Arad cracked his neck, “I need to rest a bit. We can talk about Alcott later,” He stood and walked toward Mc, who lay on the corner, resting at his side.

“Amber.” Merlin looked at Amber and pointed at Arad and Mc, “You better rest as well. We’ll climb the stairs later,”

“I won’t say no,” She approached Arad and sat beside him, leaning on Mc, “But I don’t know if sleeping beside a moose is fine,” She looked at Mc’s hide, “He doesn’t have bugs. Does he?”

CRACK! Mc swung his head, smacking her head with his antlers. “Ahohhhhhhhhh!” Growling at her.

“You can understand us?” Amber stared back at him, rubbing her head, “Sorry, but it’s winter, and ticks are a real problem for you,” Amber stared at Mc, and he grunted.

^What is this female person saying? I’m as clean as the oak trees. Lady Aella made sure none of us were sick, me, the bear, or the wolves,^ He glared at Merlin, ^And the apes were quite helpful with the tiny bugs,^

“Arad,” Amber stared at him, “We should probably check his hide,”

“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any,” Arad replied, “And having a tick or two for a while won’t kill you,”

“It will,” Amber stared at him.

“There are clerics and healers,” Arad rolled, trying to sleep, “Lean on me if you don’t want to lean on Mc, but he’s warm, you know?”

Amber sighed, leaning on Arad’s chest, “Not like this would prevent ticks from leaping onto my head,” She sighed.

****

Merlin stared at Mc’s face with a curious gaze, “You don’t look like an average moose,” She looked at him through a hole she made with her hands.

^Of course, I’m not average. I’m the smartest and largest bull moose in those woods. Look at my massive antlers,^ Mc thought, staring at her as if smiling.

“You might be dying soon,” Merlin said, “Do you know that?”

^GWAT?^ Mc stared at her with a shocked face, ^What do you mean? I’m as healthy as bulls get!^

“What is it?” Merlin mumbled as she stared at Mc, “I can’t tell without my magic, but I have a feeling you won’t be living to see spring,”

^If you don’t have a reason, don’t spit nonsense,^ Mc grunted, shaking his head at her.

“I can a faint trace of back at the back of your head,” Merlin stood and walked around him, “It’s either a brain worm, or you’re slowly turning into a monster. Maybe due to living in Arad’s domain for long enough,”

She scratched her head, “Cases of animals turning into monsters near dragons and spirits dens to match their power aren’t uncommon,”

^I hope it’s the second,^

“Either way, you’re dead,” She looked at him with a worried face, “In the first, you would die, and in the second, your mind would die, and you would be reborn as another being,”

^Please no!^

“Once we’re back, I will check you out and find a way to keep you alive. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, probably, I think, I sure hope,” She gave him a thumbs up.

^You aren’t reassuring at all, female person!^

****

After almost an hour, Arad woke up feeling much better. As she saw him wake up, Merlin woke Amber out, “Wake up, we’re going up,”

“Another minute,” Amber grunted, hugging Arad’s chest and refusing to move.

Arad smiled, “Let’s wait a bit longer. She needs more rest than me,”

“She expanded a lot of mana,” Merlin said, sitting down.

“About that moose,” She looked at Mc, “Can we use him as a messenger to the outside?”

“If he’s an animal, he can come in and out, right?” Arad looked at her.

“I know that,” Merlin looked at Mc, “Going back might be dangerous,”

Ahooo! Mc growled, and Arad smiled, “He looks confident,”

“From what I observed till now, this labyrinth might be only allowing people who don’t use their class skills or powers,” Merlin touched the walls, “It detects people based on the world system and confirms the information by observing the target’s mana waves then rejects them. It’s probably using one of my observation crystals,”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Arad looked at her, “And I doubt he could tell them that,”

“It means that the labyrinth is trying to reject everyone for now until kills me and you. It failed to reject Amber since she was casting magic like a wizard while being a sorceress. And since she’s been doing that for years, her mana waves don’t match with the description Sorcoress of the system. It can’t pinpoint her for rejection.”

Arad scratched his head, “So, if a fighter tried to walk in, the labyrinth would use the system to find that he’s a fighter, then create a rule to reject him as a fighter. But, if we were talking about a warlock that walks in, the labyrinth would detect that and try to reject him.”

Merlin smiled, “But if the idiot actually worshipped his patron like a god, his mana wave would resemble those of a cleric,”

“And he won’t be rejected,”

Arad scratched his head, “That’s…”

“S-class labyrinth, their rules can get crazy,” Merlin waved her hand, “What matters is that we should get people outside to try and confirm this theory as soon as possible,”

“Is there an easy way to get him to deliver the message?” Arad patted Mc’s neck, “I doubt we can write it on him,”

“You’re right, we can’t do that,” She smiled, “Say, can he speak with that spirit Zephyr?”

“He can speak with Zephyr and Loci,” Arad replied with a smile. .

“Can he tell them one word? Avaron?”

Ahooohhhh! Mc roared, and Arad giggled, “He probably can,”

“Avaron is a labyrinth that had this rule. If they knew I told him to tell them that, they are sure to figure I want them to test its rule.”

“What are you talking about?” Amber mumbled, slowly opening her eyes as she looked at them with a sleepy face.

“We’re discussing the labyrinth’s possible rule.”

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