My first instinct was to disarm the person holding a knife to my throat, but they also held one to Blue Hair’s.

“Throw your weapons across the room,” said a feminine voice.

Blue Hair threw it and I sighed as it hit the ground. I slid my knife so as not to risk chipping it. They frisked us before pushing us against the wall. Their faces were hidden. Only their silhouettes were visible in the dim hall light. If they were bandits, they probably would have killed us.

“W-Why are you doing this?” Blue Hair asked.

“Shut up,” the woman said.

“Were those bedrolls yours,” I asked.

“I said shut up! We’re asking the questions. Who are you? Why are you here?”

“We’re students. We got caught during a Labyrinth Shift,” I said.

“Wait, students were taken during the Shift too?”

It was the man who finally spoke.

“Hold on,” the woman said. “Prove it.”

I flared fire in my hand, illuminating my clothes, torn as they were. The woman pressed her dagger closer to me but stopped just short of penetrating skin. She took a moment to look us over and relaxed.

“That was dangerous,” she said.

“I would have been fine,” I said. I was ready to disarm her if I had to. It was clear she had no experience in fighting people, or at least, mugging and restraining them.

“What if your friend got hurt?”

Blue Hair seemed shocked. Did she not think we weren’t going to get hurt if things went wrong? It was a bit naive. People were among the most dangerous creatures in any type of labyrinth. That’s where I met Kharss after all.

“She would’ve been fine.”

I didn’t flare my magic carelessly. I was confident I could take down the lady, and the man seemed like he knew about the strange Shift.

“I’m glad you guys are still alive. Heck, I saw a few impressive things but I never imagined first years at the academy would survive this long on their own. I’m Nyle. I was near the portal when the Shift happened.”

“Rainen,” I said.

“I’m E-”

Blue Hair was cut off.

“Which families are you two from?” The woman asked.

Nyle gasped as if realizing he made a mistake with his introduction earlier.

“Neither of us are nobles.”

“Neither?”

Nyle sighed in relief. “Yeah, they started letting non-nobles in a few years ago, Raia.”

“I guess the rumors that only rich merchant kids got in were false then. Sorry about putting a blade to your throats. If we knew you were students, we wouldn’t have done that. It’s just, we’re on edge.”

“B-Because of the washir?” Blue Hair asked.

“They’re one part of it,” Nyle said. I eyed him. He waved for me to put my fire out and the both of them took out crystals that lit the room. “When I got displaced, I was with another adventurer. We panicked a bit since we weren’t sure what was going on. The Labyrinth Shift wasn’t supposed to happen for a few more hours.”

“And I’m guessing Raia wasn’t one of the adventurers the academy hired?”

She nodded. “I was here on a gathering request. We were headed back to the portal when the Shift happened. We must’ve been in range because we got teleported too.”

‘We’, she says. Either one or two of the other bedrolls belonged to whomever she came with.

“That still doesn’t explain why you put your daggers to our throats.”

“Hey, I said sorry.”

I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. It’s not something adventurers do for no reason.”

“A person I went gathering with, Hyatt, betrayed us. His name’s probably a lie too, or maybe not. There’s no reason for him to come up with a fake name if he was planning to kill us in the first place.”

“He attacked you guys?”

Nyle came back with my knives and handed them to us. I was relieved to see that none of the knives were damaged.

“It wasn’t just him,” Nyle said.

“He had the help of the washir and two other accomplices. I think he planned to ambush us near the portal, so the people he had in waiting were teleported with us. That’s why he didn’t do anything until we found this dungeon.”

“W-Why would he do that?” Blue Hair asked.

“I don’t know for sure, it could have been that he wanted the reward for himself, or because he just wanted to kill us.”

“What was the reward?” I asked.

“Around thirty silvers.”

“For a gathering quest?”

If gathering quests normally paid that much, it’d probably be the only one most people took.

“Right?” Raia beamed. “I thought I hit the jackpot too. The guild let five people take the request and split the reward. Even with six silvers, I still would have done about a week or two worth of work by just grabbing a bunch of plants.” Her smile soured as she continued. “If I’d known this was how it would turn out, I wouldn’t have taken it. One of us died before we met Nyle. Another was injured during a fight against some monsters and we had to abandon him. The third was killed by the haloras flying above.”

We were silent for a moment. I didn’t feel much for them, but I knew better than to move on so quickly when someone had died.

“Your arm,” Nyle said. “Can I take a look at it? I still have some bandages.”

It didn’t take him long to take off the old and apply new bandages. He secured the bandages firmly so they didn’t fall off but not tight enough to cause me discomfort.

“That gash looked worse than it was. You did a good job patching him up,” he said, nodding to Blue Hair.

“I-I didn’t do it… I-I don’t know first aid or anything…”

“Oh, well, I can teach you a few things while we’re here.”

“We should save it for later,” I said.

Raia pulled out her dagger, “Is the washir that attacked you still around?”

I showed them the teeth I collected, “No.”

“You killed one?” Nyle inspected the teeth, not sure whether to believe me or not.

“I guess we might make it after all. With both your magic, we’re much more fit to take on monsters.”

Blue Hair raised her hand as if we were in class. “R-Rainen is a frontliner…”

Raia and Nyle both shrugged. “Should have expected as much by now,” Raia said.

The two of them had drawn their own map. Blue Hair’s was a collection of unsteady lines and awkward spacing. It was better than having no map at all, and it came in handy for making out way back to the pyre, however, theirs was well measured and filled with annotations. Nyle attempted a try at the craft before, though he didn’t get far.

After comparing our information, we thought about what to do next. At first, I thought they wouldn’t take our opinions seriously since we were students, but that turned out to be somewhat untrue. Maybe they were glad to see some other people and weren’t in the mood to be domineering or maybe the washir helped convince them of our worth. Regardless, they included us in the decision-making.

We checked each corner before moving forward. An encounter in any of the smaller halls was a disaster waiting to happen. Whoever was at the front essentially faced a life-or-death battle with little to no room to swing or dodge. Nyle had taken the lead, and the risk. I might have offered if it weren’t for all the injuries I had.

Neither Nyle nor Raia mentioned their ranks, but they were D or below. Generally, C-ranks and above didn’t bother with simple gathering quests near the portal. With their skills, they’d easily make more money hunting down monsters and collecting their crystals. It also made little sense for the academy to hire C-ranked adventurers to watch over students running around a cleared goblin area, though Mr. Argant was an exception. Instructors had the burden of turning a situation around if things went wrong. They had to be strong.

The washir were nowhere to be seen as we slipped into the pyre room. I tossed the teeth in the fire and watched them crack under the heat. Dust kicked off the ground as the room shook. Blue Hair lost her balance but Raia caught her arm. One of the walls shuddered, lifting and revealing a new path and a minor core resting on a pedestal off to the side.

Nyle and Raia broke into grins. They dashed to the core and inspected it.

“Something finally goes right for once,” Nyle said.

“You’re telling me. I knew the gods were gonna reward me soon.” She kissed the core and put it in her pack. “Alright, let’s move before the washir come. That rumbling had to have attracted some attention.”

Blue Hair’s and my sense of time were all jumbled. Not a single bit of light from outside managed to get into the dungeon. If we were left alone today, we might’ve journeyed for another couple of hours before deciding to rest.

“That pocket watch is surprisingly useful,” Raia commented.

“I hope so. I bought it for this specific reason,” Nyle said.

“You bought it specifically for when a Labyrinth Shift happens and you’re forced to hide in a dungeon?”

“Not that specific.”

Blue Hair glanced at them. She looked like she wanted to join in the conversation. I couldn’t judge her. They were like radiant light compared to us. The silence whenever we sat down for a breather always bugged me, though it wasn’t like I did anything to make it easier. Whatever circumstances we grew up in produced vastly different people. Her life before this must’ve been very sheltered.

“I bought it for adventuring,” Nyle said.

“A pocket watch, for adventuring?”

“F-For a promotion…” Blue Hair said.

“Hm?” Raia looked at her. “What did you say?”

“N-Nothing…”

She shrugged and turned back to Nyle. “Will you just tell us already?”

He sighed. “Like I said, I bought it for adventuring. It’s so I’m prepared for dungeon delving.”

“Oh,” she said with a grin. “I know, I was just messing with you.”

“Alright, alright.”

Nyle opened his pack and laid out his food. There wasn’t much, just some dried meats, berries, nuts, bread, and figs. They knew of our situation already, so Nyle and Raia gave us what they had. The meal was more a snack than anything, but I was used to it. Blue Hair seemed to take it better than I thought too.

She didn’t complain about the portion size, the plainness, or even the coldness of the meal. Maybe she was too tired to comment. I could tell from the way she walked that her feet hurt. She almost fell over while walking to the corner where she pulled out her book and began to read.

“Sorry, we couldn’t grab the bedrolls. You guys are probably tired of sleeping on the cold floor,” Nyle said.

“It’s not a big deal. We all have to sleep there. At least you have food and water,” I said.

“Yeah, for one more day. Two at most. Maybe we should’ve gone back for that washir you killed.”

“I didn’t kill it,” I said as I jutted a thumb toward Blue Hair.

“Huh, who would’ve thought,” Raia said. “Magic?”

I nodded.

“Had to make sure. You two are full of surprises. I was worried that when we picked you two up, you’d start crying and begging for us to get you out of here, or at least complain a bunch.”

“Maybe, if we were nobles.”

She and Nyle chuckled. “Maybe. Your partner doesn’t talk much, does she? Is she ok?”

“Dunno. As long as she’s gotten some food, water, and some rest, she’ll be fine.”

They looked at each other for a moment. Then, Nyle spoke up. “How long have you two been partners?”

“Since the first day of school.”

“So you’ve known each other for two weeks,” Raia said.

“Yeah?”

“Shouldn’t you be closer than this? We’ve known each other since yesterday and we’re already pretty friendly, I think.”

“A life or death situation will do that to you,” Nyle said.

The words I yelled at her came flashing back in my head. If I hadn’t done that, if I wasn’t so frustrated at losing the core, would we have been like them?

No. Blue Hair wasn’t the type to chat about things. She rarely started a conversation, if you could call what we had conversations. She kept to herself and I did the same. If we didn’t need something from the other, we didn’t speak. She was interested in her books and stories, while I had to focus on finding Kharss. Her magical ability was the only thing I was interested in about her.

Blue Hair peeked up from her book, though a second later she returned to her reading.

I kept my response neutral in case she could hear. “We’re just worried about being stuck here.”

“Well, if you get the chance, talk a bit. This’ll be a good time for you two to bond or something. Isn’t that what Unison Magic’s all about, bonding?”

“I thought it was luck,” Raia said. “Never heard anything about bonding.”

I heard it was luck too.

Nyle shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt. Even if bonding does nothing for Unison Magic, it’ll help in cohesion and communication. The academy won’t send you into the labyrinths very often, but I know for a fact there’ll be a lot of partner assignments and tests. Plus, you’ll feel less worried about the dangers of Unison Magic if you trust the other person.”

Trust the other person, huh?

I didn’t distrust Blue Hair, but that didn’t mean I trusted her.

“You seem to know a bit about the academy. Did they tell you all of this when they hired you?” Raia asked.

“Nope. I’ve just been working as an assistant for the past three years. Low pay but it’s easy and safe.”

Raia laughed and slapped him on the back. “Getting ready to retire from adventuring already? You’re, what, late twenties?”

“Twenty-eight. And after this, maybe. I’ve been thinking about it.”

“W-Why!?” Blue Hair blurted. Raia’s laugh had caught her attention. “Why would you want to quit adventuring…?”

“It’s dangerous. Heck, look at where we are now. I’m tired of putting my life on the line for such little money.”

“W-What about e-exploring and finding new things?”

“Most of it’s been figured out, kid. If I had a map on me, I could probably tell you where we are in relation to the portal and get us out of here. I bet this dungeon’s marked down somewhere too. There’s just nothing new for us to find. And, if there were, it wouldn’t be D-ranked adventurers like me.”

“Not with that attitude,” Raia said.

“So you’re going to make a discovery?”

She huffed, “No, I’m an E-rank. I’m just here for easy money.”

“Dangerous money.”

“Better than slaving away under our high and mighty lords.”

“Well, there you have it. I think I’m ready for a life of long hours full of hard work,” he said, somewhat lightheartedly.

Blue Hair either didn’t notice the change in his tone or didn’t care. “Y-You wanted to be a C-rank…”

He sighed, “And why do you think that?”

“B-Because…” she pointed to his pocket watch.

“This?” He held it up and Raia scratched her head.

“T-The promotion test.”

“Oh!” Raia almost leaped up. “One of the ways to get promoted to C-rank is to clear a dungeon. So if we survive this whole fiasco, I can become a C-rank.”

“That’s not how it works,” Nyle responded.

“It has to be approved,” I said.

“Right. Can’t do anything without the guild’s approval, couldn’t be valid at all otherwise,” she said sarcastically. “Not that I’m ready for C-rank anyways.”

Nyle looked at Blue Hair, “I’m surprised you guessed that. Are you planning to be an adventurer? It’s not a path many students take, even commoners like yourselves. Lots of organizations offer advisory and managerial roles for graduates, the academy does as well.”

Though he asked only one question, the answer wasn’t so easy. Blue Hair took a moment to think. I did too, not about what to do after the academy, but what I was going to do after we escaped the labyrinth. Blue Hair would probably be safe with Raia and Nyle, meaning I could blink away at some point and try to find a major core. The new issue was that I was injured. If orcs protected minor cores, what kind of monsters protected major cores?

“I-I’m not sure,” Blue Hair said.

“You still have a lot of time to think,” Raia said.

“But not right now. You all should sleep. I’ll take first watch,” Nyle said.

“And I’ll take second,” I offered.

“Wait, really? You don’t have to. Nyle and I can just-”

“No, I’ll do it.”

I could see both Nyle and Raia deflate as the weight of keeping watch was lifted off of them. As much as they felt responsible for taking care of us, the offer was too good to pass up. An extra person on watch meant more sleep for them. I took a risk yesterday by not doing it, but valued the sleep more, though I kept waking up in the middle of the night. At least now, there were other people I could heap the burden onto.

“I-I can take watch too,” Blue Hair said, her voice quavering. Her eyes wandered to the darkness and a shiver went through her body.

“No,” I answered before the other two. “You’ll sleep. We have enough people already.”

She relaxed a bit and the two adventurers looked disappointed but didn’t say anything. How could they, when they were the ones who tried to refuse my offer earlier.

Blue Hair tried to protest. Well, more like she thought about it. She stared at the ground for a long time, her fingers pinching at the edges of her book. “I-I… I want to help…”

“You’ll help more by sleeping. It’s better if someone gets a full rest. We’re done talking about this.”

Nyle and Raia eyed me. Raia shrugged, “Well if that’s settled I’m turning in for the night.”

“Alright, you all get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”

Nyle was half-asleep when he woke me up. He handed me his pocket watch and laid down, instantly falling into rhythmic breaths as he clutched his sword. Raia was the same way. She held onto the sheath of her weapon as she slept. It kept her steady when she twisted and stirred.

I sat with my back to the wall, wiping my eyes and shaking off most of the drowsiness. It was a balancing act I’d gotten used to. Too much stimulation and I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, too little, and I might’ve left the whole group vulnerable.

In the corner of the room, Blue Hair was curled tightly into a ball. She slept on Nyle’s pack, back turned to us. My knife was left next to her, but like the other two, she clung to something as she slept. It was her book. I couldn’t find it anywhere, not on the ground, not on her hip, not by the pack. She was holding onto it like a child clinging to their mother.

I already accepted that Blue Hair was a bit different at this point, not weird, I knew that I was the weird one, but strange. Did she grow up on the streets? No, she was too delicate for that. She hardly had a single mark on her skin, she couldn’t look anyone in the eye, and her stamina was horrible. But how come she didn’t complain at all about the food? How did she sleep on the ground without a word?

She was soft and hard at the same time, in completely random ways. I’d expect someone who can barely run a few minutes without gasping for air to be a sheltered heiress who never missed a meal. Blue Hair was scared of the monsters, I saw her freeze up and shake enough times to confirm that. Still, somehow she kept fighting on, even if I had to force her to.

Maybe she’s like that because of all the stories she reads?

I waved the thoughts away. It hopefully wouldn’t matter soon. All I had to do was focus on getting her out of here in one piece. That could also be my apology for yelling at her.

‘Make sure you make friends.’

I sighed as Master’s message popped into my head. It was the last thing he sent before we went into the labyrinth.

I didn’t know what he thought I came here to do. Me and Blue Hair becoming friends? We were hardly assigned partners, even though that's exactly what we were.

A growl sent me upright.

“Wake up!” I yelled as a washir stepped into the room.