The Labyrinth of Despair
The damp, moldy stench hit me first, followed by the sharp, metallic tang of blood that stung my nostrils. The moment I opened my eyes, the revolting smell made me gag uncontrollably.
“Ugh…”
When I braced my hand against the floor, it came away slick with a vivid red liquid. Beyond the faint glow of the luminous stones, I could see brutally torn corpses scattered everywhere. And my own armor, drenched in blood.
Still hunched over and retching, I pieced it together.
‘What the hell… Of all the times to get isekai’d, it had to be right now…’
This was the prologue stage of the adult game I used to play—the Labyrinth of Despair. And the character I’d possessed was named Graus.
In the prologue, he was the classic meat shield: a minor knight who drew the monsters’ attention and died a pointless death.
Grrrrrr—
From the darkness, three Bearwolves emerged, eyes gleaming with hunger as they drooled and slowly advanced toward me. The exploration party that might have helped was already long gone.
“Ha… Seriously, what now?”
I glanced back at the silver-gray-haired girl sobbing behind me.
“Hic… Hiccup…”
At least there was one silver lining: the girl behind me was Seria, the game’s true protagonist.
Originally, Seria was supposed to get lost in the dungeon, join an exploration party by chance, get betrayed in the boss room, suffer every kind of violation, and then be abandoned in the forest near the labyrinth.
‘I snuck her out when those bastards ditched me. They must’ve noticed by now.’
There was no way that trash exploration team would abandon Seria. Not according to the story, anyway.
Either way, I needed to deal with these three Bearwolves as fast as possible and get to the surface.
Tutorial Quest: Labyrinth Escape
📍 Objective: Shake off the exploration party and escape safely to the surface.
🎁 Reward: 1 Stat Point
“Krrraaaang—!”
The largest of the wolves let out a roar and charged straight at me. I drew my sword back, then swung it upward the instant the beast was in range.
Slice—!
With a heavy thud, its head dropped to the floor. The two remaining wolves slowly backed away before vanishing into the darkness. I must have killed their alpha.
I turned around and knelt in front of Seria, who was clutching my clothes and sobbing.
“Stop crying. I’ll protect you.”
Seria looked up at me with her large, tear-filled eyes. Even with blood splattered across her face, she only gripped my collar tighter.
“R-really…? You won’t abandon me…?”
“Yeah. I promise.”
I answered curtly and fell back into thought.
‘What was the original map layout again?’
I mentally sketched out the game’s map. Luckily, this was a section I’d cleared dozens of times trying to reach the true ending.
“Seria, we don’t have much time. Let’s move.”
I stood up and offered her my hand. After a brief hesitation, she carefully took it.
“Will the exploration team… come looking for us?”
“Probably.”
My blunt reply made her shoulders tremble.
“But don’t worry. They’re weaker than they look.”
Relying on the faint light of the luminous stones, we headed down a narrow passage leading outward, not deeper into the labyrinth. The only sound was the soft squelch of damp moss beneath our feet.
After walking for some time, I suddenly stopped.
Beneath the musty smell of mold, I caught the faint but unmistakable scent of blood and burning torches.
“Shh.”
I quickly pulled Seria close and hid us both in a deep shadow between the rock walls.
“Over here! The blood trail continues!”
A rough voice echoed from the other end of the passage, accompanied by the flickering red light of torches. They were chasing us much faster than I’d expected.
I held my breath and tightened my grip on the sweat-slick hilt of my sword. The footsteps grew closer.
“He must be hiding somewhere around here. No way that bastard ran off far with the girl.”
“The captain’s really something. Why bother chasing them when they’re just going to end up as monster food anyway…”
The red torchlight slowly passed right in front of the crevice where we were hiding. Seria had both hands clamped over her mouth, trembling violently. I pushed her fully behind me and gently pressed down on her head.
‘It’s okay.’ It was a silent signal.
There were only two enemies. From the sound of their footsteps and the size of their shadows, they were just low-ranking scouts, not the main force. In a direct fight, I had a chance.
Even though it was an adult game, the combat system wasn’t purely stat-based. It relied on timing and striking first. I knew that well. Plus, I had their attack patterns memorized.
“Huh? Hey, isn’t this the path to the boss room? The blood trail ends here.”
The moment one of the mercenaries turned his head toward our hiding spot while holding up his torch—
‘Now.’
I sprang out from between the rocks like a coiled spring.
“Wha—Huk—!”
Thud—!
Without giving him time to react, my sword pierced straight through the lead mercenary’s throat.
“Gurgh…!”
“You crazy son of a bitch!”
The other one panicked and reached for the axe at his waist, but it was too late. Using the momentum of pulling my sword free, I spun my body.
Wham—!
My powerful kick slammed squarely into his knee.
“Aaaargh!”
As he lost his balance and pitched forward, I drove my sword mercilessly into his chest.
Two strikes. That was all it took. They were just tutorial-level trash mobs with low health and defense.
Experience acquired.
Level up!
I ignored the blue window that popped up and quickly searched their bodies. I found one low-grade healing potion and a short iron dagger. Not a bad haul.
“Seria, you can come out now.”
At my call, Seria cautiously peeked out from the crevice. She flinched at the sight of the two corpses but quickly hurried over to my side.
“Here.”
I pressed the newly acquired dagger into her hand.
“Uh, this…”
“I might not be able to protect you perfectly by myself. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll have to protect yourself. I’m not telling you to stab people. Just defend yourself if you have to. Got it?”
At my firm words, Seria bit her lip, then gripped the dagger tightly with both hands and nodded with determination.
“Yes…!”
‘Good. Her mentality’s solid.’
As expected from the character with the greatest talent in the world.
But now that the scouts were dead, the exploration team leader would soon notice something was wrong and come after us with the rest of his men.
I stomped on the fallen torch, extinguishing it. For someone who knew the labyrinth’s map like the back of his hand, darkness was far more advantageous than light.
“Let’s go. The exit isn’t far.”
We started running again down the outer passage of the labyrinth, now shrouded in darkness. Behind me, I could hear Seria’s ragged breathing the entire time. It was only natural. A small girl who hadn’t eaten or rested properly couldn’t possibly keep up with a trained knight’s pace.
But there was no time to rest. The faint footsteps echoing from afar were gradually growing louder.
“Captain! The two scouts are dead over here!”
“What? Who the hell did this? Was it that knight bastard?”
“Looking at the wounds, it seems they were killed in a single strike…!”
Shouts reverberated through the labyrinth like echoes. It was the voice of the exploration team leader, Barkan.
Just as I expected, they were chasing us with ferocious intensity.
‘Faster than I thought. Well, they did lose their prey. They’re probably seeing red right now.’
I grabbed Seria’s wrist and picked up the pace. The labyrinth’s passages twisted like an anthill, but my steps never faltered. Right turn, straight ahead, left turn past the collapsed pillar.
“Huff… huff… G-Graus… sir…”
Seria tugged weakly at my sleeve, clearly at her limit. Cold sweat poured down her pale face.
I stopped and supported her.
“Just a little longer. We’re almost there.”
That was when it happened.
From the passage we had just come through, over a dozen torches flickered into view. It was the main force. Barkan and his mercenaries were charging toward us, radiating killing intent.
“Found them! They’re over there!”
“Catch them! Keep the girl alive, but chop off that knight’s limbs!”
The distance closed in an instant. Seria turned deathly pale, trembling as she buried herself in my arms.
But I wasn’t flustered. If anything, I was laughing at them on the inside.
‘If you’ve followed me this far, you’re finished.’
There was a reason I had deliberately chosen this dark, narrow passage as our escape route.
I carefully studied the stone slabs on the floor and slowly backed away. Then, I stomped hard on a red stone that protruded just slightly higher than the others.
Rumble—!
A deafening roar shook the entire labyrinth.
“Wh-what the hell? An earthquake?”
“Captain! Above us…!”
The moment the mercenaries froze in confusion, the old ceiling above their heads collapsed, sending a massive avalanche of boulders crashing down.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Save—Guh!”
Thick clouds of dust filled the passage, accompanied by horrific screams. This was the instant-death gimmick hidden in the early part of the Labyrinth of Despair—the infamous falling rock trap.
Among veteran players, it was one of the routes used to wipe out multiple mobs at once.
“Cough… cough…!”
As the dust settled and visibility returned, I saw that a massive pile of boulders completely blocked the passage. From the other side came the pained groans and furious curses of the few survivors, but it would take them at least half a day to clear away those rocks.
“It’s over. They can’t get through anymore.”
At my words, Seria’s legs finally gave out and she collapsed. Her hands, still clutching the dagger, shook violently as tears finally spilled from her eyes.
“We… we really survived…”
“It’s too early to relax. We won’t know for sure until we open the gate to the surface.”
I answered gruffly and helped her back to her feet.
We turned the corner with the rock pile at our backs, and finally, in the distance, we saw a large iron door with faint moonlight leaking through. The end of the prologue. The exit of the labyrinth.
‘We made it.’
A relieved smile almost crossed my face—until a massive shadow sitting squarely in front of the exit slowly rose to its feet.
Glowing eyes in the darkness. A gigantic, muscular monster holding a club the size of a human torso.
I scratched my head and clicked my tongue.
“Ha… What a pain. This is exactly why tutorial difficulty sucks.”