The day after I heard about the labyrinth from Kraze, several students, including myself and Arcelia, gathered in front of it.
Some looked confident, others had tense expressions, and a few seemed to be enjoying themselves. Although all of them were third-year students, the atmosphere around each one was different.
Among them, there was even someone who looked like the world was ending. Maybe they were in danger of failing.
“Arcelia, should we skip ahead to the eleventh level, or take it slow and kill the monsters along the way?”
While an unfamiliar teacher was explaining safety precautions, I asked Arcelia.
“Let’s skip ahead. The monsters up to the tenth level are just small fry, aren’t they? It’s a waste of time to bother with them,” she replied, glancing lightly at me.
“Besides… it would be a pity for the others if we hunted them all,” she added.
Though her words sounded considerate, that wasn’t the case. There wasn’t any warmth hidden behind her serious expression—just pure arrogance.
“Well, that’s true. Got it.”
I nodded without further comment.
If this had been a year ago, I probably would have said something about her attitude, but by now, I’ve given up. Changing this arrogant Arcelia is something nobody can do.
Ever since she enrolled in the academy, many people have been affected by her. Whether she’s aware of it or not, I know for a fact that there have been at least more than twenty.
Just as I was thinking she would always stay this way, the teacher finished speaking. The other students began walking into the labyrinth in unison.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
Arcelia, who had already started walking ahead, turned back toward me.
“Yeah, yeah. Alright, let’s do this.”
Though I had ventured into many labyrinths in my previous life, that was all in the past. Since I was reborn, I hadn’t set foot into a labyrinth, not even once.
Maybe that’s why I felt excited.
With a desire to unleash the feelings that I couldn’t express in my previous life, I stepped into the labyrinth.
“Arcelia, how do you find the atmosphere of the labyrinth?” I asked as we sprinted through a slightly spacious cave-like section.
“Not bad, I guess,” she replied, blasting away monsters blocking our path.
“But you’re talking like you’ve experienced a labyrinth before,” she added, smirking as she shot me a sidelong glance.
It was probably just a casual remark from her, but as someone who had actually experienced labyrinths in a previous life, it sent a chill down my spine.
Though I managed to keep my composure, my heart skipped a beat. It felt like that moment when I had unexpectedly encountered a powerful monster while wandering in a dark forest in my past life.
“I suppose you could take it that way. But of course, this is my first time,” I said.
“I know,” she shrugged at my half-truth, half-lie, even though we were running at high speed.
Unlike me, who was using combat energy to strengthen my body, Arcelia was only using magic to manipulate the wind, allowing her to move swiftly.
Though I couldn’t feel what that was like, since I couldn’t use magic, I understood how advanced that technique was from watching my brother since I was a child.
On top of that, she had discreetly trained her body as well.
Though it was hard to tell from her appearance since women don’t develop much visible muscle, my experience told me that Arcelia had indeed put in the effort.
As expected, she’s a genius who never slacks off. I’ve always wondered where she gets her drive from, but I still don’t know. I’ve even asked her directly, but she wouldn’t tell me.
Well, it’s not something I need to push for. In the end, she’s not me. Even though we’ve known each other for a long time, she’s still someone else.
If she wants to keep training, that’s fine. If she wants to slack off, that’s also fine. She can do as she pleases.
“Is that the staircase ahead?”
After running for a while, I saw what looked like stairs in the distance. Arcelia was comparing the map to the stairs.
“Is it in the right place according to the map? Then it must be the staircase.”
Even I don’t remember the exact locations of structures like staircases. After running this far, vague memories started coming back, but nothing precise.
So, the map, based on decades of accumulated knowledge, was far more reliable than my fuzzy memories.
“Let’s hurry down, then.”
“Yeah.”
Though descending deeper into the labyrinth might sound grand, it was really just a normal staircase. The dim glow of the walls was the same as in the cave-like corridors we’d already passed through.
When I first entered a labyrinth in my previous life, and again when I entered an unexplored one, I had felt excitement. But now, I felt nothing.
No, that’s a lie. I was definitely feeling some anticipation—about how far my current strength could take me against the powerful monsters beyond the eleventh level, and the master of the final floor.
“…Are we just going to keep repeating this? It’s starting to feel tedious,” Arcelia complained as soon as we stepped onto the second floor.
Normally, people take days to descend, but with our skills, the process must have seemed dull.
We weren’t struggling with monsters, nor getting lost. All we were doing was descending, floor by floor.
To be honest, I was getting pretty bored myself.
“I get what you mean, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Should we just smash through the floor?”
“Oh? For once, you’ve said something useful.”
“What?”
It was only meant as a joke, but Arcelia took it seriously. She clapped her hands and pointed her palm at the ground.
Sensing something bad, I opened my mouth to stop her—
“Wait—”
But I was too late.
In the next instant, a deafening roar shook the labyrinth.
