No matter how much she looked, there were only the smooth crystal walls of the maze, not even a vendor’s stall resembling a shop.

However.

‘If it was visible to the eye, how could it be a secret shop?’

There was a reason why people cursed the secret shop, saying it couldn’t be found nine out of ten times.

It was literally ‘secretly’ hidden.

Generating a sphere of light, Rosha carefully scanned the surroundings and found a small notice board attached to the maze wall.

Placing her hand on it caused a shop list to appear in a blue window before her eyes.

-The secret shop is now open.

The secret shop’s merchandise changed each time, with the list never exceeding five items. Nevertheless, there were always certain standard items available for sale.

Finding the desired item, Rosha pressed the purchase button, and with a notification sound indicating currency had been spent, the item materialized in her hand.

A glass bottle filled with a liquid shimmering in iridescent colors.

An elixir.

“Rosha… tell my teacher… I’m sorry…”

Sensing Rosha’s approach, Cassis recited in a dying voice.

Regardless, after signaling to Froy, she uncorked the elixir bottle and said solemnly:

“Enough, just hold on a little longer. Drink this down.”

“…!!!”

Froy swiftly pulled out the crystal blade piercing Cassis’s abdomen, and she immediately poured the elixir onto that spot.

The mysterious, multicolored liquid flowed entirely into Cassis’s wound, causing new flesh to regenerate instantly.

Unaware of what was happening, Cassis, who had been convulsing in extreme agony, slowly closed his eyes.

“Ugh… I’m going first…”

About ten seconds later.

He slowly opened his eyes again.

For some reason, he no longer felt the pain from earlier.

‘Did my body go numb from the severe injury?’

The oppressive feeling that had made it difficult even to breathe was gone. The tingling sensation in his arms and the blood that had been gurgling out of his throat had also vanished.

He couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

And it was at that moment.

“…”

Rolling his eyes around, he noticed Rosha and Froy looking down at him.

Sensing his sister’s relief and disbelief, Cassis asked in a dumbfounded voice:

“Wha, what is it?”

“Try getting up first.”

As he shakily raised his upper body, his body was perfectly fine, as if it had been a lie.

Through the shredded, blood-soaked clothes, his abdomen showed no trace of a scar.

“…But I’m sure my stomach was pierced. Was it an illusion?”

“Haa…”

Confirming his safety, Rosha sat down on the floor and let out a relieved sigh.

Deactivating the [Guid’s Lantern] she had been using all this time, the tension drained from her body, leaving her fatigued.

Approaching the weary Rosha, Froy asked:

“What just happened? That item…”

“It’s an elixir. As long as one is still alive, it heals all physical injuries.”

“…You’re telling me such an item exists?”

“When trials suddenly opened up one day, don’t you think having items like this was a lifesaver? Froy, you should check out the secret shop too.”

Following Rosha’s words, the man approached the secret shop, his eyes rapidly scanning the blue window before him.

However, he soon returned empty-handed.

This was because…

“It says I don’t have enough passes to make a purchase… how did you obtain the elixir?”

“Obviously, because I have passes.”

The currency used in the secret shop was called ‘passes’, automatically accumulated based on one’s contribution in the trials.

Recalling that Rosha had contributed more than anyone in the previous trial, Froy seemed to understand and nodded.

However, the passes she possessed weren’t just from a single trial.

‘How many trials have I cleared so far?’

Checking the number of passes she had in the secret shop’s blue window, Rosha smiled faintly and looked up.

Then, as if indulging them, she said to the sheepish-looking Cassis and Froy.

“Well then, go ahead and pick one item each if you want something.”

* * *

“So this is the item you spoke of?”

“That’s right.”

Lovell and Heres looked at the elixir in Cassis’s hand with curious eyes.

Judging by its effects, it seemed quite desirable, but unfortunately, items purchased from the secret shop could only be used within the cracks.

To use them in reality, one had to pay a staggering amount – a hundred times the purchase price in passes.

‘Even for me, that’s a bit of a burden. My pass count changed digits because I bought an item for my grandfather.’

Of course, the prices themselves were already expensive to begin with.

Recalling the item in her cape’s inner pocket, Rosha looked around at her companions with a proud expression.

Unlike Cassis, who had narrowly escaped death, the others were unharmed. Heres had obediently remained in his spot, and Lovell had skillfully avoided the traps.

After picking them up, Rosha was resting in front of the forgotten god’s shrine, their final destination for this trial.

It was then that a skewer of sausages was suddenly held out before her.

“Would you like some? I just grilled them over a fire.”

Lovell produced a small flame from the tip of his index finger as he spoke.

Although weak, he was an ability user who could manipulate fire.

Accepting the skewer in surprise, he quickly began grilling more sausages.

The sizzling sound and delicious aroma wafted over. Taking a bite, the crisp outer layer burst with a satisfying crunch, making it quite a delicacy.

“Want some?”

“No thanks.”

After politely offering to Koko, Rosha swiftly finished off one sausage.

Koko didn’t really eat much. At best, he would only have a taste, as he disliked the undignified act of excretion.

Froy, who had been looking disdainfully at his subordinate grilling sausages with his special ability, asked:

“How are you feeling?”

“More or less fine. What about you, Froy?”

“I’m more or less fine as well.”

The two, who had undoubtedly overused their abilities, exchanged smiles.

After resting for about two hours, their condition had certainly improved compared to earlier. Physical energy couldn’t be healed by elixirs, so time was the only solution in the end.

However, they couldn’t afford to waste too much time.

‘We need to go in soon.’

They had spent a long time in the maze.

Checking the remaining time, which was less than half the original limit, she looked back.

There stood the massive shrine, the final destination of this trial.

The Forgotten God’s shrine.

Any shrine representing a god should have inscriptions, but this building had none.

Yet its scale was truly immense.

The marble pillars lined up were so thick that three people would barely be able to link arms around them, and the triangular decorated roof was high enough to be seen from anywhere in the maze.

‘Judging by its appearance… we might have to face a boss battle.’

She had a feeling. With Hardmode applied, they wouldn’t simply leave such a grand stage unattended.

Within the time limit, acquire the treasure kept in the Forgotten God’s shrine.

Time Limit: 1:55:12

With less than two hours remaining, Rosha reluctantly rose from her spot. Although her condition wasn’t great, she wanted to get it over with quickly, like ripping off a bandaid.

As she headed towards the shrine, letting out a long sigh, Heres asked with concern for some reason:

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit more?”

“No. An extra hour of rest won’t make much difference.”

“But if something happens to the young lady we won’t be unharmed either…”

That was the problem.

Well, she was the lifeline of this team. In terms of combat power alone, everyone here knew Rosha was the overwhelming top tier.

It was just that her base stamina was inferior compared to the rest.

‘Well… I hadn’t exercised my whole life until recently starting some light training.’

Moreover, after the first trial, she had even been bedridden for three days. For some reason, she had a feeling it might happen again this time, causing her to smile wryly.

“Shall we head in?”

Eventually, they all took a deep breath and opened the doors of the shrine together.