The screams of distant banshees reached Julie as she ran between an edge that descended toward a dark abyss and a cobblestone wall booted in a cacophony of traps. Her breath hitched with every frantic step as she ran ahead—the distant light twinkling beyond the seams of her own sanity was the only goal she could reach for…

"This is crazy, this is fucking crazy!" She bolted ahead all while using her [Arachnid Wisdom] to avoid sprung up arrows, spiked pits, and the occasional inferno trap that cutesly tries to… well, burn you alive. Like an acrobatics champion, she was able to dodge, weave, and duck out of everything in her way…

This was also another benefit of [Arachnid Wisdom]. Not only did it heighten her senses for impending danger, it also elevated her reflexes to an inhuman degree. Things she couldn't fathom achieving with her body in the past were now more than possible. Splits, highkicks, backbends, backflips and frontflips… There was nothing her body couldn't do if it meant avoiding an attack detected by her Soul Weapon's ability.

However, there was clearly a limit to things.

And today, Solomon was hellbent on testing those limits.

Just when she thought she could relax, three traps activated at once. A flamethrower from below, arrows from the side and front, and a pit trap from behind. In less than a second, [Arachnid Wisdom] calculated the best approach to avoiding the danger—ducking and jumping ahead while making sure to only be burned slightly…

And that was exactly what happened. Just as it played in her mind, the scene unfolded perfectly. With less than a second to spare, she managed to only get partially burnt on her ankle. Julie rolled ahead without hesitating for even a second and continued her sprint.

The light ahead was growing brighter.

Safety… Soon she will be out of this mess…

Keep going Julie… She said to herself as her gaze was cast toward the exit. Focus… It will be all over soon…

And while that may have been true, her trials ahead had only just begun.

[Arachnid Wisdom] immediately picked up a new kind of danger—one that caused her stomach to drop. Up ahead, shining dimly in the torchlight, was a strange mesh of some kind blocking her way.

It was only when she got closer that her blood began to run cold. Arranged in elaborate patterns was a steel-wire net—one that could likely sever flesh…

At first she assumed that she could simply slow down her steps to carefully navigate the maze of sharp wires…

She could not be more wrong.

The cables weren't stationary. They were heading toward her just as quickly as she was heading toward the exit… If she didn't time her movements accurately in the next few seconds, losing a limb or two wouldn't even be the worst outcome…

Damn you, Solomon! Damn you Human Preservation Project! Damn you all!

With the danger rapidly approaching, her ability flared up once more. She let go of all her thoughts and focused on thing and one thing only:

Survival.

One layer of cables after another passed by as she turned her body in unimaginable ways just to avoid their treacherous touch… At one point, she even had to dive toward the ground and worm her way forward before jumping back up to avoid two separate arrows aimed at her head…

Getting cut in this chaotic show of deadly parkour was inevitable. Knicks and scratches covered her body from head to toe as she continued her sprint forward. More and more elaborate traps sprung along the way. And what was worse—the monsters chasing after her from behind were catching up as well…

Without pause, her frantic steps forward continued, until the end of the corridor finally came into view. The light she had been chasing after… It was now but a moment's reach away…

"Hurry up," an older voice echoed in her mind, startling her for a moment. "That exit won't last forever…"

Just as He said this, Julie watched in horror as the gate before her slowly began to close on its own. Stone grinded against stone, the walls and ground shook, and even the traps themselves began to activate in quicker succession. It was as if the building was alive and furious at her progress, desperately trying to entomb her within the dungeon.

Her path ahead was slowly turning into a dead end…

I refuse! She grit her teeth as the adrenaline coursed through her muscles. Without an ounce of hesitation, her legs moved faster than she had ever ran in her life. Every fiber of her being in that moment was working toward moving just a second quicker than before. Every thread of thought spinning in her mind was labouring to calculate the optimal path ahead…

There were no wasted movements.

There were no wasted breaths.

There were no wasted thoughts…

She had turned herself into a machine… One that could only run forward in a distinct pattern, like a computer reading through a code file line by line…

A weave to the right followed by a dive, which was followed by a roll to the left, but not too far so that she doesn't fall off the edge… A jump to the right then hugging the wall tightly to avoid another steel wire mesh… Julie felt like a needle navigating through a haystack of death and chaos.

However, in the end, [Arachnid Wisdom] managed to pull through.

She had made it to the other side of the corridor.

Just as the gate was about to slam shut, Julie maneuvered past the last remaining traps, all while being a hair's length away from the closest monster… The banshees behind her could be felt—their screams of anguish and anger rang in her mind like alarm bells. And yet, she ignored it all—the only thing eclipsing her mind in that moment was crossing through that wretched old gate…

And with a final leap of faith… She managed to achieve the impossible. With just a few inches left, the last bit of her foot managed to pass through to the other side.

The nightmare was over...

Almost instantly, she collapsed onto the floor. The adrenaline had run out completely.

I… I did it… she huffed another breath as satisfaction and relief mixed in her stomach. I can't believe it…

She had successfully passed through the third floor's entrance of the newly dubbed Memoria Regis Occulti… This was the name the Human Preservation Project as well as the Vatican's branch of supernatural affairs—the Custodes Sigillorum—had decided on for this dungeon…

As part of her training, Julie decided to volunteer as a scout in order to map out the third floor… It was important to mention that this was never originally her idea—Solomon had forced her into this mess.

All for the sake of training her.

As she laid there on the cold, cobblestone floor—resting upon a pool of her own blood, sweat and tears, Julie couldn't help but laugh. Her chuckles echoed out into the newly discovered hall as the gate behind her closed shut, leaving her separated from the howling monsters that were clawing desperately against its textured surface.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

A blue holographic window popped up before her.

Phase 1: Cleared

The AGI network has sensed that you have cleared through the initial trapped room. Please report your status.

PTF-0: The Black Watchmen

Reading their request, Julie smiled. "Passage has been cleared of traps. Injuries are minimal. Exhaustion is severe. Proceeding to phase 2."

As she said those words, the screen automatically disappeared on its own—likely carrying her message to the other agents. Until she passed through phases 2 and 3, and made it back to the entrance alone, no one else was allowed permission to enter the third floor in case any retroactive traps were activated.

Usually, monster infested rooms like the second floor were cleared in groups in order to make passing through far more efficient and less deadly. But… That only applies when divinations are able to detect such structures.

Floors like the one she was currently navigating were usually called Maze Floors. This was because they tend to utilize traps, illusions, and other cunning methods to kill or maim any would-be trespasser. In such cases, deploying an entire team would only cause unnecessary casualties and hinder their progress rather than help.

The role of a scout was to navigate such floors alone, and send the intel they discovered back through the AGI Network. It was a grim and rather dangerous job. According to Deatheye, it has the highest mortality rate in all of the PTF roles…

Drowned in the silence and darkness of this new hall, Julie was once again alone… For better or for worse. The Dungeon Shroud's influence had grown severely as well. She could feel her mind slowly degrading—the thoughts racing within slowing down by the second. Though, that could also be a side-effect of simple exhaustion…

With [Arachnid Wisdom] not sensing any impending danger, she finally allowed her body to relax. Almost instantly, drowsiness swarmed her mind—her eyes began to flutter shut. She would once again be greeted by a rather familiar and distant dream…

A splash of water echoed in the distance, startling her awake from her slumber. She checked the AGI Network—2 hours had passed since her escape from the first trapped room.

Shit… Julie frantically sent out another signal to update the team.

"Have you had enough rest?" The soothing voice entered her mind. Her lips sank as she commanded the holographic window to disappear.

"What do you think, old man? Do I look rested enough to you?" She slowly stood up while dusting her clothes. Blood had soaked into every corner of her white blouse, making her seem as if she had just survived a zombie apocalypse.

In a way, such a description wasn't that far of a stretch. The creatures that had chased her through that narrow chasm were akin to humanoid fiends thirsting for the flesh and blood of the living. Their hollow eyes… Even now, simply recalling their visage was enough to send a chill down her spine.

"I think you are perfectly fine now in my opinion." He answered nonchalantly. "I healed most of your wounds while you were asleep."

Her lips twitched slightly. She wanted to counter him but had nothing else to say… In the end, she was left with no choice but to sigh.

"Fine…" She clicked her tongue. "What do you want me to do next? Jump through fire? Dive into hell itself? Or maybe you'll test whether I can survive without my body—you'll try to decapitate me with those strange spells of yours again…"

Solomon couldn't believe what He was hearing. "Child, do you see me as a demon?"

Without an ounce of hesitation, she answered, "Yes."

"....." The silence stretched on for a while. Then, she heard a brief sigh.

"Nothing of that sort will happen. Rather, we will be unlocking your potential."

"Potential?" She furrowed her brow. This wasn't what she was expecting to hear.

"Indeed, child." He answered. "Have you not noticed the changes to your body yet? During that final sprint, your desperation for survival allowed you to realize something fundamental… Though, that was mostly due to my help."

"Old man," Julie frowned, "what are you talking about… I don't feel any different."

He chuckled. "Feel is a subjective term… It can mean a number of things.

"I want you to close your eyes and contemplate the Three Layers in your mind."

"What? How will I even do that? I don't have my Soul Realm unlocked yet."

"Did you forget that I am here?"

Her lips twitched slightly. "Okay.. I'll try…" She sat back down on the cold floor in a lotus position with her eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, she began to clear her thoughts slowly… The surrounding darkness as well as the fact that she had just woken up from one of those strange, lucid dreams made it a bit easier to do so.

Though, even then, the task seemed rather impossible.

"What you are seeing now is your three layers… The darkness that is your mind… And the chaos that permeates it… It is all a part of you. I am allowing you to see this.

"But Solomon… I thought the Three Layers were divided…"

"You finally noticed…" He chuckled. "Indeed, under normal circumstances, they would be. However, your situation is anything but normal.

"Not only do you have a remnant soul of an ancient primarch within you—me, you also have been branded by a mark from a god. These changes have certainly caused a stir within your Three Layers, child.

"However, that isn't the main reason behind this. The fault lies purely on you—I simply allowed you to skip a rather crucial step using my technique."

"On me?..." She couldn't help but frown. The thoughts in her mind stirred once again—she took another deep breath to clear them.

"Indeed…" He answered. "During that final stretch—your desperation for survival and your determination to safely cross through the numerous traps and dangers coming your way allowed you contemplate the existence of the Fourth Layer.

"Albeit, this was due to the enhanced focus [Arachnid Wisdom] gave you. My theory on how it seems to increase its potency based on the danger it's presented with was right—your senses were heightened to such a degree, that you inadvertently contemplated the existence of something most take years to figure out…"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. After discovering the existence of magecraft, a part of her hoped to become a magi as well—the art of invoking material runes, especially after experiencing Dr. Zerkin's skills, left her yearning for a similar future.

In a way, she fully understood Soren's supposed obsession with discovering magic that led to his downfall. Maybe if they had swapped positions, she too would have fallen for the same trap Scribe-of-Worlds.com offered…

But that was only her idealistic mind speaking for her. In truth, becoming a Sentinel was a far more prosperous goal. Although magecraft was indeed an interesting field, it was far too limited.

Aside from the Clocktower Mage Society in London, the Glass Pagoda in the Eastern Union's Shaanxi province, and the House of Wisdom located in the Grand Sultanate of the Eternal Crescent's capital, learning magecraft was both a tedious and taboo job.

Even in the Human Preservation Project, those in possession of such skills were mainly researchers or scholars. And after finding out the truth of this world from Solomon, it was likely that most documented works in this field have already been lost. The Age of Regression had likely erased most of humanity's progress, after all.

Sentinels, however, were not limited by such concepts. For a Sentinel, knowing yourself was far more important than knowing the world.

Martial Arts and other combat techniques were personal endeavors that could be developed rather quickly in battle. Even after suffering through the great flood Solomon spoke of, humanity had still managed to find ways to fight each other. Wars and other conflicts have honed the art of combat to a respectable degree once again.

The HPP alone had entire archives of recorded battle arts—some ancient, others more modern. Even her training prior to becoming an agent gave her some weapon handling experience.

Still, this was different from having a Soul Manual to follow. Although they were less rare to find than a magi's grimoire and usually have less restrictions on a person's affinities, they were still rather expensive…

"Old man… I still don't understand. Even if I did contemplate the existence of the Fourth Layer, I still have yet to see it… My Three Layers have become one, and yet, I cannot sense any way to activate my Soul Frame."

"As I said before," He insisted, "Your situation is abnormal. In most cases, those who choose to walk down the path of a Sentinel will first need to unlock their Soul Realm. They would then begin to contemplate the existence of a Fourth Layer and work to merge their Three Layers into one.

"You, however, did not unlock a Soul Realm from the start. Instead, you were able to bypass this step entirely due to my existence. Which means, you have yet to uncover what your True Self looks like."

"My True Self…" The thought of finally uncovering what that was lingered in her mind. She began to hesitate.

"Child, fear clouds the mind. Uncovering the truth… It can be a dreadful process. But you will never be able to succeed if you continue to wallow in despair…

"Whatever you uncover there… You must learn to embrace it, not fear it.

"Be confident in yourself."

Hearing this, Julie took another deep breath. She exhaled every last bit of hesitation within her and smiled:

"I am ready."

"Then we shall strike while the iron is hot! I will now allow your mind to roam freely!"

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