Strictly speaking, "we" weren't in trouble. Erwen was. I kicked her again, harder this time.
"Hmm..."
"No 'mmm.' Wake up. I know you're faking."
I had seen her peek out from under the blanket the second she heard their voices. It was a waste of time to play along, so I grabbed her shoulder and hauled her up.
"Why were you pretending to be asleep?"
"Because..." She avoided my gaze. "I knew you were going to leave the moment I woke up."
I took a deep breath. If a grown man like Hans had tried to manipulate me like this, I'd be livid. But looking at this twenty-year-old girl, I felt a flicker of pity. She knew our Night Partner contract ended at dawn, and she was terrified of being left behind.
"What's the deal with those two?" I asked.
"The symbol on their clothes," she whispered. "It's the same as the man who attacked me. They're part of a group."
A group. Shit. A lone killer is a problem; an organization on the first floor is a nightmare.
"Talk while we move," I ordered, dragging her to her feet. "Tell me everything."
As we ran, Erwen cut to the chase. "The group is called the Crystal Union. One of them attacked me while I was sleeping on the first night. I escaped, but they've been hunting me ever since. That's how I got this wound."
"How did they find you again?"
"A message stone. It's a magic tool—works like a voice resonator within 300 meters."
A walkie-talkie. If they had a network of these, this floor was a cage.
"Why go to such lengths for one fairy?" I asked. "Is it just to keep you quiet about the robbery?"
Erwen hesitated. "When I escaped the first time... I brandished my knife. I hit the man in a... rather unpleasant spot."
"Unpleasant?"
"It was completely severed," she whispered, her face flushing. "They say it can't even be reimplanted with a potion. I think that's why they're so obsessed with catching me."
I felt a phantom chill in my own groin. Karma is a bitch, but it usually doesn't take your manhood with it. No wonder they were looking for blood.
The 9-to-1 Contract
"Sir, don't look back," Erwen hissed. "Someone is following us. About 150 meters."
I couldn't hear a thing, but I didn't doubt her. A fairy's senses were legendary for a reason.
"How fast?"
"They're keeping pace. 150 meters, steady."
The tracker was broadcasting our coordinates. I had to make a call. I needed more info before I committed to a war.
"Erwen, what are your skills?"
"I'm confident in laundry and cleaning! I don't know how to cook well, but—"
"In battle!" I roared.
"Archery! And elemental magic! Fire!"
Fire magic. The most precious and destructive element in the game. That changed the math entirely.
"Have you ever killed a human?"
"No... but I could."
I looked at her. She was terrified, but she hadn't slowed down once despite her wound.
"Erwen, be my comrade. We stay together until we exit the labyrinth. Loot split: 9 parts for me, 1 for you. Deal?"
"I will do it!" she shouted.
That was all the justification I needed. I wasn't just helping a girl anymore; I was protecting a high-value asset.
The Outskirts Ambush
We dove into the outskirts—the dark passages where the wall crystals were sparse and the shadows were thick.
"Erwen, summon a spirit."
A watermelon-sized ball of flame flickered in her palm, illuminating the uneven ground. We ran until the gloom felt absolute.
"Cancel it."
The light vanished. We pressed ourselves against the cold stone, holding our breath.
Taptaptaptap.
The footsteps approached. I hoped they'd pass the intersection, but they stopped right at the mouth of our tunnel. They had a way of tracking us—smell, sound, or magic.
The tracker stepped into the edge of the dark, 30 meters away. He sniffed the air and reached into his pocket for a message stone.
"Shoot," I murmured.
Swoosh—THUNK.
Before the word was fully out of my mouth, an arrow was buried in the man's forehead. He dropped like a sack of grain. Erwen was shaking violently beside me.
"Good job," I said. "If you'd hesitated, we'd be dead."
I stepped out of the shadows and looted the body. The man had been traveling light to keep up with us. No backpack, but a leather belt with two daggers, a heavy mana stone pouch, a potion, and the message stone.
I called Erwen over and used the new potion on her stomach. As the flesh sizzled and knit, she gritted her teeth, refusing to scream. She was tougher than she looked.
"Put these on." I handed her the dead man's leather pants and shirt. Her fairy clothes were torn and impractical.
She changed in the darkness and stepped out. I cut the oversized hems with my dagger and tightened her belt. She didn't look like a terrified girl anymore. She looked like a partisan.
"It feels strange," she whispered.
"You'll get used to it."
I dragged the stripped corpse into the deep shadows and picked up the message stone. Erwen pressed the activation rune.
A voice crackled through the stone:
"...Serdin was pursuing the fox-fairy and the barbarian, but we have lost contact. All units, assemble in the goblin zone. Block the exits."
I looked at the stone, then at Erwen. The "goblin zone" was the only way back to the city.
"Well," I muttered, gripping my hammer. "At least we know where the party is."
Tactical Situation