BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ–
The moment my foot landed out of the darkness veil of the labyrinth, the cold wind whipped against me and my phone’s network returned.
It burst with an onslaught of notifications, buzzing more than my aunt’s adult toy.
I hurriedly moved out of the way and climbed a few stairs before leaning against the wall and fishing out my phone.
The fuck was this abo– Oh.
Just the first notification sent me into despair.
It read...
// 38 Missed calls from My Love <3 //
Of course, it was none other than Claire.
And if she had done 38 calls by now... it only means that she found out about me entering the labyrinth.
That guess was further proven when I opened the text messages from her.
// Claire: You entered the labyrinth, huh? I learned about it from Katie. //
// Claire: I guess we have a lot of things to talk about, Aaron. //
// Claire: I know that you will receive these the moment you exit the labyrinth and I know that you will read this, so you better not make any foolish excuses that you didn’t see the texts. //
// Claire: I am waiting in the Mitron Cafe near the labyrinth, come here. //
I gulped, shivering with cold.
How scary can a woman be?!
Today’s day had been going great, but now it just got better! Woohoo!
I could only lower my head and climb the stairs while holding my shoulder in pain.
"Hey, handsome, had a fight with your party in there?"
When I was quietly walking up the stairs, a female guard that was stationed there questioned with a smirk on her lips.
Her voice was playful, her uniform hugging her figure in a way that did the justice to her busty curves.
"Nahh, I just got injured so I had to return to heal." I wave my hand with a fake smile, "Can you tell me where I can get healed?"
"Heh," she chuckled, "Just buy a small healing potion from that shop over there and pour half over the wound and drink half."
Saying that, she took a pause and gave me a look from top to bottom, before continuing.
"If you need any help, you can buy the potion and come to me, I will pour it for you nicely."
Her offer didn’t sound that genuine and helpful when I looked at the mischievous and downright seductive glint in her eyes.
Under any other circumstances, I would’ve taken that offer gladly.
But after the labyrinth bullshit and considering that Claire was waiting at the cafe,
"Maybe next time." I replied.
"Hah! Next time? You’re planning to get more injured next time for me? How cute." She teased me with a hearty laugh.
That drew a chuckle out of me as well, damn.
"Maybe, it depends on my mood." After leaving a cocky reply for her, I made my way towards the shop she had pointed me to.
The shop was small, built out of purplish wood, with shelves filled with vials, bottles and test tubes of every color imaginable.
The entire place smelled sharp, like herbs and metallic sweetness mixed together.
Behind the counter stood a mean-looking woman, old enough to be my grandmother, with wrinkles that looked carved by war itself.
Her eyes were dead serious.
The type of a woman who might say, ’I fought in the demon uprising with my bare fists!’
"One small healing potion." I said to her while nodding in a greeting.
"15 Sol." She said flatly, slamming a small vial of liquid on the counter.
The liquid looked like watered-down blood, but with something shimmering magically inside it.
I uncorked the bottle to smell and check it better, but her voice cut in sharply.
"Boy, not here. I don’t want a mess on my floor."
Damn, granny. I wasn’t even planning to use it here.
She thinks I’m stupid or what?
But since arguing was pointless, I slammed a 20 Sol note onto the counter in the same energy she gave me.
"Tsk." She clicked her tongue, tossed a 5 Sol coin at me, and shooed me away with her hand like I was a stray dog.
After leaving the shop, I walked towards a huge trashcan which to my pleasure, didn’t smell awful.
I took a deep breath, readying myself before shakily grabbing the stinger and yanking it out in one go.
This bitch was lodged into my bones, causing me a ton of pain once again.
I tossed the stinger into the trash pile before popping open the vial and pouring half the liquid onto my shoulder and then half down my throat.
"UGH-"
It burned.
I could literally hear my wound sizzling as red, thick blood dripped directly into my clothes, creating an even bigger mess.
Even my ’reverse sense’ was on the cooldown currently, leaving me to suffer the pain at full force.
And finally after a 2 minute of suffering, the pain had subsided and looking at my shoulder, the wound had disappeared like magic.
If it wasn’t for the blood and the tear on my clothes, no one could tell that I was even injured once.
With my wound taken care of, I begin to make my way towards the cafe Mitron while asking some women for directions along the way, who seemed pretty eager to help.
This time I didn’t forget to store my falcata in the inventory, which felt great as there was nothing pulling down my pants anymore.
I swear, the person who thought that attaching the scabbard’s hook at waist was the best idea must be hanged or guillotined.
Do they not know how much the sword weighs and how tight I needed to wear my belt just to ensure that it doesn’t slide down and embarrass me?
Amidst my thoughts and overthinking about the potential scolding, I reached the cafe Mitron.
It looked warm and welcoming, filled with the smell of roasted coffee beans and buttery pastries.
Wooden tables, soft lighting, quiet music— a place that would normally calm me down.
But not today.
They had seating inside, outside, and even on the rooftop, where I noticed Claire sitting on a table.
Her gorgeous, golden hair was too hard to miss as they shimmered in the soft sunlight.
She wasn’t alone either.
Another woman sat with her—just as beautiful, her silhouette soft yet confident. Their legs crossed elegantly, their posture straight, their faces unreadable from a distance.
Claire had noticed me too, as her eyes narrowed coldly at me, following my steps as I moved closer to the cafe.
She said nothing, but she didn’t need to either.
I could feel her pressure without her needing to speak, I guess I could take some dominance tips from her.
Because I considered myself dominant just by making my women submit on bed, but goddamn, this woman had dominance written on every action of hers.
I slowly made my way into the cafe, and when the barista man asked me what I would like, I just told him that I was here to meet my friends who were seated upstairs.
After which he left me alone.
I felt nervous when I walked up the stairs and my eyes met with Claire’s.
Her face was impassive, as she pushed back a seat that was next to her.
"Come sit."