The passage through the wall gradually transformed into a natural cave tunnel, sloping gently upward until William found himself standing near the edge of a cliff. He blinked against the sudden daylight, taking in the panoramic view below.

  [Entered first floor]

  A small village nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides. One peak dominated the landscape - taller and more imposing than the others - its summit crowned by a large gothic castle that loomed over the settlement. The wind was unusually calm, almost unnaturally so, and heavy clouds gathered on the horizon, promising a storm before nightfall.

  [Objective: Defeat the boss]

  William's gaze returned to the castle. The most obvious location for the "boss" would be there - video game logic made that clear enough. Still, he wasn't about to rush headlong toward the most dangerous-looking structure in sight. A narrow path zigzagged down the cliff face, cutting through a dense forest before reaching the village.

  As William descended, he noticed something peculiar about the trees lining the path - blue crystals grew from their bark, emitting a faint glow even in daylight. He paused to examine one, wondering if they served as protection or marked some boundary. The crystal felt cool to the touch but vibrated slightly, as if responding to his presence.

  After about an hour of walking, the path widened and the trees thinned, revealing the outskirts of the village. Wooden cottages with smokeless chimneys lined the cobblestone streets, their doors ajar and windows dark. Something was deeply wrong. An oppressive silence hung in the air - not even birds calling. From the faint sunlight piercing through the clouds, William estimated it was around noon - a time when any village should be bustling with activity.

  "Is anyone there?" William called out, his voice echoing between the empty buildings.

  No human response came. Instead, a low, rumbling growl emerged from behind him. William spun around, adrenaline spiking as he came face-to-face with a creature straight out of a movie.

  A werewolf stood on its hind legs, easily seven feet tall, with matted gray fur and yellowed fangs. Its eyes gleamed with intelligence as it extended sharp claws in preparation to pounce.

  William's perception sharpened, his senses heightening thanks to his title. He quickly activated [Keen Introspection].

  [Young Werewolf, weakened due to starvation. Possesses enhanced strength and speed, but currently lacks stamina. Vulnerable to silver and sustained damage to vital organs.]

  "Alright, come at me, you fucker," William taunted, trying to mask his fear with bravado. His hand moved to the jian's hilt, drawing the blade in one smooth motion - the [Basic Swordsmanship] skill guiding his movements with surprising grace.

  The werewolf dropped to all fours and charged, crossing the distance between them with frightening speed. Had it not been for his enhanced perception, William wouldn't have reacted in time. As sharp claws slashed toward his throat, he raised his sword defensively, angling the blade to intercept.

  Clang!

  The impact reverberated up William's arm as steel met claw, producing a deep, ringing noise. But the werewolf had two arms - and while one set of claws was blocked, the other was already in motion. Instead of attempting to parry the second strike, William pivoted and darted to the creature's right side, momentarily escaping its reach.

  His sword flashed in the dim light, creating a small gash that extended from the werewolf's ribs down to its pelvis. The beast screeched and twisted, massive jaws snapping at William's neck. He dropped into a roll immediately after executing his slash, putting precious distance between himself and those teeth.

  'Tsk, too shallow,' William thought, observing the wound. The werewolf's hide was tougher than expected, its thick fur acting as natural armor. The gash was barely skin-deep, and already the edges were beginning to seal together. Slashing attacks were ineffective - he needed to stab, to penetrate deep enough to damage vital organs.

  William held his ground, sword raised in a defensive position, mind racing through his limited options. The beast feinted left before lunging right, forcing William to backpedal hastily.

  The werewolf seized the advantage, barreling into him with the force of a freight train. William crashed to the ground, the impact driving the breath from his lungs. He managed to keep his grip on the jian, but the awkward angle prevented him from bringing it to bear as massive weight pinned him down.

  William strained against the werewolf's strength, but hunger had only barely diminished its raw power. His arms trembled as he barely kept those snapping jaws from closing around his throat.

  His muscles burned with fatigue, the brief but intense combat rapidly depleting his untrained body's reserves. The werewolf seemed to sense his weakening and pressed its advantage, forcing its muzzle closer inch by inch.

  'Not like this,' William thought desperately. 'Not on the first fucking floor!'

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  William kept pushing, ignoring the burning of his muscles. Dull pain soon turned sharp as his muscles were beginning to tear and his skin began to rupture from the sheer stress applied to it.

  He pushed with his legs, but the werewolf was far heavier than a normal person.

  William’s muscles finally gave out. He had squeezed all he possibly could have from them, and they simply failed. But then.. as if responding to his desperation, a notification flashed in his vision:

  [Skill obtained: Combat Endurance]

  [Reduces fatigue and increases stamina recovery during combat]

  The moment the skill appeared, the familiar distortion rippled through the system window, pixels scrambling before reforming:

  [Authority !~`#5%$&/= forcibly activated]

  [Skill upgraded: Combat Endurance → Combat Perseverance]

  [Reduces fatigue, increases bodily recovery, and enhances muscle efficiency during combat]

  [Proficiency: 0%]

  The system message wasn't just text - William felt it. A surge of energy coursed through his veins like liquid fire, burning away fatigue and replacing weakness with renewed vigor. His muscles, limp and unusable, tensed with newfound strength. The crushing weight of the werewolf suddenly seemed far more manageable.

  William slowly pushed the maw further away from his face, delivering a kick to the werewolves’ side, causing it to tumble and giving him a small window of time to slip out of its grasp.

  Shuffling to his feet, William quickly went on the offensive. The werewolves’ stamina was clearly not doing good either due to long-term starvation, and it was getting weaker by the minute.

  His sword flashed forward, clashing with the creature’s claws multiple times. Unlike before, William was able to hold his own this time, at least somewhat.

  After a few exchanges, the werewolf was panting and trying to catch its breath. William didn’t allow it, as he kept pressing on and eventually landing a key stab to the chest, bypassing its claws and piercing into its flesh.

  The werewolf howled in pain as it clawed on the metallic blade in its chest, but William kept pressing on, rotating the sword and causing the gash to open up further. After another minute of writhing around, the werewolf collapsed and finally stopped moving. It was a bloody battle, but William had won.

  His proficiency with basic swordsmanship had gone up by 1%, the same with keen introspection.

  Before William could celebrate, he heard the crisp sound of someone clapping. He whirled around, sword still dripping with blood, expecting another battle, but instead saw a peculiarly dressed man approaching with measured steps. His entire outfit consisted of various shades of green - emerald tailcoat, green trousers, and a tall green top hat that emphasized his unnaturally pointed ears. A smile that was too wide to be entirely human stretched across his face as he continued his slow applause.

  “Bravo, bravo.” The man smiled widely. “You really must have pushed yourself to the limit to get that skill. Without it, you would have died.” The man kept on clapping as he approached.

  “Who are you? Stop approaching me, because I won’t hesitate to attack you if you do.”

  “Haha! Yeah, that’s the right mindset if you want to survive here. I assure you that even if you truly wished to kill me, you wouldn’t be able to - but fortunately for you, I’m not your enemy.” The man kept approaching.

  “Then who are you exactly? Because I’m not in a giving mood right now.”

  “I’m a humble guide of the labyrinth. You didn’t think you were going in completely blind, did you? Although, for you to get Introspection, you must be quite thorough. I commend you for that.”

  ‘He doesn’t know about Keen Introspection?’ William thought, but brushed it aside for now. “A guide, huh? Well, what can you do for me, guide?”

  “I was going to call you a fool for choosing this difficulty, but I see you have some merit, William Torren. You may ask me a question - any question, about the labyrinth, and I will answer it to the best of my ability - and the given privileges, of course.” He smiled.

  “Who created the labyrinth?” William immediately responded.

  “That is not within my rights to tell you. If I may, keep your question simple. There is only so much I can reveal to first floor travelers.”

  With his main question out, William was left thinking. Asking about the nature of skills would presumably be too much as well. He stood in thought for a little bit, before an idea struck him.

  “Guide, tell me the name and acquisition criteria of every skill or title which will be useful to me.”

  The guide grinned widely. “Clever. I can’t do every skill, but if you were to ask for only one.. now that - that I can do.”

  Slightly annoyed, William nodded for the guide to continue.

  “Most travellers in the labyrinth succumb not because of a lack of skill, but because their human body couldn’t keep up. You saw it yourself, a young, starving werewolf easily overpowered you. If you hadn’t gained a skill, you would have died there. You need to accelerate the growth of your stats.”

  The guide raised his finger ominously.

  “The skill you need is ‘Maw of Belphegor’”.

  William immediately pulled up Keen Introspection, focusing on the skill’s name. As soon as the system window popped up, his mind immediately became cloudy and he felt as if he hadn’t slept for 3 days, but he still managed to read the short text before him.

  [Maw of Belphegor: Devours the essence.]

  The price of Keen Introspection clearly scaled with the rank of the information. Wasn’t the best time to find it out, but William was glad to learn more about his skill.

  “Alright.. How do I get this skill?” William stammered out, barely able to force his eyelids open.

  The guide grinned even further with a sinister look in his eye. “That werewolf you just killed? Eat it. That will open up the path.”

  “Eat it? As in whole? Am I allowed to cook it?” William asked with a bit of hopefulness in his voice. He hoped that what he feared would not be the truth.

  "Nope." The guide's eyes twinkled. "Come now, that wouldn't be a challenge. Most of the food travellers through the labyrinth consume comes from cooked monsters anyway, so everyone would have such a skill. Eat it raw - heart, liver, brain - the fresher the better. No cooking, no preparation. Delightful skill, isn't it?"

  William's stomach lurched violently at the thought.

  “If I were you, I’d do it on this floor. Werewolves, which lurk this floor at large, are not poisonous, even when eaten raw, but I cannot say the same for the deeper floors. Good luck, I will be attentively watching your journey.” With that said, the guide turned into fog and disappeared.

  A bitter laugh of disbelief escaped William’s lips as he turned away, suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion. He stumbled toward an empty house nearby, attempting to open the door only to find it locked. He dabbled in lockpicking before, but he was too tired and the option of forcing his way through was more attractive. He found a window and rammed into it, cracking it under his weight.

  He laid down on a sofa in the living room and immediately fell asleep. He would think things through tomorrow.