“Um, right.” Alan replied.

The nuclei Aurora and Sidestep had slain dropped the exact same items, and after a short break, they continued up the ramp the slimes had dropped from with the help of icy steps Aurora created. At the top they found a large platform, with a cage at the center, probably where the slimes had been released from.

Eve had Alan try out his different forms of vision, and sure enough he detected an invisible path that branched out from the platform, similar to the path that he had found when he first entered the Abyss Labyrinth.

“Well, looks like that’s it, better head back now,” Void said.

“Um, if it’s okay, I’d like to look around a bit, you guys can head back without me,” Alan said, trying to appear unconcerned.

“Oh, know something about the secret pathways?” Void asked. “Don’t bother, it's a dead end. Trust me, we’ve tried.”

Well, that sounds surprisingly familiar, Alan silently said to Eve.

“Um, I’d still like to try to go down the path myself. I want to try to gain some sort of trap detection skill,” he responded.

“Hmm, alright,” Void said, “Just remember, it’s your fault if you die! I won't be here to save your ass. I’ll head back with the others, and have someone wait for you to return. It might be a few hours though, so don’t get too impatient. The creatures shouldn’t respawn anytime soon. Probably.”

Void then turned back the way they came, Kitana, Sidestep and Aurora walking with him. Aurora sent Alan a questioning glance right before she left with the others, but Alan simply shook his head.

Once the others were out of sight, Alan stepped onto the hidden pathway, activating his power armor’s basic invisibility. It was time to find some treasure.

Chapter 19

Alan progressed slowly and steadily. Unlike the last time he had tread down a hidden path, he did not simply rely on Eve’s directions and assistance. Instead, he attempted to navigate through the traps and puzzles without help. Eve would occasionally bring up a warning or complete a task for Alan, but the number of obstacles Alan was able to get through on his own surprised him.

After stepping through a hidden trigger before Eve could even warn him, Alan learned the value of patience. He managed to dodge most of the lasers that shot from the wall at him, taking minimal damage, but from that point on prudently examined his surroundings. After waiting too long at one intersection, Alan learned the value of haste. A giant boulder descended from the sky, crashing onto the ramp behind Alan, triggered by some unseen timer. He had to follow Eve’s directions to barely avoid being squashed like a bug. (She had solved the simple astrological riddle in 2.71 microseconds, whereas Alan had been sitting there trying to figure it out for over 15 minutes.)

A few hours later, Alan finally made his way to a cube-like structure. Only slightly worse for wear, he had gained a basic rogue ability, Trap Detection (Rank F). He wasn’t sure if this structure looked like the one he had been to earlier, as then he had been blindly following Eve’s directions. Now he could see.