The Labyrinth of Fortune was vast. A winding beast of stone and magic.
Spark Nighthawk strode through its echoing tunnels. His heavy boots making dull thuds on the ancient floor. His formidable bulk moved with an easy grace that belied his size. Around him, his women followed. Steady and vigilant.
Ivy walked just beside Spark. Tiny and sharp. In her hand, a peculiar item glowed faintly. A cute Witch Doll of Fortune. Its hand pointing forward, as Ivy supplied her soulcraft energy into it.
The doll unerringly guided them toward what the fortunate path. Utilizing runic parameter that Spark hadn't understood. Despite his grandmaster level of runecraft knowledge.
As usual, Melody moved behind them. Elegant and precise. Her glowing pen was hovering and drawing over a magical parchment. She continuously charted their progress. The labyrinth's complex layout slowly rendering itself into intelligible lines and shapes.
Her mother, Serenade, walked just a pace behind. She was humming melodic tune softly as she monitored a small, ornate device. The Celestial Treasure Radar.
Ahead, unseen but actively scouting, were Scarlett Eventide's gu-insects. They were invisible and ignorable by most. But the functioned well. Extending their mistress's senses far beyond their physical location.
Scarlett herself held an eldritch handgun loosely at her side. Her dark-red hair was a striking contrast to the muted stone. Her sharp eyes scanning the immediate surroundings.
Suddenly, a mental nudge. Scarlett's brow furrowed slightly. "Master!" She stated. Her voice was serious. Devoid of her usual enthusiasm. "My insect felt something strange ahead. A monster. But not a common hostile monster. It's… different."
Spark nodded. "It might be what I'm looking for. Lilith?"
Lilith, ever efficient, had anticipated his command. She had calmly produced a runic spyglass from her coat. And was about to use it to scout.
It hummed with faint energy. This was one of the unique treasures they had acquired in the labyrinth's deeper levels. The Life Observing Spyglass. Spark still remembered its parameters.
[Object: Life Observing Spyglass]
[Type: Telescope]
[Quality: Enchanted]
[Characteristics: Life Targeting]
[Characteristics: Wall Phasing View]
[Characteristics: Danger Level Detection]
Its primary function was simple. Look through obstacles and identify distant or hidden living opponents. Along with a rudimentary danger assessment.
Lilith brought the spyglass to her eye. Adjusting the focus. Her blonde hair, usually meticulously styled, was slightly ruffled. A rare sign of their extensive dungeon crawl.
"Alright, what do we have?" Spark asked. His dark-grey eyes narrowed. Already calculating.
Lilith's voice was crisp. "Dwarf-sized creature, Master. Maybe only one meter tall. Head resembles a small clock. Two lanky, disproportionately long arms. And… a single, very large spring for a leg. It's bouncing slightly." She paused. "Danger level: Medium, but with an anomaly marker."
A slow grin stretched across Spark's face. Revealing a flash of white teeth.
"A Clockhead Jumper!" He rumbled. Immediately identifying the creature. He had read about these things in one of the dusty, obscure tomes he had devoured during his years of cultivation.
This creature was not common. Extremely rare. Not even widely believed to exist by many scholars. Elusive, that was the word. And it possessed a unique ability: time manipulation. Specifically, time stop.
An ability he absolutely wanted. For his Devil Fairy Contract. This was a lucky break.
"The problem isn't killing it." Spark mumbled. Mostly to himself, but loud enough for his women to hear.
"If I want it die, I could just snipe it from a hundred paces with the power rifle before it even knew we were here." He contemplated. "The problem is capturing it alive. It needs to be alive for the contract."
He paced a few steps. His mind rapidly processed the variables. The Clockhead Jumper's known behavior was problematic for capture. Getting too close and being detected would trigger its time-stop ability.
It would freeze the time flow of its immediate surroundings. Escape. And leave behind a temporal bomb that would detonate the moment time resumed.
Standard procedure for them was to kill on sight. Quickly. From a distance. Capture was almost unheard of. But Spark didn't care for standard procedure. He wanted that power.
"The only choice... Ambush then." Spark decided. His eyes were glinting. "Stealth ambush. We hit it before it can react, before it even senses us."
He turned to Ivy. "Two alchemical sleeping grenades, Ivy. Still have that one, don't you?"
Ivy nodded. Already digging into her satchel. She produced two small, dark orbs. Their surfaces were cool to the touch.
"Here, Master. These ones are designed for rapid incapacitation of larger targets."
Spark took them. Weighing them in his massive hands. They felt strangely light.
He then turned to Lilith and Scarlett. "You two are the stealthiest among us. Lilith, you use your Mist Form and Spatial Blink. Scarlett, use your Spirit Form."
"Get in close, unseen." He continued giving instruction as he gave them the grenades. "One on each side. Coordinate the throw. It has to be simultaneous. We need to overwhelm its senses before it can initiate that time stop."
Scarlett's eyes lit up with a dangerous gleam. "Yes, Master. It would be a delightful challenge." Her usual enthusiastic pleasure was evident in her voice. But she kept it professional. Lilith simply gave a crisp nod. Her expression was unreadable.
"Go!" Spark commanded. "We'll be ready for support, but you two are on your own for the approach and throw. Make it count."
Scarlett immediately began to shimmer. Her form grew translucent as she activated her crestmagic spell. [Spirit Form].
She became an almost imperceptible blur. Her footsteps were silent as she flowed around a bend in the tunnel, vanishing from sight.
Lilith was an ex-assassin. She was never one to be outdone in stealth. Thus she activated her own abilities. A faint, almost imperceptible mist seemed to waft around her. Her outline was blurring and fading into the shadows of the tunnel wall. It was her [Mist Form].
Then, [Spatial Blink]! With a series of nearly instantaneous blinks, she covered ground with impossible speed. Appearing and disappearing. Each new location closer to their target.
Spark, with Melody and Serenade, stood ready. Their eyes were fixed on the distant part of the tunnel. Where their targets had ventured.
Ivy had her grenade launcher ready. Though Spark hoped it wouldn't be needed. The plan relied on surprise.
A tense silence descended upon the group. The only sounds were the distant drip of water. And their own breathing. Seconds seemed to stretch into an eternity.
Then, a faint thump-thump-thump reached their ears. Like a muffled drumbeat. The Clockhead Jumper. It was precisely where Lilith's spyglass had indicated. It bounced erratically. Emitting soft clockwork clicks.
Suddenly, two dark blurs arced through the air from different directions. The sleeping grenades. They hit the stone floor almost simultaneously. Erupting in a silent, thick cloud of sweet, cloying vapor.
The Clockhead Jumper, mid-bounce, seemed to freeze. Its clock-head spun wildly for a fraction of a second. But it was too late.
The gas enveloped it. Its single spring-leg buckled. And it collapsed, a faint, high-pitched whirring sound fading into silence as it hit the ground.
"Got it!" Scarlett's voice, a little muffled, echoed from within the vapor cloud.
Then, a cough. Followed by a choked gasp. "And me!" She added. A note of self-annoyance in her tone.
Spark strode forward. His massive frame eating up the distance. Lilith emerged from the dissipating mist. She had worn gas mask from her coat. And now it was adjusting over her face. She looked perfectly composed.
Scarlett, however, lay sprawled near the unconscious monster. Her own grenade had evidently caught her in its radius. She was out cold.
Melody and Serenade rushed forward. Giggling softly at Scarlett's predicament.
"Oh, Scarlett!" Melody teased. Her fingers were already glowing with a minor restoration spell that gently cleared the sleeping fog from Scarlett's lungs and mind. "Such a goof."
Scarlett stirred. Groaning. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Damn it!" She muttered. Pushing herself up. "That stuff works too well." She rubbed her head. A faint blush creeping across her cheeks. "The monster's out though."
Spark paid them little mind. His focus was entirely on the prone Clockhead Jumper. He moved quickly. Kneeling beside the odd creature. Its clock-head was still. Its spring-leg was limp.
He extended his hand. Summoning Heaven, his devil fairy. She materialized in a swirl of shadows and starlight. A tiny, baby figure with energy wings.
"Heaven!" Spark commanded. His voice was low and firm. "Devil Contract. Time Stop."
Heaven nodded. Her small hand reached out towards the Clockhead Jumper. A faint, intricate pattern of runes. Like shimmering lace.
It spread from her fingertips. Covering the monster's form. The air around them crackled with arcane energy. The power Spark desired was filtered through the connection.
Spark could feel it. If he had opened his Ego Appraisal Grimoire, it would show the data information for...
[Soulcraft Crest - Devil Contract (Blank)] upgraded to [Soulcraft Crest - Devil Contract (Time Stop)].
Spark felt a surge of satisfaction. The contract was complete. He now possessed the ability to stop time. Channeled through Heaven's crestmagic spells. A formidable addition to his already diverse arsenal.
He stood up, looking down at the unconscious Clockhead Jumper. It had served its purpose. It possessed nothing else of value. No unique materials. No rare drops. No precious gems. The only useful ting it had was.. that one, singular, esoteric skill.
He left it there. An inert piece of biological machinery. Killing it would have been a waste of effort better spent moving on.
"Alright!" Spark announced. Turning to his women. "Our objectives in this dungeon are complete. Let's head for the exit."
They turned. Retracing their steps. This time following Melody's drawn map. The journey out was largely uneventful. A testament to their thorough clearing of the more dangerous areas.