“I can't believe this place is THE Spontaneous Labyrinth…”

Right after I've landed on solid ground, the glowing light disappears, revealing a theme park in my sight. The fact a banked turn of a rollercoaster is meters above me proves itself being a theme park. I can also see familiar-looking places along with the big machines of public entertainment. The glass-made rooftop is showing the bright crescent moon that somewhat serves as my additional light source. The interior of this Labyrinth is glowing an aquamarine color, presenting itself with an otherworldly atmosphere in my eyes.

Is this Notte World? The very famous theme park that was a popular topic during my high school days?

While I'm looking round this alternate dimension of Notte World, I hear and see the Guideline's notification showing up with messages that explain the purpose of my invitation to this famous place in Seoul. My inner thoughts are filled with anxiety and doubt in between the Guideline’s notifications popping up.

[Welcome to your solo raid in the first Spontaneous Labyrinth, Kang Joo-yeon.]

The first? You mean there are more Spontaneous Labyrinths? What's actually going on, Old Man Amergin?

[You're given the Special Mission - Clear the Spontaneous Labyrinth Alone.]

This is a joke, right? Alone…? But I'm only a healer…

[The E-Rank of the Spontaneous Labyrinth - Notte World has a time limit of 3 hours to be officially cleared by the Restart Program's Participant.]

I'm glad it's an E-rank, but 3 hours… I think I need to…

[From here on, the participant cannot leave the Labyrinth until the final Beast has been slayed.]

Final Beast? I need to know what rank it is…

[If you have a Getaway Stone, you may proceed to use it to leave the Spontaneous Labyrinth.]

That stone…so this Guideline is the same one mentioned by that unknown man!

“Old Man Amergin, if you can hear me…”

[Another option to withdraw from the Special Mission is to request Amergin the Judge to teleport the participant back to safety during mid-raiding.]

[Please note that the particular item after slaying the final Beast is a rare item that's not found in the participant’s homeworld’s Labyrinths.]

Wait…this is another reason why it's called ‘Spontaneous’??

[The revisioned Guideline wishes Kang Joo-yeon to finish this Special Mission with success.]

[Time limit: 2 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]

I ponder again whether or not I really should go ahead doing a solo raid in a Labyrinth that's somewhat not connected to my world. However, it's saying that I can get a rare item that cannot be found in any of the usual Labyrinths my world has. I still remember the phone call I had with Gi-young earlier on. He sounded proud when his classmates and homeroom teacher sounded excited having the phone conversation with me. This makes me determined to not disappoint them if I’m still the same weak Slayer having the lowest rank.

And so, I depart from my standing spot. I keep on walking in this otherworldly version of this famous theme park. The lampposts keep on flickering along with the sound of some spooky wind echoing occasionally in this empty theme park. I still keep on walking like this for fifteen minutes, passing by closed restaurants. And yet, I’ve not seen any Beasts in sight. I don't wanna run out of time if I'm unable to encounter the final Beast before the deadline.

Just when I think I'm not lucky to find one, I hear a familiar growl that sounds disturbing to me. I turn around to see a kobold showing up behind me at this walkway. Its drool is about to make a huge pool beneath his feet. My body trembles at the sight of its glowing golden eyes, looking at me being its only food source. I thought I was prepared to encounter risky scenarios since I recently regained my determination to become strong, but I was wrong. I never try to align my mental health with my physical one properly. The flashback of the previous kobolds attacking me has come back to break me down.

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As expected, the hungry kobold comes running at me. Before it can slash me with its claws, I suddenly remember Jung-han's gift for me. Him giving away his iron shield to me led him to get an oak shield against the ogres back then. Anyway, I quickly inwardly say [Iron Shield] and it appears in my hands in the most sci-fi way. Similarly to those portals in the Painting Labyrinth, it materializes itself digitally with the sound of electricity overlapping the kobold’s growls at me. The Guideline's notification pops up in my sight, nearly distracting me as I try to get into a proper defensive position.

[Weapon Item “Iron Shield” has been summoned.]

[Grade: D]

[Attack Power: 20]

If I'm still alive after this dangerous mission is over, I want to meet Jung-han again soon, properly thanking him for all the times he's helped and saved me. With a determined look on my face, I calmly face the frenzied kobold despite still feeling the fear resonating within my body. Finally, when it lunges to pounce on me, I, with my eyes shut, firmly hold the iron shield, covering my head. Never will I hold an important item half-heartedly like what I did at the Painting Labyrinth. But I think the reason why I'm able to hold properly is that my strength power is increased with the given points from the Guideline.

I brace for impact from the kobold's offensive moves on me. It slashes my shield, making a loud clang sound that almost deafens my ears. I feel the strong air current from the clash of its canine-like claws and my shield that eventually slices a nearby lamppost on my right. The kobold falls down with a loud thud backwards. Its whimpering indicates that the initial blow it made on my shield has literally backfired to itself.

I quickly open my eyes to see it's having a hard time to get itself back up due to the hard impact from my shield. I don't know why I'm hesitating to move my shield to bash the kobold's head, but I'm thinking of the worst cases of serious consequences if I were to kill this kobold now.

Is it alone? How do I know no other Beasts are watching me right now? Also, what if a hoard of kobolds are just waiting behind the restaurants and will ambush me once I kill their probably weakest member?

Despite these questioning thoughts in my head, the Guideline's notification is acting as a reminder for me in the midst of my constant thinking to make decisions.

[Time limit until the Spontaneous Labyrinth expires: 2 hours 30 minutes 59 seconds]

And then, the kobold is able to get back on its feet just when I think about hiding myself since the Guideline never explicitly says I need to kill every single Beast in this Labyrinth. Also, there are several cases where killing the final Beast is enough for the Labyrinth to close itself. It's just that Slayers want to collect many mana stones as sellable valuables from the lower-ranked Beasts.

Be that as it may, a Slayer is needed to be capable of killing every low-ranking Beast even if it's in an E-rank Labyrinth. For my case and the circumstance I'm in right now, I'm unable to do what the Slayers normally do. This is the first time I acknowledge that as the weakest healer of this world, I must use underhanded tactics.

The kobold is attacking me with continuous clawing towards my shield. I'm about to lose my grip on my shield as its attacks get more intense after each slash. With all my might and strength, I swiftly dodge its last clawing attack. The kobold is taken by surprise by my sudden quick reflexes that I use this chance to slam its head for the last time. It falls down backwards again. Its face looks so disoriented that I waste no time in putting my right foot down on its neck, blocking its airway.

Without further ado, I bash the kobold's head as many times as I can with the iron shield in my hands. Each heavy blow, along with each loud grunt I make, makes its blackish-red blood ooze out from its cracked head. I stop at the tenth time because there is no reaction from the kobold. I lift up my bloodstained shield to see the kobold's face unrecognizable; its tongue sticking out; its eyeballs flatten out like tofu; its snout consists of mangled flesh.

My left hand has half-dropped the shield. I pant heavily at the grisly sight I make of the dead kobold's face. My heart beats unevenly fast. I trip and fall down with my butt on the ground. I'm about to faint as my vision is becoming blurry now. But alas, I regain my memory of the reason why I'm here in the first place. I give myself a hard slap on my right cheek, indirectly reminding myself that this is how the world of Slayers works. It's either you kill the monster or the monster kills you.

I must ignore the uncomfortable feeling of directly killing a Beast. But, I must also remember it's not something to be proud of though I'm not killing Beasts for trophy hunting. Anyway, the dead kobold is officially my first kill. It'll be a very rare case for a healer-type Slayer being able to kill a Beast with a weapon that needs to receive a strong mana output from the Slayer. That is if anyone else finds out about my secret of having the Guideline.

Whilst I try to regain my composure and determination once more, I'm taken aback once I realize I was able to dodge a kobold's attack just now. I'm also surprised that I can lift this iron shield even with both of my hands; not to mention, it feels lighter than the time Jung-han gave it to me. A moment later, the Guideline’s notification makes its appearance in my sight.

[You have slayed an E-Rank Beast - Kobold.]

[You've earned 638 XP from slaying it.]

[Your overall profile has been updated due to your level being renewed.]

I didn't know I could earn this much experience points from killing one kobold. It really feels like I'm playing an RPG right now. So my profile…

[Name: Kang Joo-yeon]

[Level: 2]

[Title: Memory Reader]

[Class: Healer]

[Subclass: Druid]

[HP: 235]

[MP: 25]

My HP and MP has increased its maximum amount. I'm a Level 2 now. So if I go to each new level, everything will increase, huh?

Then, I look at the Guideline’s other pop-up window that shows my current overall stats.

[Stats of Kang Joo-yeon]

[Agility: 8]

[Vitality: 8]

[Endurance: 30]

[Strength: 8]

[Luck: 8]

The Guideline has added three points into each of my stats after I reached a new level. I guess I can't choose where to put the points into the stats I want. It seems it'll be automatically distributed like this from a Special Mission unlike the daily task. So this is the proof that the Guideline is making me physically stronger.

While I don't expect to be at the same physical strength as a male Slayer like Jung-han or Slayer Shin, this is at least an improvement for a weak Slayer like me, particularly with the assigned class I'm stuck with for life. I notice I'm smiling as if I did something great for once in my life. I acknowledge that uncomfortable feeling of killing something still lingers within my mind, but the positive feeling is overshadowing my negative thoughts. I don't know if it's gonna be my coping mechanism from now on, but I think it'll come in handy because right now…

“I can see there are more of you, huh?”

A hoard of kobolds, no more than five, creep up behind a few meters away from me. They're probably angry that I've bashed their kin to death. With a very deep breath I make, I get up from my sitting spot. Once again, I hold the iron shield with both of my hands with a look of unwavering determination on my face. All five kobolds charge to lunge at me. Surprisingly, I'm not scared of them seeing how I keep remembering the Painting Labyrinth being the only scary Beast I've met so far.