Before descending to the next floor, Noah and Damien followed a short flight of ancient stone stairs.
Their footsteps echoed softly through the silent passage.
Soon, they reached a small chamber. Unlike the massive halls they had explored earlier, this room was almost empty.
Only one object rested at its center. A treasure chest.
Both of their eyes lit up instantly.
"A treasure chest!"
Damien rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Finally! This has to be something good."
Noah nodded.
"I hope so."
Treasure chests inside labyrinths usually contained valuable rewards. Ancient artifacts, rare weapons, powerful monster cores, or even forgotten inheritances.
At least that was how it usually happened in stories.
Damien cautiously walked toward the chest. He examined it carefully for a few seconds before slowly lifting the lid.
Creak.
The old hinges groaned loudly.
Both young men immediately leaned forward.
"..."
"..."
The excitement on their faces gradually disappeared.
Inside the chest lay only a handful of monster cores and several neatly bundled medicinal herbs.
There was nothing else.
Damien scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well... I guess they’re still useful."
Noah sighed helplessly.
"They are...Just not what I was expecting."
His gaze unconsciously shifted toward Damien.
’Seriously...Isn’t this guy supposed to be the protagonist?’
Shouldn’t people like him discover legendary weapons, mysterious inheritances, or ancient treasures hidden inside places like this?
Instead they had found ordinary monster cores and medicinal herbs.
It wasn’t as though they were worthless.
Monster cores sold for decent prices, while the herbs could be used by alchemists to create valuable potions.
Still they were painfully ordinary.
Maybe I’m expecting too much. This labyrinth isn’t particularly high-ranked.
Shaking away the unnecessary thoughts, Noah stored everything inside his storage ring.
"Let’s keep moving."
"Yeah."
Leaving the chamber behind, the two stepped through another ancient stone doorway.
The instant they crossed the threshold...
Both of them stopped.
"..."
"..."
A massive hall stretched endlessly before them.
Neither of them could see where it ended.
The entire chamber was filled with gigantic mirrors.
Hundreds or perhaps thousands. Some reached all the way to the ceiling.
Others stood like enormous walls, creating countless intersections and narrow pathways.
Every direction they looked...
There were mirrors.
The place immediately reminded Noah of the mirror mazes from amusement parks back on Earth.
High above, dozens of mana lamps floated near the ceiling.
Their pale blue light illuminated the chamber just enough to reveal the countless reflections surrounding them.
The dim glow created an eerie atmosphere.
Shadows danced endlessly across the polished glass.
Damien slowly turned in a circle.
"I guess... it’s another maze. But with mirrors."
Noah nodded.
"Yeah. And I really hope it doesn’t take us another entire day to get through this one."
Damien smirked confidently.
"It won’t."
"I hope you’re right."
"Come on."
The two cautiously stepped inside. As they walked deeper. Noah looked around in amazement.
"Wow... Look. We’re everywhere."
Every mirror reflected them from different angles.
Some showed their fronts. Others showed their sides.
Many reflected other mirrors, creating endless copies of both Noah and Damien.
It looked as though hundreds of them were wandering through the labyrinth together.
Damien chuckled. "Haha, this reminded me of mirror house in amusement parks or circus."
"Yeah. Just don’t get confused by all these reflections."
Before Noah could finish,
Thud!
"Ouch!"
Noah walked straight into what he thought was an open passage.
Instead his face slammed directly against solid glass.
He immediately covered his nose with both hands.
"Dammit... That hurt."
Damien burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Noah, at least watch where you’re going. You literally walked into a mirror. I mean come on a mirror was in front so naturally you could see reflection in front. Why did you still walk."
Noah glared at him.
"Very funny."
Damien grinned proudly before turning around.
Thud!
"Ow!"
This time he walked directly into another mirror himself.
Noah silently stared at him.
"..."
"..."
They looked at one another for several seconds.
Then both sighed simultaneously.
"Let’s pretend neither of us saw that."
"Agreed."
They resumed walking.
Then Noah suddenly stopped.
"...Damien."
"What?"
"Look carefully."
Damien frowned.
Both of them stared at the mirror Noah had just pointed toward. It was the mirror where Noah just collided.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
"There... There isn’t any reflection."
That’s why he was walked into it.
Damien blinked.
Sure enough the mirror directly in front of them reflected absolutely nothing.
It looked like an ordinary sheet of polished glass.
Meanwhile, the mirrors behind them still displayed their figures.
Something about those reflections felt...
There was something very wrong about them.
Noah’s breathing slowed. The reflections behind them weren’t showing their backs.
Instead every single reflection faced them directly.
There were each Noah and each Damien.
They all stood inside the mirrors...
They were eatching them.
And then one by one they smiled.
A cold chill slowly crawled down Noah’s spine.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Without thinking he immediately turned around.
"..."
The mirrors showed perfectly normal reflections.
Since he was now looking at them. His front reflected. While Damien’s back, since he was not turned around like Noah.
He didn’t saw anthing unusual.
No smiling figures. No strange expressions. Everything appeared completely ordinary.
Noah frowned.
’Weird for a moment...I really felt like someone was watching us.’
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"...Must’ve been my imagination. Let’s get out of here as quickly as possible."
Noah said worriedly.
"This place gives me a bad feeling."
Damien nodded seriously.
"Honestly... I’ve felt uncomfortable ever since we entered. The echoes...The reflections...Everything about this place feels wrong."
Neither of them joked anymore.
They carefully continued deeper into the maze.
Thud.
"...Again."
Noah had walked into another invisible mirror.
"...Who designed this stupid place?"
Several minutes later.
Thud!
Damien collided with yet another mirror.
"Tch. This is getting annoying."
They slowly advanced while constantly checking each step.
Even then the countless reflections made it almost impossible to distinguish real paths from dead ends.
Noah rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Dammit... This place is ridiculous."
He turned toward Damien, who stood only a few steps away.
"Damien."
Without thinking Noah walked toward him.
Thud!
His forehead slammed into another mirror.
"Ow!"
He stumbled backward. Then his expression froze.
"...Wait."
His eyes widened.
If I hit a mirror...
’Then was that...Damien’s reflection? Then where is he if not beside me?’
He immediately looked around. Countless Damiens stood throughout the maze.
Each one looked completely real. Each one copied every movement perfectly.
Noah couldn’t tell which one was the real Damien anymore.
Just then—
"NOAH!"
The shout echoed throughout the gigantic chamber.
Noah flinched.
The voice bounced endlessly between the mirrors.
It was impossible to determine where it had come from.
"You come here!" Noah shouted back.
His own voice echoed just as loudly.
Moments later, one of the Damiens began running toward him.
But after only a few steps.
Thud!
He crashed face-first into another mirror.
"Dammit!"
Damien cursed loudly. Enough was enough.
He drew his sword. Golden mana erupted around the blade. He decided to destroy this all mirrors. That was the best option he could think of.
With a powerful swing.
Slash!
A crescent-shaped arc of golden energy shot forward.
BOOM!!
The mirror in front of him exploded. Glass fragments scattered everywhere.
Dust and smoke filled the corridor. For a brief moment.
Neither Noah nor Damien could see anything.
Then the dust slowly settled.
Damien’s pupils shrank. Standing where the shattered mirror had been was another Damien.
He looked exactly the same. The same face. The same clothes.
The same sword. Only his skin was unnaturally pale.
His eyes were completely black. And an unsettling smile stretched across his face.
A cold shiver ran through Damien’s entire body.
The smiling doppelgänger tilted its head.
Then it lunged at him.
Everything instantly descended into chaos.
From Noah’s position, countless mirrors reflected the battle from every direction and in different angles.
Everywhere he looked there were dozens of Damiens.
Dozens of black-eyed doppelgängers.
Dozens of flashing swords. The reflections overlapped endlessly.
He couldn’t tell... Which Damien was the real one. And which one had come out of the mirror.
’I need to do something.’
Noah immediately drew his sword.
Mana surged from his core and flowed into his arm.
Without hesitation, he placed his free hand against the nearest mirror.
A thin layer of crystalline ice rapidly spread across its smooth surface.
Crack...
Crack...
The frost continued expanding as Noah moved alongside the mirror, freezing every inch he touched.
He kept advancing while coating the mirrors in ice, slowly making his way toward Damien and his doppelgänger.
His eyes remained fixed on the battle ahead.
BOOM!!
Another mirror shattered under the force of Damien’s sword.
"Shit!"
Damien’s expression changed instantly.
From the broken mirror another Damien stepped out.
It had the same appearance. The same light armor. The same weapon.
The only difference was its deathly pale skin and completely black eyes. And the copy couldn’t use light element that Damien used.
A sinister smile spread across its face.
Noah’s heart sank.
"Damien! Stop destroying the mirrors!"
Without wasting another second, Noah increased his speed and rushed toward him, continuing to freeze every mirror along his path before any more doppelgängers could emerge.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter