Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Predestined Meeting
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The Labyrinth was a place where anything could happen, no matter how bizarre.
A path marked as a safe zone just yesterday could turn into an endless chasm the next day.
Like a freshly bloomed flower wilting in a single day, the entire ecosystem could drastically change overnight.
People called these the Labyrinth's anomalies.
Freakish phenomena that struck without warning or cause.
Most explorers prayed they never encountered those ominous signs.
They rarely brought beneficial gifts—instead, they usually manifested as disasters that strangled lives.
That was why explorers always navigated the Labyrinth with razor-sharp focus.
The girl had learned that lesson and walked that path accordingly.
Aren Twala, who had just taken her first steps as a Novice Explorer, now thought:
'It's all pointless.'
That was the one truth she had realized during this expedition.
No matter how much you prepared, unexpected situations happened precisely because they were unexpected.
Variables couldn't be blocked from the start, and preparation was merely a stopgap to minimize damage.
She glanced to her side.
There lay a mummy-like corpse, its face twisted in despair.
A comrade who had entered with her, now reduced to an empty husk after his soul was stolen.
She tore the badge from the corpse's clothing and pocketed it.
A Golden Wing Guild emblem engraved with the name Chorus.
It was an unwritten rule among explorers: when finding a body, take something to identify them and wish them peace.
Taking the body out would be ideal, but it wasn't possible now.
Ssssh...
A blue spirit emanated a chilling aura.
Its half-melted form floated in the air, shrouded in transparent armor that distorted even light, making it hazy.
Within the helmet's empty sockets flickered cool blue flames instead of eyes.
A Wraith Knight.
The gatekeeper guarding the entrance to the upper layer.
She had read about it in books.
It was known never to stray from the entrance, yet for some reason, it had crossed paths with their party while they explored near the western Labyrinth sector.
Or rather, "crossed paths" wasn't accurate—it felt more like it had been waiting for them from the start.
Shooo!
The wraith glided across the barren floor, slipping between scattered corpses.
Wherever its steps brushed, souls were sucked from the bodies, blending into blue streams and vanishing.
All that remained were mummified husks drained of life.
'In the end, I'm the only one left alive.'
Aren's party had been promising recruits backed by the full support of the Golden Wing Guild.
Their supplies and gear were incomparable to ordinary explorers, and their leader, Chorus, was a Mid-tier Explorer with experience in the upper layer.
No one in the party doubted they could overturn the top layers of the Labyrinth.
They were confident, having safely completed a low-rank undead subjugation request and preparing to return to the surface.
Never imagining their complacency would be their downfall.
The incident began when they found what was called the Labyrinth's exit: a Return Stone.
A pillar-like structure glowing with golden light—everyone's hearts raced at the sight, thinking the end was near as they hurried forward.
The monster slipped into that brief gap.
"Gahk!"
A blade flashed, piercing the Mid-tier Explorer Chorus's heart.
The Wraith Knight.
An elite mob guarding the entrance to the upper layer, the second floor of the Labyrinth's five layers.
No one had dreamed it could be lurking in this remote spot far from the entrance, so its stealth skill allowed it to ambush them easily.
Chorus met his end on the spot, without time to resist.
Losing their central pillar, the party crumbled like a sandcastle.
One by one, they fell without even attempting to fight back.
She quickly hid in a corner, cast a presence-blocking spell, and that split-second decision led to her survival.
Those who fled or ran for the Return Stone were all caught and soul-drained—now, only she remained.
'I need to report this fast.'
Aren wanted to inform the guild about the Wraith Knight wandering the Labyrinth before more victims appeared.
The problem was how to escape alive from here.
Ssssh...
The Wraith Knight showed no sign of leaving the Return Stone area, even as time passed.
It wandered about, as if searching for something.
'Is it looking for me?'
If so, she thought it possessed a rare persistence and intelligence among undead.
'Mana's almost at its limit.'
Perhaps from maintaining the spell so long.
Her mana was slowly depleting.
She couldn't stay pinned here forever, so she held her breath and waited for the right moment.
'Just once—a gap to escape.'
Aren recalled a passage from a book.
Wraith Knights always underwent a digestion process after consuming souls.
And they never moved from the spot until it was complete.
How much time had passed?
Krghgh...
Suddenly, the Wraith Knight froze.
Its form shuddered violently, and an unnatural heartbeat echoed from its fleshless body.
The transparent shell flickered ominously like a faulty bulb—just as described in the book. She knew her chance had come.
'Time to move.'
If not now, no other opportunity.
She sprinted toward the Return Stone with all her might.
Ssssh!
Moving broke the presence spell.
The Wraith Knight's piercing gaze locked onto her, but she ignored it.
"Take this!"
Aren clasped her hands together.
Blue mana rippled from her palms.
Like a galaxy reflected on a pond's surface, star-like particles undulated like water ripples.
The light particles gathered at her will, coalescing and shifting form.
The serene blue waves gradually turned red, erupting into a blazing fire demon that swirled fiercely.
Aren gripped the fireball and hurled it at the monster without hesitation.
Kaboom!
An ear-shattering explosion.
The flames erupted like a shell, engulfing the Wraith Knight.
Confirming the thick black smoke obscuring its view, she didn't look back.
'That should buy enough time.'
She cheered inwardly.
At full speed, the Return Stone was just 1 or 2 minutes away.
The Wraith Knight couldn't move, forced to glare like a dog chasing a chicken up on the roof.
No more interruptions.
Thuk!
"Ugh!"
A tearing sensation ripped through her leg, accompanied by excruciating pain.
Aren looked down in shock at the source.
A withered mummy—the corpse of an explorer fully drained of vitality—lay there.
A dagger clutched in its hand was deeply embedded in her leg.
"Eugh!"
Stumbling, she scanned around and witnessed the scattered corpses slowly rising.
Their eyes held not life, but cold, eerie blue mana.
Her mage's insight detected the corpses emanating mana of the same wavelength as the Wraith Knight.
'I've never heard of Wraith Knights commanding undead...'
Common sense-breaking events happened in the Labyrinth sometimes, but this was too much.
'Am I... dying like this?'
The blade was buried deep in her leg, hot pain spreading as it tore flesh.
Blood dripped, staining the floor; her weakened leg buckled even as she tried to stand.
Mana was fully depleted on the presence block—no drops left. Truly trapped.
Aren sensed death.
'If I'd known, I'd have gorged on macarons before entering the Labyrinth.'
With that bitter joke as her last words, she quietly closed her eyes and humbly accepted her fate.
And then
"Why the gloomy face?"
"Huh?"
Her body suddenly lifted.
More precisely, someone had scooped her up in their arms.
"The situation looked urgent, so I rushed over—looks like I was right."
"You're the one from the plaza."
"Leon Star. You seemed in a pinch, so I saved you first. You okay?"
"Yeah... for now."
The man casually introduced himself while sprinting full-tilt, cradling her.
Stunned by his sudden appearance, Aren was nonetheless grateful—he had saved her life.
Just knowing she would survive was thanks enough.
"Planning to run straight there like this?"
"Yep, that's why I'm here."
The target was, naturally, the Return Stone.
He clearly intended to escape the Labyrinth together.
"You came here to escape the Labyrinth too."
"Yes, I'm being chased myself and want out ASAP."
"Chased... by that?!"
She gasped in horror.
The meaning of his words was explained by the scene unfolding before them.
"Krolok!"
"Kieek!"
"Those are Labyrinth monsters! Did you seriously bring all of them after you?!"
"I just lightly smacked them as I passed by, and they chased me relentlessly. Look at them getting worked up over nothing."
"That's not 'noth—'"
Aren started to yell but swallowed her words.
He was incomprehensible, but the fact remained: he had saved her.
Even with that horde as enemies, escaping via the Return Stone ended it.
It was almost there, so she sighed in relief.
That instant.
Swaak!
An ominous wind whistled past her ear.
Thuk!
A heavy impact pierced flesh and bone between their breaths.
"Y... you!"
"Hngh!"
A translucent blade impaled Leon's shoulder, collapsing his stance.
Ssssh...
A gloomy chuckle echoed from afar.
The Wraith Knight, having finished digesting the soul, glided through the air toward them.
'What do I do?'
Should she support the relatively unharmed him to the Return Stone?
But the monsters were nearly upon them.
Reason whispered: He was stabbed beyond recovery—flee alone.
Emotion shook its head: How could she abandon the man who threw himself to save her?
As the conflicting thoughts tangled, Aren resolved in that split second.
'We'll go together.'
She'd support him to the Return Stone.
As she tried to wriggle from his arms to act—
"Huh?"
Her body floated up, soaring through the air on the wind.
And in her rising view, a clear sight:
"Go on ahead."
The stabbed man mustering his all to hurl her toward the Return Stone.
"This repays the potion from before."
"Wai—!"
Aren couldn't finish.
Bam!
The cold surface met her body as golden light exploded, swallowing her vision.
In a world filled only with light, she lost consciousness.
...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Affinity System activated! Aren sends you affinity! Aren's affinity increases by 10.