Chapter 71

Chapter 71
## Chapter 71: The Mask of the Silver Fox

I had laid the groundwork well in advance to ensure our dominance in this conflict.

“Isaac, the moment the spores erupt and the fog becomes impenetrable, I need you to raise a clamor.”

“What sort of noise are you looking for, Boss?”

“The kind of sound someone makes when they are enduring the absolute peak of physical torture.”

“Understood.”

Isaac gave a firm nod, quickly grasping the intent behind his instructions.

Isabella then chimed in, seeking her own directives. “And my role?”

“Stoke the fires of panic. Strike hard and retreat before the haze even begins to lift.”

I had no desire to linger in this place. My objective was simple: collect the necessary currency, make my acquisitions, and vanish. Staying too long was an invitation for a monster I couldn’t handle to cross my path.

Soon, the notifications began to flood my vision as combatants fell.

《You have ended the lives of over ten challengers!》
《Achievement ‘Butcher of the Frontline’ unlocked.》
《40 points earned.》
《Shard of the Shattered Golden Law: 40h 17m claimed.》
《Total Shards of the Shattered Golden Law have exceeded 1,000h!》

I had scraped together just enough. With 50 points in hand, I approached the vending construct to finalize my shopping.

《Acquired ‘Pathfinder (10)’.》
《Cannot purchase duplicates.》
《Acquired ‘Maze Key (1)’.》
《’Maze Keys’ are now out of stock.》
《Acquired ‘Mirror of Imposed Restraint (1)’.》
《’Mirrors of Imposed Restraint’ are now out of stock.》

The figures in the brackets showed what remained in the machine’s inventory. Aside from the multi-use detector, I had cleaned out every unique, limited item available. While there were other goods listed, nothing else appeared worth the investment.

‘These Labyrinth Traders seem to be a recurring theme.’

I was starting to understand the pattern. The stock likely shifted based on which specific trader manifested. The items offered here were clearly tailored for those navigating the opening gambits of the maze. After putting some distance between myself and the shop, I inspected my new tools.

【Pathfinder】
-Pinpoints challengers within a 10km sweep.
-Those with higher point totals appear as larger signatures.
-5 charges remaining.

【Maze Key】
-Grants the ability to phase through a single wall.
-1 charge remaining.

【Mirror of Imposed Restraint】
-Enforces a ‘behavioral geas’ on a single target within the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’.
-1 charge remaining.
-Activation: Reflect the target’s image or utter their true name. If the name does not belong to an active challenger in the maze, the mirror shatters.

The uses were sparse, but the power they provided was absolute. These were the catalysts needed to tear through this maze.

‘The lack of a topographical guide is a bit of a sting.’

A map had been available, but it was priced at a staggering 1,000 points. At this stage, that was an impossible sum for nearly everyone. I knew for a fact that the average player’s ‘Shards of the Shattered Golden Law’ were meager at best. Someone like me, sitting on over a thousand accumulated hours? We were a rare breed. However, carrying that many points was a double-edged sword; it made me a beacon on any other player’s detector.

‘Safety first. We need to vanish.’

The area was still crawling with activity. My priority was a clean extraction.

[Activating ‘Pathfinder’.]
[4 charges remaining.]

Small luminant specks flickered across the surface of the handheld device, mapping out the 10km territory around us.

“There’s a ridiculous crowd closing in,” Isaac observed.

Even at a glance, the dots numbered over four hundred. At least fifty were currently swarming the trader we had just left. I couldn’t even guess at the total scale of the labyrinth, but four hundred people within a ten-kilometer radius? The total number of participants was staggering.

“……There’s a massive signature directly in our path.”

Isabella’s voice was tight with stress. My jaw tightened. Among the hundreds of signals, two stood out due to their sheer size. One was bearing down on us from the front. I didn’t have a name, but it was clearly a predator that had waded through oceans of challengers to amass those points. Its closing speed was terrifying. Behind us, the way was blocked by the mob at the trader. We were pinned.

Should I burn the Maze Key to cut through the walls and escape?

*Ding!*

A chime rang out.

*Ding-a-ling!*

A bell shook with violent intensity, the sound leaping from the distance to right in front of us in a heartbeat.

“It’s not going to just walk past,” Isaac muttered, his hand flying to his hilt as Isabella did the same. I drew an arrow, nocking it against the string of Shatyrath’s Terror.

In that breath, the figure materialized.

‘……The Silver Fox Mask?’

The individual wore a mask shaped like a silver fox. But the mask wasn’t what stopped my heart—it was the rank hovering above them.

【★★】

I had to swallow a curse. A two-star Transcendent was standing right there. This was the most powerful human presence I had ever encountered.

‘The dark bell.’

A black bell dangled from their belt. A memory of Serengeti’s warning flashed through my mind.

—*I am short on specifics. But be wary. Their obsession with tracking ‘transgressors’ is beyond comprehension. Word is they carry a ‘dark bell’ that never makes a sound.*

The dark bell was the hallmark of the Reaper Church. But Serengeti said it was silent.

*Ding! Ding! Ding-a-ling-ling-ling!*

……This one was ringing like a frantic alarm.

The moment I locked eyes with the silver fox mask, the distance between us evaporated. The speed was beyond comprehension. I slowly lowered my bow. Seeing my lead, Isaac and Isabella followed suit, relaxing their stances. Once I saw that rank, I knew a fight was suicide. This person was less a combatant and more a force of nature. Showing we weren’t a threat was our only play.

“……”

The masked figure just stood there, head tilted slightly to the side.

‘What’s the move here?’

The bell continued its frantic tolling. Was it reacting to my status as a player, or something else entirely? This was the highest point-holder in the area; they had slaughtered their way here. If they wanted us dead, we’d already be corpses. Yet, they hesitated. They were clearly headed for the trader, and in a place where every second was a resource, this pause was meaningful.

‘They aren’t looking at me.’

I realized then that their focus was elsewhere. Beneath the mask, their pale eyes seemed to drift, unfocused on my person.

‘They’re looking at Hel.’

*Kyaa?*

Hel sensed the intense scrutiny and tilted its own head, shifting the weight of its scythe.

“……?”

*Kyaa kya?*

“……”

*Kyaakyaak!*

“……!!”

……Were they actually having a conversation?

The silver fox mask’s frame shuddered once in response to Hel’s sharp chirping.

“I offer my respects to the protector of the true heir.”

Then, the warrior dropped to one knee before me.

The shock was a physical weight. I struggled to make sense of it, forcing my mind to stay cold and sift through every scrap of lore I possessed.

‘True heir.’

A title meant for Hel. It had cropped up alongside the term ‘celestial spirit.’ It implied a lineage or a succession, though the specifics remained a mystery to me. Yet this master of the blade had identified Hel as ‘true’ and placed me in the role of its guardian. This person knew exactly what Hel was.

So, who was this silver fox mask?

“My current directive requires me to purge the specter of this maze, so I must apologize for my inability to provide an escort.”

“……”

A directive. The specter of the maze. Only one conclusion fit. Had they come here to hunt down the Sword Saint Riley? When the situation is this murky, silence is the safest weapon. I kept my face unreadable.

“Please, take this as a token.”

The figure reached into their robes, produced a shimmering gold medallion, and pressed it into my hand. It was a heavy, circular command token.

‘This is……’

The crest on the metal sent a jolt through me. A massive five-pointed star with a smaller one nestled at its heart. I knew it instantly.

‘The Gilded Pentagram. The mark of the Arhon Empire.’

The Arhon Empire! The juggernaut of the continent, boasting over fifty metropolises. For a player, the Empire was the ultimate fortress—nearly impossible to infiltrate. Even during my time as Wilhelm, my interactions with them had been nonexistent.

‘A warrior carrying a token bearing the Imperial Seal.’

What was even more staggering was the seal itself. With this piece of metal, a person could walk into any city in the Empire as an honored guest. You could gain entry to restricted palaces that housed the bloodline of kings. And beyond the political power… if a player put this up for auction, the bidding war would be legendary. It was worth the price of a small province. And they had just handed it to me.

“In eighty-seven days, the ‘Reaper’s Gala’ will commence at the central cathedral of the Reaper Church. Don this token and a golden mask of the ram, and make your appearance.”

The silver fox mask stood up, gave a final respectful bow, and vanished into the gloom. They were clearly on a deadline. In the blink of an eye, they reached the location of the trader. On my detector, I watched as fifty dots blinked out of existence simultaneously. The mob at the shop had been erased.

I thought of the one question I hadn’t been able to ask.

……Where on earth is the Reaper Church actually located?

—

Isaac and Isabella looked shaken. The moment they had stood before that masked figure, they realized the gulf between them. It wasn’t just a difference in skill; it was a difference in existence.

“You’ll get there,” I said.

Isaac. Isabella. I had developed them myself. They had the innate talent to reach that level of transcendence if given the right path. Isabella, specifically, held a secret: once she hit level ten, she would naturally unlock the coordinates to a ‘celestial body.’ One of the rarest, most elusive stars—Jormungand. Isaac also had a high probability of finding his way to a star’s influence once his physical foundations were solidified.

“I’ll ensure you reach that height.”

Don’t sweat it. I’ll pull you up to that level whether you’re ready or not.

My confidence seemed to ground them, and their faces softened. They clearly had a mountain of questions about the Reaper Church and my supposed connections, but they bit their tongues. The name ‘Reaper Church’ had only recently started whispered through Pangeniar. Rumors were flying that Maxim, one of the Eight Heroes, was a ‘traitor,’ leading to the assassination of a duke who followed him. The Church’s reputation was exploding. The Eight Heroes had already rebranded as the Seven after purging Maxim. Someone with that much leverage had to be behind it.

‘It’s likely the Master.’

The Master was already running an ‘interdimensional network’ back on Earth. He was the undisputed king of controlling the narrative and using figureheads. He was probably the architect behind turning the rest of them into heroes, just as he had done with Wilhelm.

Regardless.

‘This maze is far too vast.’

That was the immediate problem. No matter how I calculated it, the scale was off. I had no lead on the Abyss Sovereign’s location. Trying to walk the entire distance would take a year of my life. If you got lost and had to log out, you risked a total progress wipe. And since entry required those ‘Shards of the Shattered Golden Law,’ no one had a year’s worth of time to burn.

This was either a trap designed to be unbeatable…

‘Or there is a massive shortcut somewhere.’

A hidden path. A secret corridor. A warp gate. Something had to exist. This labyrinth wasn’t designed for a marathon on foot.

So where was the door? Somewhere hidden in plain sight, or a place no sane person would think to look.