Cling! Clang! Clung!

  I can see how fast a B-rank Slayer, in terms of having quick reflexes and sword swinging skills, is. It's quite a feat for Slayer Hong to be capable of doing both simultaneously in this innermost cave. And yet, the Beast's long reptilian tail is able to repel every single swing of his sword attack despite it being a lower-ranked than him. Probably combat skills aren't always determined by your current mana output, especially when a Beast or a Slayer knows more diverse offensive moves. Slayer Hong starts to pant, but he’s still firmly holding his shield and sword.

  “All of you! Run towards the exit! Now!”

  “But…Captain Hong…”

  The chimera roars louder than ever, making the twentysomething Slayers tremble as if they're ants under a boot. I can understand why they can't snap out of their frightened state right now. They've unlucky to meet a higher-ranked Beast on their first Labyrinth raid. However, one of them is able to snap out of her weak-willed mind. It's the young sorceress who quickly runs towards him still trying to fight off the chimera.

  “Captain Hong! Duck and cover!”

  Slayer Hong doesn't even need to ask her what she's about to do despite him looking quite confused at her sudden running towards him for one moment. He stops swinging his sword and moves aside; he lifts his shield, covering his whole upper body from the left. Then, the young sorceress takes out the Explosion Potion out of her subclass’ space storage.

  She quickly throws the spherical bottle as high as she can. It lands right in front of its different half-faces; the bottle breaks upon its landing impact. A huge explosion occurs with a loud volume and soundwaves sweep across the cave, almost re-enacting a Category Two hurricane.

  That Explosion Potion must be a slightly higher grade than the Guideline's one. It's a good thing Slayer Hong is a B-rank. Otherwise…

  “Whew! I almost forgot about it! A minute later or two, it would've injured us three. Luckily, it's meant to injure that new monster. It should be at least…”

  She’s unable to finish her sentence due to her frozen look at the chimera’s unharmed state. It's as if the dangerous liquid was like a bucket of water to begin with, never leaving a single wound on the monster; Even its face, where it was closest to the explosion’s impact, is intact.

  “Impossible…just how durable…”

  Then, I start to notice its reptilian tail once the smoky cloud disperses completely. I can see a few triangular spades at the tip of its tail which reminds me of a Morgenstern weapon some knight Slayers use in certain raids.

  Wait…a kobold’s tail doesn't have those features. Also…its lower body is greenish-gray…it's not reddish…

  The next moment has the chimera staring at the sorceress with full intensity. It’s bad timing that she’s unable to avoid such intense stares that quickly leads to her body being frozen once more; But there's an ominous difference from her earlier one, and that involves bright red vein-like patterns quickly form all over her exposed skin, including her trembling face.

  I must have my eyes widened when I see the girl's veins having similar patterns and colour shade to the ones which the late elementalist experienced in the Painting Labyrinth before he popped to death under the “temporarily transparent” floor. It dawns on me on what that unknown man, who's the owner of that wretched Labyrinth, said to me in those digitized messages.

  Old man, what kind of terrible secrets have you not told me yet?

  I shake off my shocked focus once I hear one of the sorceress’ teammates let out a battlecry. It's the D-rank knight charging towards the chimera; his sword, which is a claymore upon a closer look, whacks its left shoulder when it's supposed to slice it. I don't know if he's aware that his mana output on his bladed weapon is the reason why he can't pierce a hole on the chimera's scaly skin. That said…

  “I’ll keep on crashing my sword on your ugly body until I see your blood, you two-faced creature!”

  And he proceeds to have his claymore keep on trying to slice its durable scaly body. Alas, after hearing ten clangings of his swift longsword, the chimera’s scary red eyes turn to him. Suddenly, a huge splash of water lands on its eyes. The chimera has its eyes closed while it screams in pain due to the irritation it's feeling from that cold water attack, which is done by his elementalist comrade standing behind him.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Hey! Don’t attack recklessly! Its stare might freeze you like Jimin over there! In fact, we should take her to safety!”

  “What? You still can't move, Jimin!?”

  “Guh…ugh…”

  Jimin, their sorceress comrade, tries to talk, but it really seems she's literally stiff as a board. Hopefully she's not gonna meet the same fate like what happened to the elementalist who died in the Painting Labyrinth because I can see those artificial veins are still glowing bright on her skin.

  “You two! Why aren't you…”

  I hear a loud gasp from Slayer Hong as if he sees some sudden powered up skill coming from the chimera; and indeed, I can see dark aura suddenly surrounding its triangular-spiked tail. I don't know why the knight Slayer can't see that something dangerous is coming towards him.

  It's either because I've the Guideline's ability to see other Slayers can't see or that chimera's upcoming attack can only be seen by someone higher than its rank. Alas, both speculations are unfortunately correct because once it swings its huge tail towards the newbie knight, Slayer Hong jumps to his right side.

  Despite holding his shield in front of him, it shatters into several parts. What looks more shocking is the tail’s triangular tips pierce his armor like it's made of unpolished wood. The next few moments have the newbies and me from afar witnessing black veins quickly envelop Slayer Hong's face and neck. His mouth letting out bloodful coughs make us witness his injury scene more gory.

  “Captain Hong!”

  Both of the young male newbies, with the knight falling down on his butt, shout his name while they look deeply traumatised watching him in a poisoned state. Their trembling bodies are unable to move away from their own spot. Slayer Hong drops on one knee while he clutches his wounded side near his stomach; his voice letting out painful groans. Then, plant-like vibes appear from a magic circle’s bright light below the chimera's feet.

  “That's…Jimin, how are you…”

  “Guys, the least I can do is restrain that thing so…ugh...take Captain Hong…”

  “Jimin! Don't push yourself!”

  “The aches I'm feeling is nothing compared to Captain Hong’s poisoned state. Also…I'm not gonna die that easily! That's why…you two…take him to safety!”

  Her last sentences mentioned in her trembling voice make me form a surprised look as I recall the similar things I said back in the Painting Labyrinth.

  But…can I alone defeat that perverted bastard’s chimera? The most troublesome thing I've to face is its poison. I doubt my current healing skill will help me sustain my HP while I keep trying to slay it. Also…

  The chimera finally breaks free of Jimin’s plant-made restraints. Its brute strength might be the same as a Bulgasari. Jimin manages to duck its left wingless arm, almost slicing her long black hair. She trips over to her right when the chimera’s left foot stomps the ground, giving a huge shockwave that makes her lose her footing. Its reptilian tail is enveloped with a dark aura once more, and that means it's gonna give Jimin a taste of its own poison.

  The reckless sorceress thinks she's gonna die from the poisoned tail when Captain Hong, even in his battered-like state, quickly picks up his sword he laid down a moment ago, blocking the tail aimed at her. He coughs some more blood when he gets into a defensive stance with that sword of his, parrying any of the tail's movements towards him and Jimin. Regardless of his body being in bad condition, my eyes widen when he proudly smirks at the chimera. His next words give me hints about where this unknown chimera came from.

  “In three minutes I'll be dead, huh? Hey, monster! Your creator is a very high-ranking guy, right?! Because I keep on seeing these notifications seen in video games.”

  “Captain Hong… What are you… I don't see…”

  “So Jimin…I'm the only one who can see what's popping up in my eyes, huh?”

  Notifications…that perverted bastard sent that chimera here? That means… he chose this dungeon because I'm here…

  With my subconscious confirming that the Moderator is the mastermind of the Painting Labyrinth, the Cinniúint Tomb, I hear Captain Hong falling backwards, looking more poisoned than ever. His sword is flung away by the chimera's tail, way to his right side. The newbie Slayers cry out his name when it raises its left arm to strike Slayer Hong headless. Before its sharp claws can reach his neck, I inwardly summon a bolt of lightning to electrocute its bare feet. The chimera falls sideways; its body convulsing with electric shocks and the static charges flowing out of its jumpy slumped body.

  “What was that?!”

  “Woah! I didn't know you could summon lightning magic, Jimin.”

  “Guys…that magic… isn't mine.”

  “If you want to survive, stay put.”

  After saying that interrupted sentence, the three young Slayers turn to where my voice is coming from. They give me their most surprised look when they can't see my body due to myself still wearing the Sigbin’s Invisible Cloak item. I keep on walking and passing them by until I squat down in front of a seriously injured Slayer Hong.

  “Who…are…you?”

  I lift up my hand, emitting the mana energy of my {Healing Skill} which was upgraded as Phase 2 after my killings of Mr Seo and his henchmen. Despite my healing ability being able to close his wound, I didn't completely remove the poison since according to Amergin’s Guideline's message ,this skill can only slow down its spreadness throughout his body. He’ll be unable to move freely which is why I, making my low-pitched voice sound lower than ever, tell him this.

  “The poison is still spreading in your body. I only slow it down probably for the next five minutes. Stay put if you don't want to die in front of your juniors. They've seen enough horrors already.”

  Then, I immediately get up just on time when the chimera is no longer looking electrocuted anymore seeing how it's standing up and shaking its literal double-sided head. Even though I'm still wearing the Invisible Cloak, it's able to spot me, glaring those bright red eyes at me.

  To think the day when no Slayer or Beasts, other than A or S-rank ones, could ever see me while I was illegally and secretly slaying for the past whole week comes to an end with the chimera the Moderator has created as my equally strong opponent. Other than its making another avian roar, I stay calm since I don't want to remember not being able to save the wizard Slayer who prioritised my life over his own. And yet, I glare at the chimera with a mixture of calmness, fearfulness, and wrathfulness.

  Never again…will I see more people die in front of me… I don't want to see such a sight…

  Flashbacks of my mother smiling at me while she narrated her own made-and-mix-up fairytale which features Janghwa and Hongryeon being trustworthy comrades trained under Red Riding Hood who's actually their long-lost mother who had a good reason for hiding her identity from them. They run through my mind like an old home video movie. The self-made fairytale ending is ironically similar to what happened to my mother, and that was the day she got swallowed by one of the first Labyrinth’s gates.

  I'm not gonna let this happen...ever again...

  [Name: Kang Joo-yeon]

  [Level: 26]

  [Title: Memory Reader; Tenacious Slayer; The Unkillable Healer]

  [Class: Healer]

  [Subclass: Druid]

  [HP: 2860/2860]

  [MP: 210/240]