Chapter 125: Title (9)
by fnovelpia
Rudera Labyrinth, Second Floor
The Great Pyramid
In the depths of an empty pyramid, a young girl sat alone, handling stacks of paperwork.
“Another conflict with the new server, huh? They just don’t get tired of it.”
Zenith, the second apostle, frowned as she managed the crimes of players twisted by greed and stubbornness.
“But ever since that player Dua appeared, these conflicts have been decreasing.”
A newly ranked player who became a central figure among the new server players.
After her incredible feat of uniting players during a world boss raid, even the original server players, who once shunned those from the new server, began to soften.
It seemed that seeing a player from the new server with overwhelming strength had a profound effect, especially given that power and status from the real world had initially been the root of the conflicts.
‘From what I’ve gathered from those who participated in the raid, it wasn’t just Dua. The rankers under her command showed skill on par with, if not superior to, the original server players.’
The emergence of a new notable player and the normalization of conflicts.
Zenith was convinced the GM had intervened.
‘The GM must have felt pity for His lost lambs, sending a prophet like Dua to guide them.’
Just as she and her predecessor, the apostle Rebecca, had been chosen, Zenith believed the GM had prepared Dua to lead the players toward harmony.
Her name, Dua, even derived from Duamutep, the god of the beastkin whose name had long since faded.
“…That should do it.”
Zenith stretched as she placed the last document aside and rose from her chair.
The hour was late, the time when most of the priests of the GM cult, including the beast king who worked alongside her, had long gone to sleep.
Though still young, Zenith was adamant about carrying her own weight, despite everyone’s attempts to lighten her burden.
“The harder I work, the better it is for the GM.”
It was only natural to her, a duty to the benefactor and beloved Lord she revered.
“Right, my Lord?”
Zenith reached into her pocket and took out a handmade doll she had crafted, rubbing it affectionately against her cheek.
It was her impression of the GM, though her craftsmanship left it looking quite rough and hard to recognize.
Yet Zenith cherished it, firmly believing the GM’s spirit resided within the doll.
“My Lord, did I work hard today too?”
Giggling to herself, she nestled the doll against her face, enjoying the moment with no one around to see her.
Bang!
A loud noise echoed from outside the office.
“What was that?”
She was certain no one else was in the pyramid.
What on earth could have made that sound?
Carefully, she tucked the doll, now damp from her affection, into her chest and opened the door to step outside.
Though the likelihood was slim, she couldn’t rule out the possibility of an intruder and had to be cautious.
‘I am the only apostle directly appointed by the GM.’
All of the GM cult’s followers, including the GM himself, rested on her shoulders.
She had to make the right decisions.
As she opened the door and took her first step into the darkened corridor—
Bang!
“Ah!”
The door she had just walked through slammed shut with a loud crash.
“What the…!”
Something was there.
Something that was clearly playing tricks on her, targeting her specifically.
Zenith turned swiftly, reaching for the doorknob to uncover the identity of whoever was taunting her.
But—
“It’s gone…”
The doorknob was missing.
No, the door itself had vanished.
Where there had been a door moments before, there was now only an ordinary wall, as if the door had never existed.
Even within the labyrinth of Rudera, such a phenomenon defied human comprehension.
A wave of fear washed over her.
Squish.
“Ah!”
As she stumbled backward in terror, a soft sensation pressed against her chest.
The doll of the GM she had tucked there.
Right. I’m not alone.
If anything happens, the GM will come to my rescue.
Why should I be afraid?
Hugging the beloved GM doll tightly, Zenith regained her calm.
Regaining her composure, she began to explore the corridor, taking in her surroundings through her enhanced vision in the dim light.
Soon, she realized—
This wasn’t the pyramid she had been in.
Nor was it even the Spriggans Desert, the second floor of Rudera.
Instead, she found herself in a strange corridor lined with yellow wallpaper, an endless, unfamiliar place that seemed entirely detached from reality.
She tried breaking through the walls to escape, but the walls regenerated instantly, as if alive, restoring themselves faster than she could destroy them.
No matter how she tried, it was clear she couldn’t escape by brute force alone.
Is there another way out?
As she wandered through the labyrinthine space, Zenith’s mind began to piece things together.
Some evil presence was trying to deceive and torment her.
Though she didn’t understand the method, it seemed to be trapping her in this maze to break her spirit.
Perhaps it wanted to witness her forsake her Lord and fall into darkness.
‘Evil.’
But the demon was mistaken.
No matter the trials she faced, as an apostle chosen directly by the GM, she would never renounce Him.
And I believe.
The GM will get me out of here.
***
How much time has passed?
Zenith wandered tirelessly through this labyrinth, hoping to find a way out.
‘Is there an exit somewhere? Is there a way to escape?’
But no matter how much she searched, no path to freedom revealed itself.
In the dark corridors devoid of even a single window, she couldn’t tell if days were passing or if time itself had stopped.
‘How many days has it been? Or could it have been months by now?’
Feeling restless, Zenith hugged her cherished GM close.
“Lord… am I going to turn into an old lady at this rate?”
Living here was torture, but she held on, trusting that the GM was with her.
Much later…
“……”
Zenith’s hair had turned rough and dry.
She was at her limit.
‘I can’t take this anymore. Staying in this endlessly repeating space… I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.’
A buzzing sound echoed, and in Zenith’s hand, her beloved sword, [TIT Vp], materialized.
“I’m getting out of here!”
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
She attacked fiercely, unleashing all her pent-up frustration.
‘I can’t stand it. Let me out of here.’
Despite her unwavering faith in the GM, she was still just a young girl, and her mind could only bear so much.
Keekeekee
Roaaaar
As she cut down the endlessly regenerating walls, strange noises echoed from both ends of the corridor.
It was a chilling sound, like the cries of monsters.
“Heh. Trying to stop me now, huh?”
Sensing the approach of hundreds of monsters, Zenith smirked.
The infinite labyrinth might terrify her, but monsters?
She feared them not.
‘With the GM by my side, who could harm me?’
With a swing of her sword, a massive blade of light shot forth, cutting through the monsters’ ranks.
“Come at me! Come at me!”
Zenith slashed and slashed, cutting down the monsters without mercy.
No matter how powerful they were, before the GM’s apostle, they were nothing but insects.
She cut and cut again.
She cut and cut again.
She cut and cut again.
She kept cutting for a long time.
Thinking that perhaps eliminating all the monsters would break the labyrinth, she swung her sword tirelessly, slashing through every creature in her path.
But after a while, she sensed something was off.
She had slain at least a million monsters.
‘…Why isn’t it ending?’
Her face hardened as she launched another sword strike toward the approaching monsters.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
‘Is the horde of monsters endless too, just like this labyrinth?’
If that’s the case…
There was no end?
An utterly cruel conclusion dawned on her.
‘Is this my punishment for attempting to break the labyrinth? To be trapped here for eternity, slaying monsters without end?’
‘Will I… never be able to leave?’
Despair washed over her, filling her with a storm of negative emotions.
‘Oh GM… Have you… abandoned me?’
She clenched her cherished GM tightly, feeling the hopelessness settle in as monsters closed in on her from all sides.
But just then—
BOOOOM!
“Huh?!”
A divine light filled the labyrinth.
“C-Could it be… the GM?”
The light was warm, comforting.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not the GM.”
Zenith ’s face turned crimson.
Thump-thump
Her heart raced as if shouting, ‘You’re in trouble now!’
“My dear junior.”
Rebecca, the GM’s first apostle and a banished queen, emerged from the light, holding Zenith in a princess carry.
“Trying to strengthen faith in me through titles, huh? Then how about I stop you from earning any more titles?”
Albus, watching Rebecca and Zenith’s encounter through a monitor, muttered to himself.
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