episode_0007

A chilling sensation crept over me.

What lay before us was a dimly lit cave.

I couldn’t tell what caused it, but faint lights flickered in the distance.

‘It’s not like there’s an opening anywhere.’

The space stretched long, formed entirely of blackened stone.

There were a few other peculiarities.

When we arrived, there had been so many people, yet now, only our team remained.

“Unlike entering the labyrinth, the labyrinth scatters you randomly across the first floor.”

Perhaps sensing my confusion, Erme spoke to me.

“The labyrinth is a place where time and space are tangled together—its very existence twisted by the being that lurks in the abyss below.”

Very quietly.

Erme wore a bitter smile as she gazed toward the depths.

‘The mere presence of something in the abyss warps it like that?’

Just what kind of monster could that be?

But.

I eyed Erme with suspicion.

‘How the hell did she get that kind of information?’

Was it simply passed down to Hero candidates?

If so, if I became a Hero candidate, would I learn it too?

But something about that information felt unsettling—dangerous, even.

And ever since I took over this body, I’d often felt these instincts lining up with reality.

‘I absolutely must not become one.’

As I silently reaffirmed my resolve to never become a Hero candidate, Erme spoke again.

“First…”

At the same time.

A faint presence brushed against my senses.

I immediately nocked an arrow and aimed in its direction.

“Yuseong?”

“…You’ve got sharp senses, kid. We’re just passing through, so you can lower your guard.”

A group emerged from the darkness.

There were five of them.

‘A man in armor, a man with an axe strapped to his back, a woman with a bow, a priestess, and a man dressed as a mage.’

Every single one of them was far stronger than me.

Warriors who could kill me in an instant. Cold sweat trickled down my back.

“What’s wrong, Rohan? Been slacking off in the labyrinth lately?”

“It’s not that I’ve gotten rusty. We passed a few on the way here.”

“Fair point. Maybe this one’s just unusually sharp?”

“Must have talent as a rearguard.”

The man with the axe stared at me intently before speaking in a low voice.

“If you ever want to join a clan, look for one with this insignia.”

“…The Dawnbreak Clan!”

As the man revealed a crimson circle, Marcel, the bespectacled man, gasped in shock.

“The Dawnbreak Clan—? No, surely a clan of such prestige wouldn’t take someone like him?”

Ignoring Marcel’s words, I lowered my bow.

Even if I aimed at them, they wouldn’t flinch.

‘No point in being wary.’

If they meant us harm, we’d be wiped out in an instant.

“Ah, no wonder you looked familiar. You’re that brash rookie from the guild earlier.”

“Aha, the one with the fiery spirit?”

The priestess scrutinized me.

She was stunning—eyes so bright they could pierce the dark.

‘Not as much as Lucia, though.’

Still, her beauty was comparable.

She studied me with sparkling eyes.

“I like kids like that. Most these days lack that kind of drive.”

“That’s just you being weird. Anyway, let’s move.”

“Right. We didn’t come here for nothing.”

At Rohan’s words, the group melted back into the shadows and vanished.

“So that’s the famous ‘Shadowstride’ they talk about.”

“What a useful Gift.”

Erme muttered enviously at Marcel’s words.

But soon, she clapped her hands together.

“More importantly, let’s hurry. Others are already on the move.”

“Yeah.”

Theresa nodded blankly.

I agreed too.

We quickened our pace.

At the same time, Erme spoke again.

“First, as I said earlier, our lives come before anything else. If you notice even the slightest anomaly, report it to me or Han Yuseong immediately.”

“Got it.”

“Of course.”

“….”

Why me?

This is my first time in the labyrinth.

‘Well, I can just leave everything to Erme.’

Unfazed by my look, Erme continued.

“Second, even if we encounter other adventurers, stay on guard. The monsters aren’t the only danger here. And if I give a certain signal, engage in combat or ambush them immediately.”

“…Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“Marcel, you’re underestimating the labyrinth. It’s a bottomless pit that swallows everything. If things go south, we attack first to ensure our party survives. Of course, I’ll judge as rationally as possible.”

“…Understood.”

Marcel nodded, agreeing with Erme.

We walked in silence for a while.

Then, faint presences brushed against us from ahead.

I raised a hand to signal a halt.

“Something’s up ahead.”

“Numbers?”

“Four… no, five. One’s hiding.”

“An ambush, then? Could be a goblin archer.”

Erme drew a sword.

I readied my bow.

“Should we take out the hidden one first?”

“Yeah, leave that to you.”

Creak.

I drew the bowstring, aiming at the lurking presence.

A blue line appeared before my eyes.

‘…Innate Combat Sense (B).’

And I knew—this was where my arrow needed to go.

So this is what weapon mastery feels like.

Stranger than when I practiced with the dwarf’s bow yesterday.

I took aim and released.

‘Hit.’

Even as the arrow flew, I was certain. I swiftly drew my sword and charged forward.

Thud!

Before they could react, an arrow pierced a goblin’s skull.

“Nice.”

Erme dashed ahead as she spoke.

Theresa followed. I unsheathed my blade.

Erme closed the distance in an instant, kicking the first goblin down.

“Squeak!”

Her sword flashed, severing another’s head.

Meanwhile, Theresa smashed a goblin lunging at Erme with her mace.

I targeted the one rushing at me.

Green skin, ragged like an old man’s.

No readable expression, but urgency radiated from it.

‘Do I look the weakest?’

I swung.

As the blue line appeared, my sword pierced its throat.

“Wow, clean work.”

Theresa gave me a thumbs-up.

“…Well, damn.”

Marcel adjusted his glasses, looking troubled.

“A party where three frontliners make a support mage worry about his place…”

“Quit whining and loot the bodies.”

Erme snapped at him.

Marcel quietly gathered the spoils.

‘Not much to loot—just goblin ears and a single magic stone.’

And even that stone was barely worth a silver coin.

‘Goblin ears are just for mage research anyway.’

Maybe labyrinth work was easier grunt work than I thought.

Killing goblins was easy.

Each time, I felt something gradually filling inside me.

‘Is this experience?’

And the way it invigorated me…

‘…Status.’

▼

Name: Han Yuseong (Lv.1)

Strength: 3

Agility: 3

Stamina: 3

Magic: 3

Mind: 3

Perception: 3

◈Gifts

– [Thief’s Pinnacle (S)], [Absolute Combat (S)], [Fatal Constitution (A)], [Innate Combat Sense (B)]

◈Skills

– [Hidden Space (B)]

‘Wait, when did this go up?’

I’d felt my body changing, but…

It didn’t feel three times stronger.

‘Still, I’ve gotten a lot stronger.’

At least twice as strong as before.

It was almost funny how I could gauge it now.

‘Thief’s Pinnacle…’

It seemed to grant an intuitive sense of growth, making comparisons effortless.

A ridiculously versatile ability.

As I hunted more goblins, faint presences brushed my senses again.

‘…Behind us.’

A creeping sensation—like we were being followed.

They were closing in.

“I’ve been feeling it for a while now. Someone’s tailing us.”

“Tailing us?”

Erme glanced back but frowned.

“I don’t sense anything… But if Yuseong says so, it must be true. Scavengers?”

She drew her sword.

Theresa and Marcel prepared for battle.

“Let me show you why support mages are sought after by frontliners.”

Marcel adjusted his glasses.

As he pointed his staff at us, faint stardust settled over our bodies.

‘Oh.’

My body felt lighter. Stronger, too.

So this is a support mage’s power.

Buffing the team.

“Yuseong, how many?”

“Ten. Five and another five, slightly apart.”

“Five, huh… Well, scavengers are predictable, but still, who wants to deal with them?”

No one raised a hand.

Instead, their fighting spirits burned brighter.

“Then Theresa guards Marcel. Yuseong and I will attack. Best approach.”

“Heh. I can handle myself. No need to worry.”

Marcel adjusted his glasses smugly.

Erme and I nodded.

Just as we finished preparing and muted our presence to ambush them—

Click-clack.

A party of five appeared before us.

‘Weak.’

My first thought.

Three frontliners, one mage.

And an archer.

Using Thief’s Pinnacle, I hid in the shadows, silently drawing my bow.

“…! Where’d he go?”

“They were just here! Did they notice us?”

The five panicked.

Erme revealed herself to them.

“Hello, scavengers.”

A greeting—then her sword flashed, beheading the warrior in front.

Wait, just like that?

No hesitation?

I gritted my teeth.

Right. This is the savage world I have to survive in now.

Steadying myself, I drew my bowstring.

Target: the archer aiming at Erme.

My arrow, hidden in darkness, pierced his throat.

“Harun!”

A desperate cry. I revealed myself and charged.

Target—

‘The mage.’

Frail, unable to detect stealth, vulnerable if their casting is interrupted.

‘But one spell can turn the tide.’

So I aimed for the mage.

But Erme urgently stopped me.

“W-wait! They’re Ear Freaks!”

“E-Ear Freaks!?”

At Erme’s shout, shock rippled through the area.

Ear Freaks?

The familiar slur made me turn.

There stood women so beautiful it was almost blinding.

At the same time.

The group tailing us came into view.

Eight of them now.

Their smug expressions—wait, huh?

The others’ reactions were strange.

“Why are those Ear Freaks here!?”

“Dammit, isn’t this a breach of the pact!?”

“Run, now!”

The ones who’d attacked us were now fleeing.

‘…What?’

But Erme and Marcel’s reactions were just as bizarre.

Even the usually blank Theresa grimaced hard.

“Those lunatics came to the labyrinth…!?”

“Ah, was today the day they started?”

Erme scowled deeply before shouting.

“Everyone, run!”

Even mid-combat, she repositioned.

What the hell are these people that they provoke this reaction?

“Men! We found men!”

“Kill the women and rape the men!!”

“….”

The elves screamed as they charged at us.