“Edris!”

A voice rang in the distance, snapping the dark-haired man out of his trance.

He turned his head toward the person calling out to him. The voice belonged to a young man, looking to have just passed his teenage years. He was wearing a maroon blazer and matching dress pants, adorned with white lining around its rims. A wide smile plastered on his freckled face as the boy ventured toward him.

Edris did not recognise this boy.

However, recognition was the least of his worries. Edris’s gaze fell on the top left corner of his field of view. A semi-transparent mini screen floated in front of him, marked with several unfamiliar labels.

He blinked twice, then shifted his head side to side. The glowing labels followed.

Surrounding him were hoards of other “maroon-suited” people, all making their way past a majestic set of golden gates.

A sweeping walkway stretched out in an extended curve; it led them into the courtyard, toward the centre building. The red trimming and pearly pillars reminded Edris of Zacriya’s Royal Palace, except instead of nobles and mages, the place was currently being swarmed by youths barely in adulthood.

Amidst the moving crowd, the dark-haired man stood frozen like a historical statue, visibly confused.

“Dude, you good?” The freckled boy waved a hand in front of his face, his curly hair poking into his vision. “Let’s head on in! Can’t wait to visit the cafeteria. Heard MW has crazy good meals.”

Two bold, red words stuck out at the top of the building:

[ MW ACADEMY ]

His eyes trailed down, landing on the glowing letters in the lower centre of the display:

PLAYER ID Edris LABYRINTH #53 PLAYER STATUS Normal ROLE: INCOMING [STUDENT] OF MW ACADEMY

“…”

He glanced down at himself, only to realise his clothes, originally a dark turtleneck and a light cloak, had transformed into the uniformed maroon outfit worn by those around him.

Edris squinted his eyes. Ignoring the freckle boy’s looks of puzzlement, he did a swift sweep of his surroundings.

No Ace, no Celio, no Ives—just countless unfamiliar faces in a sea of maroon. Oh, and a whole glowing interface that seemed to be ingrained in his vision.

This was not what he expected the Labyrinth to be.

Edris reached to massage his temples.

“I shouldn’t have agreed to that dinner.”

Who could have thought he’d have to go to school at the age of twenty-six?

***

TWO DAYS AGO.

Edris tumbled through the gate.

Light engulfed his vision, and he was fully expecting to face plant onto the floor. With Ives still on his back, he had no hands to balance himself and could only tense as his body toppled forward.

Just as he thought he’d hit the ground, someone tugged him by the collar, yanking him sideways and saving him from the fate of losing his front teeth.

“Nice save.” Edris huffed out, whipping his head sideways, expecting to see a certain white-haired man’s stoic face.

He came face to face with a familiar pink fluff, staring at him with dead, obsidian orbs.

Edris blinked.

“You’re back to your… defence mechanism mode?”

During their conversation back at Mosky Inn, Ace had explained to him about his various forms. According to the man, his human form was the “default” mode. The current “pink fluff” version, although much easier to sustain with mana, was much more vulnerable and could only be enabled as a last resort.

Still rested on Edris’s back, the seven-year-old Ives glimpsed over, studying Ace’s new appearance with composed but curious eyes. She seemed to be especially intrigued by the texture of his pink coat.

On the other side, Celio Moon was desperately trying to suppress his shock at the return of the pink fluff. Some intense flashbacks seemed to run through his head as the young beast tamer’s eyes darted all over the place, glancing at all but the floating ball in front of them.

“Sir Celio, is something wrong?” One of the Orteon household merchants glanced over, noticing the young man’s dynamic expressions. “Come to think of it, where is the gentleman with white hair who was with us?”

“He felt sick from the gate teleportation, so he left to empty his stomach.” Edris smiled, and the merchant nodded in understanding.

Upon hearing the dark-haired man’s shameless lie, both Celio and Ives looked away, the former feigning calmness and the latter actually composed.

Ace’s face looked so grimly dark one could probably squeeze ink out of it for calligraphy.

“The Signa Gates,” he said after the merchant left. “Its mana pull was too abrupt. Too strong for my physical body to handle.”

“It disrupted your mana channel just like that?” Edris drew back his head. “Unfortunate.”

Ace didn’t respond to his deadpan. His eyes retained the look of discontent as they peered into the distance. The Signa Gates in Adalan was located in the kingdom’s capital, Odeen. It rested on the peak of Mount Echo, and they’d just stepped out at its summit.

Edris stepped to the edge of the cliff-like platform. The entire capital unfolded beneath them, spreading like colourful splatters of paint on a palette.

Whiffs of fresh pine and rushes of heat weaved around the group, kicked up by the gust on the top of the mountain. Unlike Nolmes’s flat landscape, Odeen comprised many hills and acutely structured architecture.

Bursts of colours washed the city, with each roof painted with a distinct vibrancy. The houses scattered around the city, some high up and others lower. The varying elevations made the town look like colourful coral reefs from afar.

“So this is Adalan.” Ives hopped off Edris’s back and peeked over the edge of the cliff.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, embracing the incoming breeze. The next moment, her eyes squinted in the distance, and she pointed a finger to the other side.

“What’s that?”

The capital was on the south side of Mount Echo. Across on the other end, a thick layer of fog engulfed the northern lands. The obscured grey was a stark contrast to the vibrancy of the capital.

“Ah. We call it the Northern Lands,’ Celio explained. “That’s where all the Labyrinths are.”

“Labyrinths?” Ives tilted her head.

“The treasure site of Adalan,” Edris mused from behind. “They’re mysterious sites that pull in groups of people at designated days of the year. If you’re lucky enough to be chosen and, even luckier, somehow managed to make it out alive, you’re rewarded with enough valuables to last you several lifetimes.”

“What’s in them?”

“The Labyrinths?”

Ives nodded.

“That’s the thing. Nobody knows,” Celio chimed in, peering toward the layers of fog. “Everyone who comes out of the Labyrinth doesn’t remember anything that happened in there, but they all managed to return with bulks of gemstones.

Edris nodded. “Labyrinths are definitely dangerous, given how few people come back every time, but with these generous yieldings and no specifics of the dangers, they hold more attraction than fear.”

After parting with the Orteon household’s textile team, the group began to make their way down the mountain. Along the way, Edris was forced (by Ace) to enter a contract with both Ives and Celio.

For Ives, her contract generally entailed providing any necessary help throughout the journey on her half in exchange for membership in Edris’s party and repaying the living expenses.

Throughout the effective duration of her membership, Edris was required to act as her new guardian; as Ives wrote down, he must not abandon her in any circumstances unless she requested the act herself.

Compared with Ives’s formal contract, Celio’s contract was closer to an honorary certificate, which stated Edris’s approval of the beast tamer as his official apprentice.

There were no conditions for this contract, hence it was more or less for the sake of recognition on the beast tamer’s behalf since, according to Celio, the act of acknowledgement was greatly valued in the Moon family.

Edris didn’t have much to lose, so he’d agreed to it with a gentle smile.

By the time they arrived at the bottom of Mount Echo, it was already dusk. A large presence awaited the group in the distance, and as they got closer, Edris could make out rows of armoured individuals hovering by the foot of the mountain.

“Fifty-five people,” Ace said from Edris’s cloak pocket. “All Awakeneds. Swordsmen pathway.”

“Welcome back. Young Master Moon!” Fifty-five voices boomed in unison at their approach, and Ives hid behind Edris’s back at the volume of their greeting.

“Stop, stop! Ah, this is so embarrassing.” Ears flushed, Celio hurried over with fluttering hands, attempting to hush the swordsmen.

He turned toward Edris, rubbing his neck with an awkward smile.

“Master, they’re all members of our household. Some are here under Commander’s training, while others are distant relatives.”

“Young Master, Lady Moon has requested that you come home at once.” The armoured Awakened at the front spoke, her posture upright and half of her face covered by a wooden helmet.

Edris didn’t know what type of dynamic Celio shared with his family, but it was apparent how much authority his mother held by the grand display of armed Awakeneds at Celio’s arrival.

The poor beast tamer wasn’t even given a chance to respond, as he was carried away by one of the Awakeneds the next moment. Celio glanced in Edris’s direction with teary eyes.

“Wait for me, Master! I will come to find you afterwards!”

Edris merely waved, seeing him off with a gentle smile.

However, his peace-and-love expression faltered the next second as one of the swordsmen with long hair stopped and turned toward him. Her sharp eyes skimmed from the dark-haired man to the little girl, then back to the man.

“Our Lady would like to see you as well,” she said curtly, stepping sideways and opening up the path.

Raising an eyebrow, Edris eyed her up and down.

The swordsman wore a wooden helmet, barred over the top half of her face. The rest of her body was concealed in armoury painted with bold, clashing colours, almost giving her a comical appearance.

A strange wardrobe combination.

The swordsman showed no response to his action. Just as Edris was going to refuse, a deep voice sounded from his cloak pocket.

“You stand no chance against her,” Ace said.

“…”

”Or any of them,” he added.

Edris shot the pink fluff a look, and the latter shrugged and shuffled back into his pocket. After a short moment of silence, the dark-haired man released an exhale.

“Lead the way.”