Destroying My Own Novel

“Are we really going to use brute force to find the exit? What if there’s a clue on one of these bookshelves?” Asmond asked as he looked at Agnez standing on top of the collapsed bookshelf.

“It’s up to you. I’m just checking what was behind this bookshelf and turns out we are in a maze. So, if you want to do it their way, I’m not going to say anything and play along,” Agnez answered as she looked at Asmond from over her right shoulder.

“Okay, then we should check the books, maybe there’s one book that looks different from the others,” Asmond replied as he looked at everyone around him. “I know that this would take a while, but I believe using brute force won’t make any difference because I believe this place is bigger than we thought,”

Asmond was right about it, and the library was indeed as big as the city on the sixteenth floor. It would take longer to find the exit if they used brute force rather than looking for a clue.

Both Astaroth and Belphegor had their own unique ways of conquering a world and how to prevent the Awakeners from taking the world back. Both were smart and didn’t need any demons to make mortals suffer.

“Asmond, do you think this book might be the clue that we are looking for?” Roxanne asked as she showed the book in her right hand. The book was called How To Escape the Maze.

“Try and read it out loud so everyone could hear what’s written in the book,” Asmond said as he walked toward Roxanne.

“It’s said the first very first thing to do is to stay calm, and once you understand the situation you’re in, go and hug one side of the walls, and keep following it. There’s a chance that you will be in a place where you want to be,” Roxanne said as she read the book.

“Once you think you’re tired, go and have a rest because you will need both your mind and body wellness. Go and keep hugging the same wall and if you’re in a group, it’s better to stay together because you might not know what kind of trouble lies in the maze,” Roxanne continued, and then looked at Asmond.

“You might not know what kind of trouble lies in the maze. What do you think that is?” Asmond asked Agnez.

“It could be anything, but that shouldn’t be a problem isn’t it? As long as we stick together we will be fine, as the book said,” Agnez answered. “So? Which side do you want to go and which wall do you want to hug?” Agnez asked as she walked down the bookshelf.

“Let’s take the right path and high the right wall,” Asmond said as he started walking in the small pathway in between the bookshelves.

All of them followed Asmond from behind and started exploring the maze.

(On the nineteenth floor of the Asmodeus Tower)

“Can you do that again?” Rozan asked as he stared at Beldathiel’s dice in her hand.

Beldathiel threw the dice on the ground after she said the bet, but nothing happened. They all looked a bit confused even though she won the bet. Rozan thought that maybe it wouldn’t work if the floor hadn’t been cleared yet.

“Well then, go and kill all the demons,” Beldathiel said as she grabbed the dice on the ground.

“The city above the lake,” Rozan said as he stared at the city with a massive castle in the middle in the distance. “Look at the reflection of the city from the lake, do you guys see what’s weird about it?” Rozan asked.

Nagy tilted her head as she stared at the reflection. “The night sky is black rather than red,” Nagy answered as she looked at the red sky above her and the dark sky in the reflection. “You’re right about we are in a world of reflection,” Nagy said.

“Of course! Looks like we will be fighting vampires and their loyal servants from here on and out. I believe that once we cleared this floor, we will be back to the real world since the tower should only exist in the real world,” Rozan explained as he crossed his arms and stared at the city.

“Are we safe here? I mean, there won’t be any demon lords here, right?” Edith asked as she looked at Beldathiel, Zherlthsh, and Vixelleth with a worried expression.

Vixelleth stared at the distance from left to right, and then she nodded her head. “There’s no sign of them here. It should be safe here, but you don’t have to worry about them. The rest of the demon lords are a lot weaker than the ones you saw back there,” Vixelleth answered.

The group of Awakeners shared a look at each other, and they were a bit surprised by what Vixelleth said. They wondered how strong the three of them were, and it would be a hot topic once they were out of the tower because they couldn’t wait to spread the word about what they saw to the others.

“Alright, let’s go,” Jeanne said as she unsheathed her sword and walked toward the city.

They went into the city and were immediately welcomed by ghouls and gargoyles. It wasn’t really a problem for them, but Rozan on the other hand, felt a bit weaker compared to before because he lost his masterpiece gemstone and the staff. It felt weird to not hold a staff since he had gotten used to holding one before.

“You said that all these ghouls, werewolves, gargoyles, and vampires are weak against silver, right? We should go and find some since it would be easier to kill them,” Jeanne asked.

“Well, there should be somewhere in the city, but they must have hidden it somewhere or even destroyed it. So, I think it’s not necessary to find it since we can easily kill them,” Rozan answered. “Let’s go into the castle, and lure all of them there so we can them all at once,” Rozan said as he looked at Jeanne.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Jeanne replied.

(On Earth)

Mykel went back to his office and left Glasya locked in the dungeon on her own in the castle. He wasn’t worried about her trying to run away because she was powerless and had nowhere to go.

Mykel was staring at the [Ring of Fire] on his index finger. He noticed after he combined [Pyrokinesis] with [Holy Flame], there was a blank skill in his skill tab. It was an empty slot that used to be for [Pyrokinesis] skill, and when he tried to modify that slot, it gave him so many options related to skills that belonged to an item or artifact. Instead of adding other skills, he added [Pyrokinesis] again.

It never came to his mind because he didn’t bother to touch the [Pyrokinesis] skill back then when he modified his skills. Unfortunately, only artifacts could do that, and not any accessories, so he couldn’t add skill to normal items.

“Boss? You’re calling me?” Gerrard’s voice could be heard from behind the door.

“Come in,” Mykel said as he removed the ring from his finger.

Gerrard opened the door and he looked a bit confused.

“Sit down,” Mykel said as he pointed at the couch and stood up from his chair.

Gerrard sat down on the couch and he still had no idea why he was summoned by Mykel. Although he was confused, he felt like he was being held down because he thought he was useless compared to the others.

“I know what you’re thinking, and that’s why I’m calling you here,” Mykel said as he sat down on the couch in front of Gerrard. “And no, it’s not because you’re useless, but because I want to make you more useful,” Mykel continued.

“Here, take it,” Mykel said as he tossed the [Ring of Fire] at Gerrard.

Gerrard looked at it and knew it was the ring that Mykel used to cast [Hellfire].

“This is, for me, boss?” Gerrard asked with a confused look and disbelief.

“Yes, and also, this…” Mykel paused as he opened Gerrad’s skill tab, and replaced [Level Proficiency] with [Magic]. “I replace the level proficiency with magic in your skill tab,” Mykel continued as he pointed at him.

“From now on, I want you to be a magic hunter so go and train yourself because when Agnez and the others came back, you will be leading them to the Mahazael Tower with Brynhilde and the others,” Mykel said.

Gerrard nodded and then left the office after he thanked Mykel.

“Once they cleared the twentieth floor of Mahazael Tower, I should reach level three authority,” Mykel said as he stared at the city.