-Asher Frostblade's point of view.
There was no noise because there was no one behind.
Asher turned his head and looked back.
As soon as he did, he saw that no one was there.
"..."
However, he kept his face blank, with no trace of unease.
This was because he knew that they had not been there for more than an hour.
However, he never thought that the labyrinth changed its structure every hour.
"It is possible to get out if the labyrinth itself drives you out."
Either way, Asher knew they were fine.
Of course.
If they encountered a mana beast, they could be in danger.
Though that also depended on the race of the beast.
Asher, seeing that the others had disappeared, looked at Gloriana.
"Come closer."
"..."
"Eh...?"
"The others disappeared, you better be closer to me or you might get lost."
"Uh... Yes."
They both kept walking.
In the case of these dungeons, it's complicated.
The maze changes shape, while everything else doesn't.
So what's in the giant fog on the other side of the maze?
Asher questioned this.
If the maze is like that, then the fog must be hiding something really interesting.
Of course, he wasn't sure.
Asher, who had seen them all disappear, knew immediately that the boss of this dungeon was toying with them.
But how?
The boss has the ability to see the entire dungeon as if it were the palm of his hand.
Because his eyes are everywhere.
However, there is a fixed limit as to how or from where they can see.
They simply observe from some transmission-like sphere.
This allows them to see everything at will up to a certain radius of distance.
Depending on the dungeon's mana, that's how far you can see.
In the case of mages, they simply use mana.
Knowing that, Asher understood that he was being watched.
"I guess they're watching me, not the others."
Normally, the dungeon boss observes the strongest.
In this case... it would be Asher.
They had him in their sights.
Still, Asher looked in a predetermined direction.
"So, that's where you're watching me from."
He smiled at this as he looked in a certain direction in the sky.
Right there, he could see a stronger wave of mana.
"Use mana on your eyes and you can see it," suggested Elizabeth, who was on Asher's shoulder.
Doing as she said, Asher channeled his mana into his eyes.
That's when...
"A guardian."
"Not one of Encrid's."
"Then..."
"It's... from one of the ancient families from the dark ages that Encrid wiped out."
So, there were also mages capable of creating guardians.
However, this guardian was different.
He had a demonic face.
"His face resembles that of demons," commented Elizabeth, who was also observing the guardian.
Asher, who was staring at it, nodded inwardly.
"Let's move on."
They both continued walking.
Soon, however, the environment around them changed out of nowhere.
"What's going on?"
"The labyrinth changes every hour," Asher replied to Gloriana's question.
Fortunately, she was nearby. If they were too far apart, the labyrinth would play tricks and easily separate them.
At that moment, Asher saw several wraiths up ahead.
"This is really annoying."
Yet inside him, somehow, he loved killing these monsters.
Not just these ones.
Likewise, he enjoyed eliminating monsters of any other race.
A smile appeared on his face.
However, Gloriana's voice brought him back.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Uh..."
He came to his senses instantly.
Asher shook his head as he tried to remain calm.
"I'm getting worse."
He knew that if he continued in this state, his mind would consume him at any moment.
Because when the mindset weakens, it is possible for people's personalities to change.
It is also possible to become a complete madman or someone without rationality.
"I'll take care of the Wraith..."
"No..."
"..."
Asher looked at Gloriana.
"You will."
"Yes."
Asher nodded and turned away from Gloriana as he watched her back.
"What magic will you use?"
Soon the mana began to gather, however....
"Eh, he's not using light magic."
Not exactly.
It was possible that he might not actually be able to use it.
Asher, who wanted to see light magic, was disappointed.
If Gloriana couldn't master that affinity, then she never could.
Because he couldn't teach her.
Because Encrid would not teach him.
So how would he do it in this case?
After a few minutes, the Wraiths were dead and Gloriana returned to Asher's side.
"Why don't you use your light affinity?"
"It's a secret, hehe."
"..."
Tap. Tap.
Asher walked hurriedly, leaving Gloriana behind.
"Hey, did you get mad?"
"No."
"Bullshit."
Although, to a certain extent, yes.
He wanted to see light magic.
Seeing different and new magics that he had never witnessed before was what Asher wanted.
Not seeing Gloriana's unique magic was as if he didn't want to show it to her.
"It's a bit..."
However, he didn't finish the sentence when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He stopped and looked at Gloriana, who had a somber face.
"I... Uh... I'll show it to you when I've mastered it completely."
"I understand."
Quick reply.
"I'm not angry, but... I have an obsession with seeing different affinities."
"Eh, so we have the same tastes."
After that, the two went on their way.
Looking at the time, Asher noticed that, at any moment, the maze would change again.
"It's not changing yet..."
However.
The place suddenly changed.
But Asher did not feel the ground, and the air began to rise.
Looking down, he noticed that there was no ground.
"W-what...?"
Gloriana, who was looking down as they fell towards a dark bottom, opened her eyes wide.
But...
Asher held Gloriana and then floated in the air.
For this was the ability to fly.
A skill he had mastered long ago. Asher, who was holding Gloriana, looked up into the sky.
"It's trying to kill us."
His thought was accurate.
The Dungeon boss was definitely aiming for him.
All the sudden change and separation from the others was because the Dungeon boss was planning to eliminate Asher first.
However...
Outburst.
Soon, a surge of mana shot out of Asher and shot skyward with great intensity.
It landed right where the concentrated mana was, exactly where the Dungeon boss was looking.
"Fucking bastard."
The veins tightened on Asher's face, but....
"Damn..."
He shook his head instantly.
"Asher, you're not well, are you?"
"Uh... Yeah, I'm fine."
"No, you're not. You're acting strange all of a sudden. You... you're Asher, right?"
"..."
"Yes, I am."
"Then why are you acting strange when attacking monsters, and now you used magic and cast it into the sky?"
"That's because the Dungeon boss was watching us."
She was silent at Asher's words.
But her face was filled with doubt, knowing that Asher was different now.
For some reason, she noticed that Asher spoke to her angrily.
But she couldn't be sure.
Soon, Asher moved and came to a surface, where he left Gloriana.
He looked around and...
"Where are we?"
Gloriana asked as Asher looked into the fog.
Knowing where they were, he answered.
"Looks like the Dungeon boss got us out of the maze."
She paid no attention to Asher as she kept walking.
"..."
Asher looked at Gloriana's back and, strangely, felt anger.
"Gloriana."
"..."
However, there was no response.
Asher looked at Gloriana and moved closer.
However...
"Uh... What am I doing?"
He asked himself as he again came to his senses.
"Wait a minute... Why am I getting mad at her?"
"S-sorry..." apologized Asher quietly.
Though there was no response, Asher moved a little away from Gloriana.
Knowing that his mentality was getting out of control somehow, he decided to stay a bit away from her as he followed her.
The dungeon had further weakened his mind, and now he was losing rationality.
Cold sweat was pouring down his face as he looked down at his shaking hands.
"Haa..."
He sighed heavily.
Asher, who was still behind Gloriana, approached.
"Let's... go on... forward."
"..."
Unresponsive once more, Asher walked past Gloriana and continued on his way, heading deeper into the forest ahead of him.
However...
"Luna."
He looked at Luna, who was sitting on the ground with her eyes closed as the mana flowed into her body like a swift river.
Gloriana watched her and stepped closer. Luna's eyes opened and looked at the two people in front of her.
"And the others?"
"They must still be in the labyrinth."
"The only way out of the maze is..."
"To let the maze itself pull you out," Asher completed.
"That's right."
Luna looked at Asher and noticed something different.
She whispered to Gloriana.
"Why does it look different?"
"I wonder that too."
Asher, not listening, watched the two girls in front of him without showing any expression. Though a smile began to form on his face as he looked at the mist in front of him.
He felt strange.
As if something was flooding his mind, Asher stared at the fog without blinking, paying no attention to the two girls talking to each other.
***
-Scene change.
-Gloriana Mengral's point of view.
After a few minutes, they walked into the dense fog-covered forest.
"The fog has a mental effect," commented Luna, who had been there the longest.
"Why do you say that?"
"I was here for a while and something tried to enter my mind."
"What do you mean, Luna?"
"I'm just saying that the fog seems to have some mental ability. Luckily, my mind is strong, as is yours, Gloriana."
"Then it will be a problem."
"Not at the moment."
Both of them, who were walking in front, looked at each other at the same time and spoke in unison.
"Mind attack."
They turned their heads and saw Asher, who was about five meters behind them.
"He doesn't seem to be... different," Luna said, watching Asher walk slowly.
"But... he was acting like this before."
"So..."
They stopped talking and focused on Asher, who continued to walk slowly. Suddenly, he stopped and....
"Hi."
"..."
"..."
They both looked at each other at the same time, surprised by Asher's strange behavior.
"Asher..."
"Wow, we're in the fog, aren't we?"
"..."
"..."
It seemed that the fog, with its mental attacks, had changed Asher's personality to a completely different one.
Luna and Gloriana began to fear.
For it was possible that the Asher they saw was not the real Asher, but a new personality.
They both looked at each other with concern and then watched Asher, approaching him cautiously.
"Hey... who are the two of us?" asked Luna at Asher's strange behavior.
A smile appeared on her face as her eyes widened.
"Uh... you two... you're beautiful."
"..."
"..."
"It's not Asher."
"You're right."
Because the real Asher wouldn't say those words, let alone with such a strange expression, like that of an excited child.
"Asher, this is a joke, right?"
"Hey, what are you talking about?"
"..."
"I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"..."
"You... are you the real one?"
"Yes."
Suddenly, Asher was behaving differently again.
However, they both knew that he was now the real Asher.
"We must get out of this fog," Luna said, nodding, and they both took Asher by the hand to backtrack. Soon they reached the beginning of the forest and emerged from the fog.
It was then that they looked at Asher.
His expression changed. Now, his face was the same as it had always been.
What on earth had happened?
In a moment, Asher had changed, and then suddenly he was back to normal.
However, why did he seem to be acting normal?
Although that struck them as odd, Gloriana remained suspicious of Asher.
"If it really is him, then..."
She walked up to Asher and looked into his eyes.
Soon, he was staring right back at her.
"Is something wrong?"
"Uh... N-no."
Despite that, Gloriana confirmed that it was the real Asher.
"Asher," Luna said, and they both looked at him seriously at the same time.
They knew that if he went back into the mist, his personality would change again.
However, even outside the fog, it seemed that something still affected him mentally, and sometimes he acted strangely.
Then Asher looked at them.
"What?"
With a cold expression, he looked at the two girls in front of him.
"Don't go into the fog, got it?"
"Uh..."
"If you go in, we won't know what will happen."
"You are the mentally weakest, and the fog attacks the mind."
Asher, hearing the two's words, opened his eyes in astonishment, realizing that something had happened earlier.
"So I..."
"Yes, you had changed for a few seconds to someone different."