When the labyrinth started shaking, I had an idea. A bad idea sure, but an idea I really couldn’t ignore. If I let the labyrinth shift happen, I could explore until I got the major core.

So how in the world did this happen?

Blue Hair sat up, her white clothing covered in dirt. At the last second, she lunged for my hand and though she didn’t exactly grab it, we were teleported to the same place. She took a glance around and her eyes widened. Her lips shook as she raised a hand to cover them.

“W-W-We’ve been teleported…”

I got up. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“D-Done what?”

“You tried to grab me. Why?”

“Because you’re my- Because I wanted to help you. W-What's wrong with that?”

“What's wrong with that is that now we’re both lost in the labyrinth.”

And I can’t count on you to fight a monster by yourself.

She was quiet for a moment. “At least we’re not alone,” she said in a whisper.

“...Yeah, I guess.”

I’d have preferred to be alone, but I wasn’t just going to say that. There was being blunt and then there was being an asshole. I think telling someone you’d rather they not be around is an asshole thing to say. Well, most of the time at least.

Part of me wanted to sprint off and search for a major core. I had no clue about where to find it but I was sure I’d make more progress alone than with someone slowing me down. But, that meant I’d have to leave Blue Hair behind. In the short time I’d known her, I didn’t get the impression she was the hands-on type.

Was I willing to let her die if it meant I got a chance to find Kharss?

“W-What do we do now?”

I shrugged. “Do you know anything about world labyrinths?”

“O-Only a few things. Um, the books I read were mostly about door labyrinths.”

Great.

“Okay. This way then.”

“W-Why that way?”

“Because we have no idea where we’re going so this direction is as good as any other.”

We walked through the plains for a while. The majority of animals we passed were just like the ones on the outside. From the short time I’d been in Aurora Labyrinth, I didn’t notice much difference between it and the real world. The only differences were the cores and crystals.

The plain ended suddenly.

A single step more and we’d be in some woods. It was like a patchwork quilt. Trees near to the edge of the quilt had their branches, which should have grown equally both ways, cut as they touched the boundary. Gentle breezes swayed the grass, yet those on the line didn’t move when blown toward the plain.

Blue Hair had been quiet the entire walk, as quiet as I always imagined her, but she also seemed to notice.

“S-Should we cross it?” She asked.

“Not like we can do anything else.”

Monsters inside a labyrinth didn’t breed like the monsters in the real world, at least, that’s what my master told me. I saw it first hand with the goblins. They create new life by giving offerings to a core. So, in a monster-dense area, there had to be a core, right?

“Y-You want us to attack orcs?! That’s impossible.”

Hmm…

I saw doubt and fear in her eyes, but it was mixed with something else. That something had been with her since the initial horror of being separated from everyone else sank in. Her eyes wandered over to the orcs and their camp while her hand rested over her book.

“No, you can’t handle orcs. I’ll go alone and try to steal some food and a map if they have one.”

Of course, that wasn’t my only goal. If I could get away with it, I’d steal their core too. In door labyrinths, some monsters carried around the core instead of leaving it implanted into the wall or cave in the goblins’ cases.

“But-”

“Do you have any other way of finding our way around this labyrinth?”

“N-No…”

“Then risking it on the chance to find a map is better than wandering aimlessly. Sit here. I’ll be back.”

It was still light out so I had to move more carefully. The white uniform didn’t make it any easier. Most of the orcs were busy preparing for the night, whether that be cooking or gathering firewood. A group of five stood at the front of the camp, chatting away.

I snuck into a nearby tent and rummaged through the things inside. I found a bonetooth necklace, some effigies, and a talisman-looking thing. Hardly anything of note. I scanned my surroundings before delving into another tent. Once again, nothing useful. Maybe their pillows would be worth stealing but I didn’t have the energy to waste on taking them.

For a group of monsters sometimes compared to people, I expected a bit more.

In the largest tent, I found what I’d been looking for. It wasn’t exactly it, but it confirmed what I suspected. Sitting under a bundle of crude blankets and clothes was a minor core. If I found ten or so more minor cores, I could try combining them into a major core, but that was unlikely and I didn't know how to do it. Guilds didn't do it either since the end product was worth less than the minor cores by themselves. It still had value though, so I stuffed it into a sack and searched the rolled-up papers.

A map!

It was broken into nine square sections. A wooded part of the map, judging from the child-like drawing of trees, had been marked with an icon. It took me a second to understand it was a tent, and likely the spot we were at. The middle square was the plains Blue Hair and I walked through.

South of here was another forest. Directly north and we’d run into hills. I may not have known anything about map making, but with a layout this easy to understand, I could draw my own. I grabbed an empty sheet and made a smaller version of the map. It lacked specific details. It also lacked the space for details if I wanted to add them later. Whatever. Sacrifices had to be made.

As I packed up the map, the tent flap opened. An orc appeared. I lunged with my shortsword. The orc blocked my attack, taking the sword through the arm. I pulled out a knife. It caught my arm and screamed. I punched it until it let go, and I finished it off. Grabbing the things I packed and my sword, I ran out of the tent.

Five orcs responded right away to the cry. They came as a group and quickly spread out to close off my escapes. In seconds, the rest of the camp would be here.

Blue Hair had heard the commotion. From behind a tree, she watched in horror, likely counting all the orcs running my way.

As the five orcs attacked, I used my ability and blinked to Blue Hair. I grabbed her by the arm.

“How did you-”

“Run!”

Upon entering the woods, Blue Hair and I turned at every sound. Now, we desperately ignored the stampede behind us. The earth rumbled under their feet. Sticks and branches snapped, leaves and plants whipped as if being torn apart by the wind.

One of them must have realized we’d stolen the core. Arrows and rocks flew past, far off their marks. The trees acted as barriers and I made sure to weave around them whenever we could. The Orcs weren’t gaining but we weren’t about to lose them either.

I had to slow my pace for Blue Hair to keep up. The initial rush of energy wore thin. It helped us create a large gap but it also lowered our long-term chances of losing them.

The foliage thinned the further north we went. There were fewer trees but the orcs had run out of arrows and those who tried to throw rocks fell further and further behind. Their muscular bodies were excellent for fighting, not so much for chasing.

We crossed the boundary into the hill filled north.

The majority of the orcs skidded to a stop. Even as their allies pointed to the setting sun and called out after them, the others pounded their chests and roared into the sky as they pursued us with renewed frenzy.

The hills drained our strength and on the way down, Blue Hair tripped. She rolled to the bottom, her clothes an absolute mess of dirt and grass streaks. I pulled her by the arm but she stumbled. She only managed to stay standing because I held onto her.

I cursed under my breath.

“Run while I hold them off.”

“W-What about-”

“I’ll be fine. Just go!”

To make sure the orcs didn’t decide to chase after her instead, I flashed the core. The purple orb shone like a beacon in the dying light, drawing their attention like a raging fire in the middle of a village. I secured the bag and faced off against the seven orcs with a sword and knife.

The first charged in without consideration for its allies. It raised its club high. I parried the swing and drove my sword through its side. The stab was debilitating, fatal. However, it pushed forward, slamming its fist down onto my shoulder before it lost all strength and fell over, dead.

I hadn’t expected that. But now wasn’t the time to get shaken.

The next orc was a bit smarter, waiting for a friend to catch up to start its assault. I weaved around their wide swings, sneaking in cuts and stabs wherever I could. Their broad shoulders and muscular chests heaved with effort, expelling rancid breaths that mixed with the smell of their sweat and blood.

I felled one with a cut across its neck. As I moved to finish the other off before their reinforcements came, it dropped its weapon and tackled me. I thrust the knife into its side in a flurry of blows. The monster didn’t die.

It beat at me with its massive arms trying to crush my head before it died. I dodged and blocked most of the blows but a few inevitably landed.

The orc finally died. I pushed myself to my feet and checked my face. I wasn’t bleeding. None of my bones were broken. I’d come out squarely on top, and still, I felt like something was wrong. I knew what orcs were like, gods, I’d even fought them before. They were supposed to be smarter, less feral than goblins or other creatures. But that orc fought like a cornered animal.

Reeling from the fight, I hadn’t realized how close the other orcs had gotten. I sprung into a stance.

As the fight began, my limbs failed to match the speed of my commands. Each slash or stab I tried to inflict sent a light reverberation through my sides and back, like the hair suddenly stood on end to warn me of some unexpected danger.

I took a glancing blow to the shoulder.

It didn’t hurt. I stabbed at the orc but my arm didn’t extend as far as I expected. A jolt of pain caused me to recoil. I leaped back from the orcs.

I needed a second to think. They were in worse shape than me but I still had to kill all of them. I could run but now was my chance to get rid of the problem.

I heard Blue Hair scream.

I didn’t know why, or how. For whatever reason, some of the other orcs had decided to come despite hesitating before. Two were dead on the hill, killed by Blue Hair’s magic. Three more were closing in on her. One was missing a hand.

Fuck fuck fuck!

Magic coursed through my body as I readied to blink. Then, pain shot through my right arm. One of the damned orcs struck me from behind. I blinked anyway and skewered one of the three attacking Blue Hair through the chest.

She conjured a barrier, but with two orcs attacking it at once, it cracked. She stepped back and her foot caught on the hill. The handless one pounced on her, holding her down as the other raised its weapon for the finishing blow.

I rammed into the standing orc, mounting it as I tried to slip a blade into its throat. Although my sword was longer, I couldn’t put any strength into that arm. I dropped the sword and focused on the knife. We wrestled for control, me pushing the knife with my whole body, and the orc frantically trying to throw me off.

The four orcs were running up the hill.

Die already! Hurry up and die.

I spared a glance at Blue Hair.

What?

She was still pinned. Her eyes were shut, head turned away from the overgrown teeth of the orc. The tips of her clothes were stiff and unmoving even as the wind blew. The ground was covered in an expanding frost and the orc let out a feeble gasp as it froze over solid.

She’d killed it.

Taking the opportunity before she opened her eyes, I shocked the orc with my magic. I felt my breath completely leave me but that gave me enough of an edge to win. I cut the orc’s throat and dashed to Blue Hair.

“Hey… Hey! Get up. We have to go.”

I kicked the one-handed orc off her, shattering it. She opened her eyes with a start. As I offered her a hand, I felt a chill. It wasn’t the kind that ran down someone’s back when they were afraid. It was the numbing kind. The kind that had people hiding in their homes, and the kind that claimed the most lives during the war against the Northern Alliance.

“My gods…” Blue Hair whispered in horror, her hand over her mouth. “I-I, I-I-I’m so sorry…”

My foot was encased in her ice.