When I woke up this time, I didn't panic.
Mostly because I was too sore to move.
My whole body felt like it had been trampled by a stampede of goblins riding slimes. My face was half-buried in stone dust, and my limbs ached with the kind of dull pain that says, congrats, you're not dead, but maybe you should be.
I groaned.
"Still alive, huh?" came a voice from above me.
I cracked one eye open.
The black cat was curled up on a large, cracked stone nearby, licking her paw like nothing had happened. The glow from the runes on the walls cast shifting shadows over her fur, giving her an eerie, otherworldly look.
"I'm starting to hate this place," I muttered.
"Starting?" she replied. "You're adapting faster than I thought."
I forced myself up to a sitting position and took in my surroundings. It wasn't the same place as before. The tunnel we escaped through had led us into a larger chamber—still stone, still damp, but cleaner, more structured. It had torches mounted in carved holders, and one wall was entirely covered with hexagonal tiles that shimmered faintly when I looked at them.
Above the only exit was a sigil carved into the wall. I didn't recognize it, but it made my skin prickle.
"This isn't a sewer," I said.
"Correct," said the cat. "This is a control chamber. Sub-node Alpha, Level One. We're below the active patrol routes."
I blinked at her. "You say that like it means something."
She rolled onto her back and sighed. "You really don't know anything, do you?"
"I died yesterday protecting you from school bullies. I woke up in a dungeon where my only skill is screaming. So no. I don't know jack."
She jumped lightly onto my shoulder and sat there like a pirate's parrot. "Then listen up. This is going to save your miserable second life."
I sighed. "Fine. Hit me."
[Tutorial: World Overview – BEGIN][Warning: system detected cognitive underperformance. Simplifying language...]
I glared at the notification. "Hey!"
"Focus," she said, tail flicking my ear. "You're inside the Dungeon Labyrinth. A living, magical structure built at the edge of the human world. It spans multiple levels, each guarded by a Dungeon Lord. At the deepest point resides the Dungeon Overlord himself."
"Let me guess," I said. "Big, scary, evil. Wants to destroy the world."
"Not exactly. His job is to maintain balance. This dungeon wasn't made to destroy humanity. It was made to keep it out."
I stared at her.
"The Dungeon Labyrinth is a barrier," she continued. "A prison. A fortress. A testing ground. Depends on who you ask. What matters is that you're part of it now."
[Status update: Role – MINION 001][Function: Entry-level deterrent unit][Evaluation pending...]
"Great. I'm a magical speed bump."
"You're a resource," she corrected. "A weak one, sure, but resources don't go to waste down here. Not unless they screw up."
I frowned. "Then why was I thrown into a corridor with no weapon, no orders, and three murder-happy teenagers?"
"Because you were spawned without supervision," said a new voice, calm and clipped.
I turned sharply.
Standing in the entrance was a kobold. She was taller than I expected—close to my height—with reddish-brown scales, a sharp snout, and piercing gold eyes behind small, rectangular glasses. She wore dark leather armor with metal plating and carried a crystal-tipped baton at her waist. A bundle of scrolls and tags hung from her belt.
She didn't look like a warrior. She looked like an overworked, dangerously competent middle manager.
"Designation: Karen," she said, striding forward. "Level One Administrative Overseer."
I stood awkwardly. "Uh… hi."
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Human shape. Unregistered. No core imprint. Unauthorized system access."
She tapped a crystal embedded in her bracer. It glowed red, then dimmed.
"...Anomaly."
"I'm not trying to be," I muttered.
Karen sighed like someone who'd seen one too many magical incidents before lunch. "You should have died during the incursion. That would have resolved the anomaly cleanly."
The cat hissed. "Try again, lizard."
Karen glanced at her, unimpressed. "Familiars don't usually interfere in system protocol. Curious."
"She's not a familiar," I said.
"Then what is she?"
The cat yawned. "I'm the only thing standing between this idiot and spontaneous combustion."
Karen didn't even blink. She tapped her bracer again.
[System notice: Anomaly not authorized for termination. Overseer evaluation required.]
"Convenient," she muttered. Then she turned to me.
"Listen carefully, Minion 001. I don't like variables. I don't like irregularities. But I like wasted resources even less. You're here. You're not dead. Which means you're my responsibility. That makes you my problem."
I tried to nod respectfully. It probably looked more like a flinch.
"You've been temporarily reassigned to observational duty. You'll receive a basic map and a communication crystal. Your role is to monitor the behavior of patrol units and report anything… unusual."
"What if I see another hero party?" I asked.
"Run. Or scream. Whatever you're best at."
[New task: Begin observational patrol of Sector 1-B][Recommended behavior: survive]
Karen handed me a flat, rune-inscribed stone and a folded strip of parchment.
"Welcome to the Dungeon Labyrinth," she said flatly. "Try not to embarrass it."
She turned on her heel and left, tail flicking in irritation.
The moment she was gone, I exhaled.
"I liked her," said the cat.
"She threatened to kill me."
"She didn't try. That's kobold affection."
We left the chamber and started down one of the side corridors. It was wider than the ones from before, and the floor was smoother, more deliberate in its design. Along the way, I noticed etchings on the walls—some decorative, some clearly functional, glowing faintly as we passed.
It didn't feel like a dungeon built by monsters.It felt… ancient. Alive. Watching.
I stopped walking.
There were scorch marks on the floor. Dried blood on one wall. A broken blade stuck in a crack between stones.
This place wasn't a joke.It wasn't a theme park for adventurers.It was real. Lethal. And I was inside it.
"I don't belong here," I said quietly.
The cat didn't move from my shoulder.
"You died in your world. That chapter's over."
"I'm not a monster."
"No," she said. "You're something worse."
I turned to her, confused.
"You're new. And no one knows what to do with new."
We stood there in silence for a long moment.
Then I clenched the map in my hand and took another step forward.