The scenery before them shifted abruptly after a slight ripple of distortion.
One second, they were in the infinite corridor behind the Gate of Valhalla; the next, a blast of cold air mixed with dust and the scent of decay rushed toward them.
The Labyrinth layout the Black Crow Squad had randomly rolled this time was an ancient tomb buried deep underground.
The high, vaulted ceiling was lost in a darkness so thick it felt tangible.
Only the flickering ghostly blue soul fires on the walls—which had likely been burning for centuries—managed to outline a narrow, long stone passage.
The stone bricks beneath their feet were covered in moss.
The damp, sticky sensation of stepping on them instinctively brought to mind the image of rotting flesh.
The air was thick with the nauseating smell of rust, and from the depths of the darkness, occasional raspy wails echoed, sounding like a dying person whose throat was being squeezed.
Gray instinctively pulled Kajie behind him, his right hand gripping the hilt of his tachi.
His muscles were taut as he warily scanned the writhing shadows around them.
Even as a battle-hardened veteran, his heart raced slightly upon seeing this environment.
This level of pressure would be psychological pollution for most newcomers, let alone a girl.
Most would have likely turned pale with fright by now, wouldn’t they?
However, the scream or trembling he expected never came.
The girl behind him only let out a soft hum.
Her tone held no fear; instead, it was filled with pure curiosity and wonder.
“Is this the Howling Corridor guarded by a Calamity Pillar? It looks a bit scary, but the air is surprisingly good.”
Kajie took a deep breath, her expression as relaxed as if she had just returned home.
Gray’s lip twitched.
He began to wonder if his hearing or sense of smell had been cursed the moment they entered, or if Kajie was under some spell that made her say the opposite of what she felt.
‘The air is good? Every time I breathe, I feel like I’m tasting the body odor of a corpse in a coffin. How did she find this “good”?’
Just as he was lost in confusion, a black shadow lunged fiercely from a sarcophagus to the side.
It was a Tomb Beast covered in a hard carapace.
Eight blood-red compound eyes stared fixedly at them, and foul-smelling green slime dripped from its scythe-like mandibles as it lunged straight for Gray’s face!
“Watch out!”
Gray barked a warning.
He didn’t even have time to fully draw his sword before he twisted his waist and stepped aside at an incredible angle.
The scabbard of his tachi blocked the Tomb Beast’s sharp appendages with pinpoint accuracy.
When the enchanted ebony collided with the carapace, a shower of stinging sparks erupted.
Clang!
A massive force pushed Gray back half a step, his boots carving two deep furrows into the mossy stone bricks.
He could clearly feel the immense power vibrating through the scabbard.
This was just a common mob at the Labyrinth entrance, yet its strength already far exceeded a typical D-level Labyrinth Boss!
This was the intensity of the Third Labyrinth!
At the same time, Kajie did not scream and run away in terror from the monster’s hideous appearance, as some of those watching the live-stream had expected.
The girl gripped her staff with both hands.
As she chanted the scriptures, a blessing aura that increased strength and speed appeared beneath Gray’s feet a few seconds later.
“Mr. Gray, now!”
As she called out the reminder, the blade tip of her sword-spear swung out a cluster of brilliant light elements that exploded behind Gray.
To a Tomb Beast that lived in darkness year-round, the intense light triggered by the elemental reaction was no different than having a 100,000-lumen flashbang thrown directly into its face.
Gray, who was currently locked in a stalemate with the monster, felt his body grow light and his strength surge instantly.
He let out a low growl, putting power into his core to forcefully knock the monster back.
Following that, he drew his sword and struck; a sharp silver light flashed through the darkness.
The Tomb Beast didn’t even have time to let out a shriek before it was split in half from head to tail.
Corrosive blood and organs splattered across the ground.
[Holy crap! What a fast reaction! What exquisite coordination!]
[Is this really a rookie squad? Is this Priest’s on-the-spot response really E-level?]
[Heh, they’re just actors.]
Gray, of course, was in no mood to look at the comments on the back of the live-streaming drone.
This was because, as if attracted by the scent of blood, the previously frozen gargoyle statues on both sides of the passage nearby had begun to wake up.
They shook off the dust and stone chips, letting out ear-piercing roars as they spread their wings and dived toward the duo.
“Prioritize your own safety!”
“Understood — I mean, I’ll do my best, Mr. Gray!”
As time passed, the popularity of the Black Crow Squad’s live-stream began to skyrocket.
[Wait a minute, this fighting style, this name… is the Warrior in the squad the former vanguard of “Dawn Blade”?]
[He’s a total boss! A total boss!]
[Didn’t he fade into obscurity after the Broken Sword Incident? Why would he team up with a rookie Priest?]
The valiant figure of the Magic Warrior struggling against those monsters made some of the veteran viewers realize his true identity.
For a moment, speculation and discussion regarding the identities of the two members of the Black Crow Squad reached a fever pitch.
On the battlefield, Gray was already entangled with the Tomb Beasts and Gargoyles.
Sword light and stone fragments flew everywhere, with every collision resulting in a massive metallic ring.
Under Gray’s terrifying combat instincts and Kajie’s blessings, the Warrior maneuvered through the monsters’ siege.
He not only held his ground but also seized opportunities to leave deep blade marks on the Gargoyles’ wings and the Tomb Beasts’ compound eyes.
Finally, after another narrow dodge, he found a fleeting opening.
His long sword swept upward, cleanly severing a Gargoyle’s neck.
The massive stone head rolled to the ground, thudding heavily against the stone bricks.
Its body maintained its flight posture in the air for a few seconds before abruptly disintegrating into a pile of rubble.
With the tight encirclement broken, the remaining few monsters were no longer a threat.
But during the life-and-death struggle of shifting positions with the monsters, Gray noticed that one Tomb Beast seemed to be missing.
“Kajie, beneath you!”
The girl, who was currently chanting a blessing, also captured the movement coming from underground.
However, she didn’t dodge.
There wasn’t even a trace of panic on her face as she casually applied a layer of golden light shield, seemingly as thin as a cicada’s wing, to the ground where she stood.
The Tomb Beast’s sharp mandibles could easily crush rock, but they were unable to break through the shield the girl had condensed in a single breath.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The monster tried to dig out from a different spot, only to discover in despair that no matter where it dug, the golden barrier above its head followed, sealing the ground tightly.
Although this insect-like monster born of the tomb was fierce, it had not evolved the ability to hold its breath underground for long periods.
Its meager brain only understood at the moment of suffocation that the seemingly frail prey on the surface never intended to fight it; she wanted to smother it alive in the dirt!
After a bout of struggling, the movement beneath the ground disappeared completely.
“Huff…”
On the other side, Gray leaned on his sword and panted, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
The continuous high-intensity combat had taken a significant toll, even on him.
He glanced back at Kajie, who looked calm and even had the leisure to wave at the camera.
He let out a couple of wry laughs, feeling more and more that his common sense as a Hero might not apply to her.
He had seen it clearly out of the corner of his eye just now.
No matter how it tried, the Tomb Beast’s sharp mandibles could not pierce that thin golden shield.
Her response could be described as textbook.
‘Kajie… is she really just an ordinary girl?’
Gray shook his head; now was not the time to think about this.
As the saying goes, even if a couple finds out their partner is cheating while inside a Labyrinth, they should wait until they get out before they start fighting.
For a Hero, questions were to be left for after the conquest was over.
Right now, all he needed to do was trust Miss Kajie completely.
***
After a grueling journey and several battles, the two finally found a small bonfire by the side of the path.
The warm flames burned quietly, dispelling the surrounding cold and darkness.
After Gray confirmed that this wasn’t some unethical fake bonfire left behind by someone like Noctiluca, the two sat down on the ground.
The young man took a water skin from his backpack and took a few large gulps.
“How are you feeling? If it’s too much, we can crush the Return Crystal right now.”
He couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the girl beside him, who was curiously poking at the fire with a stick.
Kajie looked up upon hearing this.
Her small face, flushed red by the firelight, took on a serious expression after a brief moment of thought.
“Mmm, the pressure is very high. The Tomb Beasts and Gargoyles are both very scary. It’s lucky Mr. Gray is here.”
However, Gray wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that within the girl’s sparkling eyes, a flicker of something called excitement was shimmering.