The Night Outside the Labyrinth (1)

The moment that last message appeared, a low vibration rolled through the air around us.

Then the world in front of our eyes warped like water. Trees and stone stretched into long, impossible shapes.

"What the…?"

Lee Si-hyun's voice came out thin with alarm at the grotesque scenery unfolding around us.

"Don't panic. We're heading back any second now."

The instant I finished speaking, a flood of white light swallowed everything we could see.

I shut my eyes on reflex.

A moment later, a familiar rustle of leaves brushed against my ears.

I opened my eyes carefully. A familiar landscape spread out in front of me. At some point my footing had changed as well — no longer a tree branch, but solid, level earth.

The ordinary forest we had walked into forty-eight hours ago to gather firewood. We were back in that dark, quiet place.

Night here had already settled in deep, as if to prove that time inside the labyrinth had never once kept pace with the world outside.

"…Did we make it back?"

I glanced over. Lee Si-hyun was staring around in a daze.

"Looks like it."

The words had barely left my mouth when her body swayed beside me.

"Ah—"

I caught her on instinct. All the strength seemed to have gone out of her. She buried her face against my chest and clenched a fistful of my clothes.

"Si-hyun?"

"…I."

A trembling voice leaked out, barely there.

"I really thought I was going to die…"

Every feeling she had been holding back seemed to break loose at once. Her voice was already thick with tears.

"When that orc came charging at the end…"

"When the axe blade dropped right in front of my face, I really thought it was over…"

I didn't know what to say.

"I was so scared."

Her grip on my clothes tightened. I hesitated for a second, then carefully patted her on the back.

"It's over now."

"…Yeah."

"We both made it back in one piece."

She didn't answer. For a long while she just stood there in my arms, her shoulders shaking.

As the minutes passed, the trembling in her shoulders slowly eased. The hand fisted in my clothes loosened, bit by bit.

"…Feeling any better?"

"Yeah…"

Lee Si-hyun eased herself out of my arms. The rims of her eyes were still stained red. She wiped them with her sleeve, then stood with her head bowed and took a few small, careful breaths.

"Just now."

"Hm?"

She lifted her head slowly. The girl who had been on the verge of tears a moment ago was gone. A pair of ice-cold eyes locked onto mine.

"If you tell anyone about that, you're dead."

Look at that death glare. Is this really the same person who was just crying?

"Was I going to?"

"You swear?"

"Yeah. Everything that happened in the labyrinth, plus just now — we'll pretend none of it happened."

She went quiet.

"…I don't want that."

"…What?"

I blinked at the answer I hadn't seen coming.

"Don't want what?"

"Pretending it never happened."

She hesitated, then dropped her gaze.

"Not everything that happened in there was bad."

I waited.

"I got to talk with you comfortably for the first time in so long… and we kind of made up, in our own way."

Her voice had gone small. She fidgeted with the hem of her clothes.

"If even that just… never happened, I think I'd be a little sad."

I stared at her, not quite sure what to do with that. She looked away, clearly embarrassed, and rushed to add something.

"Anyway…!"

"Just don't tell anyone else. That's all I meant."

"Right… okay."

Only then did she let out a small breath, like a weight had come off her chest.

"…That everything you wanted to say?"

"…Yeah."

I turned toward the base camp.

"Then let's head back. People are probably starting to worry."

"Okay."

And then, once we actually got back to camp, we heard something we hadn't accounted for at all.

"Where'd you two leave the firewood? You came back empty-handed."

Lee Si-hyun and I looked at each other at the exact same time.

"Ah."

In the end we had to turn around, head back into the woods, and scramble to gather firewood. Fortunately there were plenty of dry branches nearby, so it didn't take long.

"This should be enough, right?"

"Yeah. Let's get back."

We returned to camp with both arms full.

"You actually brought it this time."

Lee Jae-min took the firewood from us, a little smirk tugging at his mouth.

"Sorry about that."

"What were you two doing that you both forgot?"

"Well…"

Instead of answering, I glanced sideways at Lee Si-hyun. She narrowed her eyes at me in a look that very clearly said don't you dare.

"We just went a bit farther than we meant to."

"Is that so? You're not hurt, though, are you?"

"No, we're fine."

Lee Jae-min nodded, no suspicion in it at all. To ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him, barely any time would have passed between us walking into the woods and walking back out.

The firewood went into the campfire, and the flames leapt up bright again. One by one, people started gathering around that warm light. Someone threaded food onto skewers. Someone else passed around drinks they'd brought. Before long the whole campsite was loud with laughter.

Lee Si-hyun and I found seats among them like it was the most natural thing in the world.

This feels… strange.

The feeling didn't fade easily. For everyone around us, this had just been an ordinary day stretching on as usual. For the two of us, it was a life we were returning to after two full days away.

The firewood cracked and popped, sending sparks drifting up into the dark. I stared into the campfire without really seeing it. Only a few hours ago I had been sick of looking at fire, and now, somehow, I was oddly glad to see it again.

In the labyrinth, fire meant staying alive. Here, it's just something for people to laugh and talk around. Maybe that's the difference…

"What's with that look? You're staring at it like you're about to cry."

I turned toward the voice. Kim Jin-hyuk was watching me like I'd grown a second head, a skewer still in his mouth.

"…I was just zoning out at the fire."

"Your zoning-out face is way too wistful."

I looked back at the flames.

"You're imagining it."

"Yeah?"

He gave me a skeptical look, then shrugged.

"Well. It is a pretty fire."

Then he held ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one of his skewers out toward me.

"Here. Eat this."

"This for me?"

"Yeah. I grilled plenty. Let's share."

I looked at the skewer for a second, then took it without arguing.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing."

Come to think of it.

This whole labyrinth arc was originally supposed to be Kim Jin-hyuk's. A single incident like this wouldn't have made him suddenly, visibly stronger — but the real combat experience he should have built up fighting through wave after wave was gone now. That much was certain.

In a way, I stole one of his chances to grow.

It wouldn't cause a problem right away. But if things like this kept piling up, his growth could start to lag.

The original story is already starting to drift off course. If Kim Jin-hyuk's growth slows down on top of that, we're going to be in real trouble.

I watched him quietly as he ate his skewer.

Maybe I should ask him to run a dungeon with me later.

I needed more real combat experience myself. If I picked a decent dungeon and we went together, we could make up at least some of what he'd missed this time.

The problem is what excuse I use to drag him along.

If I just asked him to hit a dungeon with me out of nowhere, he'd probably think it was weird.

"What?"

Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jin-hyuk tilted his head, having felt my stare.

"Something on my face?"

"No."

I took a bite of the skewer and casually looked away.

"I think I might need to ask you a favor later."

"What kind?"

"It's a secret for now."

"You're no fun."

He laughed it off like it was nothing and turned his attention back to the fire.

As the night wore on, the noisy campfire began to wind down. The blaze that had been roaring earlier had faded to a faint bed of embers, and people drifted back to their own tents. I headed for the men's tent as well.

I had barely lain down and gotten settled before a steady rhythm of breathing started up beside me.

I closed my eyes and stayed still, but no matter how long I waited, sleep wouldn't come.

Of course it won't.

It had only been a few hours since I'd last woken up inside the labyrinth. Out here it was the middle of the night, but my body was still treating this like midday.

I tossed and turned a few more times, then finally sat up. I slipped out of the tent as quietly as I could so I wouldn't wake anyone, and the cool night air brushed across my face.

In the place everyone else had left behind, only the dying campfire was still there, burning alone. I found a decent spot in front of it and sat down.

Perfect timing.

I still hadn't properly looked over the rewards from the labyrinth. After making sure no one was around, I quietly opened the system window.

Not a bad haul.

I'd burned through 12,000 points buying healing potions, but the labyrinth clear reward and the achievement payout had been huge.

Maybe I should save a little more and go for an A-rank Trait.

A-rank Traits ran somewhere around 50,000 to 60,000 points. Another 15,000 or so and I'd be in range.

That was enough of that for now. I closed the shop window and turned my attention to the item I'd gotten for clearing the labyrinth.

A Subspace Pouch?

That was not something I had seen coming. Every time I'd pulled items out of the shop in front of Lee Si-hyun, I'd pretended I already had one — but I never actually did. With a pouch like that I could carry food and potions, sure, but gear as well. The practical value was enormous.

It looked like I'd still need a separate pouch and materials to lock the space in place, though.

First thing I should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do is find someone who can actually craft it.

I closed the system window. The blue pane that had been sitting in front of my eyes vanished, and the dark night sky took its place. Not a single cloud. Countless stars glittered faintly overhead.

I sat by the campfire and watched them for a while without saying anything.

"The stars were better in the labyrinth, I think."

We'd been trapped in a warped pocket of space, never knowing when the next monster would come — and yet the night sky I'd looked up at from in there had been startlingly clear.

Not that I had any desire to go back.

I'm not betting my life on a nicer view of the stars.

I huffed a quiet laugh and lifted my head again — and that was when I heard it.

A soft rustle. The flap of the women's tent, which had been still all this time, peeled open.

Lee Si-hyun?

She stepped out, glanced around, and found me almost immediately.

"What are you doing out here?"

The night wind caught her white hair and sent it drifting.