Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Dark and black.

That was the first impression that came to mind when I saw the tower and the dark night sky.

I had imagined a typical tower shape, but when I saw it up close, it looked more like a giant pillar than a pointed spire.

-Haaa haaa.

I turned my head at the sound of heavy breathing.

Yeriel was looking at the ground with narrowed eyes, radiating anger and frustration.

I held her hand as we entered the portal and walked towards the tower.

I intertwined our hands, and she squeezed mine gently.

“…”

“Ahren.”

She whispered my name, but she didn’t say anything else.

I patted her hand and reassured her that I was there.

She finally calmed down and looked up at me.

“Are you feeling better now?”

She nodded slightly.

Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked embarrassed.

‘Wait a moment.’

I signaled to the others to give us some privacy.

Slick.

I knelt down to match her eye level.

She raised her eyes to meet mine, still looking down.

“Thank you for standing up for me earlier. I was a bit embarrassed.”

I stroked her snow-white hair with my hand.

“Slick. Slick.”

“A high-level adventurer like him couldn’t possibly have lost control. It was probably just a playful joke. Let’s think of it as a test.”

“A test…?”

“Yes! He was probably testing to see if I was trustworthy enough to be in a party with you.”

“What? How dare he test whether you are worthy of being with me?”

“He’s a former colleague of my mentor, and he’s seen you a few times when you were younger. He was probably happy to see you after standing around at the gate for so long. He must have wanted to test if he could trust me with his family.”

“…”

“I understand. On the contrary, I feel good that he acknowledged me as someone he could trust with his family.”

She nodded and tucked her hair behind her ears, looking down.

“Stop it. You’re always saying nice things, and I don’t know what to do.”

I finished my sentence, and she tucked her hair behind her ears, looking down.

I patted her hand, and she looked up at me with a shy smile.

“I’m just glad that there are so many people who care about you and worry about you.”

She was pouting and fidgeting with her fingers, and I couldn’t help but feel playful.

“I’m jealous! I want some strong uncles and pretty aunts too!”

“Ah, ah! Stop it!”

Since we were in a separate space, I didn’t hold back and shouted.

“Not as cute as you!”

“Ah, really! Stop it!”

She ran towards me and pounded on my chest plate.

She had lost her parents tragically, and until recently, she was just a small, innocent girl who was a devout follower of the Light Church.

Even though she had become a priest and an adventurer, she still had a childlike and pure side.

“I can’t take it anymore!”

“But you’re feeling better now, right?”

“Hehe.”

Look, she’s already smiling.

[Chaos complains that he’s too soft on this girl.]

After a few months in the dungeon, she had improved a lot.

I remembered how she used to be so shy that she couldn’t even look me in the eye or speak when Hans was being disgusting.

I wanted to comfort her and make her feel better, so I continued to stroke her hair.

Tap.

I signaled Lumia that our conversation was over, and she nodded.

“I’m sorry. I was just a little crazy.”

Yeriel handed me the high-level potion, and I put it in my bag.

“It’s too much for me to carry. I’ll give it to you.”

“It’s fine. The bottles are magically treated, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Okay. If someone gets seriously injured, we’ll need it. It doesn’t matter who carries it. What matters is how we use it.”

I agreed with her sensible reasoning.

“To be honest, it’s a bit of a burden.”

“I understand. I’ll put it in my bag, and if you need it in the city, let me know.”

I put the potion in my bag.

“Now everything is settled. Shall we go?”

Veronica pointed to the black tower, indicating that it was time to move on.

There was no time limit, but there was no point in delaying our entrance any further.

I approached the tower and swallowed.

“Then, shall we open it? Everyone, don’t be surprised if you hear strange voices, just stay calm and wait.”

I placed my hand on the arch-shaped stone door, which was obviously the entrance.

“Hahaha! Welcome! Another challenger has come!”

What a loud, obnoxious laugh.

It echoed in my head, making me jump.

“I wonder if you have the qualities to approach the abyss!”

‘Enough. Just open the door.’

What’s with this abyss nonsense?

Is he talking about the mid-layers?

“Good! I hope you’re not a foolish moth that will throw away your life!”

Grrr…

The blackness behind the stone door was ominous.

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-Slam!

As soon as we entered the tower, the back wall closed with a loud noise, sealing the entrance.

We were now completely cut off from any escape route.

Our lives depended on whether we could reach the 10th floor or not.

“Let’s move. Stay alert.”

It was too dark. We needed some light.

I frowned and reached into my bag, but Veronica shook her head.

“As soon as we get out of this corridor, torches will light up, so you won’t have to worry about visibility.”

“That’s good. I don’t want to carry a torch around.”

I shrugged and continued forward without hesitation.

Whoosh!

As Veronica had described, torches lit up on the ceiling and walls, illuminating the area.

“Wow, there are so many.”

The torches were automatically lit, and the flames were green, blue, and pink, creating a surreal and fascinating sight.

The tower’s interior was brighter and more colorful than it looked from the outside.

The space was larger than it seemed from the outside, and there was enough room to move around and fight without any issues.

‘I heard that all the floors have the same structure. It’s a bit eerie. I hope no demons appear.’

The tower’s interior was slightly lighter than the black exterior, but it still felt a bit creepy with only four of us standing there.

I kept my guard up as we moved to the center of the tower.

Lumia pointed to the front.

“There’s a staircase.”

I could see the staircase leading upwards, just as she said.

‘That’s not all. There are also staircases on both sides.’

I had a rough idea of the tower’s structure.

If you looked down on the tower’s interior, it was a square-shaped space with the entrance in the south.

There were staircases on the east, west, and north sides.

I was told there were three staircases, and this was why.

I asked Veronica, who had been here before, if there were any noticeable changes since her last visit.

“The structure is the same as before, and it feels like the size is the same too.”

She added that there were no problems so far.

Good. It seemed that the dungeon wasn’t going to play any tricks on us from the start.

Whoosh!

I nodded in relief, but then I sensed a flow of mana from all directions.

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Three images appeared at the top of each staircase, formed by the tower’s magic.

I could see them.

The images, drawn with gray magic, started to take shape.

Each staircase had a different image, indicating what kind of enemies would appear.

From left to right, the first image was a horned demon.

I was a group of monsters.

The second image was a large question mark.

This meant that the enemies were random and unpredictable.

The third image was two crossed blades.

This indicated a one-on-one duel with a strong enemy.

After observing each image, we discussed our options.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to choose the random layer when none of us are exhausted or injured.”

“I agree. If we’re unlucky, it could be even more dangerous than the other two combined.”

Luck… Out of the four of us, luck was the one thing I was least confident about.

“We need to experience the level of enemies the tower sends out. I think fighting the monsters or the duel is a good choice. What do you think?”

The most straightforward choice was to fight the monsters.

The duel was also a viable option.

Yeriel had learned the art of combat, and Lumia had the shadow attached to her, but they would still be at risk against a powerful enemy.

If the duel layer randomly chose one person to fight, I wouldn’t have chosen it.

However, I was told that in the duel layer, the person who was confident in one-on-one combat would step forward.

Yeriel, who had been thinking hard, spoke up.

“I think it’s better to fight together from the start than to have one person bear the burden alone… What do you think?”

“I agree. It’s the most straightforward choice.”

Veronica agreed with Yeriel without hesitation.

“What about you, Lumia?”

Lumia looked at me and said, “If we fight one-on-one, you’ll definitely step forward. I don’t want to see you get hurt or exhausted, so I’ll vote for fighting the monsters.”

“Oh… Thank you for worrying about me.”

Lately, I’ve been feeling that Lumia’s affection for me has become heavier.

Of course, I don’t mind that she always worries about me and cares for me.

But sometimes I feel like she cares more about me than herself, and it worries me.

‘Anyway, that’s not important right now.’

Clap!

I clapped my hands to get everyone’s attention and concluded.

“So, we all agree to go up the left staircase?”

Unanimous.

Everyone chose the staircase that led to the monster layer.

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Defense.

The theme of the 2nd floor was to defend against waves of monsters.