It no longer mattered whether Ronald dealt with the battlefield or not, since his whereabouts had already been exposed. The fact that the other side could intercept him so precisely meant there must be moles among them at Dragon Castle.

Also, the news that he was going to the Labyrinth had probably already spread.

The other side would likely send people to intercept him at the entrance to the Labyrinth before they could set up defenses, so Ronald had to enter the Labyrinth before they arrived.

Although the Labyrinth only had one entrance, the exits were randomized. By defeating a floor boss, adventurers could choose to leave, and the Labyrinth would teleport them out.

This teleportation was optional - within a certain range, adventurers could choose any destination, and the Labyrinth would even kindly mark nearby creatures - this was mentioned in the Labyrinth intel and was very reliable.

So as long as he entered the Labyrinth, the initiative would be his. Whether to fight or flee would be entirely up to him from that point on.

...

The noon sun shone on the vast green grass, and the hot air ripples caused the light to distort somewhat.

After resting for a few hours and recovering the mana consumed earlier, Ronald set off for the Labyrinth entrance, where he now stood before the huge gates.

The entrance to the Labyrinth was a silver vortex swirling in midair.

At first glance, the words "Bifrost Bridge" instantly came to Ronald's mind.

While feeling extremely amazed, Ronald also felt a sense of awe towards the Labyrinth.

Yes, whether it was the considerate markings of nearby creatures when leaving, or the portal before him now, everything indicated the extremely advanced technology of the race that built the Labyrinth. In some areas, they even surpassed the civilization Ronald knew in his previous life.

The purposes behind the Labyrinth's construction were still unclear to this day. Facing a race with such advanced technology yet unknown morals, Ronald felt a chill in his heart.

He felt that he - no, all adventurers - were like curious little cats stepping into a giant's cage made for pets.

A cage that a little cat could not refuse.

Pulling his hood tighter, Ronald stepped towards the silver vortex.

The other teams had at least six members each, so Ronald was the most eye-catching one walking alone. The surrounding adventurers sized him up intentionally or unintentionally.

Ronald was also observing everyone else. He saw a very strange group of mercenaries at the entrance who did not enter the vortex but stood to the side hugging their weapons. Every adventurer who walked past was glared at like prey.

"So fast?" was Ronald's instinctive thought.

But soon someone gave an explanation.

"It's the Skinners mercenary band, ignore them."

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"These guys are looking for prey again, wonder who the next poor sod will be."

"Doesn't the Adventurers Guild do anything? Just letting them rob adventurers like this?"

It was the leader of the adventurers behind Ronald who spoke, complaining in a low voice with his companion.

From the fragments, Ronald concluded this group was not the pursuers, so he quietly extinguished the gathering elements in his palm.

Soon it was Ronald's turn. Just as he was about to step into the silver vortex, someone called out to him from behind.

"Hey friend, what's your deal going into the Labyrinth alone?" A female warrior with brown hair yelled at Ronald.

Ronald's heart tightened sharply. He stirred his mind and the secret silver short sword under his cloak was ready to strike.

The one who shouted at Ronald was the leader of the adventurers behind him, named Lagren, a righteous adventurer who couldn't bear to see Ronald going to his death alone, so she asked out of concern.

"Are you talking to me?" Ronald turned and asked doubtfully.

"Who else could it be? Tell me, why are you going into the Labyrinth alone? Where is your team?" The female warrior with a long braided ponytail spoke as straightforwardly as she looked.

Ronald was not good with overly friendly strangers, so he expressed his unwillingness to answer with silence.

But Ronald underestimated the woman warrior's good-natured personality. His silence did not deter her, but instead made her feel Ronald was a poor abandoned fellow, which made her even more sympathetic.

"It's too dangerous to go into the Labyrinth alone. Do you want to join our team? Judging by your outfit, you seem to be a thief. We just happen to lack a scout, you'd fit right in..." The warrior with a long braided ponytail made the offer again.

Ronald was very troubled by the woman warrior's enthusiasm.

If she was just pretending to care about him while actually having ulterior motives, playing along would not be a problem.

After all, there would be unexpected gains afterwards.

But conquering the Labyrinth was nowhere near as profitable as robbing fellow adventurers, so Ronald hoped she was a villain - that way he would have no moral dilemmas no matter what he did.

After slightly bowing to express his gratitude, Ronald turned to leave.

The brief conversation had already attracted a lot of attention. The group of so-called "Skinner" mercenaries seemed to have targeted him and were eying him.

He had only taken two steps when Ronald was stopped again, this time by a blonde girl with a longbow on her back.

"Hey! Sister Lagren kindly invited you, yet you refused again and again. Too ungrateful!" The blonde girl scolded Ronald fiercely with hands on her hips.

The girl looked sixteen or seventeen. There were still some freckles on her nose that hadn't faded. Behind her were two others - a boy with a longsword on his waist, and a purple-haired girl in priestly robes.

The boy wore an indignant expression, even putting his hand on the knight sword hilt. The purple-haired priestess was pulling the blonde girl's sleeve, quietly advising her.

The scene fell into a stalemate.

The surrounding adventurers began whistling. Some mischievous ones even suggested the boy draw his sword and flip Ronald's cloak to let them see what this shady guy looked like.

The whistles around him made the boy somewhat smug. Boys going through puberty loved that feeling of everyone's attention focused on them.

Under the cacophony of jeers, the veins on the back of the boy's hand gripping the sword bulged and twisted.

Just as the boy was pondering an excuse to draw his sword, a palm smacked the back of his head heavily, making him stumble.

"Sorry, he's just very rash. He means you no harm."

The female warrior Lagren looked apologetic. Then as if recalling something, she added: "Oh right, I'm Lagren. What's your name..."

Meeting Lagren's clear blue pupils, Ronald hesitated briefly before slowly replying: "Ronald. I'm called Ronald."

As soon as he spoke, Ronald regretted it, because the female warrior threw an arm over his shoulders and loudly introduced him to the team members: "Brothers and sisters, welcome our new member Ronald!"

A few clapped while most observed coldly.

Those with bad impressions of Ronald even snorted and turned their heads away without a word, including the boy with the knight sword.

The disappointment of not being able to stand out made him particularly hostile towards Ronald.

But hostile as he was, it did not change the reality of Ronald becoming a new member of the Blazing Rose adventurer team.

After the team leader Lagren spoke, the members cooperated and introduced themselves.

The blonde girl was the team's archer, named Belinda. The boy always following her was Tommy, Vice-Captain to team leader Lagren.

There was also the dwarf shield warrior Hammerfist, the female knight Mia, priestess Carlotta, thief Agatha, and mage Anderson.