The identity of the remaining female was unrecognizable due to the severe damage to her face.
“Let’s go,” Karin urged the group.
“Are we really just leaving? What about the bodies?” Jeong Yusin asked.
“They’re already dead. If they were alive, I’d consider taking them with us, but corpses are just baggage. If it really bothers you, report it to the guild. Say a Dwarf you knew has died,” Karin replied.
“Yes, understood.”
“Remember, we’re an investigation team, not a body collection squad.”
“Understood.”
Gilsian looked at Karin.
“Karin, shouldn’t we examine this level more carefully? There’s no rush to push through so fast.”
Karin shrugged. “What’s worth seeing in such a thin layer?”
“There are still many novice Explorers who haven’t returned. Shouldn’t we at least ‘investigate’ why?”
“Another team will handle that. We’re busy with more important tasks.”
Gilsian gave up trying to persuade and fell silent. Loenel and Ahiman, seemingly uninterested, didn’t voice any opinion.
“Let’s go,” Karin urged as the party moved forward into the dark cavern.
After a few more hours of walking, two more battles occurred. These battles were dominated by Karin’s party, with little participation needed from Jeong Yusin other than staying safe in the back.
Jeong Yusin observed how Karin and Gilsian wielded their swords and memorized their techniques. Some of the actions, however, were puzzling, such as Gilsian’s sword moving unnaturally fast.
Was it the power of a brand or from Level Ups?
Though he was curious, Jeong Yusin didn’t ask. He knew his role as merely a baggage carrier, not a comrade.
The third battle ended, and they trudged on through bodies and blood. As time passed, Karin’s party reached the edge of the fourth level.
A large cavern lay ahead with a Telestone.
There was a murmuring crowd gathered around. It consisted of the expedition teams he’d seen before entering the Labyrinth a few days ago. Most were high-ranking Explorers.
Among them stood Barbaroy with black hair, talking to his team and not making eye contact with Jeong Yusin.
“What’s going on?” Karin asked as she approached, drawing everyone’s attention.
A blue-haired man parted the crowd.
“Karin, aren’t you a mid-level Explorer? Why are you here so early?”
“Hans, your team is just slow. Aren’t you going to the next level? Why are you all gathered here?”
Hans pointed to the stele.
“The Portal’s color has changed.”
Karin approached the stele as the crowd parted to let her through. She walked to the front nonchalantly, as if it were expected.
Curious, Jeong Yusin peeked forward. The Portal in front of the stele shimmered black.
Hans cautioned Karin, “Don’t do anything rash.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“Turn back. This place isn’t for mid-level Explorers.”
“Are you saying high-level Explorers are hesitating at the entrance to the fifth level makes sense?”
Hans’s face stiffened as a tense atmosphere settled between Karin and him.
Gilsian, Loenel, and Ahiman moved closer behind Karin. Gilsian’s nod prompted Jeong Yusin to step closer to Karin’s side as well.
Hans said, “This is the first time the Portal’s color has changed. Proceeding cautiously is only natural. Don’t call the high-level Explorers cowards. Even if you’re the daughter of the guild representative…”
“So what if I’m the daughter of the guild representative?”
Karin glared at Hans, who fell silent.
“I’ve never relied on my family since I became an Explorer. Everything I enjoy now, I’ve built with my own hands. Why does my identity keep coming up? Answer me, Hans.”
Hans sighed. While Labyrinth City had its rules, Karin’s family was far more prestigious than any prominent Eastern consortium. Hans, being a high-level Explorer, knew his place well. The best he could hope for after retirement was the position of city knights captain. One bad imprint could ruin even that.
With imprint removal costs skyrocketing, he was considering retirement.
He didn’t want to provoke the daughter of the guild representative and incur any penalties.
Hans stepped back. “Sorry.”
“Hmph.” Karin smirked as the ground began to rumble.
GRRRR.
Someone shouted among the high-level Explorers, “Earthquake!”
“Out of the blue?!”
“Prepare yourselves!”
But before anyone could react, the next event unfolded.
All the torches in the cavern flickered as though caught in a sudden cold breeze.
People began to panic as they looked around.
“Wh…what’s happening?”
“The earthquake’s getting worse.”
It was indeed. The tremors increased so much that it became difficult to stand.
“There’s something wrong with the Portal!”
Someone pointed behind them and yelled, “Back away!!”
The black Portal pulsed as if mimicking a beating heart. Startled by this, Karin took a step back and bumped into Jeong Yusin, who had approached closely.
“Karin!”
Gilsian and Hans cried out and reached for her, but it was too late.
The Portal, expanding, swallowed Karin and Jeong Yusin whole.
Everyone stood speechless, their mouths agape at the sight they’d never imagined in their lives.
The Portal returned to its usual state, but Karin and Jeong Yusin were gone.
“Unbelievable!!”
“The Portal ate people!!”
Shocked cries echoed through the cavern.
High-level Explorers restrained Gilsian from rushing into the Portal.
“Let me go!!”
Gilsian shouted and struggled but the high-level Explorers held firm.
“Captain, what should we do?”
Hans, the leader of this expedition team, rubbed his temples in distress.
“The first team will return to report. Half of the first team will stay here. The rest of the team, including me, will all enter the Portal.”
“Is that wise?”
“We were planning to enter anyway. Moreover… No.”
Hans remembered a certain woman as he swallowed dryly.
The current guild representative of the guild federation and the leader of the Red Wolf clan, a member of the Labyrinth City Council, known as the Cold-blooded Queen, Ingrid Redtail.
Even if Karin was a mid-level Explorer, as the daughter of the guild federation leader, there were no guarantees against potential retaliation if Karin were to die.
“Let me finish, Captain.”
The earthquake intensified.
“Time’s wasting! Just follow the orders!” Hans bellowed.
People began moving quickly. Hans approached Gilsian, whose silvery eyes glinted beneath his helmet.
“We’ll enter too.”
“We need to enter now!”
“No, we’ll wait until the earthquake stops and the Portal stabilizes. It could transport us anywhere.”
“Grrr!”
Through the clenched teeth from beneath the helmet, Hans glanced briefly at the stele.
‘Will the two stand a chance? Hopefully, they’ve been transported to the fifth level.’
*
It felt like a long dream.
There were convenience stores, family, and friends.
An abandoned factory, overgrown with weeds, where a campfire was lit with strange, grotesque shadows dancing around.
And then.
Jeong Yusin opened his eyes.
Somebody was holding a torch and looking down at him. It was Karin.
“Are you conscious?”
“Where are we?”
“Level five.”
“Have I been here long?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. I think I wasted about three hours trying to track you before I found you.”
Three hours in the dark?
“At least I didn’t go mad.”
“Exactly. Lucky you.”
Jeong Yusin got up. The ground beneath him was damp, and the surrounding cave area was as quiet as before.
Karin spoke. “Not too far from here is the end of the cave.”
“Then, shall I carry the torch?”
“No, I’ll handle it. Let’s go.”
Karin led the way, with Jeong Yusin following behind. For a long time, they walked in silence until they reached the end of the cave.
Exiting the cave, they arrived at a vast basin-like region outside. Looking up, the ceiling stretched so high it seemed like a starless night sky.
When they looked down, they saw an ancient city, cloaked in darkness.
An enormous underground cavity where a city lay quietly dormant.
From the last class of beginner Explorers, they had learned its name.
The Forgotten City.
Ingrav.
A place shrouded in rumors and speculation, yet never recorded in history. Even the oldest Elves, historians who had lived for centuries, had never heard of it.
The area was vast, reputed to be home to upper-level Hobgoblins.
The final checkpoint for beginner Explorers and the starting line for mid-level Explorers.
Jeong Yusin, despite coming here as a porter, felt a small sense of accomplishment.
Karin approached and said, “We’ll move as far as possible along the outskirts. Then we’ll seize an opportunity to enter the central area where the Telestone is.”
“Do you intend to use the Telestone?”
“If necessary. More options are better, right?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for others first?”
Karin smirked. “Who do you think will come to rescue us? Don’t overly trust Explorers.”
“But your team might come looking, right?”
“Maybe we can expect that, and it’s good to hold hope. The problem is, there’s no guarantee they’ll come.”
“So you’re saying the party won’t come?”
“The party might be ‘unable’ to come. Didn’t we have an earthquake? And didn’t you see that black Portal? There’s no assurance they’ll even be able to transport to this side.”
“What about waiting a bit and seeing…”
Karin’s face stiffened coldly.
“Why are you always relying on others?”
‘What the hell?’
Jeong Yusin’s expression hardened as well.
It had certainly been a reasonable suggestion.
He couldn’t comprehend why she insisted on charging ahead into danger, which felt almost like an obsession.
‘What is this person thinking?’
A few days before, while at the inn, Darmong had let slip some information.
Karin Redtail.
The daughter of the guild federation representative.
Karin’s father was said to have died mysteriously before she was even born.
The circumstances of the attack had yet to come to light. Darmong seemed to know more but remained tight-lipped.
Karin was the strongest newcomer, promoted to mid-level Explorer in just three months.
Only three months.
Reflecting on it, Jeong Yusin realized they had arrived in Labyrinth City around the same time.
While Jeong Yusin had been toiling away at the Demon Disassembly Site, Karin had been rapidly advancing using her prior strength and resources.
There was no denying their starting points, identities, perspectives, and even species were different.
Jeong Yusin could not understand this red-haired Werebeing, her motives, or her thoughts.
No matter how deep the ocean, it’s still water, but a single mile into a human heart is an unfathomable mystery. Hearts are, indeed, labyrinths.
Jeong Yusin gained some insight into that truth.
Karin turned her gaze towards Jeong Yusin.
She, too, did not understand him.
Here was a fully human Barbaroy with inexplicably excessive fear.
When they first met, he was surrounded by Slave Hunters on his knees in the forest.
On their second encounter, he bowed deeply before her.
On their third, she had thought his dignity had improved, but it was a misconception. He was hiding from danger like everyone else.
When Karin realized this, irritation stirred within her.
The two stared at each other across the fire.
“Are you doing this because you want more money?”
Karin smirked with lips curled upwards.
Jeong Yusin glared back.
“…”
“Unhappy about being a porter and getting into a fight? Are you now asking for extra payment because it doesn’t seem cost-effective?”
“…”
“So that’s it. In the end, you’re just another human. Standing in my shadow while sucking on your thumb. Darmong must’ve misjudged people. Why did he help someone like you?”
Jeong Yusin spoke coldly, “Alright. Let’s go. Into the city.”
He spat out the words as if expelling them.
“Would you feel better if I gave you more money? Will you cry over the injustice?”
Karin scoffed.
“You mother must’ve taught you well.”
Jeong Yusin’s curt remark left Karin momentarily speechless.
A vein bulged on Karin’s forehead.
She seemed to have never heard such an insult before. Her eyes burned with rage.
“…What?”
“Did your ears fail you, too?”
Jeong Yusin dropped his baggage.
If someone could command others to kneel, bash their heads down, and force them to lick their boots, sanity would likely be a rare trait.
Unthinkable.
He wondered if a fight might be necessary.
The situation grew more intense.
Karin set the torch down.
The man and woman stood toe-to-toe in the open area outside the cave.
“You’re really testing your limits.”
“Convenient attitude, huh? Asserting independence when it suits you, but hiding behind the guild federation leader’s daughter when you’re in a bind. Let’s see what you can do.”
“Insolent!!”
Karin gritted her teeth.
Jeong Yusin tapped the scabbard with his finger.
Karin was a mid-level Explorer with overwhelming skill. Even with a head start, Jeong Yusin was unlikely to win.
But he couldn’t back down.
Karin had disrespected Darmong’s good faith.
That disrespect felt like a slap to Jeong Yusin’s efforts to survive in Labyrinth City.
Karin growled.
“…If you leave here…”
“So what? What’s a head-first diving girl like you going to do when you don’t even know what lies ahead?”
Jeong Yusin jeered, settling into a fighting stance.
The tension was palpable.
Karin clenched her teeth and gripped her dagger tightly.
