In the upside-down white room, the rogue Jack had descended into the abyss of madness, his rationality utterly stripped away.
Those once-dexterous hands were now desperately clawing at the hard, white stone slab, trying to dig out a path to survival.
His fingernails had long since split and peeled back, leaving gruesome red streaks of bloody flesh on the smooth floor.
This intense physical pain could not mask the disorientation and sense of defeat in his mind, making life worse than death.
"Let me out, please let me out! I know I was wrong, I'll never covet the treasures here again!"
Jack lay sprawled on the ground, weeping and wailing without a shred of dignity, his face smeared with warm tears, snot, and blood mixed.
He desperately kowtowed to the empty room, his forehead striking the stone slab with heavy, dull thuds.
In this bizarre space where even gravity was inverted, he could no longer sense the passage of time, as if trapped in eternity.
The hope of escape was like a candle flame cruelly snuffed out, leaving only boundless panic to drown him completely.
Despair surged from within him like a breached dam, flooding the entire room.
Deep within the Labyrinth, in the cozy bedroom, the Magic Flame in the fireplace still danced warmly, casting an orange-red glow.
Labrynth lay comfortably on the soft velvet bed, continuously absorbing the Despair Emotion generated by Jack through the System.
System notification tones flooded her mind, and the numbers on the interface panel soared like a rocket, dazzling to behold.
"Excellent, such pure emotion is truly delicious. The little mouse's potential is indeed limitless."
So happy!
Watching the Emotion Points rapidly surpass the ten-thousand mark, Labrynth's eyes sparkled with excitement, a slight smile curling her lips.
At that very moment, a brilliant silver light suddenly erupted from her petite body, illuminating the entire cozy bedroom.
The previously stagnant experience pool instantly overflowed, and a surge of powerful energy, like a warm current, swept through her entire being, washing over her Mana Circuits.
She successfully leveled up from LV2 to LV3, with the entire process as effortless and smooth as drinking a glass of water, without any hindrance.
"?"
Huh?
Labrynth sat up, clenching her small, pale fist, feeling the abundant, powerful energy within her body.
She could sense that the strength of this Silver Demon's body had been greatly enhanced; it was no longer a weakling.
Not only that, but the upper limit of her psychic power in her mind had also expanded explosively, and her perception range had grown even wider.
The Holographic Map Projection in her vision became clearer than ever before, every tiny Mana Texture visible in minute detail.
Labrynth closed her eyes, carefully savoring the source of that massive amount of experience just now, her thoughts racing.
She suddenly understood: as a Silver Demon that fed on emotions, the gains from simply killing were actually quite limited.
So, slowly and methodically tormenting the enemy, making them swing between hope and despair, is actually the fastest way to gain experience.
A mischievous smile spread across her face as she fully grasped the core wealth secret of her Skills, putting her in an excellent mood.
Just then, the System interface panel emitted a dazzling golden light once more, accompanied by a pleasant level-up notification tone.
Due to the level increase, her powerful racial hidden Talent, Heart of Silver, had been successfully triggered, bringing a new surprise.
A brilliant wheel of fate slowly materialized in mid-air, densely packed with various exclusive Skills.
"I wonder what fun thing I'll get this time. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope it's a powerful Skill."（☆▽☆）
Filled with anticipation, Labrynth spun the wheel's pointer, watching as it whirled rapidly across the colorful sections.
The pointer slowed down more and more, finally coming to a steady stop right in the center of a rare area glowing with purple light.
[Labyrinth Mirage LV1]
The Skill transformed into a stream of light that shot into her forehead. A large amount of Skill usage instructions instantly unfolded in her mind for her to review.
Labrynth carefully examined the new Skill's description and found that it was practically a divine ability tailor-made for her.
Labyrinth Mirage could perfectly combine with her Mental Visualization Skill to create realistic, three-dimensional illusions within the Labyrinth.
"Since I have a new toy, let's test it out on this little mouse whose mind is on the verge of collapse. It's sure to be fun."
Labrynth leaned back against the lace pillow and activated the newly acquired rare Skill. Mana began to surge.
She simply gave the command to create an illusion of hope. As for what the rogue would specifically experience, she wasn't actually clear.
At that moment, in the upside-down room, Jack was still desperately kowtowing and begging for mercy, his voice now hoarse and unpleasant.
Suddenly, the pure white wall in front of him rippled like water before slowly cracking open, revealing a narrow fissure.
A blood-soaked figure stumbled and crawled through the fissure. It was his teammate, the Elemental Mage Allen.
"Jack, you're alive! Thank goodness, I finally found you!"
Mage Allen's robes were tattered and torn. He clutched his dimly glowing Staff, his face filled with the wild joy of having survived a disaster.
"Allen, you're not dead! What's going on? Am I dreaming?"
Jack jerked his head up. The lifeless look in his eyes instantly erupted with intense hope for survival as he stared fixedly at his teammate.
"I just blasted through the outer wall with a Destructive Fireball and finally found a secret passage to the fifth floor! We're saved!"
Allen stretched out a blood-stained hand with difficulty, his voice filled with urgency and temptation, urging him on.
"Quick, give me your hand! The passage is about to collapse! Let's escape together and get out of this hellhole!"
Jack unleashed terrifying potential at that moment; The desire to survive overcame all pain.
He forgot the excruciating pain of his broken legs, using his bloodied, mangled hands to desperately claw at the ground, crawling forward.
"Wait for me, Allen! Take me with you! I don't want to die here! I want to get out alive!"
Dragging his broken body, he rushed toward the teammate that represented salvation like a mad dog, moving with surprising speed.
In those few short meters, he seemed to cross the boundary between life and death, his eyes fixed only on that outstretched hand.
Just as he mustered all his strength, his fingertips about to touch Allen's hand, a sudden, unexpected change occurred.
The anxious expression on the illusionary Allen's face twisted, revealing a demonic, sinister grin that sent chills down the spine.
"Just kidding, you foolish little mouse. You can wait here to die slowly."
From Allen's mouth came Labrynth's soft yet infinitely malicious, mocking voice, echoing through the room.
The wild joy on Jack's face froze. He watched helplessly as his teammate before him dissolved into countless points of light, scattering with the wind.
The illusion shattered and dissipated at once. The escape passage ahead reverted to the cold wall, severing all hope.
With his target gone, Jack couldn't stop his forward momentum. The powerful inertia carried him forward in a flying lunge.
Due to the inertia, his entire body slammed into the wall that had risen at some unknown time, like a cannonball.
With a dull thud, Jack's nose bridge instantly shattered, blood gushing out and staining the wall red.
He rebounded heavily and crashed to the ground, severely injured. It felt as if his internal organs were about to rupture, the pain unbearable.
The intense pain brought him back to his senses. He eventually realized that everything, just now, had been nothing but a cruel prank orchestrated by the monster.
"It was fake, all of it was fake! Hahahaha, I can't escape!"
Jack's last shred of mental defense collapsed. Lying on his back on the ground, he let out a lifeless, despairing laugh.
His eyes became utterly hollow, transforming into a broken shell devoid of any emotional fluctuations, devoid of any vitality.
Just then, a wall beside him slid open silently, revealing the entrance to a dark passage.
An expressionless Pure White Doll strode forward, grabbed his ankle, and roughly dragged him into the darkness.
In the bedroom deep within the Labyrinth, Labrynth watched the long trail of blood in the Holographic Projection, pouting with a sense of dissatisfaction.
"How boring. Broken so fast. What a worthless fish that can't even withstand a little play."
╮（╯▽╰）╭
...
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