73: I can't let this defeat me. Not when her life depends on me…

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As we talk, Azur flies in and perches on my shoulders.

Lilian tells me that they are planning to hold a tournament to choose the "warrior leader" of the kingdom. Since there are many adventurers, but they don't know how many of them can fight well.

Therefore, the tournament would be a way to get fighters for the army that would carry out the counterattack against the orcs.

Since the capital has its army thinned out by the companies composed to protect the towns, the tournament would be a way to get fighters for the army that would carry out the counterattack against the orcs.

"Those who are well ranked will receive a substantial payment if they join the kingdom's army. I can't tell you exactly how much it will be, as we haven't decided yet, but it has to be enough to tempt adventurers of that level." explains Lilian enthusiastically "the winner of the tournament is another story. We have already decided that the winning prize will be 1000 platinum coins, although the winner would have to agree to be the emblem of the expedition going to the new continent to accept the prize… and hence my proposal. I think you could be the warrior leader of the kingdom. It is really impressive the strength you have for your age, and I would like you to try it. Besides, showing your strength before the entire kingdom would serve as a deterrent signal to all those who might want to try something like what happened to the therian girl and you today."

"That sounds good to me; as I told you before, I don't care enough about the money, but you convinced me with that last part. Let me know when the tournament is going to happen, and I'll be there" I say, happy to have a way to solve the problem of the constant stalkers that show up every time we go to the labyrinth with Deirdre.

Besides, this way, Deirdre will have time to get used to her new abilities.

She has become much stronger in a very short time, and that can lead her to make errors of judgment because she doesn't know how to control her strength. As happened to us today in the fight against the assassins who attacked us.

"Believe me, you'll find out when the tournament is about to start. After all, it will be something organized by the queen herself, and she will participate in it" says Lilian, clapping her hands in happiness at my acceptance "but now that you talk about the money… I think we have another pending matter, you and I..."

And so, before retiring, she pays me 50 platinum coins for the mission.

It may not seem like much in the face of the great reward we got out of the animated armor, but that was only due to our luck.

The reality is that it's an incredible sum of money for an expedition of just over a month, where the usual monsters will be simple goblins, giant spiders, and wolves.

"Ahh, I guess I should give this back to you," I say, pulling out the ring that serves as a communication device and pretending to hand it to her.

"Nah, keep it. You've already proved useful to me more than once, and you're pretty hard to find. I'd rather stay in touch with you. Besides, it would be a good way to contact you when the tournament is about to start" she says, shaking her head while smiling.

...

When I finish talking to Lilian, I go to find Deirdre to tell her what I found out.

But I'm greeted by Charity, who confronts me by yelling at me and asking me what I did to Deirdre since she came home crying and covered in blood.

What an intense day this is turning out to be…

"I think you should talk to her instead of yelling at me," I say calmly because I understand the orc's anger.

"YOU THINK I DIDN'T TRY? THAT BRAT REFUSES TO TALK TO ME. SO YOU BETTER START TALKING!" says Charity, pulling out a large hammer from one of the bags she has strapped to her belt.

I was getting ready to run out of the house, as I don't want to create more problems than there are already.

But, hearing the screams, Deirdre comes out of one of the rooms in the house and, taking me by the arm, leads me into the room without saying a word.

All this before the murderous looks of Charity and most of the refugees…

This must be her room because it has only one bed, and I see clothes I've seen her wearing lying around on the floor.

"You should tell them what happened. They think it was my fault that you cried," I say as Deirdre closes the door.

"Yeah... I'll tell them later. Why did you come to see me?" She asks hurriedly. And, as she speaks, I see tension and fear in her gaze.

As I tell her about how I went to talk to Lilian to consult her about what happened to us and about the initiative to launch a counterattack on the orc empire, for which they plan to organize a tournament to gather soldiers, I see how my fellow raider is slowly relaxing.

"Hmm. I was planning to go back to free my parents, anyway. That's what I'm training for. So, I benefit from this decision of the kingdom," she says in a somber voice in response to the news I bring her.

Right... she had said something about that before.

I guess in a sense we are alike, both of us looking to get stronger because of something related to our family.

"Well, now that you're calmer, can you tell me why you had that terrified look on your face when we started talking?" I asked her, glad that, although she was still not back to her usual cheerful self, at least she seemed calmer.

"I thought you were coming to tell me that you didn't want to fight with me anymore because I'm a killer now." She murmurs, and I watch as she averts her gaze to the side, looking embarrassed.

"Ahh," I say, finally understanding, and I can't help but laugh. "I don't mind at all. I've had to kill people in the past to defend myself more than once. There's nothing wrong with that. That's the way the world works. We can only dance to the tune of those who made the rules."

As I say these last words, I add a 'for now' in my mind.

I'm sure that, when I get to the end of the labyrinth, I'll find whatever the hive is. And, when that happens, I'm going to demand some explanations.

Deirdre calms down significantly at these words, and before long we are back to talking about the upcoming tournament, but this time with more joy in the air.

******

We've been stuck on the 63rd floor for a week now.

For as much as we routinely search, we can't find the room to move to the 64th floor.

This week I was finally able to go up one more level in my Explorer class, bringing my Intellect up to 83, to match it with Agility and Strength.

We are currently stuck in a very strange challenge room…

No matter how much we search, there seem to be no enemies, and the landscape is only composed of a huge and empty plateau.

They do not even appear on the Radar, which since it is level 5 has a range of 80 meters.

To make matters worse, the air in this place seems poisonous, as I can see how I and Azur are very slowly losing health over time.

We have been here for 5 hours now, and I am giving a second health potion to Deirdre to drink.

She claims to be fine, but, since I am not able to see her health, I can't be sure.

"Thank you, master. Do you have any idea how we can get out of here yet?" she asks, looking at me hopefully.

"No... We've already gone all over the place several times by air and land, and there are only dry grasslands and stones... There's got to be something we're not seeing!" I say, getting desperate by the minute.

"Come to think of it..." says Deirdre suddenly, and I look at her hopefully as I get my hopes up, thinking that maybe she has discovered something. "Where do the labyrinth monsters come from, master? They don't seem to have a place to live, and I've only seen them wandering the halls."

"Ahh," I say, and I can't help but let the disappointment I feel show in my voice. "They are generated by the labyrinth, although it is true that this doesn't happen in plain sight of people. That's why they don't need a place to live. They are only like puppets, unlike the monsters outside. So when we kill them, they get sucked into the labyrinth and only leave a small part of what they're carrying as loot."

"Ahh," she says as well, and she remains thoughtful.

I can't let this defeat me. Not when Deirdre's life depends on me…

But how much longer can we hold out like this?

I had plenty of food and water in my inventory, but I only had about 30 health potions, and we had already used 2 of them in only 5 hours.

So, at most, we have enough for two days, considering that I will also need to take a few...

I can't count on Deirdre's reserves either, because, before entering the room, she had already drunk the 3 health potions she always carries with her. That was the main reason we decided to leave.

Who could have thought that this would happen to us?

I didn't even know this kind of challenge room existed. Ragnar never mentioned them to me, but maybe it's because they are something exclusive to the higher floors.

I have to think...