We turned down the nearest pathway. The main hall was too open. The pillars were the only obstructions we had to hide from the monster's view. The new room was similar in size to the one with a pyre, but it was empty. Steps stuck out of the side of the wall and led to a ledge. Rainen bolted up the stairs.

Scraping claws alerted me and I caught a glimpse of one of the monsters as it ran past. Its snout was caked in blood that dripped down its now matted fur, and its muscular shoulders rolled with enough strength to propel it forward at twice any speed I could run. The weak light of the dungeon kept the rest of the creature hidden.

“What are you doing? Hurry!”

I bounded up the steps, nearly tripping twice. One monster entered the room just as I made it onto the ledge and laid myself flat. It was smaller than the one before but larger than an orc, at least briefly. Seeing no one, it shrank to the size of a large dog and lost its humanoid aspects. Then, it howled to signal its pack. There was no blood on its mouth.

A white-furred wolf that can change its size... I should know what it is.

I was sure they were familiar, either appearing in a journal I read, the bestiary, or both. I couldn’t recall the name in time before it left.

We turned to explore the strange ledge. I gasped as I spotted a statue standing in the corner. I instantly covered my mouth but it was too late. Rainen pulled out a knife as the wolf monster snarled and rushed back into the room.

It sprang up the steps. Rainen threw his knife, catching the monster in the shoulder and causing it to fall with a loud cry. I shuddered as howls echoed through the dungeon, and blindingly backed up against the wall.

“Don’t get scared. Break the steps with your magic,” Rainen commanded.

I aimed at one of the middle juts. My hand grew warm from the swirling magic but nothing appeared yet. The monster shook off the fall and ran to try again, ignoring the weapon lodged in its body. It was halfway up when Rainen threw a knife. The monster dodged but Rainen predicted its jump and threw another knife. However, the handle hit the monster instead.

Rainen clutched his arm. The pain had come back at the worst time. The wolf beast lunged at him, and Rainen rolled under the attack. Its other pack members assembled at the room’s entrance. My magic finally materialized and destroyed the steps, leaving the other monsters unable to climb up.

Rainen dodged another attack from the wolf beast. Its back was to me and I clutched the knife. A spell was too slow. If I wanted to help, I had to go now and attack it from behind.

The knife shook even as I tried to steady it with my other hand. The goblins' and orcs' teeth couldn't reach me, unlike the wolf beast who could do it without effort and recover a dozen times more quickly. The thoughts kept piling on like the constant whispers of the students in the academy. Could I get past its fur and pierce its skin at all?

Its claws grazed Rainen’s already injured arm as he created distance between them, and at the same time, brought me into its periphery. It was too late. My chance came and went as I stood there, useless.

“Magic!” he yelled.

I felt a shiver. “B-But what if I-”

“Just do it!”

Images of the past two weeks flashed in my mind, the first with Rainen barely blocking my spell, and another when Mr. Argant got injured because of me. A flood of emotions pulled at me, slowing my movements and disrupting the flow of my magic. Rainen was on the back foot, yet I couldn’t steady my hand enough to aim.

“Cast it!”

His voice interrupted my swirl of thoughts, and I used the chance to fire the spell before even older memories reemerged. Moments later, the ice formed. Rainen stood directly in front of it. I tried to call out to him. It came out as a high, unintelligible yelp. I had never projected my voice like that before.

My ice bolt shot toward him and I could only watch.

Rainen jumped back and the wolf beast, who had grown in size and regained its more humanoid form, leaped after him, right in the way of my spell. The ice shattered against its head and a resounding crack echoed through the room. Rainen dashed and dug his knife into the monster’s neck. I turned away when I saw him pull it out and stab again.

The original way we came in was blocked off by larger versions of the monster we killed. They were all in their humanoid form and did running leaps to try and grab onto the ledge.

There’s a path here,” Rainen said between heavy breaths. In his hands were a few of the monster’s teeth. He slipped it into a pouch and looked between the body and the jumping wolf beasts.

He went first, holding onto his arm and leaning against the wall again. I followed behind, watching the statue as we left.

Elizabeth Ein, or Ms. Ein, as she had gotten used to being called, flipped through her grimoire as teams of adventurers, all C-rank and above, conducted one final check on their gear. After sending the rest of the students back safely, she immediately informed the headmaster of the situation. A whole day of contemplation was what it took to form a rescue team.

The reputation of the academy and the lives of two people were at stake, so how come it had taken so long? Never before had a student been inside a labyrinth during a Shift. The instructors of the academy were well-versed in labyrinth exploration despite many of them lacking experience as adventurers. They knew all the Variations of Aurora Labyrinth’s portal, as well as the exact times when Labyrinth Shifts would take place.

How, then, did they get caught during one?

Ms. Ein marked a page in her grimoire. Grimoires were rare. Not only were they difficult to find or make, but they were also restrictive, and few thought the benefits were worth it. Through much effort, Ms. Ein was able to mark ten spells for the day, available to use at any time she needed. If a situation came in which those she’d saved couldn’t handle it, she’d have to rely on her base magic or the randomness of the grimoire.

“We are ready,” Mr. Argant said. He was the first to volunteer as well as the person who accompanied Ms. Ein when she pushed for a rescue team.

She nodded. “Then we set out.”

There were a total of eight groups consisting of five adventurers each for a total of forty, forty-one including Ms. Ein. From the moment they entered the labyrinth, they would split up and begin their search. With the assistance of the Adventurer’s Guild, they procured enough communication scrolls for each group to have their own, capable of sending and receiving. Every two hours, they were required to report back to each other, with the lookouts being the ones to take over the responsibility during nighttime.

Unfortunately, there was no way to know where Rainen and Ellar were. The mission could take anywhere from a few hours to weeks. While the timing of a Labyrinth Shift wasn’t random, or they weren’t supposed to be, the destinations were impossible to map. Many adventurers had tried, but the locations changed every time.

Ms. Ein was the first to enter. It was Variation Three, as they had expected, but something about this bothered her. The Labyrinth Shift occurred early, yet the portal location was the correct one to appear.

“Don’t let it bother you,” Mr. Argant said. His connection to the academy was much looser than hers, and though she had also worked as an instructor for five years compared to his four as an assistant, she knew he also cared for the students, short as the time he spent with them was.

“I know,” she said, resolute. Worrying would do nothing. Their rescue came first. Whatever mysteries the labyrinth held for them would have to be investigated later.

The middle-aged adventurer, over a decade her senior, nodded. She hadn’t many chances to interact with him in a non-formal manner, and so his first name sometimes escaped her. Of course, he never addressed her by her first name either, “You may not be aware, but half of the adventurers that day didn’t return to the guild.”

It was a grim piece of information, but also one that could bring hope. Regardless of their rank, none of the adventurers would have fallen to the monsters in that area. If only half returned, then that meant at least ten were teleported along with her students.

When Rainen stopped for a rest, I let out a thankful sigh.

“I-Is your arm okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” he said dismissively

He looked down the hall and I used that chance to take off my boots. My feet had been aching since the first day in the labyrinth and the past day and a half only made it worse. Things were happening too fast and all the situations were too dire to get proper time to worry about it.

I took off my shoes and saw strange, translucent protrusions on my skin. They were warmer than I expected. Were they… blisters? I never had blisters before but I knew some of the kids in the village complained about them. They didn’t hurt, at least, not when I left them alone. I carefully massaged my foot, ignoring the soreness in my thumbs until I felt a cramp coming on.

“All right, let’s keep moving,” he said and started off. He hadn’t noticed what I was doing. He was busy since, during the short rest, he’d used the ripped pieces of his uniform as makeshift bandages.

I winced when I slipped my socks back on.

“What’s wrong?”

The fire was too far away to illuminate me but he was coming closer. I pushed my feet in and then shot upright. The boots hugged my skin, sending a wave of fiery pain.

“Hello?”

He eyed me and I shrank under his gaze. He’d gotten hurt multiple times, and though it looked like his foot recovered, I was the cause of one of those. If I held him back any more than I already had, what would he think of me then? Would he leave me behind?

“O-Oh, I’m fine. J-Just looking for the map.”

“It might not be hard to figure out where we are but a map is always a good back-up. Stick close,” he said, sweat pooling on his forehead. “I don’t think I can keep the fire as bright as before.”

We continued forward. The fire wasn’t as bright, just as he said. It made it difficult to see the map properly, but there were few things to note. In the next room, we took another break where I could finish the rest of the map. It helped keep my mind off the aching and gave me an excuse to be quiet.

As I drew the last of the wall, something from the way we came caught my attention. I peered into the darkness, trying to spot the slightest of movements or hear the same quiet thump. Like all the other times, the shadows played tricks on my eyes. Yet, the longer I stared, the feeling of something hiding in there grew stronger.

I knew from watching other people that they usually told someone when they thought they saw something. I wanted to do the same, but I also didn’t want to bother Rainen when I had no proof. Whatever it was, if it existed at all, it didn’t come any closer while I was watching. I stuck closer to Rainen through the next few rooms until the presence was gone.

Rainen drank from his canteen, lifting it nearly vertical to get to the water. He held it out toward me and I heard a soft slush as the last of it settled at the bottom. “Here, I know yours is empty. This is the last you’ll get for now.”

“I-It’s-”

“‘It’s fine’, is that what you’re going to say? Don’t argue and just drink. It might be the last we have for a while.”

I hesitantly drank the last of the water. I was thirsty, but I tried not to think about it.

I handed the empty canteen back to him as guilt welled up. I was holding him back again.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“You don’t have to lie.”

“I-I’m not lying… I-I don’t need to eat right now.”

It was true. Aside from the occasional rumble, I didn’t feel all that hungry. It wouldn’t be the first time I went a day without eating.

“Okay. Next time we see one of those wolf… things, we’ll fight it the same way. I distract it while you finish it off with magic.”

“B-But what if I hit you?”

He shook his head. “Killing those things without your magic is gonna be hard. I’d rather risk getting my ribcage broken over getting eaten.”

“But-”

“While we're here, I need you to listen to me.”

He didn’t say it. I didn’t think he implied it either. But I heard it anyway.

‘Or you’ll end up hurting me again’

I nodded. My affirmation should have ended the conversation, but he stared at me for a moment.

“W-What is it?” I asked.

“Are you…” he trailed off. “Never mind. Did you know what those wolf things were?”

“Oh, um, w-why?”

“You were staring really hard at the monster before it came up to the ledge.”

He noticed?!

I didn’t think I was being that obvious. Now I had to remember or else I might’ve looked dumb.

“I-It’s-It’s a…” I wracked my brain for the name. “I think it’s a washir. T-They usually travel in packs of seven or more.”

“Any information about how strong they are?”

I inferred from the journals that there was some kind of rating for how strong monsters were, just like the one for adventurers. However, the bestiary I had was old and close to falling apart. Smudges were everywhere and whole pages were missing. If it had ratings whatsoever, they were all gone.

“N-No, but I remember that washir can only stay in their larger form for a few minutes at a time. And once they turn back, there’s a rest period too. That’s why the washir we fought didn’t transform right away,” I said. The information was coming back. “Despite not being able to use magic, adventurers collect their fur because it helps with herbal remedies for mana recovery. Oh, they’re more reckless in their big form too. The book said that they think their claws get longer, but their front paws actually shrink a bit… probably.”

I realized I was rambling. The first half was filled with useful information, and the second was a jumble of tidbits.

Rainen seemed at a loss for what to say. He seemed surprised and tired at the same time. He nodded. “Interesting,” he said, unconvincingly. “That’ll be useful,” he said, much more convincingly. “I’ll look to you for help in the future regarding monsters, but try to keep your voice down.”

My face burned.

“O-Okay…”

Rainen asked me to guide him in the direction of the pyre room. It wasn’t long before we were on top of it. A set of stairs led back down, and though it might not have led to the room specifically, an unexplored hallway was in that direction.

We sat down to rest one more time as the room had a lower level similar to the one where we encountered the washir. Rainen tended to his wounds while I stealthily fiddled with my boots. My parents bought it the day I left my village.

Then, I felt something cold press against my neck.

“Don’t move."