The days passed without further incident. While they waited for people to respond to the recruitment announcement, Helen and Max did other things. Max became stronger, he leveled up quite a bit. And Helen did too, although there were no numbers to reflect it exactly. With each battle, with each moment they avoided death together, they became closer. They were getting better at working together, naturally. That's how it worked with everyone. No, they weren't unstoppable, but they were working on it.

  He knew that together they could do great things. They already had. And the future was a blank page. He would make sure it stayed that way. The only problem they faced was, of course, the recruitment. Not the lack of interested people, but the quality of them, more specifically their characters.

  Helen's identity turned out to be a barrier that very few could overcome. Without going any further, the first one who came to them because of the announcement left without saying a word. And nothing more, seeing the girl. He wished he could say that the distrust was because she was a girl, not because of her species. That they weren't going to go down into a dangerous labyrinth, trusting in the magical abilities of a little girl. But he wasn't that stupid.

  He knew perfectly well where those looks came from. The first one was quite curt, but the next four or five were quite clear. And they barely avoided being decapitated. Part of him regretted not having done it, after all. It wouldn't improve the situation of the elves by killing in their name, so to speak. But it was very tempting to kill those sorts of assholes.

  They were just pointy ears, for God's sake. Was there that much difference? What did they think they could do to them, anyway? They were human beings with pointed ears and who lived a little above average. How ridiculous to make a mountain out of a molehill. In any case, as Max was saying, after having been forced to turn down a few too many, they finally found some who didn't care about Helen's species. Or at least they were professional enough to bite their tongues.

  A man and a woman, young people more or less his age. One carried a sword and a wooden shield. The other looked light and fast. Armed with daggers that looked more like short swords. If the video game style system applied to everyone, he supposed these two would be a warrior and a thief. Or Rogue, whatever.

  They didn't exactly seem like top-quality material, but they would have to make do. The priestesses led them all to the labyrinth, the carriage. That's what they would have liked to say, but of course, they had to cover up a little. And they talked too much, seeing them go in and out of the temple. They made the walk on foot. They made the way on foot.

  Well, it was a little annoying, but after all it wasn't that far.

  "We're here," Max said.

  Indeed, they were. The darkness of the entrance... The darkness that had exerted so much pressure on him the first time now seemed to have diminished significantly. Now it seemed to be the darkness of the entrance of another cave. That was all.

  Well, Max turned to the newcomers. To Peter and Celeste. No Greek names, but things completely understandable to him. This world was a strange breeding ground. It made no sense. Starting with an elf named Helen of all things. But he had an explanation for that. At least.

  "Are you ready?"

  Peter laughed uneasily.

  "As ready as we'll ever be, I guess."

  "That's not what I asked."

  "Sorry, boss." Peter sighed. "Yes, we are."

  Max looked at Helen. She looked back at him without blinking. After a while….

  "What's up?" she said. "You know I'm ready to go anywhere with you. So you can't be asking me the same thing, can you?"

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  Somehow he had imagined she would say that. Max sighed.

  "Well, come on, let's go."

  The four of them entered the labyrinth. Naturally, Helen stayed close to him, holding him tightly. Those two guys, although young, would at least be used to this by now. He didn't really know what to expect. He knew perfectly well that they were the dungeons of a video game, but this was real life. When his HP reached zero, he would die. And he couldn't just go back to the checkpoint or take some object to restore health. He would be dead, period.

  He suppressed the urge to swallow. He didn't want to show weakness to anyone, but especially not in front of the new guys. That would make him look like an idiot. Or worse, a victim. He was more than fed up with being a damn victim.

  "Helen, have you ever been inside a dungeon?"

  Of course, he whispered that. It was neither the time nor the place to ask. If he was so curious, he should have asked before entering such a dangerous place. Of course, he whispered the question so the others wouldn't hear it. Such a question wouldn't exactly inspire confidence either.

  After a while, the girl shook her head.

  "No, huh? Well, I didn't imagine so."

  Max patted her on the back.

  "It's okay, we can handle anything they throw at us. Can't we, partner?"

  Helen nodded.

  "Hell yeah."

  There she goes again. He wasn't being a very good example, to say the least. Well, it was better than nothing, literally. If he hadn't arrived in time, she would be dead. Or worse. Or worse, but she probably would have died in the process, just like her mother, just like... His stomach churned. He did what he could to control himself, but he doubled over, convinced he would vomit. He didn't. He didn't vomit at all.

  "Something wrong, boss?" Peter asked.

  Max grimaced, seething, expelling everything unnecessary.

  "Of course it's perfectly fine. Let's keep going."

  Further on, in the depths of the cave, of the labyrinth. What kind of monsters and traps would they find? Would it be worth it, in the end? That was the most important question, and only time would tell.

  Max didn't like the idea of going into such a dangerous place with two strangers, but it was better than the alternative of doing it alone, in theory. He distrusted anyone by nature, but they wouldn't gain anything by stabbing them in the back, down there. They would need each other to survive, one another, until they reached the surface, so at least in that darkness he could trust them.

  It would be a problem perhaps when they came to light, not before. Still he couldn't help but feel uneasy, he didn't know them after all, they weren't even good candidates, to be honest, just the least worst, there was a big difference. But he couldn't back down, there were too many sons of bitches behind him, he had to become strong and fast.

  For Helen's sake, for the sake of all the innocents in this city and, naturally, also for his own good.

  Then, the system went crazy. His stat screen appeared out of nowhere, showing the meteoric progress he had made in recent days. He had reached level 5 and all his stats were above 20. He was much stronger now, but it wasn't enough. The stat screen disappeared only to be replaced by dozens more screens.

  Notifications, messages and warnings.

  "I know you're trying to ignore my existence." Those words appeared written on the screen, right in front of his vision, no matter how much he moved his head. "But this place is too dangerous to mess around. So, whether you like it or not, you're going to dive in."

  What did that mean? He received the answer quickly.

  In the blink of an eye, it was really as if his surroundings had transformed into the setting of a video game. Life bars even appeared above Helen, his two new companions and himself. A minimap, an arrow pointing the way. The name and description, the objective of the mission, like a stain that could not be removed from the corner of his eye.

  *The Great Labyrinth: explore the depths of darkness.*

  The world around him no longer even seemed real. He felt a shiver. He didn't like that. It reminded him of the fact that he was dead and all this was unreal, like a dream. But, apparently, as usual he had no choice. His face hardened. The only way was forward.

  He already knew that perfectly well.

  Shortly after, the first enemies of the labyrinth emerged from the ground. Skeletal warriors with swords and shields. And pieces of what they had worn in life still stuck to their bones. Above and between them, hints of a humanity that had completely departed.

  "Okay," Max said.

  Recognizing that he was in a fight, War Cry activated, filling his body with even more power. All his stats were already over 20 in his natural state, so now they were all over 30.

  "Let's see."

  Of course, they had done some tests before deciding to bring Peter and Celeste with them to the labyrinth. He had to test how they fought as a group to face such a danger with a certain sense of security. So they had done a couple of Quests together, as a kind of trial period, and they had been successful. But in the end, those trifles and the labyrinth were different things. The only thing that would show if they could manage well together here, was to wait and see.

  Max gritted his teeth. Failure was not an option. He simply refused. Naturally, Max was the first to attack.