He took a step and found the riverbed soft, forcing him to strain to pull his foot free. The water deepened until it reached his armpits, and the current got stronger. He battled both the current and sediment until he reached the river's center. Water up to his ears, he kept going until it dropped to his mouth, then trudged onto shore minutes later.

  Minutes later, he was trudging up onto shore. His muscles ached from the exertion and exhaustion threatened to overtake him. He dug into his bag and pulled out a savory bun and stuffed it whole into his mouth, chewing quickly then swallowing. He was tempted to take a second but the recent memory of nearly dying after overdosing on the mana-rich buns staid his appetite.

  He didn’t give himself any time to dry off, choosing instead to start moving again. He could have followed the river, but it would have taken hours to get back. Instead, he angled toward the river he wanted to follow.

  As he walked, Ben kept his ears open. It was eerie. The jungle was so lush and thick, yet there was no life beyond the plants and trees. Once he was out of earshot of the river, there was nothing to hear. There were no rodent beasts, no insects, nothing but eerie silence, save for the sound of his breath and footsteps. The lack of life made him feel comfortable to push forward quickly. He didn’t worry about breaking branches or cutting through thick brush with his shadow-formed machete.

  He moved through the forest, trying to keep moving in the same direction, listening for the river, but not hearing it. After a couple of hours, he worried he’d miscalculated. Was there a turn in the river? Did he overshoot it? His worries halted instantly when he caught a whiff of something in the air. Something that wasn’t part of the jungle. It was something . . . it was clean, sweet . . . perfume? His Handler?

  He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, memorizing the scent and picking it apart. No, it wasn’t Signore Barducci, but it was definitely a perfume. He opened his eyes and looked to the left where the scent seemed to originate from. Then he looked to the right where the river should lie . . . a river he hadn’t been able to find. He had to make a choice, continue roughly in the direction he knew the river should lie, or go after the source of that scent. What if it was a beast? Maybe one of the prey beasts that we were supposed to hunt? Wouldn’t that mean his team ended up there eventually anyway?

  Time would tell if it was a mistake, but he went after the scent. He moved much more cautiously, keeping his Shadow Cloak ready to hide him at a moment’s notice. He was not going to be ambushed again. No way he was going to let that happen again.

  He stalked through the forest, avoiding disturbing any of the brush that blocked his path. He found his way around obstacles that he previously cut through. He stepped lightly over roots and was as careful as he could be to not disturb the ground. It slowed him down tremendously.

  Hours later, the jungle ended abruptly and Ben’s jaw dropped at the sight before him. A massive chasm that didn’t look like it had a bottom to it, not that he could have seen it with his poor eyesight. But what he could see, at least see the outline of, was a massive stepped pyramid structure. More importantly, he could smell the light blue scent coming from the top.

  He looked left and right along the chasm for a way across but didn’t see anything, not that it meant too much. He went to the right, following along the ledge. Four hours later, it felt like he’d barely traveled any distance around the chasm and yet he finally found a bridge across.

  The bridge was darkly colored and covered in moss, yet the jungle hadn’t overtaken it, stopping two meters short. It was four or five times wider than the largest road he'd seen, and the railing was twice his height. When he stepped on, he half expected it to collapse, but it was solid.

  He wondered if giants once roamed this world. It was the only reason he could think of for the bridge to be the size it was.

  He didn’t spend much longer investigating the giant ancient bridge. The scent was still in the air and getting stronger now that he was on the bridge. He moved carefully along the bridge, being wary of any traps. There weren’t supposed to be traps in this lair. However, there also wasn’t supposed to be any kind of structure either.

  He followed the long bridge, trying not to think of the chasm below him and how painful the death would be if the bridge collapsed, not that it even budged. As the sun began to set, he wasn’t sure how far he’d come, but he could no longer see the jungle behind him, and the pyramid he thought was large before now looked absolutely massive now, maybe as large as a city.

  The setting sun reminded him that he only had so long to find his team. He knew he needed to rest and he would make camp. But he also needed to decide what he would do next. Would he continue toward the pyramid? Or would he turn back and try to find the river? And then there was that scent in the air. It wasn’t like it was drawing him in or controlling him, but it was a mystery. And a mystery in a lair usually meant a big reward . . . if you survived it.

  He looked back toward the jungle one last time, not that he could see it. He probably wouldn’t have been able to see it even if he had perfect vision. No, since he’d come this far, he was going to see this through.

  Chapter 42 – The Giant’s Throne

  Ben didn’t bother with a fire that night. It wasn’t necessary. The jungle was warm even as night set in. He still pulled a blanket from his bag and curled up against one of the bridge’s walls.

  He rose with the sun the next morning. After a quick breakfast, he continued toward the pyramid. The state of the bridge remained the same, dark stone and mossy. It was almost noon before he reached the end of the bridge and the colossal structure at its end.

  The giant stepped pyramid stretched up toward the sky and was constructed of stone blocks that must have weighed thousands of kilos each. He couldn’t help but look up at the structure with no small amount of awe. The massive blocks of stone stood several times his height and there must have been thousands of them. How had they been cut and transported to the site?

  The source of the blue scent was at the top, and he was determined to reach it. He put his hands on top of the first step and pulled himself up. It wasn’t too much effort but looking at the ‘steps’ ahead of him, he knew it wasn’t going to remain easy. He put his hands on top of the next step and pulled himself up again.

  The sun was starting to set by the time he was able to see a shadow that he assumed was the peak of the pyramid. A large square structure seemed to sit on top of the pyramid, and he could see the blue scent coming from a large door facing him. He also saw the blue scent come from the left and right of the door making him think there were more entrances.

  He wanted to keep going. The entrance was so close. And yet, he knew that trying to climb higher in the dark would have been a risk, and not knowing what was waiting for him, lighting a fire or torch was dangerous. Add in the risk of falling from this height, and he decided it would be best if he hunkered down against the next step up and settled in to rest.

  The next morning, it took about two hours to reach the top of the pyramid and the door leading inside. The blue scent seemed to waft out from the structure, almost like a slow-moving fog. He knew that the source had to be close. If it was something living, there was a chance it would be interested in killing him. With that in mind, it was probably best he went unseen. With a gentle nudge at the skill, he let his Shadow Cloak actively envelop him. The skill was always there in the background, always ready to use, costing him nothing more than the portion of his mana pool it claimed when he learned it.

  He crept carefully through the door, taking in the details he could see as he did. In each of the corners was a pit that glowed with blue flames. Whatever was being burned, the scent matched the blue he’d been following. And in the center of the room, he saw a large, empty chair that couldn’t have been anything but a throne.

  He wasn’t sure what he expected, but he thought there would at least be someone or something inside the massive pyramid that seemed to float in the sky in the middle of a bottomless chasm. It was almost disappointing. He spent all that time, and there was nothing to show for it.

  No, Ben refused to come out of this empty-handed. There had to be more. There was a massive pyramid under his feet. There must have been a way inside. With no obvious entrance, there must have been something hidden, which might have meant a hidden switch or something like it. He moved toward the only bit of furniture, if a throne could be classified as such.

  It was made of the same stone as the rest of the temple, though it was cleaner and not covered in moss. The seat of the throne alone sat twice his height, and the back of the throne was even taller. As he got closer, he inspected the base of the throne for anything of note. There were no carvings or chiseled words. No hidden panels that he could find.

  Ben gazed up toward the seat, trying to calculate how long it would take to climb up there. It was out of jumping reach, and there were no finger holds or ledges or footholds in sight. He didn't have anything he could use to climb a smooth surface. He certainly didn't carry any kind of grappling hook, but one would be added to his inventory... if he got out of this Lair alive.

  He quickly moved on to another idea. In Martial Skills class, he'd seen spear fighters use their weapon to vault themselves forward. It was a way to help them close on their opponents. While they used the weapon to move forward faster, he couldn't help but notice they also gained some height.

  He poured mana into forming a spear, one that was at least as tall as the seat. He was shocked by how easy it was. The spear formed effortlessly and faster than he'd ever formed a weapon before. Was this the Advanced rank Mana Control at work? If it was, he was very excited to see what else he might be able to do.

  Ben moved away from the throne to give himself room to build up speed. He knew from watching the spear fighters that momentum mattered. He ran, sprinted, at the throne. When he got closer enough, he stuck the spear tip into the stone in front of him. It slid a moment before it caught on a seam in the floor. With his momentum behind him, he was suddenly airborne. He got a brief and indistinct vision of the seat before he realized he wasn't close enough. He went up and over and crashed painfully into the stone below the seat. His spear leaned against the throne as he dangled from it, somehow maintaining his grip, and not falling. It took a couple of seconds to shake off the impact before he looked up to see the edge of the seat was almost in arm's reach. He shook a couple of times to see if his spear was going to move, and when it didn't, he decided to try to swing up onto the seat.

  He rocked side to side, building momentum again. When he felt like he had enough, he let go with his right hand and got his fingers up onto the ledge. He let go of the spear with his left and heaved to join his right hand on the edge of the seat. Next was an arm, then the other. He slowly worked his way up onto the seat.

  He took a moment to catch his breath. He'd made it. He was on the giant's seat. And there was nothing there. Just a flat stone seat. It was unadorned, unmarked, and unblemished. The back of the throne angled back slightly, and the arms were about the same height from the seat as the seat was from the floor.

  He was about to climb the arms to search for clues when he heard a loud rumbling from behind the throne. He ran to the point where the arm met the back of the throne. He tried to lean out and peer around.

  Behind the throne, there was a large circular hole in the floor that wasn't there when he entered the room. He was confused by its presence. He didn't think he'd done anything to open it. Was it a timing thing? Then he heard a yawn followed by a tired hum of some unknown song. And it was getting louder. Something was coming up from the hole.

  He knew he should run and hide. He should find somewhere to observe whatever was coming from a safe distance. But if he ran, he wouldn't be able to see whatever was coming. No, he needed to see what was coming. He let his Shadow Cloak skill cover him and waited.

  First came a head, with long black hair that was slightly disheveled, bronze skin, and a facial expression that suggested she had just woken up. She was also a giant. Her head alone was almost as tall as he was. He was transfixed as she continued rising out of the ground. She looked youthful but not young. He couldn't make out the color of her eyes, not when she was that far away and not with her eyes half-closed.

  She wore a thick white robe that stopped just below her knees. It hugged her body but didn't reveal anything. Finally, a round stone platform reached the top of the hole and merged seamlessly with the floor. The giant yawned again and stretched. It was a... was this a... a human?

  When she took her first sleepy step, Ben took note of her footwear. They looked like sandals but not. They were soft and... were those rabbit-folk ears? By the gods... was she wearing rabbit-folk heads on her feet?

  Ben needed to go. He turned and jumped from the seat to the floor. He looked around for somewhere to hide but there was nothing there. The room devoid of anything to hide behind. He ran to the edge of the chair and peeked around. She was coming straight at him. He had no idea if his shadow cloak would work on her, so he turned and ran the other direction. He needed to stay ahead of her. He couldn't let her catch him. He was not going to be made into footwear.

  He was almost to the edge when he heard her. She spoke, it was... he had no idea what the language was. It was unlike anything he'd ever heard before. He prayed she wasn't talking to him. He prayed his Shadow Cloak prevented her from seeing him. He prayed to any god or goddess that might be listening. His prayers went unanswered as he felt the back of his shirt yank back and up as he was lifted into the air.

  Ben tried to slip out of his shirt but it was too late. He was too high, and a fall like that would have been just as deadly to him. He ceased his struggles and mentally prepared himself to be butchered and turned into a scarf or something.

  The human woman held him in the air before her. She wore a look of confusion on her face that suggested she was as perplexed by his presence as he was by hers.

  She spoke again, but it was unintelligible to him. Her smile shifted into a frown. He didn't like that she was frowning at him now. She turned her head toward the throne and spoke again. A large system window appeared in front of the throne. She spoke again, and another voice replied, just as unintelligibly. Then the other voice spoke again, this time with what Ben thought was a different language. It spoke again, and Ben heard yet another language. After about six languages, he noticed there was a similar cadence. It was repeating the same thing over and over but in different languages.

  It ran through one language after another. Ben lost count after a while. Then the language hit on one he had a passing familiarity with.

  "Tell me... you—" it was broken Jiranian. It was a language he only knew a little about from his studies. It wasn't a popular language, so he hadn't given it as much study. Before he could reply, the language changed again. So, he waited until he heard one that he knew how to speak. Of course, it would land on Aulidoan.

  "Tell me when you understand the language being spoken," the strange other voice said.

  Ben briefly considered keeping his mouth shut, but that probably wouldn't end in his safe release. He certainly wasn't going to try fighting against the giant human female, not when she could throw him out of the pyramid and out into the chasm where he was certain to die. No, if he wanted to get out, he was going to have to talk his way out. So, in his native tongue, he replied, "I understand."

  The giant smiled and said something in her language, and the screen flashed, and he felt mana move through the air from the screen to the human's head. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Ben finally noted the green color of her eyes. She was kind of beautiful... you know, for a giant... and a human. "There, that's much better," she said in perfect Aulidoan. She grinned at him. "I am Yum Kaax. And you are?"

  Chapter 43 – Yum Kaax

  "What's my name? Should I tell her? Or should I give her my alias? Should I make up a new alias?" Ben pondered.

  The giant cleared her throat, sounding impatient.

  "Burion, Burion Belov," Ben answered. He figured going with the alias his team knew was best. If she were to meet them somehow and called him by a different name . . . well, things could get awkward. More awkward than just meeting a giant.

  She smiled, her teeth were not sharp or pointed, nor were they square and flat like other races of the kin. "Pleased to meet you, Burion. It's been so long since I've had someone to talk to. You're going to have to tell me all about the outside world now. How have the kin progressed? Are you many nations or just one large nation? Do you still enslave others or have you matured past that? I have seen plenty of parties made up of many different Kin in my lair, so I assume you don't have the same problems with racism that we humans did. Or is the nation I'm located in some manner of utopian society? Where is my lair now? I haven't moved it in so long, it takes a lot of energy you know. Do you think I should move?"

  It was too many questions to answer at once, especially with the way she was rapidly firing them off.

  "Calm down," Ben finally snapped. "I can't answer anything if you don't give me a chance to reply. And please, put me down."

  The human blushed, "Sorry, did I mention it's been a long time since I spoke with anyone?" She set Ben on his feet on the arm of the throne. She then sat in the throne, pulled her knees up to her chest, and rested her feet in the seat just below the arm where Ben stood. Doing so gave him a much better view of her footwear, and he breathed a giant sigh of relief. They weren't made of rabbit-folk heads, just made to look that way. They actually looked kind of cute in a mocking sort of way that any rabbit-folk would find offensive.

  Ben straightened his clothes and tucked his shirt back into his trousers. Once he was satisfied, he addressed the giant. "What do you mean, how have the kin progressed?"