Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

The first impression I had of her was chilling.

If I had only seen her smiling and stroking Yeriel’s head, I would have thought, ‘She must really love her little sister,’ or ‘What a close-knit sister duo!’

But my instincts warned me, telling me to be cautious of this extremely dangerous person.

[Chaos says that She is a formidable opponent for you right now.]

I froze at the chilling feeling, and I could hear whispers around me.

“Hey, look over there. Isn’t that the Blood-thirsty Knight of the Silver Cross Order?”

“Why are you making such a fuss about the Blood-thirsty Knight? Is she famous or something?”

“Damn, she’s a well-known deep-level conqueror. Didn’t you hear the rumors about how she raided the human hunters’ gathering and tore them all to shreds? You must have heard about the massacre.”

“Oh, I did hear about that massacre. I heard there were even some mid-level adventurers among the dozens of hunters in the 8th district slums, and she just ripped them all apart.”

“Yeah! I heard the scene was covered in blood… Ouch.”

The woman, known as the Blood-thirsty Knight, turned to look at the whispering crowd around her.

“It’s best if strangers mind their own business and go about their day, don’t you think?”

“Yes, yes, ma’am! We’re sorry for talking out of turn! Let’s go, guys.”

In stark contrast to the gentle demeanor she had shown Yeriel, her cold words made the whispering crowd disperse one by one.

She shook her head and spoke to me.

“But who are you? Why are you holding my sister’s hand so tightly?”

She narrowed her eyes and continued, “Hmm, there was no mention of a black-haired, golden-eyed man on Yeriel’s party list. I didn’t see you on the day of departure either.”

‘Of course, there wouldn’t have been. By the way, golden eyes… I was so surprised to see that the eyes reflected in the water had turned golden due to the Chaos Eyes.’

Sigh… Do I have to explain that I lost my memory and fell naked into the third layer again?

As I was trying to figure out how to introduce myself, Yeriel suddenly exclaimed, her face filled with surprise.

“Sister, why are you talking about a party list? And what do you mean by not seeing him on the day of departure?”

Yeriel started pouting again.

“Sister, did you investigate all the party members because I was going to the labyrinth for the first time? And you must have followed me on the day of departure too! I told you not to treat me like a child!”

The woman looked flustered as Yeriel started to sulk.

“I’m sorry, Yeriel. But when you, who has never fought before, decided to go to the labyrinth as an adult, how could I not worry and do something about it?”

She gently stroked Yeriel’s head and said, “Investigating and following you was probably too much. You know I was just worried, right? Can you forgive me?”

Yeriel sighed softly, let go of my hand, and hugged her sister.

“I know you’ll worry about me anyway, so if you’re going to do it, just don’t get caught. It feels weird to be overprotected like a child even though I’m an adult.”

The two of them really had a close bond. They looked like a mother and daughter.

After the hug, the woman turned to look at me and said, “So, what’s your answer? Who are you?”

I carefully opened my mouth, “I am Ahren. I first met Yeriel in the forest on the third layer of the labyrinth. At the time, I had lost my memory and was wandering alone in the forest, naked and clueless.”

There was no other choice. I had to pretend to have amnesia here as well.

“As I walked, occasionally punching the goblins that appeared, I came across a party, and luckily, Yeriel assured me that I wasn’t an evil person, so I was able to join them temporarily.”

I shrugged and continued, “After that, I was fortunate to receive equipment, and I was able to contribute to the party in combat.”

“Hmm.”

“After that, I somehow managed to escape through the portal in the center of the goblin village, and that was the end of it.”

I summarized the events, and the woman looked at me with an unusual gaze.

“There’s a lie in what you just said.”

“What?”

Damn, did my amnesia excuse get caught?

It was convenient when I used it, but now that I’ve been caught, I’m at a loss.

If I say that I’m a former 10th-layer adventurer and fell to the third layer through the portal, it doesn’t seem like it will work in my favor. What should I do?

[Chaos says to stay calm and not panic.]

Yeriel, sensing the strange atmosphere, quickly spoke up.

“Sister, come on! It’s rude to use your trait without saying anything!”

“It’s not like that…”

“And Ahren lied only about his contributions, saying he only did his fair share when he was actually the main damage dealer?”

Damn it. I really aged ten years. It’s a common trope in isekai stories that anyone who is exposed as a former 10th-layer adventurer gets killed.

‘Yeriel, nice assist!’

[Chaos says she agrees this time.]

I pretended to be calm and spoke as if nothing had happened, “I’m sorry. As Yeriel said, I didn’t just do my fair share. I was the main damage dealer and sliced through the goblins.”

I pointed to my eyes and continued, “My eyes are pretty good, so I could see their attacks clearly. Just like you said, I seem to have a trait related to my eyes.”

The woman tilted her head.

Was there something still bothering her?

“Okay, I’ll ask one last question. If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize sincerely.”

Alright, fine.

“Go ahead. I’m ready to answer.”

The woman suddenly stepped closer to me.

Whoa.

She came so close that our noses almost touched, and she grabbed my chin to hold me in place.

‘Damn, she’s so damn pretty.’

[Chaos says she’s not bad either, but she can’t show it.]

The woman whispered, “Look into my eyes and listen carefully. [Labyrinth of Deity].”

What?

“Labyrinth of Deity.”

What’s that, you weeb? Labyrinth is a maze, but what was about Deity?

Anyway, move your face away… It’s too close and uncomfortable.

“Can you please move away? It’s a bit overwhelming.”

“Sure. I was observing your reaction, but you’re not who I thought you were. By the way, what’s overwhelming about this?”

It’s overwhelming to have such a beautiful face so close. But if you’re not who I thought you were, what does that mean? Did I manage to avoid the danger for now?

“It’s overwhelming to have someone’s face suddenly come so close. Especially if it’s the face of such a stunning beauty.”

I blurted it out without thinking, and I felt a bit embarrassed afterward, but she seemed even more flustered.

“Wh, what?”

Both sisters blush the same way.

I thought about checking my status window during her moment of confusion, but I decided against it. She might have a trait that detects when someone steals information.

‘I know she’s strong enough to have her name spread around, but I can’t grasp just how strong she is. The gap between us is immense.’

The woman seemed flustered, biting her lip for a moment, then lowering her head to apologize.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have used my trait without saying anything, and I shouldn’t have tested you like that.”

If someone who had torn apart dozens of people, including several mid-level adventurers, was apologizing by bowing their head, it seemed sincere enough.

“It’s okay. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing if I saw some stranger holding my cute little sister’s hand. Please lift your head.”

The woman raised her head, and I thought the situation was resolved, so I spoke to Yeriel.

“Yeriel, it seems like everything’s settled. Shall we go look for Derek? Bernard might be waiting with him.”

Yeriel nodded.

As we were about to go look for Derek, the Blood-thirsty Knight spoke up.

“He’s over there. I saw you earlier, but I guess you couldn’t come over because of me. Let’s go.”

Following her direction, we found Derek cowering and Bernard frozen in place.

“I’ll be going to the Order’s headquarters after I’m done here, so don’t worry about me and do what you need to do.”

Hearing her words, Derek and Bernard finally started moving.

Derek leaned in and whispered to me, “I only invited her to the party because she’s a priest, but I had no idea she had a deep-level conqueror in her family. Be careful, Ahren.”

Then he addressed everyone, “Okay, let’s deal with the byproducts, distribute the loot, and hand Hans over to the guild. Let’s go to the guild reception.”

We left the labyrinth entrance, passed through the checkpoint, and arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild.

The guild building was a massive wooden structure, almost as grand as a mansion.

Clunk.

I pushed open the wooden revolving door with iron trim and stepped inside.

The interior of the building was spacious, with multiple floors. The first floor was filled with dozens of tables, occupied by adventurers engaged in various conversations.

The size of the guild building and the number of tables were matched by the numerous reception counters. Each counter had a line of people waiting.

There were separate counters for settlement, and Derek stood in the shortest line he could find.

The rest of us found an empty table and sat down to talk.

The Blood-thirsty Knight turned to me and asked, “Why are you handing Hans over to the guild to be turned into a slave? From what I saw on the list, he was just a lousy porter. Did he do something terrible?”

“Well…”

“Usually, we don’t go through the trouble of enslaving someone with magic just because of a heated dispute. Either you’re in desperate need of money and hold back from killing them, or they are truly despicable.”

Since Derek wasn’t back yet, I briefly explained what had happened.

“There were attempts to grope party members and steal loot, if I may say so.”

“Stealing loot is a serious crime, but groping party members?”

“Both attempts were unsuccessful, but the latter caused a lot of distress to the party member involved, and in the former he tried to escape through the portal after stealing important loot.”

As I spoke, I leaned in and whispered softly into Yeriel’s ear, “Is this something I can tell your sister about? Will she go crazy and cause trouble for us if she hears this?”

Before I could hear Yeriel’s response, the Blood-thirsty Knight spoke in a low voice, “I heard everything you just said. I don’t know what it’s about, but if it concerns Yeriel, tell me. I promise I won’t cause any trouble for you here.”

Since she was so confident, I decided it was best to tell her. Anyway, she would find out sooner or later.

“That bastard Hans kept trying to touch Yeriel’s body, invite her to meals, and ask personal questions. He was harassing her.”

Shiver.

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt a knife against my neck. I saw a hallucination of my eyes turning red.

I felt powerless, as if I would die if I moved even a little.

‘Damn it.’

I was afraid of her, but I was even more annoyed that I couldn’t do anything.

“Ugh!”

“Cough!”

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who felt like I was about to die, as no one in the guild moved.

However, this moment didn’t last long, as she seemed to be keeping her promise to control her anger.

“Phew.”

[Chaos admires the intense killing intent of a human.]

I could hear people sighing in relief all around me. Even though she was still holding Yeriel, she didn’t seem to be directing her anger towards her.

“Sister…”

Yeriel approached her and whispered something in her ear.

By the time Derek returned and asked me what had just happened, their conversation was over.

The Blood-thirsty Knight turned to me and said, “Ahren, instead of handing Hans over to the guild to be turned into a slave, would you transfer him to me? It’s legal as long as we get a certificate and write a deed of transfer at the guild.”

Transfer?

“I’ll pay you a lot more than what the guild would give you. What did you say the guild was offering, Derek?”

Derek quickly replied, “Yes! 30 silver coins!”

“Then I’ll give you 3 gold coins, no, 5 gold coins. Will you transfer him to me?”

Damn. I’m not familiar with the currency system in this world yet, but isn’t it usually 100 silver coins for 1 gold coin? 5 gold coins is a huge amount.

I immediately agreed to her offer.

“Great! That bastard is going to suffer in hell. He’ll regret not being able to end his own life. How dare a filthy worm like him touch someone?”

After that, everything went smoothly.

I received 25 silver coins from Derek as my share.

We went to the slave-related counter, completed the necessary procedures, received the gold coins, and wrote the deed of transfer.

Goodbye, Hans. I don’t even have any blessings to spare for you.

As I stood there, thinking about that detestable man, the Blood-thirsty Knight approached me.

“By the way, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Evelyn. I’m Yeriel’s sister and the leader of the Silver Cross Order.”

Hmm, I didn’t have much to say, so I gave a plausible answer.

“My name is Ahren. I’m a man who will become a deep-level adventurer and conquer the great labyrinth.”

Evelyn laughed at my response, probably because I had said it in front of a deep-level adventurer like herself.

“Haha, that’s a great ambition! From what Yeriel has told me, it doesn’t seem impossible. Keep working hard.”

Then, she pulled on the chains holding Hans and continued, “Ahren, follow me. I owe you for taking this scumbag away from Yeriel. That’s more than enough reason for me to treat you.”

She gestured for me to follow her.

“Anyway, you probably don’t have any foundation right now, do you? I’ll help you with your identity issue. I’ll provide you with a room in the Order’s lodgings for the time being, so you just need to come with me.”

It was too generous…

But I’m not in a position to refuse right now.

I have 5 gold coins and 25 silver coins, but they are my lifeline, so I need to save them until my next trip to the labyrinth.

…If my circumstances were a little more comfortable, I would have shared the 5 gold coins with everyone.

“Thank you. I’ll be staying with you for a while.”

Evelyn nodded in satisfaction.

Before we left for the Holy District, where the Order was located, Derek spoke up.

“Ahren, I’ll treat you to a meal, so please come to the Ash Tree Inn in the 6th district later! You have to!”

“Yes. Let’s have a meal together later. Thank you so much, Derek.”

“Okay. Bernard is going to take some time off, so I should get going too! Stay alive, Ahren!”

After seeing Derek and Bernard off, I followed Evelyn to the headquarters of the Silver Cross Order.

.

.

.

“Take the sword, Ahren. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Why am I standing in the middle of the training ground, listening to this?