Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Derek, Bernard, and Hans ran to the girls’ tent after hearing the scream.

“What’s going on? There’s no one here!”

After confirming that it was empty, they rushed to my tent, confused.

“You two, wait outside.”

Bernard and Hans stood outside, wary of me, while Derek went inside.

“What the hell is this?”

His voice sounded incredulous.

Soon after, Derek came out with Scarlet, whose clothes were torn in places, her hair was disheveled, and her cheeks were swollen from crying.

[Chaos clenches his fists, saying he’s never seen such a disgusting bitch.]

“Ahren, you bastard…”

After seeing Scarlet’s appearance and hearing her story, Derek’s face turned into a grimace of rage, and he swung his fist at me.

Seeing Scarlet, who had even injured herself to support her story, I didn’t have the strength to say anything.

So, I just stood there, ready to take the punch and leave.

Of course, if he followed up with a sword or an arrow, I’d have to resist.

That’s when it happened.

“May the Holy Light protect them with its shield.”

[Divine Shield]

A light formed in the slowed-down world and transformed into a shield, deflecting Derek’s punch.

“Yeriel! What are you doing? Can’t you see Scarlet’s appearance and know what happened?!”

…Yeriel, what are you thinking? Are you trying to help me now that you know the truth?

As I was thinking of ways to turn the tables on Scarlet with Yeriel’s help, Yeriel, who had been closing her eyes, suddenly opened them wide and said in a strong voice that didn’t match her delicate appearance.

“I swear to the God of Light, as a low-level priest of the Light’s Church, that Scarlet’s words and appearance are fabricated lies, and Ahren’s innocence is the only truth.”

[Chaos is shocked!]

Everyone was surprised when Yeriel swore to God.

Even that crazy Scarlet looked defeated.

Derek relaxed his expression and asked, “Yeriel, are you serious? If you deceive God with a false oath, you might die. Or worse.”

.

.

.

After Ahren temporarily joined the party, things started to get weird.

He was a bit eccentric, probably due to his memory loss, but other than that, he was a great guy.

Hans had been hostile towards him from the start.

Scarlet, on the other hand, had been all over Ahren since he saved her, completely ignoring Derek, her supposed lover.

Derek, as the leader, tried to keep the party together, but his displeasure was evident.

Bernard shook his head and sighed, while I could only watch and feel uncomfortable.

‘Who’s the problem here?’

Hans, who kept picking fights with Ahren and grumbling loud enough for everyone to hear?

Scarlet, who was obviously flirting with Ahren despite having a lover?

Or was it Derek, who was just leading the party and not doing anything to control Hans and Scarlet, with his stern expression? Or was it me and Bernard, who were just bystanders?

I didn’t know. But I knew who I disliked the most.

It was Hans, who had been giving me unpleasant looks since he joined the party at the guild.

He had been watching from a distance and occasionally making advances, but…

Ever since Ahren joined, he would sometimes glare at him, or grumble when Ahren performed well in combat.

That bastard would stand next to me as if to warn Ahren not to look at me, or try to touch my shoulder. I avoided him, but I was getting more and more annoyed and couldn’t stand it anymore.

‘Who does he think he is, acting like this towards me?’

Then, on the third day after Ahren joined, it happened.

After a battle, we were resting a bit apart from each other when Hans came over and started his nonsense again.

‘Ugh, here we go again. …I should have just listened to my sister and left the party as soon as we got outside.’

I should have rejected Derek’s invitation to join the party, which had the best record of reaching the 6th floor in the guild.

Why did he bring in someone like Hans for the last spot? just because he’s a friend?

The other party members were so skilled that we surpassed our original goal of the 2nd floor and reached the 3rd floor, but I wasn’t happy at all.

I just wanted to get back to the city as soon as possible.

“Yeriel, how about going out for a meal together when we get outside? I know a nice restaurant with a great atmosphere.”

No, I don’t want to. You’re disgusting. You stink. You’re ugly. Get lost.

“I already said no last time. Please stop asking me to have a meal together.”

‘Why, why! Why do I stutter whenever I’m in front of people? It’s no use just cursing them in my head! I can’t say it out loud!’

“Aww, it’s not nice to keep rejecting a fellow party member’s invitation. Let’s just have a friendly meal together. I’m not trying to do anything to you, right?”

Hans whispered and tried to put his arm around my shoulder.

‘You son of a bitch! Why would I have a meal with you, one of the reasons why I want to leave this party!’

I couldn’t take it anymore, so I screamed, ignoring the party.

Well, I was about to scream.

“Stop it—”

Thud!

“Aaah!”

Ahren grabbed Hans’ arm as he was raising it, twisted it, and threw him to the ground.

“I didn’t want to get involved and cause trouble, and I didn’t want to make things awkward, so I tried to ignore it. But I couldn’t bear to watch anymore, so I hit him. Yeriel, are you okay?”

I was about to say thank you when Bernard and Scarlet were surprised, and Derek rushed over and asked, “Ahren, what are you doing? You knocked out a party member! You’d better have a good explanation for this.”

Seeing Derek’s fierce expression, I thought the party’s order was collapsing, so I quickly said, “Ahren was trying to save me!”

“Stop. I’m asking Ahren right now. Yeriel, can you please be quiet for a moment?”

Why is he telling me that? I’m the one who’s been suffering from Hans’ actions, and now I’m being asked to stay quiet.

‘Does Derek think I’m weak too?’

I couldn’t argue, so I just bit my lip and sobbed.

Then Ahren stepped forward, shielding me with his back, and said, “First of all, I apologize for acting without consulting the leader. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I acted. It’s my fault that I hit Hans.”

As Ahren tried to smooth things over, Derek seemed to calm down a bit and told him to continue.

“For the past three days, Hans has been picking fights and grumbling about my actions, so I’ve been watching him closely.”

Yes, that’s right.

“But even though Yeriel clearly showed her dislike and rejection, he kept ignoring her, trying to touch her shoulders or hair, inviting her to meals, or trying to get close to her by asking about her personal life.”

Derek closed his eyes and touched his forehead.

“He even told me that he was going to use his handsome face to get to Yeriel.”

‘What?’

“So, he was warning me not to try anything with my good looks, because he already had a plan.”

I feel like throwing up, it’s so disgusting.

“I’m sorry, but every time I stand in front of that bastard, I can smell his disgusting odor. But he kept sticking to you, Yeriel, which was annoying and must have been hard for you.”

Derek, who couldn’t take it anymore, yelled in anger.

“Hans, you crazy bastard! The maze isn’t a playground for kids!”

Then, sighing, he turned to me and continued.

“I was so focused on combat and breaking through the maze that when I saw you two together, I just thought you were getting closer. I was a bit inexperienced as a party leader. I’m sorry, Yeriel.”

“…”

“I was too careless, even though I brought him into the party. I’m not fit to be a leader. I’ll take responsibility and make sure he doesn’t come near you again.”

As I quietly listened to Derek’s apology, Ahren spoke up.

“I know it’s presumptuous, but I think a timid person like you, who has been enduring it all this time, should make that bastard realize his mistake by cursing him to his face and hitting him.”

Ahren pointed at me.

“How much anger has built up inside Yeriel over the past few days? Even earlier, she was barely holding back her dislike and was about to scream.”

He sighed deeply and said, “If you just let it go now because the leader apologized, what about the pain Yeriel has endured so far? Who will compensate for that?”

Ahren’s words touched my heart.

Yes, if I just let it go with an apology and Hans stops bothering me, what about the resentment I’ve built up?

With Ahren protecting me now, I felt like I could finally let out all my pent-up emotions.

“D-Derek, I know you’re trying to be responsible as a leader, but it’s not just about that. I’ve been holding in so much for so long that I can’t just let it go with a simple apology.”

Derek nodded and asked how he could help, so I told him to make Hans stand in front of me and not say anything.

“Stand up straight. You ungrateful bastard, thinking you can repay kindness with enmity? You’ll get punched in the mouth every time you open it.”

Hans stood there, looking at me.

‘What should I do? I can’t do it when our eyes meet… No, Ahren is watching over me. I can do it!’

“Ahren, hold my hand.”

Holding Ahren’s hand calmed my trembling.

Now’s the time!

“You fucking bastard, wasting food! Do you think you can just play with my body because I’m pretty? Who would fall for your pathetic pickup lines with that face of yours? You’re uglier than a goblin! You’re like a pumpkin that got crushed by a carriage wheel!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, I panted and continued, “What do you mean you’re not trying to do anything? You son of a bitch, who set off fireballs in your mother’s heart! Your head is full of Lustful thoughts, you empty-headed bastard! Don’t ever touch my body again, you product of a failed birth control method, you—”

I was pouring out my emotions without realizing it, but Ahren stopped me by covering my mouth.

“Yeriel, I think you can stop now. He’s already crying.”

I looked at Hans, who was sitting on the ground, sobbing.

“I, I have eyes too. You, you bitch…”

After letting it all out, I felt my anger dissipate, and I was able to regain my composure after saying my last words.

I looked around, and everyone was frozen in shock. I felt embarrassed.

I covered my blushing face, and Ahren said, “You’re not always passive, are you? That’s right, don’t just endure it. Sometimes you need to let it out. Well done!”

Hehe. It’s all thanks to Ahren. My sister used to praise me and pat me on the head.

“Don’t just praise me, pat me too.”

Ahren seemed a bit surprised at first, but he agreed and patted me.

He patted me on the head.

“Good job, good job.”

Hehehe.

In the end, the issue was resolved, and we started moving forward again after Derek’s signal.

As we walked until the afternoon, we finally reached the goblin village, where the escape portal was located.

“Finally, we’re right in front of the goblin village where the escape portal is. Let’s camp here for the day.”

We set up our tents and sleeping bags and received our food rations. The men and women had separate tents, and Ahren took the small spare tent we had brought.

After finishing our meal, we went into our tents to rest. Scarlet, who had set up alarm magic around the area, approached me.

“Yeriel, I have something to say.”

Scarlet had spoken to me privately a few times before, so I told her to go ahead without hesitation.

“I’m going to break up with Derek soon and start dating Ahren. I fell in love with him at first sight when he saved me. After thinking about it for a few days, I realized I can’t live without him anymore.”

M-what?

“So, can you please stop acting clingy like you did earlier, asking to hold hands or be petted?”

I thought it would be about the party or sleeping arrangements, but Scarlet’s words were completely unexpected.

‘You’ve been flirting with Ahren for five days, treating Derek like an afterthought. Are you really crazy? Why can’t you live without him?’

“I, I can’t do that.”

Upon hearing my response, Scarlet’s eyes gleamed.

“Really? Then I’ll have to change my approach… Sorry for the weird talk. Let’s go to sleep now!”

Scarlet said something cryptic and lay down, closing her eyes.

I wasn’t sleepy either, but I lay down and thought about what had happened today.

The feeling of holding hands… The hand that covered my mouth… The sensation of being petted… I couldn’t sleep.

Then, Scarlet got up, waved her hand to check if I was asleep, and started walking towards somewhere.

Something seemed off, so after a while, I quietly got up and looked around.

‘…Is that Ahren’s tent?’

The men’s tent was quiet, as if everyone was asleep, but I could hear voices coming from Ahren’s tent.

‘Is Scarlet going into Ahren’s tent?’

I quickly moved towards the tent and listened closely.

‘I’m listening because Ahren might be in danger… Hmm!’

I fell in love at first sight. If you’re going to leave, take my virginity. Make a lifelong commitment and bear fruit. A child?!

As I continued to listen, I heard even more shocking conversations.

Derek. Virgin. I’m pure, etc.

Hmm!

-If you keep rejecting me, I’ll scream and call everyone over. I’ll make it a fact that you raped me and get you expelled from the party! Without this party, you can’t dream of escaping alone.

‘You crazy bitch. Why are you doing this to Ahren? Have you completely lost your mind?’

-Go ahead, do it.

-Are you serious? Do you think I can’t do it?

-Go ahead, I’ll even scream for you.

‘What’s going on? Is she trying to trick the party members into believing she was raped and framing Ahren as a rapist to get him expelled?’

Then, I heard the sound of clothes being torn inside the tent, followed by Scarlet’s scream.

“You crazy bitch.”

I muttered without realizing it, and Ahren, who had gotten ready, opened the tent and came out.

“Crazy bitch. Psycho, like a mental patient.”

Ahren and I locked eyes. It wasn’t a look of explanation or innocence, but one of determination.

‘Are you leaving? Are you willing to bear the shame of being labeled a rapist? Why should you suffer for something you didn’t do?’

No, I can’t let him leave like this.

I thought, if Ahren had relieved my pain, I would relieve his unreasonable suffering.

If there was no other way, I would swear to God.

.

.

.

Yeriel spoke firmly.

“My oath remains unchanged. I will prove Ahren’s innocence with my life.”

At that moment, Yeriel’s body was filled with light.