Edited by: Kuro and Lille
Also, thank you Dreamy for the kofi! Not quite yet for 2 extra chapters but we almost there :D
According to System 225, it took them three days to reach the staircase. After three days of running, no one wanted to run ever again. Even Grey was sick and tired of running for his life.
They sat at the staircase and watched the giant stone spheres go past them and then fall into a giant hole. There were no sounds of the stone hitting the floor or anything like that. It was like it was going into an abyss, never to be seen or heard from ever again.
“What a scary labyrinth this is…” Genji said while he saw another stone ball fall into the hole. He had been to a lot of labyrinths, but this was the first one he felt an actual threat from. He wondered what in the world was going on in this “beginner” labyrinth.
“Luckily, we made it out of this floor alive. I really thought we were going to die,” Andrea said, massaging his legs. He didn’t even want to think about going up these horrid stairs with his legs throbbing and burning.
Grey couldn’t help but agree. Getting these kiddos out of this labyrinth took 20 years off his lifespan. He had to worry about monsters, traps, giant stone balls, and possibly dying from running to their deaths.
If he knew he had to do this, he would have gone straight to the bottom floor and figured out the secrets of the labyrinth even if it meant someone would die. Well, it would be a pain to protect them but it was better than running!
After resting at the staircase, the group finally made their way up the stairs. Even if they felt as if their legs were like jelly, it was better than being constantly reminded of the fact they had to run away from the giant stone balls.
When they arrived on the next floor, they saw a crystal ball by the entrance of the stairs.
Andrea, Lamine, and Genji gave cheers of joy. They limped their way to the teleport crystal. They were so happy, they felt like crying.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Genji shouted and put his hand on the crystal orb. His body disappeared from the labyrinth but his voice echoed throughout the hall.
One by one, they all left. Grey was the last one to leave.
When Grey opened his eyes, he saw his party members sitting nearby. They looked like they had just returned after going through a grave war and were refusing to get up. Even Reyner looked exhausted and was ready to fall asleep against the walls of the cave.
When he came to, Grey heard System 225. [Congratulations on completing the Main Mission: Successfully make it out of the Labyrinth. You also completed the Side Mission: Do not lose a single party member. You have one more side mission to complete. Congratulations and good luck on the last mission, Grey.]
‘Thank you, System 225. Also, thank you for mapping out the floors for me. I appreciate you.’
System 225 was happy that Grey acknowledged him! Grey could hear System 225’s hums of joy fading into silence. Grey knew System 225 was in a good mood. He felt that he should do this from now on.
Grey walked over and sat down with them. He knew they needed to rest physically and mentally before going back to town.
Other groups of people walked by giving them odd stares. They didn’t understand why Andrea’s party looked so dead. The first 20 floors were easy, what could they have experienced???
Andrea ignored all the stares and looked at his party members. His face was serious, so they all knew it was an important conversation. “What will you all be doing after this?”
Everyone was thinking, so Grey decided to say his plan first and his intentions of leaving the party. “I will be going down to the bottom floor. I know we have just gotten out of the labyrinth but there is something I must figure out about this labyrinth. I have my reasons.”
“I will follow Doctor Edwin,” Micah unhesitantly said. Wherever Doctor Edwin went, he would go! He had already decided to attach himself to Edwin’s hip.
Reyner also spoke up, “I will also be following Edwin.”
He didn’t talk much, but he was the one person Andrea didn’t expect to leave. Didn’t Reyner say that he wanted to help and protect the Hero? Was he going back on that vow?
“I know I said I would go with you, but Edwin is my lover. Wherever he goes, I will go.”
Everyone but Micah and Grey was in utter shock. When did they get together?! When did this happen? They were so confused.
In this world, same-sex marriages were normal, so this wasn’t the problem. The problem was that they didn’t even know when or how they got together. Did this happen in the past? Did this happen in the labyrinth? Regardless, the information drop was too sudden!
“But… We need you as a tank, Reyner.” Andrea gritted his teeth.
“If Doctor Edwin decides to party with you from now on, I will also follow.” Reyner was a former knight with a strong sense of loyalty. Especially loyalty to his lover. Now that he found Edwin, he didn’t want to go anywhere without him.
Andrea looked over at Edwin with grieving eyes. It was like Edwin had seduced his lover and taken all of his money. He felt wronged!
Grey was getting a headache looking at the young hero who was nothing but a fledgling. Even though he didn’t want to go with Andrea, it didn’t hurt. Plus, Felicia didn’t have her wretched curse on her anymore, so she was tolerable. Helping the Hero didn’t hurt him. The faster he helped the hero, the quicker he could go on his adventure with Reyner and Micah!
“If you don’t mind me going into the lower levels of the labyrinth, I do not mind going on the journey with you,” Grey replied. He knew that Reyner was an important part of Andrea's party. Reyner was also an important character in the world plot. They were bound to be tied together one way or another.
“That is fine. I, too, want to explore the lower levels of the labyrinth.” Andrea wanted revenge. Once he gets his level higher, he would storm through the labyrinth and show he wasn’t a burden! “What do you all think?” Andrea looked over at Genji, Lamine, and Felicia who were quiet the whole time.
Genji thought about it before he replied back, “I want to go as well. Not only will I be able to learn more from Teacher Edwin, but I also want to beat this labyrinth!” He had already completed a few labyrinths. He didn’t want the stain of running away half alive to plague his conscience.
“I also want to go with Teacher Edwin. He can teach me more about detecting traps…” Lamine responded in her usual soft-spoken voice. It was the most excitement they had heard her though.
Everyone looked over at Felicia who was clenching her fists. She was afraid of the labyrinth but she didn’t want to separate from Andrea. “I… I will also go wherever Andrea goes.” Even if she had no idea what to say to him, she also didn’t want to leave his side. He was her childhood friend and she wanted to become strong enough to stay by his side, not always getting protected by him. She wanted to be his equal.
“Then, Doctor Edwin, please allow us to go with you!” Andrea bowed his head to show his respect.
“Alright, then please take care of us from now on,” Grey said as he gave a short bow back. He didn’t want to be hunched over like Andrea for so long. Plus, Grey was the one that was going to be inconvenienced, not Andrea.
After resting for a few more hours, the group trudged back to town.
They all wanted to rest for a few days before deciding how they were going to tackle the labyrinth. Andrea, Felicia, Micah, and Lamine were not on high enough levels to challenge the lower levels. Micah also wanted to practice using the bow, but that would be difficult in the labyrinth. Micah was young, so Edwin had plenty of time to train him. He needed to focus on the other three who were at much lower levels…
Well, he had a lot of time in this world since he was sticking around with God System, so it didn’t hurt to train some people.
*****
During the week of rest, Grey stopped by the Guild Master’s place.
Tassilo, his good friend, was shocked to see Edwin’s exhausted appearance. “My friend… what happened to you?” Tassilo asked while he got someone to prepare tea.
Grey leaned back on the couch in the Guild Master’s office and gave a deep sigh. “It’s a long story, my friend. You better prepare some snacks too. We're gonna be here for a while.”
When the tea and the snacks arrived, Grey complained to his good friend about the craziness of the labyrinth. He explained how they fell from floor 5 to floor 26 and clawed their way to floor 20. He also explained floor 21 which was the worst experience of his life and how he never wanted to do it ever again.
Tassilo was silent for a while after hearing Edwin’s story. “Edwin… That’s one hell of a story…” He finally managed to ask, “How did you know to go up instead of down?”
“My instincts told me that going downwards was dangerous so I had everyone go upwards…”
“That’s some crazy accurate instincts of yours.”
“I take pride in it.”
“And you are going in there again?”
“Yes, there’s something that I need to find in this labyrinth.” He didn’t go into detail about it, but he needed to know the secrets of the labyrinth to complete this world. There wasn’t anything in the novel that was revised by the editor.
Earlier, he had asked System 225 if the author had any notes, outlines, or rough drafts of the story, but it was locked. They had no idea how to unlock locked information.
“That labyrinth… Even if this town has been here for as long as this labyrinth has been discovered, no one has been able to get to the bottom floor. You know, those traps are no joke. If you weren’t there, everyone in the party would have died.”
“I know, that’s why I will train them so that they won’t just be extra baggage.”
It was rude to say, but it was the truth. Without Grey, they all would’ve died in that labyrinth. Grey’s instincts were something he brought with him, it was not a strength of Edwin’s.
Tassilo gave a sigh. He knew he could not stop his friend from going back in. All he could do was support him.
“You must make it out alive, alright?”
“I will, I promise.” He had lots of things he had to do with God System. This crazy labyrinth would not stop him from achieving his goals!
After that, they drank a bit more tea before parting ways. They both had a lot of things to do, so they didn’t mind ending their get-together early.
When Grey arrived at the inn, he was told that Micah and Reyner were practicing the bow outback. Reyner didn’t know how to use a bow, but he made sure that Micah didn’t hurt himself. As for Micah, he was practicing everything that Grey had taught him thus far with the bow that Grey bought.
Micah was quite skilled at using a bow. At first, he had a hard time adjusting his body to accurately hit the target, but after a couple of days of training, he was able to hit the targets. Though he wasn’t able to hit them dead center, it was still a huge improvement from not being able to hit it at all.
He was a fast learner and already had talent in the bow. He was a genius. Sooner or later, Micah would be able to use the bow in combat.
Grey didn’t say much when he found Micah and Reyner in the backyard for the inn. He just carefully watched over Micah.
Lille: Andrea’s reaction to Reyner going with Grey is just 😂👌
Grandpa Marky: I'm tired y'all. I'm so tired but I have to push through with these classes or I won't be able to graduate I'm going to CRY. I've done like 4 quizzes this week and now I have to write my research proposal that's due tomorrow. Yaoi Gods, please help me I'm suffering and CRYING. Not really but I am still very tired. Also news update about my eye. I'm going to a specialist on Tuesday. There's a hole. Like a whole ass HOLE in my retina, which is why I can't see anything in my upper and right peripheral view. Hopefully, my retina did not detach. If it did, well I'm fucked. I would have to go through surgery and pray I can regain some of my eyesight back. My older sister's retina also detached and she was bedridden for a month in complete darkness. I also had to take care of her during that time so I know how much she was suffering during her recovery. She recovered faster than most people though. Usually, it takes people 2-3 months of recovery... Anyway, I really hope it doesn't come to that and they can just close the hole up, but if not, well... that wouldn't be good. I will keep y'all posted on that. See y'all soon because well, I got midterms coming up, and honestly, ya can just murder me. :D
