"But Reina! It’s too late!”

"I will listen to the story a bit more. Is it reasonable not to investigate at all?!”

Late into the night, a voice echoed throughout the city.

The city of Rihelm, located on the outskirts of the continent, was a sizable city established by many who had gathered to explore the ancient labyrinth. Although the city had lost its former glory and became a quiet border town due to the shift of continental power to the central region and the subsequent decline in interest in labyrinth exploration.

"You-’re already on the Vice President-’s radar. What will you do if you get expelled for drawing attention to yourself here?!”

"I don’t care. I’ll hear the full story before the Vice President leaves.”

She clenched her teeth. As a magician in this world, it was natural to aspire to join the central magic society, the current powerhouse. However, sometimes, there were things deemed more important.

"Pm sorry, Deputy Director. For now...”

"Big, big trouble!”

Before she could even exit the office, a desperate face appeared on the humming communication orb on the Deputy Director's desk. Confronted with one problem after another, the Deputy Director frantically scratched his already thinning hair.

"Alright, what is it this time, Bob? If you’re making a fuss over trivial matters like wage arrears for the laborers, I won’t let it slide.”

"Magicians working in the labyrinth surveillance team under the management office have lost contact on a large scale!”

"...What?”

The news this time was far from light. The Deputy Director, whose eyes widened in surprise, met Reina’s gaze.

"He’s probably at his mansion with the Director right now. They’re leaving early tomorrow.”

"I will go and listen to the story. Deputy Director, please contact the Mayor and send an investigation team as soon as possible.”

"Alright.”

The Deputy Director, realizing the seriousness of the situation, changed his stance. She found out where the Vice President was and quickly grabbed her coat to leave the office.

fIt was not a trivial matter...’

As she navigated the nighttime streets, she bit her lip, her anxiety mounting. The Moonlight Elves, who had been quietly regaining their strength in the labyrinth, had sent even a child with an urgent plea for help.

Therefore, the Vice President’s calm response was nonsensical. Of course, this was a thought that Reina could have because she didn’t know that the Vice President’s mind was preoccupied with something she couldn’t even imagine.

"Wait! This is the residence of Orne, the Director of the Blackl Research Institute...”

"I am Reina, a research magician of the Institute! Let me see the Director, no, the Vice President!”

She ran breathlessly and shouted at the guard who blocked her. The guard, startled by her momentum, quickly stepped aside. She stormed into the mansion. There was no need to hesitate since the situation had already exploded.

"What is the meaning of this?!”

So, when the flustered Director appeared and scolded her, she stared back at him with wide eyes.

"Did you not receive the communication orb? There’s a situation.”

"A situation?”

The Director’s eyebrows twitched as he faced off with her in the hallway. Almost simultaneously, a servant rushed in with something in his hand, stopped at the unusual atmosphere, and looked around. In his hand was a communication orb with someone shouting.

"So, Deputy Director, what’s the situation?”The Director, mopping his cold sweat, took the communication orb and received a report from the Deputy Director on the screen. Reina listened in silence, noting the Director’s hardening expression.

"Maybe it’s not that serious.”

The Director tried to downplay the situation, sweating buckets. The news he received just as he was about to move to the central office was too shocking.

"Director, the magicians are in danger. This morning, we received an urgent message from an elf who was rescued from the labyrinth where the problem started!”

"And?”

"We need to meet with the elf immediately. You need to take action now. This isn’t a minor issue!”

Reina’s frustration with his lack of action was evident in her voice. Yet, the Director’s condition was deteriorating. His eyes were shaking more violently, and his cold sweat was flowing more heavily. It was a stark contrast to his usual authoritative and domineering demeanor towards his subordinates.

"That, that is...”

"Calm down, both of you.”

Then the Vice President appeared. With his neatly trimmed beard and sharp eyes, he always carried a sense of weight. He controlled the situation with a solemn voice.

"It seems the problem is indeed serious. Director, go to the lab with her.”

"Y-yes...? Yes?! But!”

"Are you going to defy me?”

The Vice President glared at the Director, whose face had turned pale. Reina wondered why the Director was reacting like that, but she quickly dismissed the thought. That wasn’t important right now.

"This way.”

He led the Director and Reina to the underground lab in the mansion. Reina marveled inwardly. The personal lab and underground facility were filled with quite decent equipment.

"Ah..?”

"It’s fascinating. The patterns they engrave on their bodies from childhood grow into a special organ under the continuous influence of magic as they grow. It was a great subject for researching magic blood.”

However, Reina was speechless at the sight before her.

"How...how can you do this...”

It wasn’t just that she was speechless, she was so shocked that she momentarily lost her mind. The severed head floating separately from the body in the test tube had lifeless eyes.

"Indeed, you should have come forward moderately.”

-Non-lethal mode-

While she was shocked, he took something out of his pocket, aimed it at her chest, and fired it. She didn’t have time to activate a spell to respond. The needles that were fired instantly pierced through her clothes and into her body, knocking her unconscious with a strong electric shock.

"Amazing, what is that treasure...”

"It’s something to protect my body in case of any situation. Don’t worry about it, Orne, you just take care of the aftermath.”

"Is she...dead?”

"No.”

He kicked the fallen Reina with his foot and smirked at the Director’s words.

"The data obtained from dissecting these indigenous elves this time, I need to find a test subject to apply it. Preferably a being with magic.”"Impossible...”

"I’ve kept it well hidden for a reason. Now, let’s address this unexpected problem. What could possibly go wrong with those losers who couldn’t even get into the society?”

Ignoring the stunned director, he slid the gun he was holding back into his coat. He had been careful. This gun was something he had acquired from his temporary allies. It was a

tool to target any unit or players in this world that might pose a threat to his life.

fNo matter how much those idiotic mages attack, I’ll be fine with my magic and these weapons. The only remaining issue is the assassination right, huh?’

With a cunning smile, he sent the director off to deal with the problem that had erupted outside.

[Don’t let your guard down. This is a fundamental warning, Rozes. Never, ever let your guard down.]

"I know! That’s why I’m being super careful! No examiner or mage will be able to touch me!”

Left alone, he muttered to the whispering voice in his head. *

"Search quickly!”

"What about the search magic?!”

"We’re almost ready!”

As dawn broke, a considerable number of people had left the city and ventured into the forest. This forest, untouched for farming purposes, was not an ideal terrain for a large group to traverse due to the labyrinth’s presence.

"Vice President, did we bring too many people...?”

"I had no choice. It was the director’s order.”

The vice president gave a wry smile in response to the city’s defense captain’s question. The director, who had shown little reaction during the report, had suddenly called and urged him to expedite the situation.

‘'Did Reina stir up trouble again? Should I have waited?’

With a troubled mind, he glanced around. The dark and desolate forest would have felt eerie if not for the nearly hundred people accompanying him. It seemed like an excessive number, but in this area where stability had been achieved, it was hard to believe that a group of independent mages, no matter how unrecognized, would face personal safety issues.

"Search magic!”

"We’re ready now!”

"Good. Everyone stop! Cease all movement!”

He ordered all personnel to halt for the search magic to be cast. A few mages formed a triangle in the center, unfurling a paper with a complex magic circle drawn on it.

"Oh, that’s...”

"It’s a magic spell proudly developed by the Eucalyptus Society, specializing in magic circles. It can detect anything moving above a certain size.”

He explained the magic to the awestruck defense captain, puffing up his chest unnecessarily. Soon, the magic was completed. A faint magical wind, guided by the mages’ intentions, spread in all directions.

"Now, anything that gets caught will appear on the magic circle, so overlay it with the map quickly. The scale is the same as the map.”

As he instructed, a prepared map was placed over the magic circle. Sure enough, responses began to pour in rapidly.

"Oh! Are these shining dots...this...”

The defense captain, half excited, pointed to a spot where shining dots were emerging. However, his excitement quickly faded.

"What...what is this...”

The vice president, speechless, also turned pale as he saw the result. A ripple of unease spread among those who had confirmed the results. The dots appearing on the map increased one by one, then by tens, then by hundreds, and began to rise incessantly. The dots gathered, as if they were about to form a surface.

"...Damn.”

Only then did the vice president, who had taken his eyes off the magic circle, notice something. The dark forest, and within its shadows, the black waves that had been lurking.