The massive stone tablet inscribed with a myriad of languages ntioned sothing intriguing: "If you conquer the labyrinth, you may have one wish granted."
“A wish,” I mused. Could there really be an Object capable of granting sothing so extraordinary? Perhaps if you gathered sothing as powerful as ten eyes imbued with trendous power, it might be possible. But it seed improbable that an ordinary Object could fulfill such a grand desire.
Nevertheless, the idea of having a wish granted was clearly appealing, as the labyrinth’s entrance was teeming with ard people of all kinds.
A middle-aged man clad in armor that glistened as if reflecting the rippling surface of a lake, marked by scars from intense battles. A woman who seed to glide on the wind, clutching a longbow as tall as herself, poised as if ready to shoot at any mont. Another stood gripping a staff with both hands, swathed in a heavy robe that looked unbearably hot under the bright sun.
n and won of all ages, clad in outfits fit for adventurers, crowded around the labyrinth entrance. This city was indeed a labyrinth city. Naturally, in a fantasy labyrinth, you would form a party and explore together.
The thought excited , so I made my way toward the gathering adventurers, eager to join in. But as I drew closer, an unfamiliar language filled my ears.
Ugh, I couldn’t understand a single word.
And since I couldn’t speak either, finding a party here seed impossible. Frustrated by the thought of missing out on a proper fantasy adventure, a phrase appeared in my mind as I looked at the labyrinth entrance.
“The End of Adventure.”
I only had a fleeting thought—“If I can’t adventure, then no one should be able to!”—and suddenly, I could see the labyrinth’s destruction condition. Though it was disappointingly cryptic.
Lost in thought, I stared blankly at the entrance, and an idea popped into my head. There was a way to join a party even without speaking!
If I rescued people in danger within the labyrinth with my spectacular dual-blade skills, wouldn’t they naturally join ? A seamless way to make party mbers!
Snickering inwardly, I gripped the heavy doors of the labyrinth and pushed them open, using the strength of my Black Reaper armor. The doors were hefty and stiff, but I managed. As I stood in the doorway, pushing the doors open with both hands, I stepped forward, feeling like an adventurer.
The satisfying thud of each step echoed as I entered the labyrinth with a lively stride.
The middle-aged man whom the girl referred to as "Dog at Guy" stood at the labyrinth’s entrance in armor he hadn’t worn in years. Although the armor was marked by battle scars, it was ticulously maintained, catching the sunlight in tiny fragnts. Unlike his battle-worn armor, his expression was filled with anxiety.
The green torch flas outside the labyrinth flickered as the door remained sealed shut.
“Damn, it’s been over a day, and the door’s still closed,” he muttered.
“It’s our first ti dealing with sothing like this. Calm down; as soon as the door opens, we’ll go in to find the kid,” replied a man in a thick robe, trying to soothe him in a raspy voice.
“But why are so many guards swarming in? Isn’t this nearly all of the city’s guard force? What’s going on?” the robed man wondered aloud. A woman in leather armor nodded toward sothing with a jerk of her chin.
“Probably because of that. With an Object like that striding around outside the labyrinth, anyone would be on edge.”
Turning to look at the Black Armored Object, the robed man swallowed nervously.
“What’s sothing like that doing in the city? Thankfully, it doesn’t seem hostile. If it were, I’d be tempted to flee,” he admitted.
The woman with the large bow laughed quietly at his tension.
“Maybe you should relax a bit. Your staff might snap from how hard you’re holding it.”
“None of your business. You’ve got your bow drawn as if you’re about to shoot,” he shot back, the exaggerated tone making their banter sound like they were trying to forget their fear.
Their lighthearted argunt continued until an eerie sound echoed from the labyrinth entrance—a sound like a stone being ground to pieces.
The sight that t them was startling. A small Object, barely over a ter tall, was pushing open the sealed labyrinth door with both hands. There didn’t seem to be any issue with its movents, but the horrifying sight lay at its feet: black, vein-like tendrils writhed and burrowed into the ground, pulsing ominously as they anchored the Object for support.
As the door finally opened with a shuddering crack, the tendrils withdrew back into the armor, and the Black Armored Object, emitting a lively footstep sound, vanished into the labyrinth.
The people gathered at the entrance were paralyzed by fear, unable to move in the face of this sudden event. anwhile, the middle-aged man in the old armor dashed through the door before it closed tightly behind him.
Inside, I found myself transported to another room—a square chamber lit by four torches.
“Oh!” I exclaid, taking in my surroundings with the excitent of a tourist. Strange alphabets and numbers adorned the ceiling, while monsters or passages seed absent.
A puzzle, perhaps? Then, tired of thinking, I tore a hole through one wall and broke through it. After smashing through several walls, I finally encountered a monster—a giant wolf engulfed in green flas.
Grinning with confidence, I drew my twin swords and charged at the wolf, slashing down with both blades. However, the wolf deftly dodged, evading every attack with ease.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Despite the resounding blows from my Black Reaper-enhanced strength, none of the strikes landed.
“Mama, you’re not supposed to strike with the flat of the blade!”
“Mama, to channel power into your weapon, foot placent is crucial!”
The Black Reapers, silent at first, suddenly began coaching with every step. Frustrated by the wolf’s nimble dodges, I resisted the urge to tear through space and opted for a different tactic.
“Auto-hunt on!”
As soon as I commanded the Black Reaper to move on its own, it leapt into the air, twirling gracefully as it delivered a perfectly executed slash. The blow was so precise that the wolf’s head separated from its body in slow motion, like sothing out of a manga.
As expected of the ntor to the Golden Reapers in swordsmanship, the Black Reaper was a master swordsman. I couldn’t wait to see how it would fare against the Golden Reapers once we returned to Sehee Research Institute.
After a few more encounters in the labyrinth, I reached an imposing door that seed to hold special significance. Surely, this would lead to the floor boss, and defeating it would allow to progress to the next floor.
Though I hadn’t found any party mbers yet, I figured I’d have a better chance on the second floor. After all, the first floor only had wolves and swallows.
With renewed excitent, I opened the door and stepped into a room filled entirely with a glossy purple hue—purple dolls and mirrors everywhere. Gazing at the room with anticipation, I slowly approached the boss room’s inner sanctum.
Once inside, the door behind vanished completely, leaving no trace. It truly felt like a boss room.
Curious, I examined the area where the door had been, marveling at the strange setting as if I were a tourist. But then, I sensed sothing moving and turned back to see the boss had seemingly moved further away.
Was it my imagination?
No, the boss hadn’t moved. It seed I had to trigger sothing to engage it.
There must be a secret in this strange purple mirror room. I was admiring the jewel-like room when I heard an eerie sound—a scraping noise, like sothing sharp dragging across a hard surface.
Looking over, I saw the boss pressed against the opposite wall, scratching madly at the surface.
“What’s going on?”
I took a few steps closer, only for it to turn its back and continue scratching the wall, the grating sound growing more frantic.
anwhile, the Black Reaper, now transford into a long blade, slashed through icy spider webs. Spiders made of ice erged from the trees rooted in clouds, attacking both the Black Reaper and the girl.
The Black Reaper continued to call out for its mother, but its voice never reached her. While each spider was weaker individually, their numbers overwheld it as it tried to protect the girl.
Cough, cough.
Her labored breathing revealed her pain. Negative emotions seeped from her in waves of agony.
Despite a past habit of feeding on such emotions when slaying traitors, the Black Reaper had been avoiding them, knowing how much its mother disliked it.
But now, it had no choice. The spiders kept coming, and the girl was nearing her limit.
Absorbing the pain emanating from her, the Black Reaper transford again, sprouting elongated limbs and an ominous pair of eyes, and bared sharp teeth.
With this familiar power, it could protect the girl!
Reaching out, it prepared to consu the spiders, but a voice stopped it.
“Don’t do it…not because of ,” she murmured weakly, not fully aware of what was happening.
Yet even in her confusion, her voice reached the Black Reaper. With a sorrowful beep, it reverted to its Mini Reaper form, crying softly as the girl gave it a faint smile before closing her eyes once more.
Her breathing grew fainter. Resolving to protect her, the Black Reaper drew on its ancient power, skewering a spider with its elongated arm and implanting a tendril within.
“Pain.”
As the black tendrils writhed within, the spider convulsed in agony, its ice-like body twisting under the pressure. Though they were beings made of ice, the Reaper’s power elicited tornted cries from them.
The white fla on the Black Reaper’s chest blazed brighter, growing larger with each expression of pain, terror, and despair from the spiders. The fla intensified, along with the Black Reaper’s size, as it absorbed every last drop of their fear.
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