The clear, transparent sky, and the noon sunlight pouring down on the courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute.

It had been a mostly pleasant, ordinary day at the institute, but now something very unusual was happening in the courtyard.

A red Mini Reaper was strutting around the courtyard, waving its limbs exuberantly.

A parade of Red Reapers?

That, in itself, would be an ordinary sight.

But the number of Red Reapers was anything but ordinary.

Normally, there would only be one Red Reaper, but now the courtyard was filled with so many that it seemed like they covered the entire space.

The once-abundant Golden Reapers had vanished, leaving only the Red Reapers in a grand procession.

And leading that parade of Red Reapers was a Gray Reaper with its skin now turned red.

It walked at the front, a Red Reaper perched on its head, strutting proudly forward.

It was lunchtime, and Yerin, who had come to the courtyard looking for the Gray Reaper, stood there marveling at the sight.

“Reapers can change colors too! Amazing!”

Se-ah, who happened to be passing by, also entered the courtyard and started taking notes as she watched the spectacle unfold.

<It appears there are multiple Objects capable of changing the appearance of Mini Reapers.> <A phenomenon that arose after the appearance of the Yellow Mini Moon.> <There seems to be a connection with Mapo District and the Yellow Moon.>

Her notebook also contained a photo of the Golden Reaper’s bundle discovered in the security room.

The Gray Reaper, marching through the courtyard in red skin, suddenly stopped in its tracks. It changed its skin color to gold and began hopping on the spot.

At this, some of the Red Reapers peeled off their red skin, transforming into Golden Reapers.

The newly transformed Golden Reapers, following the Gray Reaper’s slightly awkward dance moves, also began to jump excitedly.

The Gray Reaper continued hopping around, rapidly changing colors.

Black, blue, navy, orange, yellow, and then back to red!

The Mini Reapers gathered in the courtyard were so thrilled that they seemed to fall into a frenzy, jumping, colliding, and darting around in sheer excitement.

As the Gray Reaper’s colors began to shift faster and faster, it eventually started emitting a brilliant array of colors like a disco ball.

Dum-chit dum-chit.

Suddenly, lively disco music filled the courtyard.

Se-ah frowned and looked around to find the source, only to see Yerin turning up the TV volume, letting the music blare out.

And so, a party began with the disco ball Reaper and the dancing Mini Reapers.

Se-ah shook her head as she observed the jumping Reapers and continued taking notes.

She paid particular attention to one Mini Reaper among the Golden Reapers, wearing an awkward smile, with its head down and posture slumped.

Its color was similar to that of the Golden Reapers, but its eyes did not shine, and it kept its head bowed.

<The connection between Mini Reapers and Mini Moons seems apparent.>

<The Yellow Moon’s Mini Reaper resembles the Golden Reapers but lacks the gleam in its eyes.>

<The massive ring of light across the sky and the Gray Reaper appear to be connected, though evidence is yet to be found.>

Noticing Se-ah absorbed in her notes instead of joining the fun, a mischievous Sprout Reaper lay down on her notebook, blocking her view.

Se-ah couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the Sprout Reaper, which was giggling with a playful expression while lying atop her notes. With a resigned smile, she slowly closed her notebook.

Then, biting back a smile, she took out her phone and began capturing the scene, taking photos of the dancing Mini Reapers.

The purple figure at the far end of the room filled with mirror-like purple walls was now right in front of the girl.

As the grotesque figure with its many eyes closed in, the black sword reacted instantly.

The blade extended, aiming to cut the figure clean in half.

Swish.

However, the black sword's sharp strike barely scratched the figure, leaving not even a mark on its surface.

“!”

The girl had truly believed that her powerful black sword would be able to handle it.

But despite her faith, the strike of the black sword was futile.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, she felt an eerie calm wash over her. Her face was still tense, but her mind began to work quickly.

“A purple room, purple mirrors, a purple figure moving closer.”

As she blinked, the figure suddenly lunged, swinging its arm in a wide arc.

Beep!

The black sword split into two, one half embedding into the ground while the other slashed at the figure’s arm.

Boom.

While the black sword held firm, the girl continued to think.

“It seems like the figure only moves when I’m not looking.”

The thought barely formed before she forced her eyes wide open, refusing to blink.

She couldn’t close her eyes, not even for a second.

The figure was speeding up, and soon the black sword might not be able to keep up.

Keeping her gaze fixed on the figure, she thought about how to deal with it.

The challenge must be to destroy that figure to complete this trial.

But how, when even the black sword couldn’t damage it?

There had to be a way.

Dog Meat Guy had said so.

There are no unbeatable monsters in the labyrinth.

Her eyes began to water from staring too long, but she kept the figure in sight as she slowly moved around the room.

As she looked around, keeping an eye on the figure, she noticed something strange.

“That figure… it’s not reflecting in the mirrors.”

The room was full of mirrors, but the purple figure didn’t appear in any of them.

It was as if it didn’t exist.

Except, it did reflect in one mirror.

Pointing the sword at that mirror, she shouted,

“It’s that mirror! Smash that mirror!”

The black sword responded with a confirming beep, extending to pierce the mirror she had pointed out.

Crash.

As the mirror shattered, everything in the room came to a sudden halt and began to crumble.

Not only the figure but all the mirrors in the room started disintegrating into sand and slipping away.

It was the unmistakable end of the labyrinth’s trial.

As relief washed over her, the girl’s legs gave out, and she sank to the ground, clutching the black sword tightly.

“It’s finally over.”

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she spoke proudly to the black sword.

“How did I even think of that?”

“Maybe I have a knack for adventuring!”

“I bet Dog Meat Guy won’t believe it when I tell him.”

Hugging the black sword tightly, she said in a loud voice,

“Thank you. Without you, I probably would have died. Really, thank you.”

Now that she had defeated a dangerous enemy, she was excited at the thought of finally being able to return.

“Finally, I can go back to the labyrinth city!”

She was already looking forward to boasting about this at Dog Meat Guy’s shop, introducing him to the black sword as well.

But when the sand cleared and the room was revealed, it was nothing like she had expected.

“What… why?”

The room had transformed into a typical labyrinth chamber.

And before her lay a deep staircase leading downward.

There was no sign of an exit to the city.

I lay sprawled on my bed, arms and legs stretched out.

“Ah, I’m exhausted. I played way too hard.”

Physically, I wasn’t tired, but I felt mentally drained.

I hadn’t planned on playing with the Mini Reapers this much, but they had been far more excited than I anticipated, and I got swept up in the moment.

The Mini Reapers clung all over me, looking very satisfied, nuzzling against me.

I had become a cocoon of Mini Reapers once again, my head lazily turned to stare at the TV.

Half-asleep, I stared blankly until something on the news caught my attention, making me snap to full alert.

[Various analyses are emerging regarding the Red Lightning Island in Japan.]

It was another report on Red Lightning Island, which had been mentioned a while back.

[Recent detailed analyses of satellite images have revealed some surprising elements.]

The TV showed blurry photos compared with clearer, restored images.

People in metallic armor that looked straight out of a fantasy novel.

Figures in robes with intricate embroidery, carrying staffs.

A scene of someone roasting an entire giant lizard tail, like a dragon's tail, over a fire.

A market scene as if from a fantasy storybook.

The images made my heart race.

“I want to go too!”

As I jumped up, the Mini Reapers who had been sleeping soundly flew off the bed in all directions.

They looked back at me with startled expressions, but I was already summoning the Black Reapers to prepare for an adventure into the fantasy world.

If I was going to a fantasy world, I needed the right gear.

When you think of fantasy, you think swords, shields, and adventure!

I conveyed my wishes to the Black Reapers staring up at me.

“A magnificent suit of armor.”

“A magnificent sword.”

“An adventurer!”

Conveying images and emotions wasn’t the most precise way to communicate.

I’d never seen real armor, so I couldn’t accurately express the finer details.

I half-expected a mess due to my lack of expressive power and the Mini Reapers’ limited understanding, but surprisingly, they produced exactly what I needed.

The Black Reapers, it seemed, were more familiar with these items than I thought, transforming into a proper suit of armor and sword, attaching themselves to me.

Hehe.

I liked it.

The armor was intricately crafted, comfortable to move in, and looked great.

Eager to set off for the fantasy world, I attempted to teleport, but it felt as if I hit a barrier—it wasn’t working.

Even though I could sense the Black Reapers on Red Lightning Island, something was preventing me.

Well, there’s no helping it.

I’ll just have to ride the Cloud Meat.

With a heart full of excitement, I ran toward the courtyard.