MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

"Alright, everyone!"

"The second phase of the labyrinth has officially come to a close!"

Just as the eight groups within the labyrinth had more or less lost their sense of time, the puppet's voice resounded throughout the 512 rooms once more, prompting everyone to listen up as realization dawned upon them.

Though they weren't really in any danger for the past month whatsoever, the eight groups had long been bored out of their minds waiting in the labyrinth, the allure of the treasures they could redeem having disappeared before they even realized it.

However, with Alpha itself informing them that an entire month had finally passed, the excitement the eight groups had buried deep inside them began to sprout once more.

After all, not only could they finally reap the rewards they've been patiently waiting for, but they could also leave the soulless labyrinth as well!

"I see all of you are eager to claim your rewards, huh?" Alpha chuckled, its voice a fresh breath of air to the monotony of the past month. "Don't worry, we'll get to that soon enough."

"But before that… how about we tally the amount of Labyrinth Points each group has amassed over the past month?"

At those words, the eight groups felt a cold breeze sweep through the entire labyrinth, carrying with it a feeling that it could see through everything in a mere instant.

"…Oh?" After the breeze swept through all 512 rooms, Alpha's voice resounded throughout the labyrinth once more, its tone a mix of curiosity and amusement.

"Well then… that's quite surprising."

Letting out a bit more laughter, the puppet eventually returned to its previous topic.

"In terms of how many Labyrinth Points the eight of you have gathered in total, I'll just say that it wouldn't be impossible for you to obtain around half of the items in here, perhaps even three-fourths of it if you just aim for the cheapest ones."

Hearing those words, the eight groups' expressions turned into that of excitement, with Darklight's group practically brimming with joy the moment those words left Alpha's mouth.

Noticing the eagerness and excitement on everyone's faces, the puppet could not help but talk in a slightly jubilant tone as he continued. "Now then, since I now have an idea of how much points the eight of you have amassed in total…"

"Shall I announce how much Labyrinth Points each group has made over the past month?"

Whoosh!

In less than an instant, the smiles and grins on everyone's faces quickly disappeared, immediately being replaced with solemn expressions in response to Alpha's words.

Naturally, the puppet took note of this sudden change, prompting it to go silent for a bit as it thought about how it would diffuse the current situation it had caused.

Thankfully, it did not take long for it to come up with a solution, clearing its throat a couple of minutes later to catch everyone's attention.

"I must admit I got ahead of myself," said Alpha, his tone somewhat apologetic. "I forgot to take into consideration the relationships the eight groups here have."

"How about this? I'll still announce the points accumulated by that group, but the ones that can hear it are only that group."

"After that, I'll let that group redeem items with the points they've accumulated and send them out of the labyrinth before moving onto the next group."

"Does that sound fair to you guys?"

Though the entire labyrinth went silent for a bit after that, the eight groups eventually responded to Alpha's proposal with agreement, prompting the puppet to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing that it had successfully avoided making the current situation worse, it immediately got to work, informing the other groups that it wouldn't interact with first as to which group it would be interacting with.

"First up, Black Blades."

Of course, the eight groups immediately knew this was an indirect way of telling everyone else who among them had obtained the most points.

Though, with Alpha purposefully not telling them whether he decided to talk with the group with the most points first or the least points first, the eight groups were left with no choice but to speculate.

And thus, the seven other groups waited with bated breath as Alpha interacted with Darklight's group, informing them of how many points they've amassed over the past month.

Although Valyr and the six other groups had the bright idea to send someone closer to Darklight's group to obtain more information on the current situation, the puppet seemingly knew such a situation would arise beforehand, having conjured a barrier that separated both Alpha and Darklight's group from everyone else for the meantime.

Fortunately, it did not take long for the conversation between it and Darklight's group to be over, with everyone in Black Blades being sent out of the labyrinth the moment the transactions were over.

"Alright, then," said Alpha, its gaze figuratively sweeping over the seven groups. "Since Black Blades has cashed in all the points they've accumulated, let's move onto the seven of you."

"I've been informed and already know that the seven of you have formed an alliance, allowing the territory of your respective groups to be combined for the sake of increased point generation."

"Now then… who among you shall represent the seven of you?"

As these words left the puppet's mouth, the leaders immediately sent messages back and forth between one another, making arguments on how they should be the one who would represent all of them.

However, such arguments eventually fell flat the moment Valyr entered the conversation, informing them that they had formed an alliance with him in the first place.

Considering the reputation of Valyr's guild, as well as the reputation the young man had amassed both in and out of the labyrinth, the six other leaders eventually relented, sharing their decision with Alpha the moment they were done.

"So, Blue Team would be the ones representing you, then? Got it."

Whoosh!

Figuratively nodding at the responses it got, Alpha went ahead and sent the six other groups out of the labyrinth, leaving Valyr's group as the only group remaining inside it.

Of course, this caught Valyr and his members off guard, expecting the puppet to give the other six a heads-up first before being thrown out.

Nevertheless, with them and the six other groups having already made an agreement on what each guild wanted from the labyrinth, it didn't really matter to them whether the six had been given a heads-up or not.

"Now, Blue Team…" Alpha said, its tone slightly amused. "Out of the eight groups here, only you guys had made the decision to buy the special items that improved the labyrinth's abilities."

"Naturally, this has gotten me quite curious. For quite some time, it even made me wonder whether you were connected to Master in some way."

"However, as I'm just a puppet acting upon Master's orders, I won't go out of my way checking that," it said, allowing Valyr to relax after tensing up from the puppet's words at the start.

"In any case, it goes without saying that your group has amassed the most out of everyone here, especially with the territories of the six other groups falling under you."

"Now, if we add up all of the Labyrinth Points you've amassed for the month, including the points you spent getting all of the special items, you, the Blue Team, have amassed…"

"Over 120 billion Labyrinth Points."