Drowned make their home.

Living among the ruins, these cursed former inhabitants do nothing now except serve the will of this damned sea. Reach the end of the area to advance to the next one, but be careful: the Kraken can move freely throughout the labyrinth. Disturb the water too much, and it will be drawn to your presence. Good luck.

"Guys... you're..." Jack said, almost whispering.

"It's movement in the water, Jack. You don't have to whisper," Luke said.

"I know, but... better safe than sorry." They already knew the message would appear, thanks to information Triss had gathered. The kraken watched over the labyrinth and was drawn to excessive vibrations in the water.

"Pennants… off," Anne confirmed. The secret to sailing through that place was simple: do not let the ship move too fast, and avoid sudden movements.

"At least there isn't a whale showing up out of nowhere," Eleanor said. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Whatever shows up now will be something that can drag us all to the bottom. Ship included," Evangeline replied. The waves were rough there, but they crashed against the buildings instead. Water sprayed constantly. The streets of the labyrinth were identical to the architecture of the city they had sailed through outside the dungeon. It did not take long before they spotted something coming toward them.

"Ship ahead," Luke said. He was sitting at the prow, one leg braced, his special eye scanning everything. A few minutes later, the ship drew closer. Luke conjured knives and made them float around him. The moment it came within range, he rose to his feet with both kukris in hand.

"We're just passing through," someone on the other deck called.

"I know. I'm still going to keep aiming at you anyway," Luke replied. He tracked the cannon ports on the ship as he moved along the edge of his own.

"We're giving up on this Beacon challenge. We're heading back to the island," the man said.

"How far did you make it into the labyrinth?" Luke asked.

"Far enough to know how dangerous it is. If too many drowned fall into the water, or if we break too much rubble, any disturbance draws the creature," the man said. His face looked hollow with fear.

"Did you see the monster?" Luke asked.

"No. But we saw the wreckage it left behind. My advice? Turn back too." Then the ship passed by them and kept going. Once it was far enough away, Luke moved back to the front of the ship.

"You can come out now," he said. The rest of his group had been hidden, ready to react if things turned ugly. They had deliberately left only Luke visible. Anne returned to the helm.

"Scouts?" Charlie asked.

"Hard to say. They really did look scared. And the challenge itself gives away a lot. All of us participants are split into groups of up to ten, each with our own ship. Still, you never know. Better stay in the rear and support from there, in case they come back." For the next several hours, they sailed with few problems. They used the waves to guide themselves through the labyrinth, moving against them. That was the direction of the deep sea.

"We reached the bridge section. It looks like the one we passed before," Evangeline said. The stone skyscrapers were connected by rope bridges overhead. Before long, something happened. A body came slicing down through the darkness of the stormy sky and dropped toward the ship. Eleanor hit it midair and knocked it off course. The body splashed into the water.

"It was a drowned one," Eleanor said. She must have been reading her own system notification. Then more bodies started leaping from the bridges, pouring out of the buildings. The creatures crashed onto the deck. Bloated undead, swollen with water.

"T-t-there are a lot of them raining down," Jack said, stumbling back.

"A-a-and they're falling into the water too."

"Damn it," Luke muttered, staring ahead. The drowned were dropping into the sea in large numbers, all trying to reach them. Other ships are in this city too. The kraken's not going to lock onto our ship right away, is it? Luke had no way of knowing how the kraken could separate storm-churned water from the disturbances caused by bodies falling in. The deck was crawling with creatures. Charlie appeared in a blink, teleporting with Lulie's help, and started cutting them down with her sword.

It did not take long for them to clear the deck. They did not throw the bodies into the water.

"It's like walking on thin ice. If we don't put too much pressure on it, it won't crack," Luke said. A huge wave slammed into the ship. Everyone looked over at once.

"Phew. It's not the kraken," Jack said.

"Don't jinx us," Artemis muttered. That part of the city had wide streets, but they were clogged with debris. Anne guided the ship carefully through the wreckage.

"Last Beacon, you said there was a penalty where if your raft got destroyed, you were kicked out of the dungeon," Stephen said.

"Think the same applies here, to the ship? Or is death the only option this time?"

"I don't think there's an easy escape with that kind of loophole," Eleanor said.

"If there were, we could just climb into one of these buildings and wait to be disqualified," Evangeline added. The buildings grew farther apart. Then lightning struck the ocean and lit everything in white.

"I saw something moving on that building," Stephen said, bottle still in hand.

"And I'm not drunk enough to be imagining it."

"Something moving on a building? You have super-vision too?" Eleanor asked.

"No. What I saw was big." Luke tore his gaze away from the water. He had been watching it for hours, staying alert for the monster.

"Where?" As Stephen started to point, something came flying at them. A huge block of stone. Eleanor fired an arrow. The moment it hit, a sphere of wind burst outward and threw the stone into the water.

"What the hell was that?" Evangeline asked. Then more blocks of stone came hurtling toward them.

"Something's throwing them. There's a creature on the building," Luke said, summoning a knife. A monster clung to the structure like a spider. A giant crab. Then he saw others on nearby buildings, crawling over the walls like monstrous spiders. The creatures climbed to the tops, tore chunks out of the crumbling structures with their claws, and hurled them. The ship came under bombardment. The group started destroying the stones before they could hit the hull.

Jack raised a dome around Anne while she kept control of the helm. Luke threw a knife. [Telekinetic Impulse activated] The blade carved a white line through the sky, and the instant it struck the building, Luke triggered [Shadow Mana Explosion]. [You have slain a Thrower Crab - Lvl 96] 1, 083, 041 EP earned The creature plunged into the water along with part of the building as the structure collapsed around it.

"Damn." Luke had no choice. He and Eleanor kept attacking together, knives and wind-burst arrows bringing down the crabs one by one. Every explosion knocked them loose and sent fragile sections of the buildings crashing down. But the more Luke killed, the more appeared. Smaller crabs floated in the water below. Hundreds of them. Then they started climbing the ship. Luke cut them down. Charlie spun through them with her sword, killing them in clusters.

They were about the size of dogs, but there were too many of them.

"They're heading for the sail!" Evangeline shouted. She attacked too, exhaling a cloud of shadow and cutting into them wherever they swarmed. Everywhere Luke looked, crabs were crawling up the hull.

"They just keep coming!" Eleanor shouted. They were heading for Anne. The others formed a protective circle around her while she kept working the helm. The stones kept coming.

"I'll handle the rocks," Luke said to Eleanor. His eye let him see them from far away, and darkness meant nothing to him. He kept destroying the flying stones midair while also throwing knives with [Burst Throw] to strike the crabs. Then the ship shuddered. Something massive rose from the water. The kraken? For those wondering about the change to the announcement image, yes, it really did change. It's to celebrate hitting the milestone of being 90 chapters ahead over there. Thank you all for your support.