Yet again, the [Lives loss rate] had increased, meaning it went from 100 at the start of the [Flower Labyrinth] to now 150.

Karl didn't slow down when he saw it.

It wasn't a surprise at alln in fact, it was expected.

The deeper you went inside a place like this, the harsher everything became.

That was the whole point of the labyrinth's design.

It pushed players harder the further they advanced, testing them not just with monsters, but with the constant pressure of lives draining away.

Still, even if the number continued to rise like this, it wasn't something unmanageable.

Any player who had bothered to farm lives and grab even basic equipment would be able to survive long enough to grind through the [Depths] at a steady pace.

It wasn't meant to instantly kill anyone.

[Lives: 6,658]

And Karl? He had enough lives to die over and over again without batting an eye.

Enough to ignore that 150 trickle as if it didn't even exist.

He could afford to burn through a thousand lives without it affecting him.

So he didn't care at all. Not even a fraction.

Instead, he stepped forward.

The walls of the [Flower Labyrinth] had always been made of rough, uneven stone with vines and moss covering nearly every surface.

But now that he was officially inside the [Depths], the visual atmosphere changed completely.

Everything darkened. The air felt heavier.

The temperature dropped in a subtle, creeping way.

And the vegetation clinging to the stone wasn't the same shade of green as before.

Now it was darker, almost blackened, as if the plants themselves had begun absorbing something from the air.

Worse, they twitched. Tiny movements that shouldn't exist.

Small rustling noises completely separate from the wind as players passed.

'To attract the [Gardener],' Karl thought with a grin as he walked past the twitching vines, 'Unfortunately, it's already dead.'

The [Depths] wasn't just another section.

It was the true core of the labyrinth, the zone where levels 41 to 50 monsters roamed.

Where the highest danger was meant to strike.

But also…

Rustle! Tap! Tap!

That tiny, persistent sound coming from the walls wasn't just meant for the [Gardener].

There were other things lurking around.

And sure enough, they emerged from the corner of the hall Karl was about to enter.

Eight of them in total.

---

[Skull Flower (Level 42)]

[Rank: Elite]

[HP: 280,000]

---

They were decently sized, standing almost up to Karl's chest.

Each one had a large white skull embedded inside its petals like a grotesque blossom.

Whether those skulls came from other players or were simply part of their natural design was impossible to know.

Karl didn't waste energy wondering.

Fire Meteor!

BOOM!

-486,900!

The massive fiery sphere dropped straight onto the group, exploding with enough force to melt the stone floor beneath them.

All eight flowers were wiped out instantly, he dealt nearly twice their total health in a single cast.

Ding!

---

[You have killed x8 "Skull Flower (Level 42)"]

[You have gained 120,000 experience points!]

[You have gained 1 Evolution Point!]

[You have gained 173 Lives!]

---

Hand of Oblivion!

[You have gained 1 Evolution Point!]

[You have gained 148 Lives!]

Their loot scattered around him. Karl picked everything up quickly.

One item even upgraded by one rank thanks to his passive, turning into a [Skull Helmet (Epic)].

He couldn't wear it, but he threw it into his backpack anyway.

Thankfully, backpacks in [Gods Ascension] had no weight system at all.

No matter how many weapons, armor pieces, potions, or materials you shoved in there, you wouldn't feel a thing.

Physically, at least. But space was still limited.

And Karl knew he was close to maxing it out for real.

If he didn't get a better storage solution soon, he'd be forced to start dropping things directly onto the ground.

It wasn't the worst idea either.

He still had a pile of outdated level 15–25 items from the [Moon Tower] taking up precious room.

'Nobody's gonna want those items,' Karl thought, taking a corner, 'But I still need to find that [Special Boss] asap.'

It had been around twenty minutes since the system announced its appearance.

And based on his knowledge and experience, bosses like this usually stuck around for one to two hours before disappearing.

Technically, he had time.

But Karl never liked giving luck a chance to screw him over, so he rushed forward without slowing down.

On the way, he encountered more [Skull Flowers] and a couple of [Ribccage Bloom].

Strange, unsettling plant monsters with skeletal designs.

The sheer number of plant-powered enemies in this place was interesting in its own way.

It made Karl wonder how many total variants existed inside the labyrinth.

But killing so many monsters way above his own level came with an obvious benefit.

Ding!

---

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 37!]

[You have gained 5 points in all of your attributes, and 5 free points to distribute.]

---

Karl opened his panel.

[Free Points to Allocate: 15.]

'10 in Spirit and 5 in Agility,' he muttered, immediately assigning them.

His updated stats now looked like this:

---

[Constitution: 190 (+280)]

[Strength: 190 (+250)]

[Agility: 260 (+250)]

[Spirit: 300 (+797)]

---

As always, the moment he found a better piece of equipment, these numbers would shoot up all over again, especially now that he was in a zone meant for players a full ten levels above him.

Even his old [Undead Moon Mage Robe (Epic)] from level 15 was outdated by now.

The first robe stronger than it would replace it without question.

He could even buy something in the next city if needed.

Higher-level player hubs usually had a decent selection of gear.

For now, though, he was satisfied. He continued moving.

Thankfully, the general layout of the [Depths] didn't change too drastically.

The structure of the halls and paths remained consistent, and it was still the same branching maze.

But the environment itself changed in small ways, mostly due to the vines.

Maps for this zone were rare because of one simple reason: the labyrinth constantly shifted.

Sometimes the vines would grow together and form a solid barricade across an entire hall.

They blocked progress completely unless players destroyed them.

Placing signs was impossible too.

The vines tore them apart within minutes, sometimes seconds.

And as Karl rushed forward into another hall…

Fwoosh!

Hundreds of vines shot out across the corridor from one wall to the other, forming a massive living net.

"…"

Anyone who wanted to move forward either had to climb over it while taking continuous damage from the vines, or they had to destroy it.

[Vine Barricade: 100,000 HP]

A tough obstacle for most players.

If a group worked together, it might take a minute or two to break through.

For Karl? One or two seconds.

Fire Meteor!

Fwoosh!

BOOM!

The meteor smashed into the vines, burning straight through them and leaving nothing but ash in its wake.

Karl stepped over the smoldering remains and continued forward.

And then…

"AAHHH!"

"Damn, no wonder [Special Bosses] are bullshit!"

"Looks like the system even created an arena for it..."

"This [Lives loss rate] is outrageous, I'm out!"

Karl didn't need to search this time.

He heard voices ahead, panicked and annoyed.

The path opened up into a massive floral clearing.

Carnivorous plants were erupting from the ground, snapping at players as they tried to fight them off.

And in the center, towering over everything, was the boss.

Karl stepped forward—

Ding!

[Due to the influence of the "Floral Master", this area has become more dangerous.]

[Lives loss rate: 250]

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