Dawn

Hell's Coffee Lounge: You're gonna have a bad time....

@Snarfulblast
Momiji hastily turned to face the new arrival, appearing from nothing. Surprising, to say the least. It seemed that Reiji's gift, at the very least, had equivalents to it among the countless worlds that could exist.

"...Tsubasa. It's called Tsubasa." She murmured in reply coldly. The Grimoire hummed slightly in preparation as Momiji's eyes scanned over the boy, evaluating him.

Labyrinth

"...I see. Thank you, little one."

As Senna and Alexander descended the steps to the fourth floor, they would be able to make out a faint voice from below. The almost regal sounding voice of a male, thrumming oddly as though he was underwater.

Wrong. This is wrong. This is different. This is impossible. The only humans to have made it to the fourth floor should be the two of them, so there should not be anything present capable of speech.

The fourth floor was a single circular room, roughly twenty meters in diameter. There were no fixtures, no items, nothing that made it anything other than a barren, impossibly lit cavern.

The only thing present was a humanoid form in the center of the floor. Appearing as a sculpture of silver shaped in the visage of an adult male, the thing turned to face the new arrivals. Its "face", or at least what resembled a face, seemed to sneer slightly in disgust. Something that Senna and Alexander would probably notice was the presence of what was presumably the Acid Slime they had just scared off, presently coating the right hand of the silver man like a form-fitting glove.

"...humans, turn back. You are not welcome here."

Though its mouth did not move, sounds indicative of speech reverberated out from the silver man's form. The presence he exuded was nothing short of stifling, making the atmosphere wrought by the Goblins and Slimes seem nonexistent by comparison. If it was true that the Labyrinth monsters up until this point had been unexpectedly weak, then this being was a sudden leap in quality to an absurd degree.

"I am the Floor Guardian of this space. The Metal Slime Prince, born of the Divine Slime King, gifted the name 'Zhan' by this world's transcendent will. If you attempt to pass, I will kill you without hesitation."

Announcing his attentions coldly, the monster's body shimmered, reshaping itself slightly according to his whims.

"Turn back, and leave this home of ours permanently. I will not attack you if you return to your own world and never return. If, however, you dare to toss aside my generosity, then you will die."

[Unique Boss-Class Monster: Metal Slime Prince "Zhan" has been discovered.]

Labyrinth

The red slime successfully made it to the fourth floor. Good job, little slime.

Oh, right:

[Senna and Alexander have identified and discovered Monster Species: Acid Slime!]

That's about it.

Labyrinth

@supertinyking
Looks fine. I'll warn you that the power increase from Blood Fury won't be very noticeable. It'll be enough that he'd overpower someone he'd otherwise tie with, but it won't be able to do much more. Blessings and parameter increases are more impactful on that front.

Labyrinth

The moment Senna's blood made contact with the statue, the pressure it exuded seemed to briefly intensify. Its eyes lit up, glowing a pale blue before dying down. It seemed that the brief change was all that would occur, at least, until...

-The voice of an adult male reverberated through the girl's mind.

'To the one who has marked this statue with their blood, allow me to introduce myself. I am an adventurer of this Labyrinth by the name of Elan, previously serving as a member of the Apep Guild but now serving as a member of Loki's Guild. This statue is the result of several adventurers, myself included, refining rock formations inherently enchanted by the Labyrinth, and using one of my Magic Foundations in tandem with Loki's blessings to achieve a specific result. Upon marking this specific statue with your blood, this message has been set to be broadcast to your 'soul'.'

'You have now bound this statue to yourself. By touching this statue and willing it, you will be capable of 'teleporting' yourself to a similar statue outside of the Labyrinth: this statue and that one are inherently linked, so you are capable of doing the reverse as well. Every few floors, my companions and I have created one of these statues, with the first ones being this statue on the third floor and the statue outside of the Labyrinth entrance; by marking statues you see after this one with your blood, they will be added to the 'network' of statues bound to you, such that by touching one of them you can be moved to any other one. Thus, you are more easily able to move to floors already traversed, and return home. This will extend to anything that is 'yours', such as your equipment and clothing, but I cannot be sure where the line is drawn, as that part of the movement is based on Loki's blessing.'

'I wish you luck in traversing the Labyrinth. Please share this information with your fellow adventurers, and come see myself should you have any questions. I am always willing to lend a hand to those who require it. Let us make a wonderful legend.'

Labyrinth

As Senna approached the staircase that lead down to the fourth floor, she'd notice something out of place. Amidst the utterly empty circular stone room, there was a single thing out of the ordinary, positioned next to the entrance to the staircase.

A statue, carved of stone in the rough shape of a humanoid being. While it lacked any sort of distinguishing features, the figure seemed to be modeled after a male. Like Senna's bow and Alex's medallion, it seemed to exude a slight pressure. Just as Senna laid eyes on it, though, she would hear a familiar voice in her mind, the voice of Cernunnos.

'...the formula's still active? I would have thought it'd be destroyed by now. Hmph, when Loki finds out...' The God's voice reverberated inside of Senna's head. 'Hey, Senna, are you okay with nicking yourself a bit and putting a drop of blood on that statue? If I'm right, you'll know why I'm asking you to once you've done it. If something does happen with that, ask your friend to do it too, alright~? If those things are still working, they'll be a massive help~! Also...be careful on the next floor. If this is here...next floor might have something stronger than what you've been fighting up until now.'

Meanwhile, the slime continued its flight down to the fourth floor. Do your best, slime.

Oh, right, and if anyone happened to glance at Senna's arrow, they'd discover it to be...melting? Not quite melting, but corroding, getting steadily eaten at by the red slime that coated it. Maybe touching it is a bad idea.

Hell's Coffee Lounge: You're gonna have a bad time....

"...but, you are Reiji...I understand that."

Yes, that Truth I can feel, that is why I know without doubt who you are.

"You say that you're not Yoshino Reiji, but...that's wrong. For me, no matter what kind of world you seek to create, Reiji...I'll always love "Reiji" more than anyone else."

That's why I won't leave you, not again. That's why I'll stand by your side for this future.

"We can't achieve the best outcome in this world, but if there's a possibility that we can in the future, then...I choose that path. In this world, I was able to grasp what I could, but...I want to be able to create a world where I can have everything. One where Nagisa, the Pres, everyone is there, and where Reiji and I are lovers, because I'm sure that best possible world can be realized."

So then, let's go, Reiji. Let's make a world where everyone can be happy. Let's make a world where we can see them all smile.

But before that...before that, we have more chains of sadness that we need to break. It's selfish if we ignore them, isn't it?

I can be strong, if it's for that. I know I can.

So-- wait for me, Reiji.

Wait for me, and then, when everything is done...

"Fortissimo!"

...when everything is done, we can realize that world.

---

Momiji Satomura
Tsubasa

Space bent. The world distorted as an opening was formed in its midst. Not for a demon, dragon, or God, but merely for a human girl, this opening formed itself.

"...Tsubasa."

Murmuring a name that held no meaning to her, the girl surveyed her surroundings. Not on a boat in the midst of a storm, not in a garden that hungered for life, but merely in a simple plain under a cloudy sky. Were the sun shining down, it would look similar to that place, a corrupt space of tranquil peace, but now wasn't the time to think about something like that.

She could feel it, for the first time in far too long. Without the influence of that man, that being who had entered the realm of God, she could bring it about without being in that nightmarish world.

"-Gate, open."

Seven crystals formed in the air around her, glinting joyfully as if to greet her like an old friend. A debonair smile came to the girl's face as she reached out to gently touch one.

"Well Haruka, let's get started."

Labyrinth

@supertinyking
While this is a "fantasy world", the presence of fantastical elements before the Descent of the Gods isn't really a thing. So, I will have to ask that you tone down some things, particularly with regards to "nature coming to his aid". You can keep the feral child background since this is fantasy, but if you could just place it a bit more in line with realism, that'd be great.

Also, keep in mind that his nails and the like won't be too different from standard humans'. Be wary about what you try to clash with.

The roar is fine, but it's just that: a roar. So keep in mind its applications, though I will say a later blessing of Ares will help you on that front.

Outright communication with animals is a no, but a sort of empathy is fine. You can't straight-up communicate with them, but communicating emotions and the like is fine.

Labyrinth

Thoth silently nodded slightly, flinching back as Vincent started to move again and hastily returning to her work.

He was scary.

---

The slime raced along the floor like a slime possessed.

Actually, it sort of was a slime possessed, given how the Core worked after all.

It mindlessly continued fleeing in a straight line. As the rock Alexander had thrown embedded itself in the slime's mass, it did not seem to impair the monster, though it sent some vibrations thrumming through it. The slime simply continued on its way, entering the second room without difficulty, and upon reaching that area, it leapt away, towards the staircase that led to the fourth floor. With all the might of a jumping slime, it fled for its life towards the assumed safety of the fourth floor, where it could sit in a corner and cry.

You're not a bad enough dude to kill a fleeing blob, are you?

There is just one thing, though. A strange sound was just slightly audible in the cavern. It had first appeared when Alexander threw his torch at the red slime, but when Senna had shot her arrow through one and Alexander had thrown a rock at the fleeing one, it had appeared again. A sort of fizzling sound.

It was coming from the rock.

The rock inside the slime was fizzling.

Hell's Coffee Lounge: You're gonna have a bad time....

Hi there. Thought this looked fun, so I apped a character from one of my favorite visual novels. She's not the strongest, but this looks like an all-sorts sort of thing (and she's really fun in personality), so I hope that's not a big issue. Looking forward to playing here!