The Spy Card

I prepared the bag containing my Pistol with Magical Bullets along with suitable clothes for going on a monster-slaying adventure: a white shirt with a black vest and trousers of the same color. I was still elegant, despite my humility in wearing these clothes this time. I was standing near the main building. Inside this building, specifically downstairs, there was a Black Energy Gate on the floor. As soon as we stood there, we would be transferred to the Low-Level Monster Labyrinth, which mostly consists of giant insects.


While I was fiddling with my pistol, I noticed her arrival. This girl had contacted me earlier, and now I see her: short black hair, wearing black glasses, and carrying a shovel in her hand. It must be her.


She stood in front of me, hesitant to ask. She was holding the shovel, resting it on her shoulder. She remained standing for a moment, staring at me. That annoyed me, but she finally asked: "Are you Mr. Liaki?"
"That's right, who's asking?" I spoke to her in a sharp tone to test her a bit.
"I am the person you hired to explore the Low-Level Labyrinth for a massive sum of money, and I brought a shovel as you requested."

Her reply was calm, and she didn't seem bothered by my way of speaking.

She is not ugly and doesn't hurt my eyes. She seems quiet, taciturn, obedient, and doesn't look smart at all. She is suitable and meets the conditions, and now we will move to the stage of the meeting conditions.

"So your name is Ilariya, is that right? I will inform you of several rules that you must follow. Is that understood?" I asked her in my usual arrogant manner of speech.

"Condition one is to follow whatever I say, no matter what. Condition two, call me Boss. And the third, when I command you, you must reply to me while performing a military salute. Is what I said understood?"
She performed a military salute and said: "Yes, Sir Boss."

I truly like her speed in understanding the situation. Since I am paying her money, she is required to fulfill all my demands without discussion. It seems to me that she is a girl who loves money or is broke and desperately needs it. Perhaps I should recruit her as a servant to me, I will see about that later.


I moved, leading the way towards the gate. There was a small window where I passed my reservation card to get an entry permit. We then headed downstairs where there was a large metal gate guarded by a group of guards. I handed them the permit. They allowed us to pass. They opened the door for us after it made very annoying creaking sounds.

Inside, there was pitch blackness, and a circular stone staircase leading downwards, where a sinister energy was emanating. We walked down the stairs to a certain point near the ground where the gate looked like a whirlpool of energy. Throughout the whole journey, Ilariya was a reserved girl, and I barely felt her presence. Is she careful not to bother me so I don't get angry with her? Or is the reason her understanding of the conditions as absolute restrictions? It doesn't matter.

I grabbed her hand, and we both jumped from the stairs towards the gate.

The feeling of transition was bad. I fell from a height onto the dirty ground, and my clothes got dirty, which is annoying. We are now in the middle of the first floor of the filthy monster labyrinths, and as I mentioned, most of the creatures here are giant insects. Looking at Ilariya, she seems calm. Does her self-confidence stem from her strength? Perhaps she is an experienced monster hunter. I never looked into her personal history.

We moved a distance without encountering any monsters, until that hideous creature appeared in front of me. It looks like an ant but is giant. I pulled out my pistol. This monster is on the list of the three monsters I need to hunt. Hurry up, Ilariya, do your job.She was standing perfectly still, unmoving. She pulled out her sword and rushed toward the ant.

Swoosh!

The ant cut her with its claw. Ilariya's sword! The force of the strike threw her far away, and she rolled on the ground, hitting the rock wall.I looked at the scene, which was the last thing I ever expected in my life. Did the girl die? I thought she was strong. Why is she this weak?

I can't believe I was fooled. The ant rushed towards me quickly.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Unconsciously, I fired randomly. Fortunately, I hit it with two bullets. It became clear to me that this Magical Bullet is very powerful. It is truly worth its price. Perhaps it will allow me to finish the mission quickly, unless the ammunition runs out. Once again, money saves my life.

I headed to where the girl was. It became clear to me from looking at her that she was fine, but she was lying down to avoid confronting the monster again.

"I command you, get up, you useless person, or I will deduct half the amount."
Upon hearing my words, she rose very quickly, performing the usual salute and saying:"Understood, Sir Boss, and please have mercy on me. That ant was stronger than I expected."

"I can't believe you are incapable of fighting an insect! Even though its movement was slow and it seemed like the weakest monster here.
 Why were you unable to kill it?" I asked her angrily, grabbing her wrist tightly.

"That's because I have never fought any monster before," she said in a quiet voice."Then how did you accept the mission if it involved killing monsters?"
"I am broke, and the offered amount was very tempting. I thought the monsters would be weak. I am very sorry for the shortcoming, Chief."

The mission was a bit difficult, and now with the weak girl with me, the situation became worse. In the end, after a lot of searching and fighting with the weak monsters, it finally ended after losing a lot of bullets. I managed to kill the remaining monsters: the Giant Dragonfly in addition to the Spider, within the specified range I set so that the rest of the carcasses wouldn't be lost.

"Ilariya, hurry up, cut off the head of every monster and gather them in one place quickly."
"Understood, Boss."
After Ilariya gathered them, we would start the next step: digging. We need to dig a hole where their blood can collect. It took much longer than I expected. She really is a useless girl.

"Ilariya, start digging," I spoke to her after slapping her shoulder.

"Understood, but Boss, what is the purpose of the digging?" she asked, curiosity visible on her face.

"You will find out later, just start without discussion," I said while sitting down to rest.It took longer until I got tired of waiting, so I proceeded with the next step at the depth she had dug. I placed the monster heads in the pit until it was filled with blood.

 Amidst the chaos and disgust of the monsters, I stepped into the pit. The filthy blood covered my legs. I raised my hand and began chanting those words in the Card's special language. They were carved into my memory; even I don't know how I didn't forget all that.

The pit and the entire place glowed, completely covered in a Silver light, to the point where I now see that Silver Card floating in the air, glowing.

"I succeeded! I didn't expect it to be this easy."All the remains of the animal carcasses, the blood, and everything related to them completely disappeared and evaporated from beneath my feet. Ilariya was watching in astonishment from afar and didn't react much due to her extreme fatigue during the digging.

I raised my hand with a smile of victory on my face, ready to grab the Card and obtain my first source of power. As soon as I grasped the Card, my body lit up in Silver, and then...I felt something unexpected. My consciousness began to fade gradually. This is not something that is supposed to happen.

I woke up again in a different place from the labyrinth I was in. It looks like a corridor leading to a giant gate in front of me. Some words written on the walls and the gate lit up around me. There was the only understandable writing, and the instructions were written on it:
"To obtain the Awakening Card, you must kill the last user of the Card."
A set of Bronze Awakening Cards glowed in front of me.

"Choose a Card to help you fight the old user, who will also choose a Card to fight you.""The fight will be to the death."

What is this? Does this mean I am forced to fight to the death to get the Card? How is this possible? I don't remember anything about this; my memory is devoid of this nonsense.
 How will I fight? I have never entered a battlefield in my life. Damn it, damn it!