'Everyone, move back from that door—away from the wall,' I ordered immediately after Shea stumbled away.
The girls reacted without hesitation, quickly lining up behind me. My eyes, however, never left the section of wall that had shifted.
After a few tense breaths, the stone slid back into place with a dull scrape, sealing itself as if nothing had happened.
Only then did I loosen my grip on the wand, letting out a slow breath.
'Master… was that really a labyrinth trap?' Remu asked quietly.
'Yes,' I replied, turning to look over the group.
'I-I'm s-so sorry, Master… I-I didn't know… I-I really didn't… I'm s-sorry…' Shea's voice trembled in party chat, her head bowed as her body began to shake.
A soft sniffle followed and I realised she was crying.
With a sigh, I removed one of my steel gloves, and gently lifted her chin.
'There's no need to cry,' I said calmly, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
'M-Masterrr… p-please give me another chance…' she pleaded, her voice breaking. 'I-I'll prove I'm not useless… I swear…'
Her puffy red eyes looked up at me, tears still pooling, her rabbit ears drooping low.
'First,' I said gently, brushing away another tear, 'can you stop crying?'
That only made it worse.
"Master, p-please don't throw me away…" she sobbed aloud, her shoulders shaking.
In fact her intense reaction had really caught me off guard.
I don't even know what had triggered it, as I haven't even said anything yet!
Before she could spiral further, I pulled her into my arms, hugging her close and slowly rubbing her back.
"Hey… it's alright," I murmured softly. "I'm not throwing you away. How could I throw away such a cute rabbit girl, huh?" I leaned closer and whispered near her ear, keeping my voice low.
Part of me was also worried that her crying might attract more monsters.
"Hehe… sniff… that's… true…" she managed a weak chuckle, her face pressed against my steel armor.
After a moment, I gently pulled back.
'Have you calmed down now?' I asked, releasing her—after all this wasn't a place we could let down our guard for long.
She wiped her remaining tears with her sleeve and took a shaky breath.
'Y-yes… sniff… I'm sorry for such a shameful display, Master,' Shea said quietly.
'It's fine… just don't start assuming things on your own,' I said calmly. 'And if you're still not feeling well, you can return to the house and rest for today.'
'No—please, Master,' Shea replied quickly. 'I'll fix my mistake. I'll prove myself. Please give me another chance.'
Her blue eyes looked up at me, filled with determination.
'Alright. I'll respect your wish,' I said after a brief pause. 'But you moved ahead even after I told you to stop. For that, I'll decide your punishment after we return home.'
'…I understand, Master,' she said, lowering her head slightly.
Even I felt I might be pushing her too hard—especially after seeing her break down like that.
But inside the labyrinth, I couldn't afford to be lenient.
After all, I didn't possess any special scouting abilities myself. Right now, the entire party's safety depended solely on Shea's performance. If she accidentally led us into another trap—or worse, into the middle of multiple enemy groups—the situation could turn dangerous very quickly.
Yes, I still had Warp and other emergency skills. And I could probably save everyone if things went wrong.
But that wasn't the point.
As this test was all about determining whether an independent party without my presence was even feasible. That meant the scout's margin for error was extremely small.
And to make matters worse, Shea was being compared—whether she liked it or not—to Roxanne.
That alone had raised my expectations far higher than usual.
Still my anger and frustration had melted a lot after seeing her tears.
'Like I said before, mistakes happen,' I continued. 'All I want is for you to learn from them. And above all—when I give an order, you follow it. No exceptions.'
I rubbed her head lightly as I said it.
'I understand, Master,' Shea replied, nodding firmly. 'Don't worry. I'll learn properly from my mistakes… after all, I'm the one destined to conquer every labyrinth!'
Seeing her bubbly confidence return so quickly made me briefly wonder if those tears from earlier had been entirely genuine.
Shaking off that thought, I got back on topic.
'I have to add,' I said, glancing back at the hidden wall thoughtfully, 'you discovering that trap might not actually be a bad thing for us.'
'Eh? So… I helped?' Shea asked, blinking in surprise.
'If that really is a labyrinth trap,' Shera asked curiously, 'then why didn't any demons come out to attack us?'
'Maybe they're waiting for us to enter inside?' Vesta suggested, frowning.
'Or maybe the opening is too small for them to come out,' Remu added, narrowing her eyes.
'Yes—that's exactly what I was thinking,' I said with a nod.
The opening created when part of the wall sank inward didn't even reach my waist. To enter the room beyond, we would have to bend down—while Vesta would practically need to crawl.
That meant it was entirely possible that any demons inside simply couldn't come out.
Naive Olives.
Cheep Sheep.
Even Minos.
None of them would be able to squeeze through that opening.
The only exception I could think of were kobolds—and those could practically be ignored.
The monster's inability to leave the room might very well be the reason this trap existed in the first place.
'If they're really trapped inside and can't come out,' I said, a grin slowly forming, 'then this could be a very good opportunity for us.'
The girls exchanged puzzled looks, but I didn't give them time to question it.
I quickly began issuing orders.
Remu, Shera, and Nyx moved to standby positions behind me.
Vesta stepped forward, positioning herself directly in front of the trap's opening, her tower shield raised and ready.
Everything was ready to test out my theory.
Meanwhile the opening of the wall remained dark, with no sound coming from inside. For a moment, we couldn't even be sure that there were any demons in there at all.
A quick use of Appraisal, however, confirmed at least one presence—a Naive Olive standing close to the entrance.
I still didn't know how many demons were inside. I could have gone in myself, or sent someone to verify Shea's claim about hearing multiple voices—but there was no need to take that kind of risk.
As I had learned a neat little trick from my last encounter with a labyrinth trap.
'I'm starting,' I said, and the others nodded.
With my wand in hand, I silently chanted.
Fire Storm.
"Keee!"
The dark entrance lit up instantly, and faint, panicked cries echoed from within.
'See, Master! I was right!' Shea hopped in place, clearly elated.
'Yes—but don't lose focus on your task,' I said firmly. 'This is only the beginning.'
She straightened immediately, her ears snapping upright as her expression turned serious.
Without stopping, I activated a Wind Storm spell from my Magic Bracelet.
The cries continued.
That made it hard to tell whether the new spell was affecting the same demons—or different ones deeper inside.
From my previous encounter with a labyrinth trap—back on the first floor of this very labyrinth, with Roxanne—I knew how these spells worked. Any Storm-type spell automatically targeted the nearest six demons, lasting for five seconds before it could be refreshed.
On its own, the spell was strong.
But paired with my Magic Bracelet?
It became borderline overpowered.
The reason I couldn't rely on it back then was simple—the wall in that trap went down completely. Which meant that the demons trapped inside had been able to rush out and attack us directly.
However, this time was different.
Here, the opening was only half a wall after all.
So the demons were really trapped inside.
They couldn't reach us—and we couldn't even see them. A solid barrier separated both sides.
Yet through the Storm spells, I could freely attack anything moving inside that room… without ever laying eyes on it.
In other words, the spell was doing all the work for me.
Which meant, that somehow, this Labyrinth Trap had just turned into a Death Trap—
—but only for the demons.
Fire Storm
Once five seconds had passed, I followed up with a normal fire spell, hoping the heat would synergize with the lingering wind.
Before coming here, I had filled all three of my magic crystals with Wind, Sand, and Fire Storm spells respectively. It had been a precaution I had taken specifically because of Shea—but it was proving invaluable right now.
Even so, I wasn't firing spells blindly.
If I casted them too recklessly, I would risk wasting charges on demons that might already be dead by the time the spell fully took effect. So I maintained a strict rhythm—at least five seconds between casts—while regularly weaving in my own normal Storm spell after each interval.
The only real problem was distance.
My spells could only target demons within a limited range, and I had no idea how large the room beyond the wall actually was. So by continuously burning the demons near the entrance, I was hoping their movements—or panic—would draw others closer, pulling them too into my spell's effective range.
In just a few minutes, I burned through all thirty of my prepared spell slots. I even siphoned mana from one of my magic crystals to replenish my reserves.
I really had no way of knowing how many demons I had actually killed.
All I could see was the flickering orange light spilling from the opening and hear scattered, fading noises—proof that some demons were still alive and still being scorched by the flames.
'Shea, can you still hear them?' I asked while casting another normal fire storm.
'Yes, Master,' Shea replied with a nervous nod. 'But… there are way fewer sounds now.'
'That's a relief,' I muttered. 'From here on out, it's a battle of attrition. We'll grind them down slowly but surely.'
I clenched my teeth, already prepared to start drinking mana potions if my magic crystal ran dry.
Suddenly—
'Master! I hear two—no, three demons coming from this side!' Shea said urgently, pointing to the left.
'Alright, girls, it's your turn now. Engage those demons—and make sure you keep them away from here,' I ordered. 'If they get too close to me, my storm spells will start targeting them instead.'
'Leave it to us, Master!' Remu replied confidently.
'Finally, my turn,' Shera said, gripping her bow as she stepped forward.
Nyx simply nodded, quietly readying her spear.
'Since there are three of them, Vesta, it's better if you pin down two,' I instructed the tall girl at the front. 'No demons have come out of the trap so far, so there's no need to keep guarding the entrance anymore.'
'Understood, Master,' Vesta replied, lifting her tower shield as she moved toward the direction Shea had indicated.
Truthfully, even if the demons did reach me, handling three of them wouldn't have been much of a problem. I could've dealt with them and continued wiping out the trapped ones without issue.
But I didn't want the girls to feel like spectators while I soloed the labyrinth trap.
Giving them the role of protecting me was deliberate.
And judging by how fired up they looked, it seemed to be working.
As I looked over, my Appraisal quickly identified them before the demons even came into view.
[Naive Olive Level 6]
[Cheep Sheep Level 6]
[Mino Level 6]
Three different demons.
The only small mercy was that one of them was a Naive Olive.
I quickly relayed the information to the girls, instructing them to ignore the Naive Olive for now and focus on the other two.
Moments later, the three demons came into sight, trudging down the corridor almost lazily.
Then our eyes met.
The Mino and the Cheep Sheep instantly went berserk, letting out furious cries as they lowered their heads and charged straight toward us.
The Mino though was far faster than the Cheep Sheep and reached us first. Vesta and the others had already moved a fair distance away from me to keep the demons out of my spell's range.
The first to meet the charging demon was Vesta.
[Vesta
Villager Level 10
Equipment: Steel Boots, Large Steel Shield, Steel Plate, Steel Gauntlets, Steel Helmet, Sacrificial Misanga]
Vesta's Villager level had already surpassed Level 5, yet she still hadn't fulfilled the conditions to unlock Dragon Knight. Because of that, her Orichalcum Sword was still being kept with me.
Watching the two-meter-tall Vesta face down a charging Mino gave me a bizarre image—like a chihuahua rushing a human.
I realized a moment later how right that comparison was.
The instant the Mino slammed into her shield, Vesta planted her feet.
"WAH!"
She swung the massive shield aside—and with it, the Mino was sent flying.
BANG!
The demon smashed into the wall and collapsed onto its side.
For a brief moment, everyone froze.
The girls stopped mid-charge, staring wide-eyed at the Mino sprawled on the floor.
Even I was standing there with my mouth hanging open.
What the flying fuck was that monstrous strength?!
It was as if she had casually flicked her wrist and the Mino had gone flying like a toy—there had even been a moment of airtime.
The power to make even pigs fly…
…As expected of the Dragonkin race, I suppose.