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Clear and transparent sky, the noon sun shining down on the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

It had been a suitably pleasant and fairly ordinary day at Sehee Research Institute until an extraordinarily peculiar event unfolded in the courtyard.

A red-tinted Mini Reaper was marching through the courtyard, flailing its arms and legs in an exaggerated manner.

A march of Red Reapers?

If one were to call it ordinary, it would be an ordinary sight.

But the number of those Red Reapers was anything but ordinary.

Surely, there was only supposed to be one Red Reaper, yet now it had multiplied to the point of filling the courtyard.

All the Golden Reapers that had been there had vanished, leaving only the Red Reapers to create a massive procession.

Leading that parade of Red Reapers was a Gray Reaper whose skin had turned a bright red.

Balancing a Red Reaper on its head, it marched ahead, bobbing up and down.

At lunchtime, Yerin, looking for the Gray Reaper, walked into the courtyard and marveled at the sight.

“I didn’t know Reapers could change colors! Amazing!”

Seoah, who happened to pass by and noticed the unusual scene, entered the courtyard and opened her notebook to start taking notes.

[It seems that there are multiple objects that can change the appearance of Mini Reapers.]

[Phenomenon occurring after the appearance of the Yellow Mini Moon.]

[Expected correlation between Mapo District and the Yellow Moon.]

Within that notebook was a photo of the Golden Reaper wrapping found in the security room.

As the Gray Reaper marched through the courtyard, its skin suddenly changed to a golden color, and it began to jump up and down in place.

Several Red Reapers immediately shed their skin, transforming into Golden Reapers.

The Golden Reapers, with ecstatic expressions, started jumping and mimicking the somewhat clumsy movements of the Gray Reaper.

The Gray Reaper, bouncing around, then began to wildly change colors.

Black, blue, indigo, orange, yellow, and then back to red!

The Mini Reapers gathered in the courtyard were so thrilled they leaped around wildly, colliding and bouncing off one another in a frenzy of excitement.

As the Gray Reaper’s colors began to change more rapidly, it started emitting colors like a disco ball.

Dum-dit-dum!

Then, upbeat disco music began to play in the courtyard.

Startled by the sudden music, Seoah squinted and looked around, noticing Yerin turning up the TV and letting the music flow out.

Thus began the party of the disco ball Gray Reaper dancing with the Mini Reapers.

Seoah shook her head in disbelief, observing the hopping Mini Reapers while continuing to jot down notes.

What caught Seoah’s keen eye was a Mini Reaper awkwardly smiling while hiding among the Golden Reapers.

It resembled the Golden Reapers in color, but its eyes didn’t sparkle and it had its head bowed, taking on a wrinkled posture.

[The Mini Reaper and the Mini Moon seem clearly connected.]

[The Yellow Mini Reaper resembles the Golden Reaper but does not have sparkling eyes.]

[There seems to be a correlation between the massive Light Ring crossing the sky and the Gray Reaper, but there is no evidence yet.]

Not pleased with Seoah who kept writing notes without playing, the Sprout Reaper lay on the notebook and began to block her view.

Seeing the Sprout Reaper lying on her notebook with a cheeky expression and giggling, Seoah couldn’t help but smile with a sigh and slowly closed her notebook.

With a joyful smile on her face, she took out her phone and started taking pictures of the dancing Mini Reapers.

*

At the end of a spacious room filled with purple mirrors, a purple doll had made its way right up to the girl’s face.

The doll, with its creepy eyes, suddenly approached, and just as the girl was startled, the Black Sword reacted.

The blade elongated, swinging down with the intent to cleave the doll in two.

Swaak!

However, the sharp strike of the Black Sword couldn’t even leave a scratch on the doll’s body, merely scraping its surface.

“!”

The girl secretly believed that the powerful Black Sword would save her.

But the strong strike she had faith in proved ineffective.

As the thought of being in a truly dangerous situation crossed her mind, she oddly felt her heart calm.

Though her complexion still looked grim, her mind began to move swiftly.

‘Purple room, purple mirror, the suddenly approaching purple doll.’

Thinking that, she unconsciously blinked, and in that brief moment, the doll lunged at her, swinging its arm widely.

Beeep—!

The Black Sword split into two, one part embedding itself in the ground, while the other struck the doll’s arm.

Bang!

As the Black Sword held firm, the girl continued her thoughts.

‘The doll seems to move when I’m not looking at it.’

As that thought struck her, the girl consciously widened her eyes.

I must never close my eyes.

The doll was getting faster; if it continued, the Black Sword might not be able to keep up.

Gazing intently at the doll, the girl pondered a solution.

Destroying that doll must be the trial of this room.

But how could she possibly do that when even the Black Sword’s strike had no effect?

There must be a way.

The Dog Meat Man had said it.

“There are no monsters in the labyrinth that can’t be beaten.”

Though her eyes had grown watery from keeping them open for too long, the girl slowly began to move while keeping the doll in her peripheral vision.

Continuing to monitor the doll, she made an unusual observation.

‘That doll doesn’t reflect in the mirrors.’

Though the room was filled with mirrors, the purple doll was not being reflected.

As if it didn’t exist here at all.

Only one mirror showed the doll’s image accurately.

Pointing her sword towards that mirror, the girl shouted.

“That mirror! Break that mirror!”

The Black Sword acknowledged her with a “Bee!” sound and extended its blade, piercing through the mirror she had indicated.

Crash!

As the mirror shattered, everything in the room halted and began to slowly collapse.

The doll, along with all the mirrors filling the room, turned to sand and began to flow away.

It was truly the scene of a trial having ended in the labyrinth.

At that moment, the girl felt her tension release, and her legs buckled as she sat down, hugging the sword tightly.

“Finally, it’s over.”

Wiping away the tears that had soaked the corners of her eyes, the girl began to boast toward the Black Sword.

“How could I come up with such a thought?”

“Maybe I had the qualities of an adventurer!”

“They wouldn’t believe me if I told the Dog Meat Man about this, right?”

Then, tightly hugging the Black Sword, she shouted loudly.

“Thank you. Without you, I would surely have died. Really, thank you.”

And with the thought that she could now return after defeating a formidable enemy, the girl felt elated.

“Finally, I can return to Labyrinth City!”

I should go brag about this to the Dog Meat Man’s shop!

And I must introduce the Black Sword too!

Excitedly envisioning bragging to her close friends in Labyrinth City, the girl was taken aback when the sand disappeared, revealing a sight far from her expectations.

“What… why?”

The scenery transformed back into a typical room of the labyrinth.

And deep stairs leading downwards extended below.

There was not a single exit in sight leading back to the city.

*

I was buried deep in my bed, sprawled out with my limbs spread wide.

“Ah, I’m exhausted. I’ve played too much.”

Though I wasn’t physically worn out, my mind felt fatigued.

I certainly hadn’t planned to play this much with the Mini Reapers, but they loved it a hundred times more than anticipated, and I got swept up in their excitement.

The Mini Reapers were clinging to my body with expressions of great satisfaction.

Having turned into a Mini Reaper cocoon after a long time, I could only turn my head and blankly stare at the TV.

As I was dozing off, I felt a jolt as I saw the news coming from the TV.

[Currently, various analyses about the Island of Red Lightning are underway in Japan.]

It was a report about the Island of Red Lightning, recently in the news.

[Recent analyses conducted through detailed examination of satellite images included some astonishing elements.]

The TV screen displayed blurry images compared to clearer restored ones.

People walking around in metallic armor, scenes straight out of a fantasy novel.

People wearing robes adorned with magnificent embroidery, staff in hand.

A scene of a massive lizard roasting a dragon-like tail whole.

The market scene unfolded like a scene straight out of a fantasy story.

It was truly a thrilling sight to behold.

“I want to go too!”

As I sprang up from my seat, the Mini Reapers, who had been sound asleep, shot out of the bed.

The Mini Reapers turned to look at me with surprised expressions, but I began summoning the Black Reapers to prepare for an adventure in the fantasy world.

To embark on an adventure in a fantasy world, I needed proper attire.

In fantasy, it’s all about swords and shields, adventure!

I conveyed my needs to the Black Reapers who stared up at me.

“Cool armor.”

“A cool sword.”

“Adventurer!”

It was difficult to deliver a proper explanation using the imagery and emotions alone.

Honestly, since I had never seen proper armor, it was hard to communicate the intricate feelings.

I assumed my lack of expressive ability and the widespread lack of common sense among the Mini Reapers would produce a chaotic outcome, but unexpectedly, the right items appeared.

The Black Reapers seemed to know more about swords and armor than I thought, as they turned into the appropriate armor and sword and latched onto my body.

Hehe.

I liked it.

The armor was expertly crafted, comfortable to move in, and looked quite impressive.

Eager to head off to the fantasy world, I attempted to teleport, but it was as if something blocked my way, making teleportation impossible.

Even though I could clearly feel the presence of Black Reapers on the Island of Red Lightning.

Well, it can’t be helped.

I’ll have to ride Cloud Fish and set off.

With excitement in my heart, I dashed toward the courtyard.