Chapter 15 - The One With the Labyrinth

The Tower of Hero stood tall in the middle of the capital, serving as the Hero Association's main HQ. On the 103rd floor, Elena Vaughn sat in a locked room, going through reports from the recent incident. The monitor in front of her played a video pulled from the museum's internal cameras. She had her doubts about sneaking a peek, but after hearing a certain piece of leaked intel, she couldn't help herself.

- A trace of light-attribute mana was found at the scene.

Light mana. Not just rare, but valuable. Light-element heroes were crucial when it came to dealing with djinns, who naturally wielded dark mana.

The fact that light mana showed up meant one of the three cadets involved had to be its source.

Elena Vaughn took a deep breath. She always emphasized the importance of attributes and couldn't help but get curious about the cadet behind this rare energy.

"But this guy…"

The video zoomed in on a particular student. A boy. There was nothing unusual about him, his clothes were basic, his posture a little stiff, and his expression unreadable. He talked with Ethan Ward for a bit, then backed off once the djinn made its move.

He hid for a while, fiddling with something in the air as Ethan Ward fought. Then he removed all but one bullet from his gun, loaded it carefully, and stepped out to face the fight.

That's when things got weird.

The moment he fired, the gun exploded with blinding white light. So blinding, the camera shorted out for three full seconds. When the feed returned, it was already over.

"Hmm…"

Most people assumed Ethan Ward finished the djinn off, but something didn't sit right with Elena Vaughn. That light came from the other guy's gun, she was sure of it. Even Ethan Ward's report said, "Noah Swagger covered me."

"Noah Swagger…" she muttered. "Right, he's the one who picked a gun. I guess there was a reason after all."

BANG!

The door suddenly flew open, slamming into the wall. Elena Vaughn flinched so hard she almost fell out of her chair.

Standing in the doorway was Aileen, small in size but ten meters of intimidation in one tiny body. Her eyes narrowed like knives.

"Aai...leen?" Elena squeaked.

"I knew you were here. Get out."

"W-Wait! I can explain... really, I can...!"

"Shut it. Move."

Elena Vaughn tried to resist. She really did. But her legs were already moving. Aileen's gift, Spirit Speech, was a cheat-level skill that made people obey. The price? Severe magic recoil and stunted physical growth. But it worked, and Elena Vaughn had no choice but to comply.

"Aileen, I'm a hero too! Have mercy!"

"Only association heroes are allowed here."

"I know! I'm leaving, okay?!"

"Then move faster before I toss you out the window."

In the end, Elena Vaughn was kicked out.

"Two options," Aileen called after her. "One, face punishment. Two, help me with something."

"I don't want either! Spare me just this once!"

The door slammed shut.

The room was silent again, but the footage continued to play, still paused at the moment before that burst of white light.

"Save me..."

***

[Tuesday's combat training: simulated labyrinth clearance.]

Team 5. Me, Celeste Wren, Bryce Keller, and Tanaka. Were currently navigating a training dungeon built inside Valor.

"Bryce, Tanaka. You guys see anything?" Celeste asked, frowning.

The place was pitch black. The cave's darkness wasn't normal; it was thickened with dark mana fog. Most heroes couldn't even use their own skills to light the way.

"Nope."

"Nothing."

The two answered like it was obvious.

Celeste sighed. "Tch."

She didn't ask me. I was still invisible in her book, despite the Coke incident.

I tilted my head and spoke anyway. "I can see."

"Huh?"

"Really?"

Bryce and Tanaka looked at me in surprise. Celeste didn't.

"I said, I can see in the dark."

That finally got her attention. She turned… but not to me. She glared at Bryce instead.

"Stop making dumb jokes."

"…I didn't say anything," he muttered, confused.

I rolled my eyes and pointed at the floor. "You're about to fall."

"What? Don't talk nonsense... KYAK!"

Celeste Wren yelped as her foot missed the edge. I jumped forward and caught her by the arm. She latched onto my shoulder, fingers trembling.

"…Cough."

She pulled herself up using me as a human rope, then casually coughed like nothing happened.

"…Guess you weren't lying," she muttered. "How?"

"Good eyes."

Thanks to my Gift, Thousand-Mile Eyes, distance, light, and obstacles didn't matter. Perfect for scouting.

"Well, at least you're useful for something. Lead the way."

"Sure."

"Oh wow, so reliable," Bryce said, patting my back like we were best friends.

I swatted his hand off and moved forward.

From there, things were smooth. I avoided traps, warned the others of incoming monsters, and guided the team without breaking a sweat. When a mist spirit blocked our path, Celeste's whip took care of it. When an undead showed up, Bryce and Tanaka handled it.

Thanks to all the workouts I'd been doing lately, I didn't even feel tired. This training session was easy.

Eventually, we reached the center of the labyrinth.

Only two teams had arrived before us.

Third place. Not bad.

"Celeste Wren?"

We turned to see Greyson Locke sitting on a rock like he was posing for a photo shoot.

"Oh, Greyson!" Celeste's face lit up. The smile she gave him was completely different from the way she looked at me.

Meanwhile, Instructor Havers read out our results.

"Team 5. Forty-eight minutes and ten seconds. Third place."

"Let's go!" Bryce cheered. "All thanks to Noah and those magic eyes!"

"You really saved us, man!"

I sat with them for now. Celeste had already drifted off to Greyson's side. Ethan Ward, off to the side, was lying down. Probably still worn out from using his power back at the museum.

I leaned back, relaxing for a second.

Another team arrived five minutes later. I didn't even have to look.

"It's Melissa."

Celeste Wren went over to greet her with a bright smile, playing the nice girl.

Melissa Cross was covered in dust. Looked like she fell into a few traps. She made a beeline straight for me and didn't even acknowledge Celeste.

"What was your time?" she asked, voice sharp.

"Forty-eight minutes."

Her jaw tightened. As a sharpshooter, she probably assumed I was the guide for our team.

"Even you have your uses, huh."

She was clearly trying to provoke me. I thought about firing back, just a little. I did have a reason.

After all, the story's enemies had gotten stronger. That meant the leads needed to grow stronger too. Melissa especially needed to drop the bow sooner rather than later. She had ridiculous potential, second only to Ethan Ward, but not with a weapon that held her back.

"I guess you're right," I said.

No need to bite. She responded better to negativity anyway, according to my original setting. But it had to come from the right person. Someone with authority. If a weakling like me provoked her, it'd barely register.

My time would come. I'd beat her in archery soon enough.

"Hmph."

Melissa scoffed and walked away, clearly unimpressed.

Celeste Wren and I made brief eye contact. There was something new in her gaze this time, a flicker of curiosity. Interest, even.

"Hmph."

But she turned away with the same cold snort as always.