"So this is Balak's labyrinth."

A torch flared to life in the pitch-black darkness. The raiders descending the stairs swallowed hard, their nerves on edge. This was a new dungeon belonging to Balak—the very same one deemed unconquerable. As a labyrinth, it came with restrictions, forcing them to find the path themselves.

"Damn it. Other parties are already in the maze. Let's find the exit, fast!"

"Move, move!"

"W-Wait for me!"

The raid parties surged forward as if in a race, each vying to be the first to conquer the maze. As they streamed through the entrance, one raider pointed to a second opening just beside it.

"Hey, look. There's another entrance here."

"You're right. Another path? Maybe a shortcut?"

"Let's check it out."

Hoping for an advantage, a few parties veered into the second entrance.

[You have entered the Labyrinth's Maze.]

[You cannot return to the entrance until you find the exit.]

[The entire labyrinth is under a restriction.]

[Some Raider-exclusive items will become unusable.]

[Some skills and special abilities will become unusable.]

The messages appeared before them, signaling the start of their trial.

"Tch. Not a shortcut after all. Got my hopes up for nothing."

"Let's just focus on the exit. We can't go back the way we came."

"Hurry! The other teams will beat us to it!"

With nothing unusual happening, the raiders refocused on their task. Other parties were already deep inside, and if they didn't hurry, they'd be left behind. They plunged into the winding corridors.

"Dead end! Let's go back!"

"Aargh! Trap! Everybody run!"

"A m-monster! It's too narrow to fight in here! Fall back!"

Screams and shouts echoed through the maze as raiders fell prey to traps and installations.

"Kolek, haven't we been down this path before?"

"No way. I'm sure I marked the floor."

As an experienced maze raider, Kolek had brought a marking pen. But when he checked the ground, his mark was gone. That meant they were either in an identical-looking corridor or trapped in an illusion. The party leader, Kal, used mana detection to scan for traps.

[No mana detected.]

"It's not a trap or an installation."

"Then are there multiple identical paths?"

They looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just then, another party hurried past them, and they noticed what they were doing—systematically moving from spot to spot, erasing marks on the floor.

"Th-Those bastards!"

"Damn it! They're sabotaging everyone else to get ahead, and we can't even do anything about it."

"Calm down. Getting angry won't help us."

Though they had discovered the reason for the missing marks, it was too late. Kal calmed his team and led them down another path.

"Kullen, from now on, use your sword to mark the walls."

"Got it."

With the pen useless, they had to carve their own trail. Kullen began etching marks into the stone as they went. Soon, they reached another dead end, and a dungeon soldier materialized before them.

"Battle formation! It's a narrow path, so we'll rotate and attack in turns!"

A skeleton warrior emerged from the wall and advanced. The party formed pairs, ready for combat in the tight space.

The skeleton warrior struck first, its broadsword crashing against the shield of the lead defender with a clatter. Kal moved to support the shield-bearer, Dir, and they exchanged a flurry of blows. Frustrated by the impenetrable shield, the skeleton warrior redoubled its assault.

"Ugh, I'm at my limit!" Dir grunted.

"Alright, switch!" Kal ordered.

Dir fell back, and Kullen, the other shield-bearer, stepped forward to take his place. The battle raged on.

Finally, worn down by the rotating defenders, the skeleton warrior shattered into a pile of bones and vanished. Kal's party breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"So where the hell is the exit?" one of them panted. "Feels like we've been in here for ages."

"This maze seems bigger than the others. It's strange that we haven't even seen a single sign pointing the way."

"Ugh. You don't think another party will find the exit while we're resting, do you?"

"Don't rush," Kal advised, clapping Kullen on the shoulder as he stood. "The more anxious you are, the harder it is to find."

'Kullen's right, though,' he thought. 'A lot of time has passed, but no one seems to have found the exit.'

As a leader, he had to keep his team calm, but he was just as lost. They were well past their estimated clear time. Aside from the occasional distant scream, they hadn't seen another raider in hours. Kal mentally retraced their steps, worried he'd missed something crucial.

'No. I've navigated this place just as I've navigated every other maze. I haven't missed anything.'

They were a C-rank party with extensive experience in labyrinths. They had analyzed patterns, studied structures, and prepared for every kind of trap. Even with the Balak name attached, this place shouldn't be any different. He was certain their methods were sound. There was no way they had missed anything.

With that conviction, Kal and his team resumed the search.

"Damn it! Another dead end!"

"Haven't we been here before? There's a mark on the wall. Or is this maze just filled with dozens of identical corridors?"

"Trap! Get back!"

But no matter how far they wandered, the exit remained elusive. The few parties they encountered just shook their heads, equally lost.

"Damn it all!" Kal finally roared, his frustration boiling over. "What kind of complicated mess is this? The same paths repeat over and over, and there's no sign of an exit! How big is this damn thing?!"

His comrades were just as frayed, their faces twisted in stress. And so, Kal's raid party spent an entire day trapped inside the maze.

---

[C-rank Raider Kal's stress has reached its limit.]

[D-rank Raider Memnos's stress has reached its limit.]

[C-rank Raider Lux's stress has reached its limit.]

One after another, the raiders' stress levels maxed out. It was to be expected after wandering for a full day with no results. Taehyun leisurely watched the screen, observing the parties as they set up camp for the night.

[Kal's Raid Party]

[Memnos's Raid Party]

[Lux's Raid Party]

[Abelai's Raid Party]

[Heiston's Raid Party]

These were the five most prominent C-rank parties. In total, thirty-eight other parties were still trapped inside. Out of the original fifty, seven had already been wiped out in a single day. This was the work of Edchan, a Supporter born for management. Despite a minimal Zen investment, he had placed traps and undead soldiers in optimal locations, making them incredibly difficult for the raiders to handle. His maze design was, for the current situation, perfect.

"You did well," Taehyun commented.

"But why hasn't anyone…!" Edchan stammered beside him.

"The exit, you mean?"

Edchan stared at the screen in disbelief. The exit was right next to the entrance, yet none of them even considered it. He couldn't comprehend it.

Taehyun chuckled. "They are like goldfish, Edchan. They swam into a room with no exit, relying solely on their so-called experience."

"…You predicted this as well?"

"It's not a prediction; it's an inevitability. The only people who would willingly enter a labyrinth are veterans. They all have their own time-tested strategies for finding an exit. The thought that it could be right beside the entrance is inconceivable to them. Why? Because they're convinced their old methods will work."

These were parties who analyzed structural patterns and used marking pens to map their routes. They were so focused on finding the exit the way they always had that they were blind to the simplest trick. They trusted their experience above all else.

"You were right to think it was a risk," Taehyun continued. "But for these goldfish, trapped by the fixed idea that the exit must be hidden deep inside, they will never find it. The message that they could not return to the entrance was the final nail in the coffin. It told them they were trapped until they found the exit, so why would they ever bother going back to the start?"

Even if they got lost and found themselves at the entrance, they wouldn't spare it a second glance. A chill ran down Edchan's spine. When Taehyun had ordered him to place the exit there, he'd thought his new master was an ignorant fool. He had been wrong. From the very beginning, Taehyun had seen through the raiders' psychology and predicted this entire scenario before they even arrived.

Realizing his own foolishness, Edchan dropped to his knees.

"Forgive me, Master. I failed to grasp your profound intentions and I doubted you. Please, punish this humble servant."

"That's enough," Taehyun said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You were put in charge of a labyrinth the moment you were summoned, and I told you to put the exit next to the entrance. It's understandable you'd be cursing me. Stop with the historical drama and get up."

"…You forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. You did nothing wrong. From now on, just trust me. That's all that matters."

Taehyun personally helped Edchan to his feet, his simple gesture restoring the butler's faith.

[C-rank Hero Supporter, Butler Edchan, is moved by his Master's generosity.]

[Loyalty has increased by 4.]

[Favorability has increased by 5.]

[Obedience has increased by 3.]

[Butler Edchan's state of distrust has disappeared.]

His relationship stats rose, and the distrust vanished. Edchan was now a loyal retainer.

"I pledge to serve you with all my being, Master! This butler, Edchan, shall burn his very life for you!"

"I get it, so stop. You are making me cringe."

"Yes. Understood."

Edchan straightened his posture and turned back to the screen, where the raiders were using camping items to settle in for the night.

"Camping inside a maze… Even experienced raiders should know how dangerous that is. Don't tell me…?!"

Edchan's eyes widened in sudden realization.

Taehyun, sitting beside him, pointed at the screen with a vicious smile.

"Kill them."

---

Most labyrinths can be cleared within a day. This was true for D-rank and C-rank alike, a fact known to all experienced raiders. In other words, none of them had ever needed to spend a night inside a maze before. This was a first, and they were fatally unaware of the danger. They thought setting a watch and casting a few alarm spells would be enough.

They were inviting their own deaths. The paths were narrow; surrounded from both sides, there would be no escape.

When soldiers appeared from both the front and the rear, just as they were on the screen now, it meant complete annihilation.

"Aaaargh!"

"There's no escape! Hold them off! Fight!"

"Gah… H-Help me."

Just like that.

[Kal's Raid Party has been annihilated.]

[Memnos's Raid Party has been annihilated.]

[Lux's Raid Party has been annihilated.]

[Abelai's Raid Party has been annihilated.]

[Heiston's Raid Party has been annihilated.]

[You have thwarted the raids of numerous raid parties.]

[Raid Thwart Rank: A]

[You have acquired 4,200,000 Zen as an A-rank Raid Thwart Bonus.]

[Balak soldiers' experience has increased by 5420.]

[The combat experience of the Skeleton Warriors has greatly increased.]

[The combat experience of the Skeleton Soldiers has greatly increased.]

[The combat experience of the Goblins has greatly increased.]

[The combat experience of the Wild Dogs has greatly increased.]

[The combat experience of the Minotaurs has greatly increased.]

[The combat experience of the Orcs has greatly increased.]

[The combat experience of the Banshees has greatly increased.]

[The loyalty of Balak soldiers has increased by 2.]

[The obedience of Balak soldiers has increased by 1.]

[You have acquired 120 C-rank Raider corpses.]

[You have acquired 180 D-rank Raider corpses.]

[You have acquired 1,080,453 Zen from the numerous Raider corpses.]

[You have obtained all equipment and items from the corpses of numerous raiders.]

Taehyun watched the flood of notifications, a look of grim satisfaction on his face.

---

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