Chapter 199 B-Rank Labyrinth
"You want to meet a vampire? Now why would you want to do that? They'll rip your heart out before you can even utter a full sentence. Vampires hate humans, in case you didn't know." Lilith said after hearing his words.
"Are they really as unreasonable as you claim? And why are you talking bad about your own species? That doesn't make any sense."
Lilith shook her head and said, "As much as I dislike humans, I hate vampires even more. They're all selfish beings that only care about getting stronger, no matter the cost."
"Sounds like you had your fair share of troubles with vampires." Leo said.
"You have no idea…" She mumbled in a weak voice, her eyes emanating a somewhat sorrowful feeling.
Shortly after they returned to the hotel, Leo received a text message from Aaron regarding the location of the Labyrinth.
"It's about 9 hours from here and they want us to show up by 10AM. We'll need to set out now if we want to make it there in time." Leo said, thinking how odd it was for Aaron to send him the location so late.
"Okay."
After taking a quick shower, Leo and Lia checked out of the hotel and started making their way outside the city.
Once they were outside the city walls, they rented a motorcycle and drove towards the location given to them by Aaron.
"Leo, there's something off about this whole mission. I would be careful if I were you." Lilith said to him.
"Do you think Aaron is working for the person who wants me dead?" Leo asked her.
"I'm not sure, but the way he looked at you gave me an uneasy feeling, and my instincts are never wrong."
"I'll keep an eye on the situation."
Several hours later, Lia parked the motorcycle about 10 minutes away from the location of the Labyrinth.
"We still have a few hours until the scheduled meeting. Let's get some quick rest before we deal with the mission." Leo said to Lia as he set up the tent.
And for the next five hours, they would spend it sleeping inside the tent.
When they woke up, Leo and Lia went to the location of the Labyrinth.
'Looks like there is actually a Labyrinth here and it's not some crappy ambush.' Leo thought to himself when he saw the Labyrinth entrance.
And standing outside this Labyrinth were four people, three men and a woman, which reminded Leo of his first team in this world that he ended up killing because they tried to kill him.
One of the men was a bulky middle-aged man with a red mohawk and brown eyes, two large axes on his back, looking like a barbarian from video games. The other two men had black hair and blue eyes, and they appeared to be twins, as they wore similar clothes and even had a similar face. The only thing that differentiated them was their hair length, as one had short hair and the other had long hair. They were also wielding swords.
The last member was an enchanting young woman with brown hair and brown eyes, and she had a short wand strapped to her thick thighs.
"Are you two the substitutes Aaron mentioned about?" The bulky man asked them when they got close enough.
"That's right. I'm Leon, and this is my partner, Lena." Leo introduced himself and Lia to these people with a friendly smile on his face.
"I heard that you're only a C-Rank Adventurer. Will you be fine in this B-Rank Labyrinth?" One of the twins asked him.
"Aaron wouldn't have asked me to come here if he didn't think I qualified." Leo calmly said.
"You're right. Sorry for doubting you." The man then apologized.
"Hello. I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you." The woman said with a smile on her face.
"I'm Oscar, currently a B-Rank Adventurer," said the bulky man with the mohawk.
"Jasper, also a B-Rank Adventurer," said the twin with the short hair.
"Oliver, same as my brother," said the other twin, who had long hair.
"So you're the A-Rank Adventurer?" Leo turned to look at Sarah, as he remembered Aaron telling him that there was an A-Rank Adventurer amongst this team.
"Indeed, and I am ranked 750 amongst all A-Rankers."
"There's a ranking?" Leo said, as he wasn't aware of this.
"Only for A-Rank Adventurers and above." Sarah nodded.
Oscar then spoke, "Rank 750 may seem low, but you have to consider how many A-Rank Adventurers are out there. Out of over 100,000 A-Rank Adventurers, she's in the top 1,000, so she's in the top 1 percent."
"Eh? There are that many A-Rank Adventurers out there?"
"That's where most Adventurers' careers come to a halt, as the requirements for S-Rank Adventurer is ridiculously high." Sarah shrugged.
"Anyways, what can you do? If we know more about your capabilities, we will be able to coordinate with each other better." Sarah then asked them.
"I can use dark magic up to Tier 4." Leo said without any hesitation.
"Dark magic? How unusual." Oliver mumbled.
"Knowing a Tier 4 magic at your age isn't bad. What about you, little girl?" Jasper turned to look at Lia.
"Magic rifle," she calmly resounded.
"That's all? You don't know any magic?" Oscar asked. "It might be a little dangerous for you…"
"She'll be fine." Leo said with a smile, "Although she may not be able to use magic, she was gifted with a tremendous amount of mana, which allows her to use magic rifles proficiently. She will be able to kill the monsters inside the Labyrinth without any problems. I can guarantee it."
"Is that so? I'll take your words for it. Don't disappoint me." Sarah nodded.
A moment later, she continued, "Take 15 minutes to double check your gears and supplies. We'll enter the Labyrinth once we're ready."
"Alright." They all responded.
Lia suddenly tucked Leo's shirt and spoke in a low voice, "Can I speak to you for a moment?"
He nodded and said to Sarah, "My friend seems a little nervous. We'll be right back."
"Take your time." Sarah nodded.