“It’s not me! I'm telling the truth!”

“You really are shameless, Kang Joo-yeon!”

I'm having a flashback of my teenage self getting accused of stealing a classmate's limited edition makeup set. She also accused me that I did it out of insecurity for having the same pretty face as hers, which is odd considering I've an average-looking face. The others were whispering to each other, not saying anything to her. Instead of calling for a teacher nearby, they keep on staring at us. I could have sworn several of them were laughing at me getting insulted by her.

She was one of those usual rich kids who look down on people who don't align with her beliefs and standards. It was obvious that she was raised with a rotten outlook that if somebody refuses to hang out with her and her minions, it's a sign of insult to her. And I happened to be that somebody who had good reasons not to be involved with her.

I politely, though I remembered I sound a bit stoic back then, declined her invitation to go shopping with her a few weeks ago. Besides being busy with my part-time jobs after school and that I constantly avoided unnecessary spending on very expensive things, there was a public warning that the area she was heading to has a high-ranked Labyrinth nearby. It was best that the Nons do not go there.

The next day I heard from the other classmates that after stubbornly ignoring the warning, she got herself half-frozen by a Glacial Dragon, which is an A-rank Beast, at one of the shopping malls. It was a stroke of luck that an A-rank elementalist was able to save her on time, keeping her warm with her fire magic. It took at least two other A-rank Slayers to kill the icy Beast. I guess one huge dragon was too much for one A-rank Slayer to kill it alone.

Despite having been involved in a near-death experience, it seemed that she never learned to change at all. She got more annoyed and unreasonable to others after surviving from that Beast. It was more ridiculous that most of her petty acts were directed towards me even though I never stared or talked to her in the first place. It was worse when she never thought about the possibility of her makeup set being misplaced somewhere else by her or a jealous minion of hers.

“I'm giving you one last chance to admit your theft, Kang Joo-yeon. Heck! You’re a kleptomaniac given that you're an orphan!”

What kind of nonsense is that?

“Have you ever thought of looking for it somewhere else? It could be still there…”

“So I was right about you, bitch! Your boring attitude is another reason why your family is pathetically poor.”

“What…did you…”

“You and your uncle attract so much bad luck that your mother got killed. You know what? I bet your mother did something awful. That should be the reason why she got herself killed, right?”

It was the first time I felt anger boiling in my heart for she insulted my mom whose body was never found because of a Labyrinth that suddenly disappears after “consuming” anyone who was very near to it.

“Hey. You don't know anything about my mom.”

“Well I do know that she got the most bad luck out of you lot! No wonder she had you out of wedlock! How pathetic!”

“Stop talking…”

“Oh! And your uncle…unbelievable! He may be good-looking, but he's a manwhore. I've heard he never got expelled from school because he seduced every single teacher there. And that's how he got your cousin at a very young age, right?”

At that moment, I didn't know I had so much strength residing within me because when I started punching her face, I remembered hearing the other classmates gasping in shock. Later that evening, Uncle Seung-min, who just finished his part-time job shift, came to my school and apologized to the selfish girl and her parents even though she was in the wrong.

I was forced to wait outside of the staffroom even though I told him he didn't need to do this. I was prepared to drop out of school even after I had to make reluctant apologies to her. But I'll never forget the upsetting look on his face that I wasn't able to say anything more to ease his worries. The next thing I knew was the constant apologies he made to that bully’s snobbish parents.

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That evening, Uncle Seung-min drove me all the way home. There was only silence in the rented van. It wasn't until we finally reached in front of our house that he finally broke the silent atmosphere.

“Joo-yeon, did you punch her because she hurled insults?”

“Uncle, I…never mind. It's best if you don't know.”

“Along the way to the staffroom, I overheard from your other classmates that she said horrible things about our family, especially your mom and I.”

“That's…well…I'm sorry for not tolerating…”

A sudden hug from him caught me by surprise. I can feel his embrace is tighter than the times he held me as a young kid. I held back my tears even though I was a teenage girl who had the right to do so. I was scared to feel any more pain if I were to cry in front of Uncle Seung-min. I kept quiet as I listened to the rest of his words.

“No. It's not okay to tolerate a selfish person’s insults towards anyone, especially those who never harmed anybody. But, Joo-yeon, I hope that you too won't tolerate any insults hurled at you. I don't like to see my loved ones get disrespected just because they’re living an upright life. That's why, Joo-yeon, you're not a burden. Someday you'll prove that brat is wrong about you. About us. Though…”

Uncle Seung-min let me go from his embrace. My moist eyes saw a genuine smile formed on his face. His eyes closed while saying these somewhat encouraging words to me.

“... I don't mind you staying the way you are. You're strong because of your kind heart. And that's enough to help all of us move forward, Joo-yeon.”

You're wrong, uncle. That's not enough for us to move forward. Especially me…

Back to the present, I manage to summon Jung-han's iron shield on time before the bronze robot attempts to squash me with its left hand. I struggle to hold tight to the shield, but something is burning my hands and slowly making me drench in uncomfortable sweat. In fact, I feel a high amount of heat coming from the shield I'm still holding on to. It's odd how the robot isn't continuously bashing it.

The shield is getting heated up at a fast rate. The crack that was formed earlier on begins to grow bigger until it snaps the shield exactly into a half. The top half falls down beside my left side. Then, it proceeds to slide down until it collides with the boat’s wooden side which leads to it falling down to the ground below. I start to remember that the boat is still being lifted hundred meters above the ground.

It's all because of the robot's right hand still grabbing the tip which was the main spot for the pendulum motion to work on the boat becoming an entertaining ride. Unfortunately, I'm not experiencing any entertainment right now. I quickly put away the half-shield I still got into the Guideline's storage right after moving it to repel the robot’s left hand.

I get up immediately to run forward, and somehow I manage to balance myself on the boat’s safety bars. The robot’s steamy left hand smashes a row of seats behind me, and where I was lying down just now. Before it can destroy another row of seats which I'm standing on right now, I receive a notification from the Guideline saying…

[The revisioned Guideline has noticed the participant is in need of weapons for an emergency.]

[Three E-grade Throwing Knives have been crafted completely.]

[Would you like to use all of them now?]

Isn't that obvious!?

[Yes]

Once the three throwing knives appear digitally in my left hand, I proceed to perform a continuous throw with my right one towards one of its glowing golden eyes. Probably the best way is to temporarily blind the robot so that I can run away and hide. That'll give me time to think about how to defeat it. Or so I thought because the third throwing knife seems to make it more aggressive as it roars its loudest robotic voice.

Its unpleasant roar has me cover my ears for the second time of the day that I forget to get off the boat. Nevertheless, I'm not gonna risk myself getting any injuries that'll lessen my HP bar, especially if I were to fall down to the ground and get stomped to death immediately by the robot. I brace for impact when the robot swings the whole boat ride in one full circle before tossing far away from where it's standing. I hold tightly onto its mast, placed right in the middle of the structure, which luckily I'm standing next to.

I hear the devastating sound of crushed wood and several metal parts of the boat landing on an icy place, which I can conclude the only attraction that has an ice theme is the ice rink. I can feel more new bruises and cuts, which I should be glad they're not deep wounds, and my shirt’s sleeves are torn until they're almost sleeveless. I also feel fresh blood flowing down the side of my head.

While I groan due to another set of painful sensations, I can see the debris surrounding me. As if that's not the worst sight for me to see, my semi-length hair is stuck beneath one of the ruined seats of the boat. I hear the incoming footsteps of the bronze robot. Each step sounds like an earthquake. It's surprising how this Spontaneous Labyrinth has yet to collapse from the shockwave of the robot’s titanic footsteps. Without wasting any moment, I try to get up with all my might, but my stuck hair is unable to slip out that easily.

I’m about to start panicking when I see the robot’s body just several meters from the ice rink along with the fact my HP bar is at 420. My breathing becomes faster whilst I try to find something to help me get my stuck hair out of this debris it's at. Just when I think I'm gonna get squashed by a giant foot, another notification from the Guideline has given me an idea. It's the same message, but that's telling me that I've got at least fifteen minutes to kill this robotic creature.

[Three E-grade Throwing Knives have been crafted completely.]

“Yes, I need only one! Hurry!

And so, one throwing knife appears in my right hand. Immediately, I use it to cut my stuck hair. It takes exactly a minute to finally have myself get freed from the spot that's about to be crushed by the robot's right foot. And sure enough, right when my light brown hair has successfully been cut up, I quickly roll over my whole body all the way to my right side.The debris spot has been completely smashed to smithereens with the ruined metal and wood becoming smaller to the size of pebbles.

As I immediately get up, with the throwing knife still in my right hand, and run away from the damaged boat scene, I begin to consider calling out the old man’s name as a sign of withdrawing from this solo raid. I'm sure that I'm making the right decision because I'm weaker than that strong robot over there. After all, I'm starting to feel worn out. The fatigue from today's raid is starting to make me feel the effects of constantly moving and thinking nonstop. After all, I don't think I can defeat that kind of monster.

How pathetic that you want to stay weak, Kang Joo-yeon.