Adrias pulled a potion from his pocket and handed it directly to Dianne, surveying the surroundings.

Nick, who had already left no trace thanks to Diene's magic, was now reduced to magical residue, and just moments ago, his lifeless body lay beside Marlon, who had been wounded by his sword.

As Dianne drank the potion, she frowned, touching the wound on her abdomen.

The pain was far more intense than she had imagined, and cold sweat trickled down her jawline.

"Thank you for helping, but why are you here?" she asked Adrias, trying not to sound too curious.

However, when she inquired about it, Adrias, who was examining Marlon's corpse, replied, "Due to a mana anomaly, my fellow guild members were scattered everywhere. So, I was wandering alone through the maze, and I sensed a magical surge, so I rushed here."

It was impossible to verify the truth of his words, but considering the situation, she was immensely relieved that he had arrived when he did.

Adrias ceased rummaging through Marlon's corpse and took out another potion, gesturing with his hand. "The wound is deep. Stay still for now."

Approaching Dianne, Adrias examined the injury. He transformed his hand, making it sharp, and gently probed her abdomen. Fortunately, the wound was clean.

After liberally applying the potion, Adrias took out another one, finishing it himself before laying Dianne down. "There's no time to linger here."

"But Dianne, you don't really need to excel in this evaluation."

"Even so, on the other side, the fellow members..."

Suddenly, she began to doubt whether the earlier loss of her comrades was part of this maze's trap.

And once doubt crept in, her thoughts turned to Adrias. "Adrias."

"Yes?"

"Before entering the maze, you warned me to be cautious about my fellow members. How did you know?"

"I simply advised you to be cautious; that's all. I had no idea something like this would happen. Do you think I knew in advance?" Adrias said gruffly, still looking at the Goblin's door.

"Was that just a routine warning?"

"Yeah? Well, how could I possibly know everything, even if I am who I am? Thanks to that, though, you noticed. Of course, I couldn't prevent everything."

After this remark, an awkward silence hung in the air for a moment.

Sensing that her wounds were healing rapidly, Dianne began to move slowly. "Let's go, Adrias."

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. Nevertheless, escape comes first."

Dianne forced a smile. "It would have been impossible without you. I trust you."

"Understood."

As Adrias and Dianne stood in front of the Goblin's door, a massive face opened its mouth.

-You're not... a laborer, are you? A warrior, perhaps?

The horned face peered intently at Adrias.

When Dianne turned to Adrias in response to the incomprehensible words, he was staring at the door with a stern expression.

-Whose sword is it? A starving one would never give a sword to a laborer.

"I don't understand what you're saying. A sword? Are you talking about this?"

When Adrias displayed his own sword, the goblin sneered.

-Ho! Ho! Ho! Indeed, laborers are laborers; they know nothing! They just work and live, those kinds of folks. A sword is a luxury for someone like you.

"You've been speaking incomprehensible gibberish since earlier. Are you causing trouble?" Dianne asked.

-Trouble? I have no trouble with you. The laborer can pass, but there's no path for you.

Dianne, puzzled by the goblin's refusal to create a problem, glanced back and forth between them.

It was fine for him to have been saying incomprehensible things earlier, but to outright refuse now was unusual.

However, Adrias's response indicated that he had no idea what the door was saying.

"This is ridiculous."

Schwing!

Adrias drew his sword.

In response to his action, as if he intended to break through with force, Dianne intervened, "Adrias, no."

Even within the empire, powerful individuals had gathered for the excavation of historical ruins, as substantial interests were at stake.

This "Monet's Labyrinth" was no exception, as Warlock-class mages and Aura Masters had participated in the initial excavation work.

In those days, the Warlock Muto Kynaine, who participated in the first excavation, recorded the power of some traps in the documents.

"The Goblin's door is mentioned in the records as something even Aura Master Muto Kynaine could not break through with force, and he suffered severe injuries trying," Dianne recalled.

"I know."

Despite saying that, Adrias continued to stand there with his sword raised, lost in thought.

After a brief stare-down with the door, he slowly spoke, "Having a sword means you can cut a path for yourself, doesn't it?"

-Foolish one. Are you thinking that you can cut me with a sword that hasn't even been tempered yet?

Ignoring the goblin's words, Adrias looked at a system message that had been appearing in the corner of his vision.

[The 'Guardian Seed of God killing' detects the presence of a divine aura.]

[The aura of 'The One with Ten Thousand Faces' has been identified.]

[Suppression is possible.]

'A sword... it seems to be the 'Guardian Seed of God Killing'?'

Monet's Labyrinth was also one of the ancient ruins.

Though it had not been confirmed if it was associated with ancient gods, Adrias could deduce its connection from the message that had appeared in his field of vision.

"I want to test it."

[The 'Guardian Seed of God Killing' is activated.]

[Temporary suppression of divine aura.]

[Temporary reduction of 'The One with Ten Thousand Faces' effect.][Temporary increase in resistance to 'The One with Ten Thousand Faces.']

[The 'Guardian Seed of God Killing' has collected one trace.]

[Transformation will occur when four traces are collected.]

"Let's see if I can overcome you..."

It was well-known that even Aura Masters could not break through the Goblin's door.

However, Adrias did not believe it was due to his lack of skill; it was simply that he lacked resistance to the divine.

Rumble!

Adrias' sword resounded.

When Adrias activated the 'Guardian Seed of God Killing' the goblin's expression visibly soured, and it opened its mouth wide.

-Foolish one.

"Are you scared?" Adrias asked with a smirk as he sprinted forward.

"Adrias!"

Startled, Dianne tried to stop him, but her injured body couldn't keep up. She could only watch as Adrias unhesitatingly charged towards the door.

Clang!

Thud!

The door...

"It's been cut..."

Dianne stared in bewilderment at the situation that unfolded before her eyes. She had read records about how even the renowned mercenary King Muto Kynaine, who was famous as an Aura Master, could not leave a scratch on this door.

So, what does this mean?

"It's nothing special."

Cruunch, slurp.

The door seemed to bleed, almost like a living entity. However, the blood it shed had a dark, rotten-black hue.

-Is it satisfying to cut me?

The goblin, now neatly halved, spoke as it bled.

Unfazed, Adrias simply sheathed his sword and extended a hand to Dianne.

"I'll help you up."

"What?"

"It's dirty."

The floor was already stained with the black blood.

However, Dianne, not inclined to be involved in such unseemly behavior, shook her head.

"I have magic, why..."

"The wounds will worsen. You should refrain from using magic for a while."

Adrias forcefully lifted Dianne.

Then, with a single leap, he cleared the door, which was now neatly halved.

-In this place, everything is shared.

The goblin's face that was still not completely dead spoke.

-My current condition is also shared in real-time, hehehe.

"Speaking so loudly in the labyrinth is quite arrogant. Do you think that just because you recognize that, you can escape?" Adrias retorted.

-We've already been dismembered by laborers like you. Yes, admit it. Our power is not what it used to be, and you could easily handle us if it were just us.

"Just us?"

Dianne detected something unnatural in the door's words and questioned it.

That's when the door cackled and spoke again.

-Indeed. In this place, not only you but other beings have entered. Your group arrived just a few days ago.

"What does that mean?"

-Hehehe. Curious, are you? I'm afraid I don't know either. They are just beings like us...

The door stopped operating, leaving the riddle unanswered.

Adrias, carrying Dianne, began to walk silently, ignoring the dormant door.

"Beings like us? And they arrived a few days before us..."

"Not a good sign, I guess."

"Yeah. It's strange that something entered just a few days before we came. If it was just lost monsters, it wouldn't matter much, but the chances of that happening are low."

Adrias's expression grew serious, and Dianne was oblivious to it as she rode on his back.

"At least for now, let's find an exit. Staying here for too long doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Agreed."

On the other side of the door, they found no other group members.

Whether they had already left or were initially from the same group remained unclear. As they walked in silence, the events from earlier weighed on their minds.

Perhaps because of the recent events, Dianne felt drowsiness washing over her.

Normally, she would have stayed alert, but an unknown sense of comfort and security made her eyelids grow heavy.

"Take a little nap. I'll wake you up."

Hearing Adrias's distant voice, she leaned her head against his back.

.

..

.

Confirming that Dianne had fallen asleep, I could finally let out a sigh of relief.

I had acted rashly to save her.

In reality, the claim of being separated from the group was a lie.

I had wanted to test Dianne's abilities, but I couldn't shake the unease about what might happen. I couldn't help but doubt her.

Ultimately, I had left the group, quietly slipped away, and gone in search of Dianne.

'I'm sorry to my group members, but it was a good decision.'

Life's value is said to be equal for all.

But not for me.

As long as the playable characters survive, it didn't matter if all the academy students perished. That was my mindset, which justified my actions.

In fact, if I hadn't left my group members, things might have taken a terrible turn.

'Still, these beings...'

A new variable had entered the equation.

A situation not present in the game.

Or perhaps it existed in the game, but I hadn't encountered it.

'I don't know what it is, but it's better to keep it in mind.'

For now, escaping was the top priority.

.

.

.

.

It had been two days since they entered the labyrinth.

During this time, Dianne's wounds had significantly healed, so I no longer had to carry her.

"Why does no one else seem to be around?"

"It could be bad luck, or it could be a good thing."

In the game, they would occasionally encounter other teams.

Meeting another team could lead to either trouble or cooperation, but in their current situation, not encountering anyone might be the better option.

Dianne, myself, and even the players who admired us might have wanted to avoid confrontation. If they saw that we were just two individuals, one of whom was injured, they would likely seize the opportunity to eliminate us in an attempt to secure their own success.

"All of these situations are part of the evaluation."

After two days of walking, they could sense that they were getting closer to the exit, even though they couldn't see it directly. The changing surroundings were a clear indication.

"Ah."

Dianne made a short exclamation as she spotted something.

I had already sensed something as I approached.

"But... why is everyone gathered here?"

A structure resembling an exit portal came into view.

One strange detail was a box with unusual patterns placed in front of it.

"Dianne, Dianne! Adrias!"

The students who had noticed our arrival looked at us with trembling eyes.

To understand the situation, I asked, "What's going on here?"

"There's a trap in front of the exit. That's why no one can leave."

At a closer look, there were a total of nine students.

Did that mean there were two teams?

"Is that the trap?" Dianne asked.

A student nodded. "Already three people have died because of that box."

"What?" I was taken aback.

"Three people have already died because of that box."

This was a headache. I looked at the box again. This type of trap was entirely new to me within the Monet's Maze.

'It seems vaguely familiar... like I've seen it somewhere in the game.'

But the difference between reality and the game graphics was making it difficult to recall.

'I don't have any recollection of this type of box from the game's resources or documents. What exactly happened?'

"When you approach, a monster jumps out of the open box."

A box that releases a monster when approached? I quickly understood the true nature of the box upon hearing about the phenomenon.

'It's definitely not supposed to be here. It seems like... Chaos Mimic is after me.'

This quickly occurred after the recent event. I must have disturbed it that much.

"Even magical attacks don't work, or rather, it feels like my mana is just being absorbed."

"It can't be moved because magic doesn't work. We can't do anything for now."

"I'll examine it with my magic first."

Dianne took a determined step forward.

The students, with hope in their eyes, cheered her on as she moved.

"I hope it's that simple. Please, just let us out! We beg you!"

I, aware of what the box might be, stood by, ready to protect her if needed.

Uuung!

The Named-class staff "Roar of Dawn" in her hand emitted light.

In a flash, a completed spatial magic was used on the box blocking the exit.