The smoke trail seemed to lead them through an even wilder path this time around. Reinhart, who was at the front of the group, also didn’t complain about being forced to scout the way for them while having an arrow pointed at his back.

At first, Red was worried the man would try to take them by surprise. However, Rog seemed to be on top of everything. Every strange movement, every sudden falter in step, every turn of the head - the hunter tensed up at everything Reinhart did, ready to let an arrow loose.

The knight had no leeway. Not that he seemed to mind.

“Where are the rest of your companions?” Reinhart asked without turning around.

“None of your business.” Rimold said with no attempt to disguise his unfriendliness.

“Hey, I was just trying to make conversation.” the knight shrugged. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure out they’re probably down here too.”

“We’re not interested in talking with-”

“What happened to the demon?” Red asked before Rimold could finish speaking.

The rogue frowned at him, but the boy ignored it.

Reinhart sighed. “I lost sight of him after I entered the cave. I seriously thought I was going to die.”

The man’s relaxed tone didn’t match his words.

“Did you also get caught in an illusion once you entered that tunnel?” Allen asked, also curious about the knight’s experiences.

“Illusion?” Reinhart seemed confused. “Not really. Once I entered the tunnel, my vision got blurry, and I suddenly found myself in another underground room. The demon was gone by then.”

The young master looked surprised by his response. “So you didn’t go through an illusion of an endless corridor?”

“Was I supposed to? Wait - is that what happened to all of you?”

“None of your business.” Rimold said, cutting off Allen before the boy could respond.

Although the rogue said that, it was clear he was also curious about the matter. He looked over at Rog, hoping to get his companion’s input, but the man was too focused on Reinhart to talk back. In the end, all the hunter did was shake his head shortly.

‘Since he knows nothing, there’s no point in talking to him about it.’

Red assumed this was what Rog might have been thinking.

Thankfully, Reinhart didn’t seem very interested in the topic either. “I hope you can all place a little more trust in me. Or else I doubt we will make it through the next few monsters.”

“It’s easy for you to say that.” Rimold scoffed. “Besides, we dealt with the bears with no issue, so I feel like our current arrangement is more than enough.”

Reinhart laughed. “Do you really think that’s the hardest it will get? Have you forgotten the entire monster population from the forest was moved underground? That includes the Lesser Ring Realm ones!”

The rogue had actually not considered this point, but he was quick to recover from his shock. “We’ll obviously avoid those monsters, of course!”

“Avoid? Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that…”

The knight stopped talking with those ominous words. However, it was clear they had their effect on the group. Even Red started to consider the possibility.

Up to this point, they had no choice but to fight monsters if they wanted to leave this labyrinth, braving danger directly. So the question remained: would they have to fight a Lesser Ring Realm monster to leave this place?

Red couldn’t discount the possibility.

…

The group continued to walk for an hour and a half until the mist dissipated.

“Well.” Reinhart came to a stop and turned around to look at the group. “Looks like we’ll have to find some other monsters.”

The group was prepared for the possibility, so no one was surprised when it came to pass.

Rog nodded at the knight, still having his bow at the ready. “Keep walking. I’ll tell you where to turn.”

“Fine.” Reinhart nodded and turned around, walking further down the corridor.

Rog looked back at Red with a questioning gaze. The boy, however, shook his head, and the hunter frowned in response. In the end, though, he had no choice but to continue following Reinhart in this random search.

Red knew what he was asking - he wanted to know whether the youth felt any fluctuations during their travels. However, just like last time they were following the mist trail, Red had felt no signs of monsters.

This wasn’t the only thing he didn’t feel, either.

‘It should be night already.’

Indeed, Red had spent hours outside already, so even though he left town midday, night should have arrived by now. However, the boy had yet to feel the moon gaze set upon him. Either his sense of time had been warped, or there was something in this place blocking the gaze from entering.

In any case, not having to deal with the pressure only benefited the youth, so he wouldn’t complain.

…

It took the group almost half an hour of aimless wandering before Red felt fluctuations enter his detection range. He looked over at Rog, and the hunter immediately noticed his gaze.

Red nodded to the man and pointed with his thumb to the right.

Rog smiled in response before returning his attention towards Reinhart. “Turn right!”

The knight followed his instructions. After a couple more turns, the group finally happened upon a monster chamber. Inside of it, there were five monsters.

“Fireleaf deers!” Reinhart said once he set his eyes on the creatures.

Red had also heard the name before. Those deers had bright red fur, and their antlers glowed in the dark due to Fire Spiritual Energy running through their sturdy bodies. Once these monsters reached the Lesser Ring Realm, they could use their antlers to manipulate flames and cast powerful abilities. Surprisingly enough, these creatures lived in a woodland area where they might cause a forest fire at any moment. That was due to the fact they could absorb flames into their antlers, thus making sure the fire wouldn’t spread.

Fireleaf deers were also amongst the rare races of monsters that were not aggressive to humans or other living beings in general. In fact, they were quite shy and tried to avoid confrontation by any means, resembling their animal counterpart. Considering this fact, Red didn’t know why they had been placed here.

His companions also shared his confusion.

“Fireleaf deers?” Rog frowned. “Why would they put an animal that doesn’t fight back at this trial?”

“Maybe they have been driven to a frenzy.” Rimold said.

The hunter grunted in thought. Suddenly, he raised his bow, shooting towards the chamber.

“What the hell?!” Reinhart flinched when he heard the noise and felt the arrow passing him by less than a meter.

“Shh.” Rog admonished him. “Arrow wasn’t meant for you.”

“I can see that. But why did you…” the knight trailed off once he looked back at the chamber.

The arrow had crashed against an invisible barrier as expected and fell harmlessly onto the ground. The fireleaf deers, however, were startled by the noise and were running around the room in a panic.

“These definitely don’t look like they were driven into a frenzy.” Rog shook his head.

“Well, better for us, isn’t it?” Rimold shrugged. “All we need to do is go in there and kill them, right?”

“Maybe. But there might be something else to this we don’t know. Just be careful…”

The rogue nodded. “That goes without saying.”

Rog looked over at Red and Allen, who also nodded in understanding. Once he had gotten a reply from everyone in his group, he stared at Reinhart. “You can go on in. We’ll follow behind you.”

The knight didn’t move in immediately. He looked over at Rog. “You won’t leave me to die in there, will you?”

“What would be the point?” Rog frowned. “If I wanted to kill you, I’d just shoot you.”

“Makes sense.” Reinhart seemed satisfied by the reply and walked into the chamber.

As soon as he reached the entrance, he disappeared alongside the deers.

“Should be our turn.” Rog said. “Make sure you stay near each other once we’re inside. I doubt he will try anything funny, but it’s best to be safe.”

Everyone nodded at his words. A few moments later, they went into the room and were also teleported away.

…

It took them five minutes to finish this fight.

To their surprise, there were no traps waiting for them in the forest arena. The fireleaf deers were too scared to fight back, and so the true challenge was to actually catch and kill them. Thankfully, they had Rog at their side, and the man was able to track and kill them one by one, all by himself.

No one in the group had to even lift their hands during the fight, including Reinhart. The man simply watched Rog at work from the side, making a witty comment or complimenting the hunter’s skills now and then.

This ended up being the longest fight they had partaken of, but it was also the easiest by far. When the last deer fell, they were teleported back to the labyrinth chamber.

Reinhart laughed to himself. “Well, that went better than I expected.”

“Wasn’t this too easy?” Rimold frowned. “How is this supposed to be a challenge?”

“Maybe the real challenge was in tracking and killing them.” the knight shrugged. “Thankfully, we had the best hunter in the region on our side.”

Rog smiled. “Thanks." a moment later, he pointed his bow and arrow at the man again. “Now, back to the front.”

“Ugh, do you really have to be like this?” Reinhart seemed annoyed. “Besides, what about the reward? We still need to split that up!”

The hunter frowned at his words. “Go over there and open it up. You can take your part and leave the rest to us - I’ll be watching.”

The knight groaned, but did as he was told. He picked up the ornamental box from the altar and set it on the ground before opening it up. Inside, however, there was only a bronze key.

“Hm, a key?” Reinhart frowned.

Rog also didn’t look thrilled. “How are we supposed to split a key?”

“Maybe I get the top half and you guys keep the bottom?” the knight shrugged.

“No way!” the hunter shook his head. “We settled on 80-20! You can keep the tip at most!”

“How about we keep the key and see what it is for before we split it up and ruin it?” Red interjected.

“That sounds like a good idea, kid.” Rog nodded and looked back at Reinhart. “Throw it over here, we’ll keep it for now.”

“What about me?” Reinhart frowned. “What do I get?”

“A thank you?” the hunter shrugged.

“Bah, fine!” the knight threw the key over. “What do I care for a key, anyway.”

Rog grabbed the key and slipped it into his pocket. “Thank you! Now please, lead the way again.”

Reinhart grumbled to himself and started walking ahead. The group followed behind him, but Allen still seemed curious about the key.

“What do you think the key is for?” the young master asked Red.

“Probably to open a lock.” Red said.

“Ah… That makes sense.” Allen nodded with an expression of realization.

…

The group kept following the smoke trail until eventually they noticed the surrounding corridors had started to widen.

“Are we getting close to the exit?” Allen asked with some eagerness.

“Maybe.” Red shrugged. “I wouldn’t count on it, though.”

His words put a damper on Allen’s excitement. A few minutes later, Red’s cynicism was justified.

The group finally arrived in a wide chamber, far bigger than any of the other ones they had come across before. Around the chamber there were six enormous doors, each with a different animal symbol on them. Three of them were already opened, revealing another large corridor leading further into the labyrinth.

This, however, wasn’t everything they found in this chamber. On the other side of the room, there was a group of men standing around while holding their weapons and looking into one of the corridors. Red could immediately discern their identity.

‘Bandits.’