Chapter 100: A Labyrinth Gate

The wind howled past them.

The city lights spun beneath Aoi’s trembling eyes as she clung to Reiji with every ounce of strength she had.

"I’M GOING TO DIE!!"

"No you’re not."

"YOU SAID THAT AFTER WE JUMPED!!"

"I forgot to mention it."

"You WHAT?!"

The ground rushed toward them at terrifying speed.

Aoi squeezed her eyes shut.

"Please..."

Just as they were five meters from the ground...

[Shadow Step.]

The sensation of falling disappeared.

The roaring wind vanished. Solid ground greeted their feet.

Aoi cautiously opened one eye.

They were standing on the rooftop of a nearby building overlooking the yellow Gate.

Not even a speck of dust clung to their clothes.

Silence settled between them.

Reiji calmly adjusted the sleeve of his hoodie.

"There. We’re closer now."

Aoi slowly released her grip. "...You’re a terrible person."

Reiji chuckled. "I know."

Aoi stared at him for several seconds.

Then a beautiful smile slowly spread across her face.

"I’ll remember this."

Reiji’s instincts screamed. "...Why are you smiling like that?"

"Oh nothing." She folded her hands behind her back. "I was just thinking... if I ever get the chance, I’ll definitely repay you."

Reiji suddenly had a very bad feeling. "...Let’s just clear the Gate."

"Of course."

The two descended from the rooftop before quietly approaching the unattended C-Rank Gate.

Its dim yellow surface rippled silently beneath the moonlight.

Without another word, they stepped inside.

*Click.*

From the rooftop of another building, the sound of a camera shutter echoed through the night.

"Damn... I missed the front shot. But... who’s the person with the Night Empress?"

***

Reiji frowned as he glanced at the dim yellow Gate behind him.

’Someone was watching us...’ His brows furrowed. ’No... Detect Presence never reacted. Maybe I’m just imagining things.’

"Hey?" Aoi waved a hand in front of him. "Why are you spacing out?"

Reiji shook his head, brushing the thought aside.

"Don’t worry about it."

He shoved both hands into his hoodie pockets and calmly walked forward.

’He’s going in without a weapon? This is a C-Rank Gate.’

Even though Reiji was with her, Aoi still felt nervous. This wasn’t an F-Rank Gate like the ones they’d been clearing.

It was C-Rank.

And she was only D-Rank. Any monster in here could easily overpower her.

"Uhm... shouldn’t you be holding that bone sword of yours?" Aoi asked tentatively.

Their agreement clearly stated that she wouldn’t ask how he cleared Gates.

Still she was following him inside. She had every reason to be scared.

"Aren’t you supposed to be standing watch?" Reiji glanced toward her.

Aoi awkwardly scratched her cheek. She wisely decided not to continue the conversation.

’I guess I should put a little trust in him.’

Then she remembered what had happened just moments ago. She immediately abandoned that thought and quietly moved closer to him instead.

As they walked deeper inside, they noticed the walls looked much smoother than those of ordinary Dungeon Gates.

Blue crystals embedded overhead illuminated the surroundings with a cool glow.

Reiji frowned as Detect Presence spread throughout the area.

"This isn’t a Dungeon Gate..."

"What makes you say that?"

"It’s a Labyrinth Gate."

"You’re not joking... right?"

"Don’t you see it for yourself?"

Aoi carefully looked around. Only then did she notice it.

The walls weren’t rough or uneven like those inside ordinary Dungeon Gates.

Everything looked constructed.

"If this is a Labyrinth... doesn’t that mean there’ll be like a hundred floors filled with monsters?"

"Yes..."

"Shouldn’t we leave this for the military to handle?"

"What?" Reiji glanced sideways at her. "Don’t tell me you’re scared."

Aoi pouted and turned her head away. "Who says I’m scared?"

"Okay." Reiji pointed ahead. "If you’re not scared... go kill those slimes over there."

Aoi looked toward the group of slimes lazily bouncing around. Then she quietly took two steps backward until she was standing behind Reiji again.

She wasn’t stupid.

Slimes were notoriously difficult to kill because of their unique body structure.

Not to mention they were C-Rank.

"I admit I’m scared... please."

Aoi quickly surrendered before Reiji actually decided to throw her toward them.

"Hahaha..."

Reiji let out a genuine laugh.

Aoi’s face immediately turned red with embarrassment.

Yet a small smile still appeared on her lips.

She lightly punched his arm.

"Who said you could laugh?"

Reiji simply looked at her, shook his head, and continued walking.

Aoi quickly followed behind him.

The four slimes, which had been bouncing around aimlessly, finally noticed the intruders.

They immediately charged toward them.

Aoi instinctively stopped walking.

Their presence alone placed an enormous amount of pressure on her.

"Relax..."

Reiji spoke calmly.

If this had been a few weeks ago he probably would’ve reacted the same way.

But after surviving Blacklake Realm and the B+ Rank Gate he couldn’t bring himself to fear ordinary C-Rank monsters anymore.

He continued walking without changing his pace.

Casually, he removed one hand from his hoodie pocket.

As the four slimes bounced toward him...

[Soul Torture Flame.]

Amber flames burst from his palm.

The slimes didn’t even have time to react before they were instantly vaporized.

Aoi, who had been fully on guard, froze.

She had only seen a flash of golden flames and four C-Rank slimes had vanished in less than two seconds.

"Any cores?"

Reiji asked as he continued walking without even bothering to look back.

He already knew the answer.

Aoi stared at his back. ’Probably because you vaporized them...’

"No."

She hurried after him.

After walking for a while, they spotted dozens of bats hanging upside down from the cavern walls.

[Shadow Bat (C-Rank)]

’What a cool name.’

Reiji calmly raised his hand.

[Mana Manipulation.]

[Soul Torture Flame.]

This time, the flames condensed into a tiny golden sphere before quietly floating toward the sleeping bats.

One after another their crimson eyes slowly opened.

They stared at the harmless-looking ball of light.

Aoi also frowned.

To her the tiny flame looked almost useless.

Yet experience had already taught her something.

Anything this man did was never useless.

The instant the little sphere reached the center of the colony...

VOOOM!!

A violent explosion erupted.

Golden flames spread throughout the chamber, instantly engulfing every Shadow Bat.

*SKREEEECH!!*

Their shrill cries echoed throughout the cavern.

One after another they dropped from the walls.

Their bodies burned while their souls were relentlessly tortured by the flames.

Aoi stared at the gruesome sight in complete shock.

’He vaporized C-Rank slimes... and barbecued an entire colony of C-Rank bats this easily... If he wanted to... he could kill me just as effortlessly.’

Reiji glanced back at her.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Coming..."

Aoi hurriedly picked up every monster core she could find before quickly catching up to him.

’I should be nicer to him from now on.’

Aoi muttered inwardly as she stared at Reiji’s back.

She had no idea how long this arrangement between them would last.

But she was certain of one thing.

If she treated him kindly, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t hold the blackmail against her forever.

With that thought in mind, Aoi silently resolved to treat Reiji a little better from now on.