The Sovereign’s Shadow and the Labyrinth’s Peculiarities

“So, the Frost Snow Sovereign has already charged ahead, disappearing to who knows where?”

Saint Lily pressed a hand to her head. This supposed leader seemed rather unreliable. Were they even here to help?

She rubbed her face, admitting to herself that the vivid impression left by White Rose and the incident that day still lingered.

This had painted a somewhat negative image of the Sovereign in her mind, causing her to instinctively dismiss the idea that they might be here for a rescue. ‘They’re not the type to do that,’ she thought.

‘Hmm…’

‘Forget it. I still shouldn’t speak ill of the Sovereign.’

Setting aside their personal character, one could not deny the unparalleled achievements of every Sovereign. They had ventured to the front lines to resist foreign invaders, fought against natural disasters, and single-handedly protected countless lives.

Their peaceful lives now were undoubtedly a result of the Sovereign’s beneficence.

Even if the Sovereign wasn’t here specifically for a rescue, their mere presence meant the incident was practically resolved.

It was a common understanding.

Such was the Sovereign’s standing in the hearts of the populace.

Still, if the opportunity arose, Saint Lily wished to ask the Sovereign directly: Why did they act that way on that particular day?

Although the individuals involved seemed indifferent, even…

Thinking of this, Saint Lily pressed her forehead and shook her head. ‘Never mind,’ she thought. She simply wanted an answer; otherwise, her thoughts would remain unsettled.

‘Of course, I’ll see if there’s a chance to ask after the incident concludes.’

“Hmm…”

Saint Lily watched as several more mountain cat disaster beasts scurried out from ahead.

These agile disaster beasts were a real headache in urban combat, their speed making them difficult to keep up with.

“Seal.”

As one of the mountain cats darted back and forth, weaving through the rising earthen yellow barriers towards her, Saint Lily simply raised her hand. A flash of white light erupted.

She watched the mountain cat flip over, landing on its back with all four limbs splayed skyward.

Saint Lily clapped her hands, suddenly recalling something.

“Oh, right, Dandelion, you can finish them off! We’ll help you fight these monsters! If you defeat enough disaster beasts here, you can increase your strength and ‘bloom’ very quickly!”

“Eh?” Miss Dandelion was momentarily stunned. “Let me finish them off? Wouldn’t Lily need the experience more than me?”

“Oh, come on~ You know my situation. This experience would be much more helpful to Dandelion right now, wouldn’t it?” Saint Lily chuckled. Besides, she wasn’t entirely ready for her next advancement. She truly had no idea how well she’d score on that assessment, so she preferred to accumulate more experience first.

“Lily…”

Miss Dandelion was touched, then looked at Red Spider Lily. “But in that case, Miss Red Spider Lily, is that alright with you? Won’t you be unhappy? I don’t want to affect your relationship because of me~”

“……” Red Spider Lily rubbed her face. ‘This tea-like fragrance is overflowing. Are you sure you haven’t chosen the wrong flower?’

“It’s fine, really. I’m already max level, so this experience isn’t very useful to me, whether I get it or not,” Red Spider Lily said with a smile. “And as Saint Lily’s ‘friend,’ of course I’ll help with something like this~”

“……” Miss Dandelion twitched her lips, smiling. “Is that so? A ‘matured’ senior, then? Well, thank you very much~ Red Spider Lily ‘senior’~”

“‘Senior’ makes me sound old. How about ‘Big Sister’? My little darling~” Red Spider Lily replied with a laugh.

“Thank you for your help, Miss Red Spider Lily,” Miss Dandelion said, her expression blank.

Red Spider Lily shrugged. She Min’s rhetoric was truly effective; it naturally gave one an advantage.

****

And so, a peculiar scene began to unfold within the labyrinth.

Wild disaster beasts would leap out.

They would then see white lily petals dancing and, at the center of a red sea of flowers, three human women standing. Around them, spectral disaster beasts watched them with great ‘kindness.’ The most harmless sight was arguably the floating Dandelion babies above, sweetly chirping ‘Mee~ Mee~’.

This was also the last sight they ever beheld, as columns of light, the width of a bowl, swallowed them whole. The source of these columns was none other than those adorable, harmless little creatures.

If they had been allowed to leave a dying message, their final words would most likely have been:

‘This is the biggest spectacle I’ve ever witnessed in my life, yet they’re sending me off in the most insulting way. Mee, Mee you motherf**ker (disaster beast expletive)!’

****

…………………………..Time Skip~………………………

“Ah~ Hello everyone, I’m Tan Yuhan from ‘True Sight Eye.’ Can you see me? I’m Little Tan~” The young woman, holding a selfie stick, waved at her phone with a smile.

“Everyone must be very curious about the aftermath of Saint Lily’s livestream going offline. So, everyone, follow Little Tan as I uncover the truth!”

“Alright, everyone can see me.” She rotated her phone, showing the surroundings. “This is the world Saint Lily and the others accidentally entered. However, it seems some unexpected events have occurred. The original city is constantly being divided into different zones by opaque, earthen-yellow light walls, just like a maze. And as you’ve all heard the sounds, ‘Awooo~,’ ‘Roar~,’ there are quite a few disaster beasts here.”

“Also, the passage previously opened by Lord Sovereign has closed.”

“Ah… Eh? Little Tan suddenly realizes her current situation is also a bit precarious!” The young woman exclaimed, dramatically covering her mouth in surprise.

“But don’t worry, as long as Lord Sovereign is here, nothing will go wrong.” She quickly gave a thumbs-up, praising them with a smile.

“Lord Sovereign isn’t here right now; they must be doing something important. They were so fast that we couldn’t keep up.”

Tan Yuhan paused. “But even if we had followed, we probably wouldn’t have been much help! In any case, while Lord Sovereign is busy, Little Tan will lead everyone on a tour of this mysterious world.”

[Could this possibly be a ‘dungeon’?]

[Based on the current description, it certainly seems so. And didn’t that Red Spider Lily mention that fighting monsters can level you up?]

[But what if it *is* a ‘dungeon’? I remember places that became ‘dungeons’ and people were forced to evacuate.]

[There’ll definitely be compensation, probably like housing demolitions. This is a good thing.]

[Really? Really? Is a chance to get rich overnight coming my way?]

[Is it possible? You don’t even own a house; you just rent?]

“Hmm~ About that~” Tan Yuhan just smiled, looking at the comments. “Is it or isn’t it? This humble one doesn’t know either~ But I think everyone can keep an eye on the official announcements~”

[Little Tan, go fight a monster! Wouldn’t we know if there’s experience or not?]

“Eh~ This humble one isn’t a combat type. If I were to go, I wouldn’t be fighting monsters; I’d be getting beaten by them.”

“But even if I’m not, my teammate can be!”

“Ta-da! This gentleman beside me is He Mo, a member of our city’s only C-rank super-ability squad, ‘Shadow of War.’ ”

“Ah… Hello everyone~ I’m He Mo~”

The young man was a bit shy, seemingly quite young, and appeared bashful in front of the camera. Yet, no one underestimated him.

The significance of a C-rank super-ability squad to a city was practically its ceiling, much like the ‘restart button’ on a monitor when you can’t figure out strange computer problems—it might not solve all issues, but it resolves most.

A C-rank super-ability squad’s baseline required C-rank ability users. In other D-rank super-ability squads, such individuals would be captains, and even those captains would have a high chance of being eliminated or cut if they tried to join a C-rank squad.

Therefore, every member capable of joining a C-rank super-ability squad possessed at least elite C-rank strength.

“Don’t be shy, Little Brother He. Say a bit more, give everyone some encouragement~”

“Ah… Um… Please, please rest assured, citizens! This time, we absolutely will not let Su Mo escape again!”

“……” Tan Yuhan looked at He Mo, who stood at attention. Her smiling expression instantly solidified into a petrified mask, fixed upon her face.

[What does this have to do with Su Mo?]

[Holy sh*t! Su Mo is here too?!]

[Danger!!!]