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Erik, at the front, was quick to demonstrate his mastery of earth magic, his hands glowing as he manipulated the ground beneath us. He created solid footing and reinforced walls whenever the labyrinth threatened to shift and trap us. His steady confidence was reassuring.

"Keep your eyes open," Erik muttered, glancing back. "This place changes more often than you\'d expect."

Alina\'s fiery aura radiated behind him, her flames flickering with barely restrained excitement. She walked with a swagger, her eyes sharp and eager for a challenge. "Let it throw whatever it wants at us. I\'m ready."

Zara, ever the calm presence, moved silently but with precision, her eyes scanning the surroundings while a faint, transparent barrier shimmered around us. She was the type to act without needing to boast, her support invaluable in moments of tension.

Suddenly, the ground ahead of us rumbled. Erik\'s barrier trembled, and before we could react, the stone floor split open. From the fissure emerged a massive, serpentine creature—its scales shimmering with the same dark glow that lined the labyrinth walls. It hissed, its eyes gleaming with malevolent intelligence as it coiled and reared up, towering over us.

"Leave it to-" Before Alina could even finish, My right hand went under the hilt of the sword hanging by my hip. I pushed the sword out of its sheath with my thumb taking a quick draw stance.

"Lightning Magic: Thunder Clap and Flash~"

My figure zoomed past in an instant, leaving a trail of crackling electricity in its wake. Before the massive serpent could strike, my blade cut through the air with a deafening roar, the power of lightning amplifying the strike.

Boom!

The serpent let out a guttural hiss as the force of the blow cleaved through its thick scales, sending sparks flying. A sharp flash of light momentarily blinded my teammates as the serpent\'s massive body collapsed to the ground, twitching with residual electricity coursing through its veins.

I came to a stop a few feet beyond the creature, the sound of thunder following my every step. The sword in my hand hummed with power, and I could feel the surge of energy from the successful strike still coursing through my body.

"Too slow," I muttered, flicking the blood off my blade before sheathing it.

The rest of the team stood in stunned silence, their faces a mixture of awe and disbelief. Erik was the first to regain his composure, though his brow furrowed with both amazement and concern. "You... took it down in one strike. That thing was enormous, and you barely broke a sweat."

Alina, her earlier bravado slightly diminished, let out a low whistle. "Damn, Samael, you weren\'t kidding about that lightning magic. I was ready to roast it, but I guess you had other plans."

Zara, who had been quietly maintaining the protective barrier, finally relaxed and let it dissipate. Her calm demeanor remained intact, though her eyes betrayed a hint of surprise. "That was... impressive. But we should be careful not to underestimate the labyrinth. There\'s bound to be more where that came from."

I nodded, meeting her gaze. "You\'re right. This was just the first obstacle. We can\'t let our guard down."

As the labyrinth shifted again, the walls rearranged themselves with a loud grinding noise, the paths behind us closing off as new ones opened. The trial was far from over.

Erik stepped forward, taking his position at the front again. "Let\'s keep moving. That was a good reminder of what\'s waiting for us, but we need to stay focused if we\'re going to make it through this."

Alina flashed me a grin as she fell back in line. "Alright, hotshot. The next one\'s mine. Don\'t steal all the fun."

"Just make sure you don\'t get burned in the process," I teased, earning a chuckle from her.

"Yeah, But how did you do it? I couldn\'t even see you move. Just how fast can you be?"

I shrugged, wiping the residual energy from my hands. "It\'s not about speed, Alina. It\'s control. Lightning is unpredictable, but if you learn to harness it, you can strike before anyone even realizes what\'s happening."

Erik glanced over, still leading us through the maze\'s shifting walls. "That level of control takes years to master. When did you become so adept at lightning magic?"

I hesitated, not wanting to reveal too much. The System had been feeding me information and amplifying my abilities ever since that dungeon encounter, and it wasn\'t something I could easily explain. "Let\'s just say, I\'ve had some... recent training."

"Well, if you can do that again when it counts, I won\'t ask too many questions," Erik muttered, but I could tell he wasn\'t fully convinced. There was a suspicion in his tone, though he didn\'t press further.

As we walked deeper into the labyrinth, the air became thicker, heavier with a tangible pressure that weighed on my senses. Every shift in the walls made the entire structure feel more hostile, as though the maze itself was alive and actively trying to confuse and mislead us.

Zara broke the silence, her voice calm but edged with caution. "This place isn\'t just a test of strength or skill. It\'s designed to wear down your mind as well. We need to stay mentally sharp."

I nodded in agreement, my instincts on high alert. The maze was warping reality in subtle ways. Shadows moved in strange directions, and the ground occasionally felt like it was tilting even when it wasn\'t. Magic pulsed through the air like an invisible heartbeat.

Then, without warning, the entire labyrinth began to hum with energy. The glow from the walls intensified, and a low, ominous rumbling echoed from all directions.

"Something\'s coming," Zara warned, immediately casting her barrier spell again, the shimmering dome enveloping us.

Erik clenched his fists, summoning jagged stone spikes from the ground. Alina\'s flames blazed brighter, swirling around her as she readied herself for battle.

I tightened my grip on my sword, electricity sparking off the blade as I braced for whatever was about to appear.

The rumbling grew louder, and the floor beneath us began to tremble. Out of the shifting shadows, figures started to emerge—dozens of them, humanoid in shape but grotesquely distorted. Their bodies were hunched and malformed, with glowing red eyes that shone with malice. Their skin looked like it was made of the same glossy stone that lined the labyrinth, and they moved with a jerky, unnatural gait.

"Stone golems," Erik muttered. "They\'re resistant to most magic, especially fire and lightning. This won\'t be easy."

Alina cursed under her breath. "Of course they are. What else?"

"Well, Do you want me to take the lead or do you want to try defeating them on your own first?" I asked as I was the most relaxed one.

Alina shot me a playful glare, her fiery aura flickering as if daring me to challenge her. "I\'ve got this. Don\'t think for a second that I\'ll let you hog all the glory, Samael."

With a confident smirk, she stepped forward, flames licking her fingertips. The stone golems began to lurch forward, their heavy footsteps causing the ground to tremble beneath us. Each of them radiated an eerie magical resistance, making the air thick with tension. Erik shifted uneasily, his stone spikes ready for defense, while Zara kept her barrier steady, watching the scene unfold.

Alina cracked her knuckles, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Watch and learn."

With a sweeping gesture, she unleashed a torrent of flames that twisted and coiled like serpents. The fire hit the first golem, but as Erik had warned, the flames merely scorched the surface of its stone body, leaving it largely unaffected. The golem barely slowed as it advanced toward her, its massive stone arms swinging down.

Alina frowned. "Okay, maybe they\'re tougher than they look."

She dodged the golem\'s attack with ease, her movements fluid and agile. The flames around her condensed into a single, blinding spear of fire. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled it at the nearest golem, aiming for its core. The impact sent a shockwave through the room, but the golem only staggered back slightly, its molten chest quickly solidifying again.

"Dammit," Alina muttered, frustration creeping into her voice.

"Good effort," I said, stepping up beside her, my sword already crackling with lightning. "But let me show you a little trick."

I raised my sword, charging it with the power of my Lightning affinity, the force crackling audibly as arcs of electricity danced along the blade. The golems, slow but relentless, closed in on us with their heavy, stone steps echoing through the labyrinth.

"Lightning might not work directly," I said, eyeing the golems with calculated intent, "but it\'s not just about brute force."

I focused on the area around the golems. Stone, while resistant to magic, could be influenced in other ways. I had learned from observing the labyrinth itself that it was highly responsive to the magic around it, including mine.

"Lightning Magic: Chain Reaction!"

I struck the ground near the largest golem, sending a surge of electricity through the labyrinth\'s stone floor. The energy moved in unpredictable, jagged lines, but I guided it with precision, letting it seek out weak points in the golems\' surroundings. The electricity bounced off the stone walls and ricocheted back, converging around the group of golems.

The ground beneath them trembled before suddenly collapsing into a sinkhole, the force of the lightning weakening the stone enough to make it crumble. The golems, too heavy and slow to react, tumbled into the newly formed pit, crashing against one another as they fell into the depths below.

Alina watched with wide eyes as the golems were swallowed by the earth, their heavy forms disappearing into the void. "Okay... that was impressive."

Erik let out a low whistle. "You didn\'t even need to hit them directly."

Zara\'s barrier shimmered once more before she lowered it, her calm expression hiding any surprise she might have felt. "Efficient. We\'re going to need more tactics like that if we\'re going to make it out of here."

I sheathed my sword, the crackling energy dissipating. "This labyrinth isn\'t just testing our strength. It\'s testing how well we can adapt. We need to be smart about how we use our magic."

Alina chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "Alright, alright. I\'ll admit, that was clever. But next time, I\'m definitely going to get the finishing blow."

"Yeah~ Yeah~"

"Hey!"

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[To Be Continued]

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