The first thing Gray noticed was the smell.
It stank of rot... of wet moss, blood, and rusted iron.
The air was thick and damp, like breathing through a wet cloth.
Mold crept over the stone walls, and every step made a faint squish, like something had died just beneath the cracked wooden floor.
Gray moved ahead silently.
But of course...
"Woooow! This place is huge!" Ronan’s voice echoed down the corridor, far too loud for comfort.
"Hey-hey, do you think there’s treasure here? Like a bonus reward or hidden chest? Wait.... what if it’s cursed treasure?! Haha! That would be so cool!"
Gray’s left eye twitched.
He didn’t respond.
"...Oof. Tough crowd," Ronan muttered.
"But you know, you’re not the only cool guy in this trio. I may not look it, but I’m—whoa—look! Look at that carving on the wall! Doesn’t it look like a dragon eating a dude? That’s awesome."
Lira, who had been walking behind them quietly, suddenly pointed left.
"Trap. Two meters ahead. Step around."
Gray paused mid-step.
Sure enough, a thin string of wire glimmered in the dark, just above ankle level.
"Tsk..." He stepped over it.
"Whoa!" Ronan gasped, stumbling after him.
"Wait, you saw that? Dang, you’re good! Hey, hey—what’s your name again? Was it Liya? Liri? Something with an L—"
"...Lira," she said flatly."
"Ohhh, cool name! So cold and mysterious! I like that in a—ow! Okay, okay! Don’t hit me again, geez—!"
Gray had flicked his finger straight into Ronan’s forehead.
"Shut. Up."
"Heh... right, right."
At the same time, Jasmine’s voice giggled in his mind, sweet and mocking.
[They’re so cute~ I should get popcorn. Your face is killing me right now, Gray~]
"...Get out of my head."
[But I live here~]
He clenched his jaw and kept walking.
They passed through a crumbled hallway next, ducking under low beams and brushing aside cobwebs.
The silence was heavy, broken only by the occasional scuttling sound in the dark... and Ronan’s babbling.
"I mean, think about it. The honor trial was all about standing tall, right? So, this one’s definitely about, uh... endurance? No... courage? Wait, no bravery is courage, right?"
Gray didn’t answer.
"...Hey, you are listening to me, right?"
Nope.
[You should stab him. Not lethally. Just in the leg~]
"...Tempting."
"Incoming." Lira suddenly spoke.
Gray looked up.
From the side wall, a wooden panel shifted with a click, and out poured rats.
But not normal ones... giant rats.
Teeth like daggers, having matted fur, and blood-red eyes that glowed in the dark. Their shrieks were high-pitched and maddening.
They charged, making Gray draw his sword.
"Behind me."
"Ohhhohoho hell no!" Ronan squeaked, fumbling for his weapon, a spear that looked barely used.
Lira didn’t even blink. Her blade was out in an instant, a thin curved sword that shimmered faintly with something like wind.
The first rat leapt...
CLANG!
Gray’s blade split its skull in two, and blood splashed across the floor.
Two more came from the side.
Lira moved without a sound. One slash, another down. A second flash, third collapsed.
"Haha! Gotcha, you ugly thing—OH CRAP IT’S STILL ALIVE—!!" Ronan stabbed at a rat’s back leg and let out a victorious laugh.
Gray turned and slammed a kick into the rat’s side, sending it flying into the wall.
[Wow, Gray~ You’re such a hero. Saving the idiot like that. Should I swoon?]
He gritted his teeth.
The battle lasted only a minute. But it was messy, as the floor was covered in twitching limbs and warm blood.
Gray wiped his blade clean on a dead rat’s fur.
And then...
"...What is that?"
Ronan had wandered off... towards a metal plate in the center of the room.
A big red button.
"Don’t touch that red butto—" Lira’s eyes narrowed instantly.
CLICK!!
"...Oh."
Ronan slowly turned around.
"Uhm... whoops?"
The walls rumbled, and suddenly, from a hidden door in the far end of the chamber...
THUMP—!!
A huge shadow stepped out.
Twice the size of the rats before, its skin was scarred, and its eyes were bloodshot, not to mention its claws that dripped with black ooze.
"KRIIIIIIAAAGHHHH!"
It let out a roar that rattled the walls.
Even Lira took a step back.
Gray’s face darkened.
"...Fucking idiot..."
[Aww, your face~! You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?]
Ronan’s jaw dropped.
"Uhhh... should we run?!"
"No," Lira said, stepping forward, her eyes sharpening as they locked onto the big rat’s figure.
"It’s strong. It’s at my level..."
She raised her sword again, and so did Gray.
"Haaaah..."
Gray exhaled slowly.
His hand gripped his sword tightly.
And Ronan?
He was already shaking.
Gray even wondered how he had passed the first trial. Ah, yeah, looking at the quality of his spear, it was probably bought.
"D-Do you think we can talk to it...?"
Gray moved first.
Fwip!
He dashed straight in, boots slamming into the floor as the distance between him and the creature vanished in seconds.
The berserk rat roared, quickly lifting his claws to attack.
CLANG!!
Steel and claw met in a burst of sparks.
The sheer weight behind the rat’s swing threw Gray back. He slid across the floor, gritting his teeth as his boots dug into the old wood.
It was fast, much faster than it should’ve been.
And because of its high speed, there was no time to breathe.
It came again.
SWIPE!
Gray ducked immediately, and the claws of the rat missed his face by inches, scraping the wall and leaving a deep gash across the stone.
He stepped in.
SLASH!!
His sword bit into its side.
But strangely... There was no blood.
Instead, his sword bounced, like its flesh was rubber.
"What the fuck!?"
The rat turned with a shriek, trying to bite down on him, but Gray quickly leapt back, gathering enough distance.
"HAARGHHH!"
Ronan screamed and threw his spear forward blindly.
Clang!
It clanged off the creature’s skull and did absolutely nothing.
"...Did that help?" Ronan asked hopefully.
"No," Gray snapped.
[You should use him as bait next~ Would be more useful.
He didn’t respond, but his teeth clenched.
The beast lunged.
Gray twisted to the side, dodging it again, and brought his sword down on its back leg, only for the rat to rear up...
And come crashing down.
BOOM!!!
The floor shook.
Gray’s balance slipped.
The rat spun with its claws out wide, a sweeping arc of death heading straight for him.
His eyes narrowed as he noticed that the rat’s attack was too fast, and even if he was faster, he wouldn’t be able to dodge in time.
So...
He grabbed Ronan by the collar—
"Wha—!?"
And threw him forward into the swing’s path.
Ronan’s eyes went wide in betrayal.
"—WAIT—!!"
The claws closed in like guillotines, but then...
CLANG!!
A second blade intercepted the blow.
It was Lira who was watching from the sidelines.
Her curved sword blocked the rat’s claws in a perfect arc, sliding with the motion and redirecting its weight into the ground.
Ronan collapsed to the floor, gasping.
Lira didn’t even look at him.
"Stupid," she muttered, her voice still flat.
[Oh... he didn’t die. That’s too bad for ya~]
Gray clicked his tongue at Jasmine’s words and stepped forward again, slicing at the beast’s leg once more now that it had stopped moving.
SHHK!
This time, his rapier cut.
It wasn’t a deep injury, but enough to make it flinch.
Behind him, Ronan groaned.
"Y-You used me as a shield...!?"
"I made you useful," Gray said coldly.
"Stop complaining, and do something useful."
Lira jumped to his side.
"Its body resists direct attacks. The flesh is corrupted. Your blade needs to stab into weak points. Not slice"
"What a fucking annoying monster..." Gray muttered, swinging his rapier once, making the blood on the blade splash on the ground.
As soon as he did that, another scream came.
"KRIIIIIIGHHH!"
The rat threw itself at Lira now, faster than before, its body twitching unnaturally like a broken puppet.
She met it head-on.
CLASH!
One, two, three strikes.
Lira’s sword moved like wind, slipping, slicing, sliding, but the beast wouldn’t slow down.
Her blade stabbed into its eye once... but even that didn’t stop it.
At the same time, Gray circled around behind it.
He needed an opening.
"Ronan! Draw its attention!"
"M-ME?!"
"NOW!!"
"I hate this place—!!!"
But even so, he obeyed.
Ronan leapt onto a broken barrel, waving his arms.
"Hey!! Over here!! You ugly—overgrown—flea-infested—thing!!"
The rat snapped, turning toward him.
That was all Gray needed.
He sprinted forward, momentarily holding his breath, and his eyes narrowed slighly, focusing on the same part.
The rat swung.
He slid beneath the claw.
A perfect opening for Gray.
Immediately, he drove his sword upward into the underside of the beast’s jaw.
STAB!
A gurgle.
"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!"
The giant rat let out a piercing shriek, its jaws gaping wide as black, steaming blood gushed from its mouth.
The thick liquid splattered onto the stone floor, hissing and bubbling as it melted the surface like acid.
But even with a blade lodged in its side, the beast wasn’t done.
It reared back with a roar and slammed its skull full-force into the ceiling, splinters of stone raining down.
The violent jolt launched Gray off its back like a broken doll.
CRACK!
His body slammed into the wall with bone-rattling force.
"Ghh—!!"
A sharp stab of pain burst through his side, making sure that he knew that something had cracked... probably a rib.
But he didn’t care, as he bit down hard, forcing air back into his lungs as he staggered forward.
The ground shook again.
And Lira had already moved, her figure blurred in the chaos as she dashed across the rubble, boots skimming over blood-slicked stone.
She jumped.
Both feet slammed down onto the rat’s hunched spine, just as it was turning to crush Ronan with a final strike.
Her blade gleamed silver in the air.
And then...
KRCH!
Steel punched through flesh and bone, straight into the base of the beast’s neck.
The rat thrashed violently, its limbs flailing. Blood spewed from its wounds in every direction.
Its body shook, muscles convulsing, and that was another opportunity for Gray to attack.
"Agh...!" Gray groaned, ignoring the pain ripping through his ribs.
He sprinted toward it, boots splashing in the blood, and with both hands, rammed his sword deep into its exposed underbelly.
SHNK!
His blade tore up through the beast’s flesh, straight toward the center where Lira’s sword had already pierced through from above.
Their weapons met in the core of the monster.
The rat let out one final, ear-splitting scream...
BOOOOOOM!!!
Its entire body convulsed and then collapsed with a quake that rocked the walls of the labyrinth.
Dust burst into the air, chunks of stone cracked and shifted as a pool of dark, sticky blood spread beneath it, soaking everything.
The rat’s limbs twitched.
Once.
Twice.
And then it stopped, silencing the entire place.
Heavy and absolute silence.
"Fucking hell..."
Gray stood hunched over, chest heaving, every breath scraping against his cracked ribs.
Blood dripped from his sword, mixing with sweat that trickled down his jaw.
Lira exhaled calmly, pulling her blade from the beast’s spine.
She stepped off the corpse without a word before wiping her sword with a cloth from her hip.
Ronan was curled up on the floor, his legs spread and arms wrapped around himself like a traumatized puppy.
His eyes were wide with horror, his mouth open, his face pale as milk.
"I... I thought I was gonna die..." he whimpered, blinking rapidly.
"You still might." Gray walked past him without slowing, his voice flat.
"Wait—wha—?" Ronan blinked.
Gray didn’t answer as he was already walking away.
[You really did use him as a meat shield~]
Jasmine’s voice echoed inside his head, almost giggling.
[That was so cruel... but it made me so happy !]
Gray’s eyebrow twitched.
"...Shut up," he muttered under his breath.
Behind him, Ronan was still processing everything.
Lira looked at Gray for a moment, then at Ronan... and tilted her head slightly. As if wondering if she should be worried... or just amused.
Looking at them, Gray sighed.
One was a dumb, overly friendly idiot who pressed buttons he shouldn’t.
The other... was terrifyingly competent.
...Would they really complete this labyrinth?
He wondered slighly, but as he did so, he also clenched his fists at his own words.
He would pass the assessment no matter what it took... even if he needed to kill both of them to do it.
That is the kind of person Gray is.