When I first entered the boss room, it was brightly lit with numerous torches. But now, all the torches had disappeared.

Only one torch remained.

In that darkness, the Golden Reaper and their group were fighting a fierce battle.

The shield that the Golden Reaper had been holding was already broken.

Above the Golden Reaper’s head, a green bar indicating remaining health was only halfway full.

The Red Reaper, holding a broken spear, sat glumly in a corner, watching the other Mini Reapers fight.

The green bar above the Red Reaper’s head was completely empty.

The Blue Reaper, with almost no health left, was chanting something, possibly preparing a large spell for a long time.

"Not much left!"

The Golden Reaper clutched their short sword with determination.

The dungeon’s final boss operated on a mechanic where one torch would go out with each hit it took.

As the torches diminished, the darkness in the boss room thickened, strengthening the boss who wielded shadows.

Watching the determined Golden Reaper from above, the Purple Reaper sneered.

Then, it leapt into the air and sent a barrage of shadow spears flying.

The target was the Blue Reaper, who was preparing the spell!

The Golden Reaper, in a flashy move, began deflecting all the shadow spears with just their short sword.

But without a shield and with only the small sword, it proved too much. One of the large spears struck the Golden Reaper’s body.

"Ugh."

As their health bar depleted, the Golden Reaper, following the rules of the Mini Reaper Maze, let out a "Ugh!" before spinning around and collapsing.

Lying flat on the floor, the Golden Reaper looked up at the Blue Reaper with hopeful eyes.

At that moment, the Blue Reaper raised their staff high.

But nothing happened.

Realizing the spell had failed, the Purple Reaper approached the Blue Reaper with a smug grin.

It crafted a sword from shadows and swung it at the Blue Reaper.

"Ugh!"

Struck by the shadow blade, the Blue Reaper let out a death cry, but with a knowing smile on their face.

Behind the fallen Blue Reaper, a message made of water droplets appeared.

<Revive.>

The spell had already been completed.

Shocked, the Purple Reaper turned to see what was behind them.

There stood the Red Reaper, revived with a small amount of health.

Covered in flames, the Red Reaper thrust their broken spear forward.

"Take this!"

The high-speed charge attack, a spearman's finishing move, drove the spear straight into the Purple Reaper’s heart.

"!!!"

Every shadow within the boss room began converging on the Purple Reaper, engulfing it.

The shadows swirled and then, with a sudden "Boom," exploded in a dazzling display.

At the same time, all the shadows that had shrouded the boss room vanished, and the extinguished torches rekindled.

It was a grand death, befitting the end.

The Red Reaper raised their spear high, celebrating the victory.

The revived Golden Reaper and Blue Reaper quickly joined in, leaping up and down in celebration, bumping into each other, and rolling around with joy.

As they cheered, the door at the far end of the boss room slowly opened, revealing the treasure room.

The air was filled with the smell of something delicious.

Holding hands, the Golden Reaper group began skipping merrily towards the treasure room.

"We did it!" "Great job, everyone!"

A smile that couldn’t be hidden spread across the faces of the Golden Reaper group.

I lay at the dungeon’s deepest level, watching the children play.

I had thought they’d quickly tire of the Maze, but it seemed to be quite the hit.

Near the entrance of the Maze, a bunch of Mini Reapers were gathered, each holding a Mini Corpse Reaper with numbers on their backs.

They cried out with a "Kyuh-hing!" sound whenever their turn arrived, like numbered white Corpse Reapers.

At the Maze’s entrance, Butler Reapers were distributing various outfits made by the Yellow Reaper.

There were outfits for the Golden Reaper with sword and shield, the Red Reaper with a spear, the Blue Reaper with a staff, the Orange Reaper with a bow, and the Black Reaper with a greatsword.

The idea was to restrict their abilities with these costumes since only the Blue and Purple Reapers could use magic, which wasn’t enough for a balanced party.

Without such restrictions, every party would’ve been filled with Golden Reapers.

Additionally, the costumes helped level the playing field by accounting for physical differences.

Shifting my gaze, I saw the Purple Reapers in the boss waiting room, busily creating shadow monsters and preparing to play the boss role.

They crafted monsters and entered the boss room, role-playing intensely. Despite the workload, they seemed happy.

Perhaps they enjoyed the weight of the boss role?

If it were up to me, I’d have had the Corpse Reapers handle it, but they insisted on taking the monster role themselves.

In the treasure room, I could see the Golden Reapers happily eating candy.

The costumes they had discarded lay scattered around the room.

The Reapers hugged massive star candies, many times the size of their bodies, eating them with great enjoyment.

It was like watching friends reminisce over a meal after a movie, discussing the bravest moments and most impressive scenes from their adventure.

In truth, the colossal star candies, a reward from the dungeon, weren’t anything particularly special.

But maybe because they had shared an adventure, they looked like they were savoring the world’s most delicious treat.

Seeing those happy Mini Reapers, I suddenly felt a desire to join them in the Maze.

It’d be nice if someone made a T-Rex Maze for me too...

Sehee Lab, Third Conference Room.

Usually unused, the third conference room now held Seoa and a guest.

It was an interview to reduce Seoa’s workload.

In the past, they managed well with elite researcher Oh Yerin, who handled three times the work of others despite frequently slacking off.

But now, with Oh Yerin busy playing the Gray Reaper’s babysitter, they had no choice but to hire someone else.

Seoa glanced at the resume and assessed the helmeted researcher before her.

The researcher wore a prominent mental contamination-blocking helmet with James Corp’s logo on it.

"Interesting, more unique than expected."

Apparently, they wore the helmet often at the Object Association, showing a meticulous concern for mental contamination.

Normally, she wouldn’t consider hiring such an eccentric, but given the current situation, it was advantageous.

Due to the minor mental contamination emitted by the Golden Reaper, few people were left at Sehee Lab who could manage the Mini Reapers properly.

"Impressive. Truly thorough."

Seoa thought.

With great credentials and a strong work record at the Object Association, she had no reason not to hire him.

Under ordinary circumstances, she would have notified him by email, but she couldn’t resist giving the good news in person.

"I’m pleased to welcome you. I think your values align well with our company’s vision. I look forward to achieving great things together."

After formally extending her congratulations, she shook hands with the researcher.

"Is this an acceptance?"

"Absolutely. I’ll send the details by email, so please check it later."

Smiling, Seoa nodded, and the helmeted researcher bowed in return.

Then, somewhat awkwardly, he left the room.

Once he was gone, Seoa relaxed and turned to the Sprout Reaper on her shoulder.

"Seems promising, right? His thoroughness on mental contamination makes him a strong candidate, almost like Senior Researcher Kim Jungrye."

But the Sprout Reaper just giggled.

‘?’

Puzzled by the Sprout Reaper’s reaction, Seoa shrugged it off.

Returning his visitor badge at the Sehee Lab front desk, the helmeted researcher walked briskly towards the parking lot.

"I finally got into the hard-to-enter Sehee Lab!"

The helmeted researcher expressed his joy, and the Golden Reaper inside his helmet patted his cheek happily.

Removing the Golden Reaper from his helmet and placing it on his hand, the researcher spoke.

"Now, the Mini Reapers can play with their friends!"

The Golden Reaper shook its head, as if to say it didn’t need more friends.

"Wouldn’t it be nice to have another Golden Reaper around?"

The researcher’s worried look made the Golden Reaper nod in agreement.

"Right?"

Thinking of the rumors about Sehee Lab, where Mini Reapers played all day, the researcher smiled blissfully.

While the Mini Reapers were engrossed in my maze, I wandered around exploring new terrain.

Did it appear after defeating the purple moon?

It was an endless snowy field beyond the Candy Mountains in the Mini Reaper Garden.

‘Oh.’

Standing atop the mountain, I marveled at the snowy landscape before me.

A clear sky with no clouds, yet thick snowflakes fell on the ground below.

One side of the field had trees bearing all kinds of fruit and rice cakes.

At the far end, snow piled up like glaciers, flowing into a sea of hot chocolate.

I scooped up a handful of snow and tasted it.

Yum.

Sweetness spread through my mouth.

'Tastes good.'

It was like a milk-flavored shaved ice treat, with toppings growing on trees around the snowy field.

Perfect.

I lay on the ground, eating snow and picking fruits, enjoying the field.

As I stuffed myself, a white, fluffy creature resembling a hamster with a skewer of fruits attached to its tail caught my eye.

Chasing it down with time acceleration, I found the fruits coated in sugar.

‘This feels like an Object I must never forget.’

Snowfield.

Skewer.

The combination felt familiar.

Clutching the hamster, I pondered.