Thud!
The Knight Troll, with its head crushed like a tin can, collapsed with a deafening crash.
“This works perfectly against those with tough hides.”
I reverted the mace I had created with back into blood energy and turned to glance at Glenda and her group.
“…Hah, unbelievable.”
“Damn, it was true… He really took down a Knight Troll by himself.”
“Is that really surprising now? Considering everything he’s shown us so far, a Knight Troll is nothing.”
They stared at me in awe.
Trying to ease the subtle pressure of their attention, I shifted the topic.
“With this, there’s just one more floor left.”
Labyrinths are generally structured into levels, and the <Predator’s Labyrinth> consists of four in total. Standing in front of the lift to the final fourth floor, I looked at Glenda’s group and spoke.
“The Labyrinth Keeper on the fourth floor, the Dawn Troll, is formidable—even with the strategies I’ve previously shared.”
In this world, the bosses of labyrinths are known as “Labyrinth Keepers.”
“That’s why I suggest we take a short rest here and check our equipment before proceeding.”
“I’ll follow your judgment, Ruth, without question.”
Glenda gave my back a light pat with her bear-like hand, prompting the others to glance at her in surprise. Judging by their expressions, it seemed she wasn’t someone who typically listened to others’ advice in the labyrinth.
Yet, even she couldn’t help but defer to me. After all, how could she not? Thanks to my guidance, we’d made it this far without a single casualty or injury.
“You’ve done well, Ruth. Want some jerky if you’re hungry?”
“…I’m fine. And save the thanks until we’re out of the labyrinth.”
“Haha, fair point.”
Was this really the same woman who had torn into me so mercilessly at the tavern yesterday?
We plopped down on the damp ground to take a break. The truth was, I suggested resting not for any strategic reason but because I genuinely needed it.
It wasn’t a physical issue but a mental one.
I need blood—not jerky.
Thinking like this, at my age, made me feel like some kind of terminally cringy teenager. But it wasn’t just a dramatic flair; it was genuinely urgent.
My blood energy reserves were significantly depleted, and my skin had been itching for a while now. It felt like tiny ants were crawling over me—though, of course, there weren’t any.
“Hey, Ruth. Can I ask you something?”
Pete, seated across from me, broke the silence. Despite nearly getting his wrist broken by me yesterday, he didn’t seem to harbour any resentment. His straightforward nature was surprisingly appealing upon a closer look.
Maybe chatting will help take my mind off this unease.
“What’s your question?”
“Just so we’re clear, no offense meant—this is purely out of curiosity. How do you know so much about this labyrinth?”
Ah, that question. I’d have been disappointed if they didn’t ask.
Good thing I had prepared an answer.
“The <Predator’s Labyrinth> has been a subject of long-term research for the school I belong to. Using our school’s unique exploration magic, we mapped its layout and identified the monsters inhabiting it.”
“Wait, there’s magic that lets you uncover all that without directly exploring the labyrinth? What kind of school do you even belong to…?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Uh, right… Got it.”
Pete scratched the back of his head awkwardly at my curt response. Though my explanation was full of holes, it wasn’t like they could call me out on it.
But then—
“That makes no sense.”
Suddenly, Glenda narrowed her eyes at me in disbelief.
…Wait. Was she about to poke holes in my excuse?
“You, a sheltered scholar? That’s absurd. The way you move—it’s sharper than most seasoned mercenaries. I thought you’d been through some brutal training camp.”
“Is that so…?”
So that’s what didn’t make sense to her.
“Honestly, I had a hunch from the start that Ruth was a scholar.”
The quiet man named Spiro spoke up unexpectedly. He’d been so reserved that I hadn’t even known he could talk.
“Spiro, you? You’re full of it. Since when do scholars handle spears like that? He’s clearly a warrior.”
“No, Commander. Ruth conjured a weapon out of thin air. Only a mage could do something like that.”
“…Well, true.”
“But his magic seemed different from the kind I know. If I’m not mistaken, it wasn’t mana he was using to cast spells…”
Spiro’s half-closed eyes focused intently on me.
“It looked like you were manipulating ‘blood.’ Am I right?”
“…”
I neither confirmed nor denied his observation, maintaining a stance that could be interpreted either way. If I’d wanted to keep my power a secret, I wouldn’t have entered the labyrinth with them in the first place.
‘In 「Stellar of Dungeon」, Ruth Friedman is the only blood mage.’
In this vast world, countless individuals wield swords, guns, magic, and sorcery, aside from player characters. Warriors, hunters, mages, paladins, shamans—they’re simply categories. Player characters are merely depicted as having exceptional talent within their respective fields.
Blood magic, however, is an exception.
In this infinite world, I alone wield the power to manipulate blood. It’s only natural that Spiro would question it.
Still, I can’t keep hiding my strength forever.
I’ll just push forward with the concept of my unique magic. Although there’s one glaring downside to this approach…
“To be honest, I initially thought you were a dark mage—seeing you use blood like that was unsettling.”
…Yeah. This. The inevitable misunderstandings.
Blood magic, as opposed to mana or divine power, makes it all too easy to be mistaken for a dark mage. And in this world, dark mages are viewed no differently from monsters that feast on humans.
Just then, Glenda scolded Spiro.
“Hey, watch your mouth. If Ruth were a dark mage, the priests would’ve sniffed him out before we even entered the labyrinth.”
“Of course, and I realized it was a ridiculous misunderstanding. Sorry if I offended you, Ruth.”
“Now that you mention it, though, it’s an understandable mistake.”
Glenda shrugged.
Wait, what? She just told him to watch his mouth, and now she’s…?
“On the continent of Askan, there’s this crazy dark mage who’s recently made a name for himself, obsessively collecting human blood.”
…What?
“If I’d seen you fighting elsewhere, I might’ve thought you were part of the same deranged group as that lunatic.”
“Hold on.”
I had been trying to stay quiet, but this, I couldn’t ignore.
Askan is notorious for its abundance of monsters and poor security—a perfect place for grinding levels in the game. But a dark mage obsessed with collecting human blood? I had no memory of such an NPC or enemy in the game.
Unless…
Could it be?
Is there another blood mage in this world besides me?
“Ruth, what’s wrong?”
“That dark mage you mentioned… Does he also use blood as a medium for magic like I do?”
“I’m not sure, but probably not. From what I’ve heard, he kills innocent people to extract their blood but doesn’t seem to do anything magical with it.”
So, not a blood mage, then.
What could he be?
Dark mages usually focus on souls or hearts, not blood. None of the myriad dark magic factions in matched the description.
I was about to ask more about this mysterious dark mage when—
Kraaaaah!
A sudden, piercing scream of a beast echoed through the labyrinth.
The source was above us.
The fourth floor.
“Damn it, that scared me! What was that…?!”
“Sounds like it came from up top.”
All eyes turned toward me.
…Could it be?
Was the ominous premonition I’d had before entering the labyrinth coming true?
“It sounded like the Dawn Troll’s cry.”
“Why the hell would it scream like that?”
“We’ll have to check and find out.”
We quickly got to our feet and stepped onto the lift.
Upon reaching the fourth floor, we found a single iron door at the end of a straight corridor.
It should lead to the Labyrinth Keeper’s chamber… But given that earlier cry, something else was waiting beyond that door.
Even with my heightened senses from stats, I couldn’t discern what lay beyond.
I advanced cautiously, my blood aura sharp and ready to respond to any unforeseen situation.
And then—
Creaaak!
The moment I pushed open the iron door, what greeted us was a grim sight: a dungeon troll, decapitated and lifeless…
Crunch! Crunch!
And something enormous gnawing hungrily on the severed troll’s head.
“A… dog…?”
Pete muttered.
Calling that thing a dog was a stretch, to say the least.
Its back was bristling with white, arm-like parts instead of fur, and its eye sockets were hollow, like a skull.
I didn’t have the vocabulary to adequately describe such an abomination with a single word.
Crunch! Crunch!
「Grk… rrgh… grrr…」
The creature, busy crunching on the troll’s skull, suddenly became aware of our presence. It turned its grotesque form toward us and fixed its gaze in our direction.
“Uh, hey, Ruth?”
Glenda nudged my arm with her shoulder. Even with that brief touch, I could feel her trembling.
Her fear was justified.
That thing wasn’t merely a “strong monster.”
It was something entirely different, like a Constellation or a Guardian.
To her instincts, it must have felt like an overwhelming, incomprehensible terror.
“Did you ever mention that something like that could be found in the Labyrinth of the Predator? Because I don’t recall hearing it…”
“…No, I didn’t.”
“Well then, care to give us some instructions now?”
Instructions?
The only command I could confidently give them was this:
“Run.”
Damn it.
This shouldn’t have happened. That Level 30 “Night Wraith” shouldn’t have appeared.
500 years ago, the people of the Dark Ages feared this wraith of the night more than they did monsters.
However, it was ultimately sealed deep within the abyss by Kantu, the chieftain of the Moonstone Clan at the time.
The official lore from Suoden’s website flashed through my mind.
While the lore stated that Kantu sealed the Night Wraith, the truth was slightly different.
Kantu did defeat the wraith and lock it away in the abyss—specifically, in the Labyrinth of the Predator. However, he couldn’t completely extinguish the wraith’s lingering essence.
The only playable character who could uncover this hidden lore was the shaman, Kara.
If Kara enters the Labyrinth of the Predator, a hidden event triggers where she battles the Night Wraith’s essence.
The wraith’s lingering hatred reacts to Kara because she possesses the same spiritual energy as the man who sealed it away.
But now, I was facing this event instead of Kara.
「I sense it… that accursed scent… the one who imprisoned me in this abyss… you reek of him…」
It was because of the Blood Link Skill.
The body I was inhabiting wasn’t strictly that of a blood mage.
It was a grotesque mixture of skills from various characters, including Kara’s shaman abilities.
Apparently, the Night Wraith’s essence had reacted to that.
“…”
None of Glenda’s party members were shamans, so this explanation was the only plausible one.
I’d anticipated this to some degree, but seeing it confirmed was infuriating.
The unlucky always seem to find themselves in the worst situations.
「Cold… and lonely were the eons I endured…! Now, it is your turn to feel the agony I suffered…!!」
The Night Wraith’s voice, as chilling as a death wail, rang out.
Despite my warning, Glenda’s party members stood frozen, unable to flee.
They weren’t being reckless.
“Hah… Haa…”
“Aah…”
They were paralyzed by the oppressive, suffocating aura the wraith exuded.
Only I, gripping my sanity tightly with Iron Mind, could assess the situation and gauge our differences in strength.
Can I win?
It wasn’t impossible.
After much deliberation, I came to that conclusion.
Even though there was a nearly threefold disparity in our levels, if I employed every strategy I knew, I could somehow—
「The weak… begone!」
Crackle!
The Night Wraith let out a roar, and violet electricity shot toward us.
Spear-like bolts of lightning rained down on Glenda and her party.
Crash!
Flesh and blood splattered across me from both sides.
It was from Glenda’s party members.
Without so much as a scream, their sides were gouged out, and their shoulders were pierced, leaving them helplessly collapsed.
I could hear faint breaths—they weren’t dead yet. But if left untreated, they would be soon.
In an instant, it was just the Night Wraith and me.
Exactly as it wanted.
“…”
I glanced down at the bloodied Glenda, sprawled on the ground.
More precisely, I focused on the item she’d received from the priests before entering the labyrinth.
<Return Scroll>
If used, it could save their lives and teleport them out of here.
However, once the scroll is used, the labyrinth becomes inaccessible forever.
The labyrinth would reject anyone who fled.
Runaways have no place here.
What a ridiculous restriction.
Still, it would let them survive.
…And I’d lose my chance to achieve my goal here forever.
Without the labyrinth’s resources, I’d be doomed to suffer the penalties of dwindling blood energy for the rest of my life.
And that was no different from dying.
Clench.
“Dead things should stay dead,” I said, gripping my blood-stained spear tightly.
“Ugly in life and just as repulsive in death.”
「You… what do you know?!」
Let’s do this.
I can win.
I quickly reviewed every attack pattern the Night Wraith would use.
I mentally categorized its actions by phase, formulating countermeasures that suited my current level.
Just as I was about to devote all my focus to the fight—
Ding!
<Sub-Quest: Essence of the Night Wraith>
Objective: Defeat the Night Wraith’s lingering essence and conquer the labyrinth.
The sudden appearance of a quest window was oddly reassuring.
The system never issues quests for impossible trials.
I shifted my attention from the holographic window, focusing entirely on the Night Wraith.
But then a thought struck me.
Wait… what’s the reward for this quest?
I glanced back at the system screen and swallowed hard.
There it was—a reason to face the Night Wraith, even if it meant enduring hell itself.