Chapter 3: Monster Problems

Sorry for the late update. Computer problems slowed me down, but the updates will be faster from now on.

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"You… you…" She keeps hitting me while I am down, getting madder and redder with every passing second. Every time I try to look up and apologise, she only gets madder. "Stop looking!"

She isn't hurting me. In fact, it feels more like she is poking me… just with enough force to knock me over. I don't suffer any bruisers or scratches, and my HP doesn't dip. Eventually, she tires herself out and gets dressed, warning me not to take a single peep at her. Finally, she says she is finished changing, and I open my eyes.

Honestly, this look isn't much better. Her clothes are wet, cling to her fairly impressive chest, and are slightly see-through, revealing enough to let me know she isn't wearing a bra. I quickly advert my gaze before she starts hitting me again. This girl has short blond hair that gives her a boyish look and bright blue eyes that are currently staring daggers at me as she folds her arms over her chest.

"Stop staring, you perv!" She yells, going slightly red in the face. "Gezz, I went through the trouble of saving you, and this is how you repay me. You men are all the same."

"I'm sorry about that…." I tell her hopping this time, she will forgive me. "I thought you were my friends and didn't realise you were… not dressed."

"Friends?" She looks at me. "There was no one with you when I found you. You should be grateful. Not many people come down here. If it wasn't for me, you would have drowned in that lake or been eaten by the fish monsters within it."

"Thank you," I probably shouldn't tell her I gained the ability to breathe underwater. "I owe you my life."

"You have some way of showing it, you perv,"

"I really am sorry about that," I bow my head this time as she goes back to glaring. "I honestly wasn't expecting you to be naked when I saw you."

"Sure you didn't," She mutters to herself. "You said you had friends, right? Are they down here somewhere too?"

"I… I don't know, but I hope they are safe," Elise and Fina are both strong, but if they end up unconscious like me, they might not have been lucky enough to have someone there to rescue them. "We were attacked by a demon at the labyrinth 's entrance and must have teleported here when that giant crystal exploded."

"Wait, there was a demon in the castle?!" I nearly lose my balance when she suddenly grabs me, putting her face close to mine. "Tell me everything now!"

I tell her everything. I tell her how Elise, Fina and I were sent to locate the prince. I told her how Jack appeared as a demon and attacked us. Whoever this girl is, she took everything better than I was expecting. She didn't dismiss my claims or ignore anything I told her. She only questioned me for more details about Jack's demon form and how he fought. I couldn't tell her much about the fight since I kept blacking out, but I gave her as much information as possible.

I wonder if I really should have told her as much as I did. I will probably be punished for mentioning the missing prince. Still, I didn't think about the consequences until I had already mentioned it. I hope this girl is kind enough not to pass that information on to anyone else. Come to think of it, I have no idea who she even is.

She must be in the kingdom's army since she was allowed to enter the labyrinth . Hopefully, that means she is trustworthy enough to keep quiet. I watch as the girl thinks over what I have told her, muttering to herself about how the castle defences are growing weaker by the day before she finally moves again.

"We should search this floor for your friends and head to the surface," The girl says.

She picks up several pieces of armour, putting them on until her arms, legs and torso are covered. When I look at her now, it is hard to imagen she is a girl. I can remember princes on white horses looking just like her. The final piece of her equipment is a large sword that is nearly as long as she is tall. It is startling to see, but I guess these sorts of things happen in a fantasy world. Now that I think about it, I am surprised I haven't seen more weapons too big to be of practical use.

"You weapon and armour are here," She says, pointing to a small pile. "Put it on while I douse the fires."

I quickly put on my armour and picked up my sword. Fina made me train until I could put my gear on in seconds if we needed to rapidly respond to a situation. I am lucky I managed to talk her out of making me start from being completely naked. It also helped that Fina was called away right when I realised she won't give up that easily.

"Do you have any idea as to where we should start looking?"

"No idea," She shakes her head. "But if they are alive, they would head for the central staircase, so we should too."

"Okay," I nod. It sounds as good of a plan as any. "I'm Luke, by the way. What's your name?"

"I don't give my name to pervs," She glares at me again.

I think I would prefer being caught in the middle of another one of Fina and Elise's fights than dealing with her. I don't think we can become friends, but I hope to at the very least be able to get her to stop calling me a pervert. I hope Fina and Elis are okay out there, wherever they are.

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How big even is this place? We have been walking through cave-like tunnels for the last hour, and this girl says we still aren't even close to the central staircase. I can't believe how big this place is. We have walked through giant caverns, crawled through small tunnels and waded through shallow rivers. This place must extend far outside the city, and I can't even imagine how big it really is.

At least this girl doesn't need protection. We encountered a group of goblins, and she cut three of them in two with a single swing of her giant sword. It would have been an impressive sight if it wasn't for all the blood and the fact that countless goblin archers started firing on us. It was just by pure luck that we managed to escape that situation.

There was no strategy to escape. We simply ran away as arrows dug into the ground behind us, some getting uncomfortably close. We couldn't even fight back. The goblins were firing on use from high above while taking shelter behind large boulders. I burnt a few with my magic, but there were just too many of them.

We were lucky they were such bad shots, and the goblins that got in our way were weak. Between the two of us, we slew at least thirty goblins. They charged straight at us, giving away their positions with deafening war cries. They were crazy monsters with a death wish that ran right into our swords with little regard for their own lives.

Unfortunately, running no longer became an option. There had to be at least a hundred goblins blocking our way. Even more of them were charging from behind. We ran down a nearby passage, but we could hear even more goblins up ahead. There are too many to fight, and running will soon not be an option. We did the only thing we could do. We dived into a nearby opening, and the girl used earth magic to block the entrance. Unfortunately, that led us to be in a somewhat awkward situation.

"You better not try anything, you pervert,"

I don't blame the girl for warning me. We are practically lying on top of each other in the cramped little hiding spot. I am lying on my back with the girl on top of me, ticking my nose with her hair and my ear with her breath. I keep my hands on the roof of our hiding place so she doesn't accuse me of anything and try to ignore the pleasant warmth of her body. I am glad Fina and Elise aren't here. They would freak out if they could see us.

We hide for over ten minutes before the girl opens a hole to peak outside. We wait another five minutes before leaving our hiding spot. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding when I saw to my relief that there were no goblins in sight. But then I shiver when I look down to see more muddy footprints than I can count on the ground beneath my feet. We were lucky they didn't find us. If they did, I doubt, even with my stats, I would be able to fight off that horde. They would have torn us apart.

"It's strange," The girl comments, looking at the footprints. "The labyrinth normally doesn't have so many monsters in one place."

"I think that demon classmate of mine is behind this," I suggest.

I don't have any evidence to back up my theory, but my gut is telling me it is true. Jack wants me dead and uses monsters to get the job done. If what this girl said is true, then that would explain why the monster's behaviours have changed.

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with your theory," The girl nods. "Demons have been known to take over labyrinths."

"So he is most likely going to send every monster he has our way,"

"Most likely," For some reason, the girl smiles. "Good thing I like a challenge."

I wish she wouldn't say things like that. It makes me feel like she will trigger some kind of flag. Bt anyway, we start moving again. We walk, crawl, wade and climb our way forward, only this time we hide at the first sign of a monster nearby. According to the girl, the demon will be able to see and hear whatever the monster sees and hears, so we can't risk a fight. Unfortunately, this led to a few more awkward situations in cramped conditions. But on the positive side of things, she stopped warning me not to touch her and calling me a prev after the first few times. That has to be a big step forward to get her to stop calling me a prev.

"We are almost there," The girl finally says the words I thought I would never hear.

We had been walking for two hours and spent at least another hour hiding from monsters. We probably could have made the trip in about an hour if we weren't taking care not to be heard. We creep forward at a snail's pace, carefully placing our feet away from anything that could make a sound. Hopefully, Fina and Elise will be there waiting for use safe and sound.

"It should be just around the corning," The girl says. "If they are alive, they should be there. If they arent, we will have to head up and get back up before searching for them. Either way, we should be safe. There are barrier posts that prevent monsters from approaching the stairs."

As we walk, the girl touches a jet-black pillar that is just about waist height. I guess that is the barrier post she mentioned. A few seconds later, I confirm my feeling when the girl relaxes and lowers her guard for the first time since she beat me up. She smiles and takes her hand off the hilt of her sword while she stops caring about being quiet. I am not sure if that is a good idea, but she knows this place better than I do, so I don't question her.

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

I smile, seeing both Fina and Elise there waiting for us. They both seem fine, even if they are covered in blood. They don't seem injured, so I will assume that is monster blood covering their bodies. I think it is safe to assume Jack sent monsters after them as well.

"I'm glad both of you are safe," I say as they tackle me to the ground with their hugs.

I knew I should have worried about them. There was no way two girls as strong as these two would be in danger within this labyrinth. But I think the tears in their eyes are too much. We were only separated for a few hours at the most, and Fina, who was there with the battle with the orcs, should have at least realised I would have been fine. But then Fina and Elise freeze when they hear the girl I was with clear her throat. For some reason, they jump to their feet and kneel at the sight of her.

"I am glad you are safe, my prince," Fina quickly says.

Wait, did she say prince? This guy is a girl, even if she looks like a fairytale prince right now. I'm pretty sure of what I saw by the fire. But before I can even question the matter, the girl shoots me a deadly glare warning me to keep quiet. I'm not sure why she is the prince, but I know if I want to keep my head, it is best to keep quiet.

"We need to leave right away," Fina says as she and Elise stand back up. "I am sure Luke mentioned this, a demon has attacked the castle and is most likely somewhere in the labyrinth."

"Yes, I am aware of this demon," Wow, the girl is like a different person and is even using a more deep voice. "Let us leave at once before it locates us. Luke and I already had enough close encounters with this demon's monsters for me to realise the danger of staying here."

I'm glad Fina and Elise are clueless about what she meant by close encounters. We just quickly run for the staircase, only for a wall of black smoke to surround us.

"We have found you!" The demon Jack steps out from the mist in front of us. "Time to die, Luke!"