* * * * * *
Smoke was still hesitant about everything. He couldn't believe that such a beast was a king to some race. This quest could be a trap, but Smoke couldn't let the opportunity of it being a real quest pass him by either.
The trip back was longer because of the special prisoner cart. Smoke took advantage of the time by reading a book with one hand and flattening the road ahead with his other hand.
When Gandiva and Tulin would run at top speed, Smoke's Earth manipulations could not catch up with the fast moving ground.
Yet, now that the pace was relatively slower, Smoke had more than enough time to make the road wider and flatter.
He was so pleased with himself. He could now increase his 'Earth Manipulation' and continue gaining knowledge from books simultaneously. The book that he was currently reading was entitled 'The Heraldic City of Coatl'.
With his hidden basic stat 'Wisdom', the reading time required for acquiring a book's knowledge had been reduced by 20%.
Smoke was now troubled with the distribution of his stats. If he would continue to increase 'Wisdom' it could greatly boost all his active abilities. Nevertheless, he couldn't ignore 'Dexterity' and 'Strength'.
These two stats were his bread and butter for defeating monsters. His 'Earth Manipulation' took some time to form. At its current level an enemy could easily dodge any of his earth attacks.
At best it could make great prisons, shields, and other structures. It's a great support ability but didn't really offer much of an offensive power.
While he was pondering on what to improve, an armored armadillo scuttled along its way. Then he recalled that he had the ability after all.
The 'Armor Break of the Armored Armadillo', he had stopped using the ability because it quickly drained his mana. It started at 20mp per use but as its level increased so did the mana consumption. Now it's currently at 50mp per use.
When you add in the factor of his attack speed then that 50mp quickly 5,000mp in a couple of seconds. However, if he was to focus on Wisdom, mana consumption should no longer be an issue.
Smoke also decided to not raise 'Intelligence' because acquiring knowledge from books raised stat anyway. It would be inefficient to not abuse the hidden basic stat 'Wisdom'.
Also, the ability tomes of Gravity Control and Targeted Teleportation required Light and Dark affinities. Even if he did manage to get 300 Intelligence he still wouldn't be able to use the ability tomes.
Smoke noticed that Sierra was watching him intensely as he was grinding his ability. As the progress bar on the book that he was holding was about to be completed he asked Sierra if she could look to her left side towards the outside of the carriage.
Sierra tried to find what Smoke wanted her to see. She saw a wide wall up ahead. The wall was decorated with impressions of a lady that had turned to a Werebear. They were traveling, making the figures on the wall look like they were moving.
"This is amazing! It's like I'm watching a paper animation."
The walls then depicted the Werebear fighting a varanus indicus. Their battle ended quickly with the Werebear killing the lizard monster with her dual claw attack.
The earth wall animation ended with the Werebear turning back into a lady, and she stood together with a hooded man.
"That was so cool! I didn't know you were such a great artist."
"I think that Zectas only has our imagination as its limits. I just thought about what I wanted the wall to look like, and it came out like that."
In reality, Smoke had undergone an intensive training of his 'Earth Manipulation' ability on Mount Gliseloc. That was the reason why he could create such detailed works of art. Their trip back to Nanahuatl was entertaining despite having the imprisoned Maneator with them.
* * * * * *
They finally arrived at the village grounds. Smoke told Gandiva to ride directly to the entrance of the coal mines.
He didn't want the residents to see Mitleid. He still thought of him as a dangerous beast, and he wanted to keep him away for everyone's safety.
Darius was already waiting for them in front of the grounds of the coal mines.
"Adder tells me that you've brought a dangerous creature with you."
"Yes, but just as I was about to slay the beast he tells me a different story. I was hoping you could help me find out if what he's saying is the truth or not."
"Of course, I'm happy to help. If only I could find that missing ability tome for 'Seeker of Truth' that would have been most useful to you."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. I remembered that you told me that you had another copy but it went missing?"
"Right, but it has been missing for a long time. I can't remember how long. Where shall we interrogate the Maneator?"
Smoke created a reinforced dome like prison with only a few windows on the top portion to give some lighting inside. Darius smiled as he saw the structure.
"Well done! I couldn't have done it better myself. Although you could have placed another wall just in case he breaks free."
While Darius was saying that, a square wall was rising around them. This earth wall had no ceiling, therefore the light could directly come in.
"Oh, you weren't done yet."
"I was, but when I heard you starting to speak I knew that I had to put up another wall."
Smoke then brought Mitleid into his new house. Apparently, Sierra had to do something at home. She had to logout, which left the inquisition to Smoke, and Darius.
With Mitleid safely secured, in a kneeling down position, Smoke stood in front of the Maneator as Darius created a casting circle around the beast with his 'Earth Manipulation'. Smoke was the first one to speak.
"This is the time to prove yourself. Tell us this 'real' story of yours."
"Very well. Our creators were called the Tenebris. They consisted of Dark Wizards, Corrupted Druids, and Evil Alchemists. They stashed their accumulated treasure beneath Coatl City. They thought that it was the last place anyone would look. After all, who would think to search for a magical treasure trove beneath a city of Knights?"
The casting circle lit up with a low green light. Darius told Smoke that if ever the light turns red then the one inside was lying.
"The first created Maneators were much bigger than me. They were about six meters tall, and were incredibly strong but severely lacked Intelligence, and Agility. Sadly, there were only four of that generation left when I escaped. The second group of Maneators were divided as the Tenebris couldn't decide whether to focus on Intelligence or Agility. As a result they had an average height of only two meters, below average Strength, and either had above average Intelligence or Agility. In the end they came to the conclusion to make me. I'm not the strongest, smartest, or fastest. I'm your average Maneator."
"Then why did they make you their king?"
"At first, the specialized Maneators didn't want to mix with the ones different to them. Their brusque temperament would not allow it. Yet, I forced myself to challenge all of them because I didn't belong to any of their groups. Of course, I kept on losing. As time progressed, I slowly understood how to take advantage of their different specialties. When I fought against the strong Maneators, I used my Intelligence. When I fought against the fast Maneators, I used my Strength. When I fought against the smart Maneators, I used my Agility."
Mitleid paused as he looked to one of the windows in the dome. It looked like he was reminiscing the times when he challenged his brother Maneators.
"Slowly the different Maneators gathered around me, as I continued to challenge them. Our collective mind set of sadism subsided. We gained a sense of camaraderie. The walls of our differences started to break down. We started fight matches to expend our bursting energies. Once we were drained, we started to become different individuals. We started feeling emotions and ideologies. In our new enlightened state, my brethren decided to call me their leader, they said that I was the reason why this miracle had happened. We became more than what we were meant to be."
Mitleid took in a deep breath, and let out a loud roar.
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"Our evil creators took notice of this. They gathered us into a gigantic casting circle. There, they placed a curse upon us. As long as their prized possessions remained within their treasury, we would become sadistic, vicious guardians twice as we were originally created. The curse would trigger when intruders would come inside the labyrinth."
The Maneator King's eyes looked sad and regretful.
"Unbeknownst to me, I was given a second curse. If anyone were to attack me I would gain twice my abilities and be filled with rage until I kill my attacker. When all of this was completed our creators left us alone again. We thought nothing of the curse. That curse only strengthened our original purpose, we didn't see any significant changes. After a few years. A group of intruders came inside the labyrinth. They were somewhat skilled, for they reached the third level. We only saw flashes of what happened. We must have tortured them for hours. After the slaughter, we saw the remnants of a battle, with all the intruders bodies lying on the ground. We didn't like the feeling of losing control of our own bodies. Because of this we made our internal competitions more elaborate and exhausting. I was never defeated, not even when I was up against three of my brothers. I got cocky, and asked to challenge six of them at once. I couldn't handle all six of them and got hurt, the next thing I knew, more than thirty of my brothers' bodies were lying on the ground. I killed anyone who came within my range."
Mitleid slumped down and had both his hands pointing upwards as if bowing and asking for forgiveness. Smoke started to feel sorry for the beast. Not once did the light in the casting circle change. It remained a constant green.
"One of the creators saw the whole massacre. He contacted the other members of the Tenebris. Together they decided that they could make a sport out of my mad curse. They placed me in the first level of the labyrinth. There the corrupt city officials would send the citizens who were in their way and would brand them as criminals for execution. I can't remember how many I've killed... On one of the executions, all four members of the High Council of Tenebris came to see me kill this particular individual. He must have been someone who wronged them greatly for all of them to be present. I made sure that I would be nearer to them before completely losing it. When I regained my consciousness, I found the dead bodies of everyone in the high council. I grabbed the key from Fortner, the gatekeeper of the labyrinth."
"I see, that's how you got possession of the key. Is that perhaps a master key for the labyrinth? With that you managed to escape but why didn't you free your fellow Maneators?"
"I think this key is some sort of master key. With me being in the first level, I quickly found the exit. I was about to go back for my brothers, when the other Tenebris came. I was lucky with the High Council because I managed to take them by surprise. I couldn't face thirty prepared members of the Tenebris. I ran for my life. When I got to the surface. I was immediately attacked by the heavy cavalry knights on patrol, which led to their deaths."
"How did you managed to get past the city gates? I thought that the defenses of a main city couldn't be penetrated easily?"
"I didn't. When I got to the surface I was already out of the main city and in some kind of village. Although, the exit closed itself once I stepped out and even with the key I couldn't open it from the outside. I ran non-stop, without looking back. I couldn't remember how many days it must have been. When I finally ran out of energy, I stopped and found that forest. It was a place that only had low level monsters inside. I claimed the forest as my own and took residence there. Sometimes there are some groups that would go into my forest to try and reclaim this key. Whenever I sense a party coming for the key, straightaway, I turn into my berserked form. Please forgive me for the time when I tortured you. You were with those Knights that got a quest to retrieve this key and I wasn't in control of my body."
"Your telling me that if Sierra never attacked you in the first place, you wouldn't have attacked her?! If I hadn't attacked you when I came with my private army you wouldn't have attacked us?!"
"That is correct."
Smoke stared into the eyes of the Maneator. He didn't need to see the casting circle's green light to know that he was telling the truth.
"Fine! I accept your quest and I will free your brothers."
"Thank you. Please use this key. This will help you greatly in your escape from the labyrinth."
+ Received Coatl Labyrinth Key.
"I will remove the shackles but you will still stay confined within this dome."
"Very well, I shall await for your triumphant return here."
