"Half an hour of practice."
The Vanguard, eager to show off his strength, swung his greatsword with a mighty roar.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as he had imagined.
The sheer momentum carried his upper body entirely off-center. He spun like a heavily armored top and smashed flat on his face with a deafening noise that echoed across the plains.
"Just testing the weight distribution!" the Vanguard yelled into the dirt, his face burning bright red as he struggled to do a push-up with four hundred pounds of steel strapped to his back.
The other Rankers burst into laughter. Except the S Rankers, everyone else tried hard to control their laughter, and even looked elsewhere.
Nearby, a C-Rank archer accidentally shot a D-Rank swordsman in the leg.
The swordsman screamed, not because of the arrow, but because the E-Rank 'healer' who rushed over had accidentally poisoned his body.
Ian stared at the chaos, his face completely blank.
He was excited when he heard someone claim that they were a healer. He even thought that his arm might be healed.
He was thinking about how to ask them for a favor. But now that he saw them in action, he was drenched in cold sweat.
Many people tried to help the Vanguard up, but he was so heavy that they could only roll him on the ground like a road roller.
"If you can't walk properly in the armor, you should take it off. Maybe try focusing on the sword first and building your strength?"
Even the Paladin couldn't help the Vanguard up. He could only suggest taking off the heavy armor first.
Albeit embarrassed, the Vanguard listened after having exhausted all his other options.
He unequipped the armor, and his clothes were replaced by the ones that he was wearing before.
Only the heavy sword was left behind, lying on the ground next to him.
He pushed his body up, patting his clothes lightly, the tip of his ears still a little red.
"Hmph, it's just because the armor is too heavy. After I level up, I will become a fortress..."
Shaking his head, Ian looked down at his own weapon. He pulled the small, black box out of his pocket with his left hand.
[Gambler's Standard Deck]
"How am I even supposed to use this?" he wondered. He awkwardly pressed the box against his thigh, trying to pop the seal open with his thumb.
He managed to slide the cards out, but his clumsy, one-handed grip failed him. The top card, the Two of Spades, slipped from the deck and fluttered toward the ground.
He stood up, and walked over to the card to pick it up.
At that exact moment, the red-haired Sniper decided it was time to establish her dominance. She aimed her futuristic rifle at a distant boulder, trying to look cool in front of the struggling Vanguard. She pulled the trigger.
She didn't anticipate the recoil.
The heavy rifle jerked upward. A bullet flew out, rushing cleanly past the heads of the panicked crowd, and aimed directly for Ian's face.
Fortunately, just then, Ian had bent forward to pick the card on the ground.
That timely movement saved his life, and the bullet missed him by a hair's breath.
The bullet streaked through the empty space where Ian's head had been a fraction of a second ago.
A sharp gust of wind ruffled his hair as the bullet flew toward the labyrinth's entrance.
CRACK!
Screech!
A painful screech echoed from the pitch-black ceiling of the stairway. A second later, a giant, ugly bat-like creature fell to the floor with a heavy thud, a smoking hole perfectly centered between its eyes.
It was a monster that had been clinging to the darkness right above the stairs, perfectly camouflaged, waiting to ambush whoever stepped down first.
If Ian hadn't stopped people from entering, the ones entering first would have fallen for this trap.
Immediately, silence fell over the plains once again.
Everyone stared at the dead monster, and then turned their heads toward the red-haired Sniper.
The Sniper, who was currently rubbing her throbbing shoulder from the massive recoil, froze.
She looked at the dead bat, then at the awestruck crowd. She quickly lowered her gun, cleared her throat, and struck a confident pose.
"See?" she said proudly. "I was just... clearing the perimeter! Always check your blind spots, rookies! You're welcome!"
The crowd immediately erupted into cheers.
"Amazing! She killed a hidden monster without even aiming!"
"Did you see that trajectory? She didn't even need a scope!"
"I thought she had misfired! To think that she had already seen a monster that we couldn't!"
"As expected of an S-Rank! We are definitely going to survive!"
Ian remained crouched on the ground, his Two of Spades safely pinched between his fingers. He stared at the dead gargoyle, then back at the proudly posing Sniper who had almost blown his brains out by sheer incompetence.
If his clumsy, one-handed grip hadn't failed him, and if he hadn't dropped this exact card at this exact second, he would be the one with a hole in his head.
He slowly glanced at the faint blue screen hovering in his peripheral vision.
[Luck: SSS]
[Innate Skill: Absolute Coincidence]
Ian carefully dusted off the Two of Spades and tucked it safely into his waistcoat pocket.
He stood up, looking around at the elites of humanity.
The Vanguard was still refusing to put his heavy armor back on. The red-haired Sniper was enthusiastically accepting praises while discreetly rubbing her bruised collarbone.
And the D-Rank swordsman from earlier was now foaming at the mouth, while the E-Rank healer was crying.
"Maybe the labyrinth isn't the most dangerous place after all," Ian muttered to himself, letting out a tired sigh. "The real danger is standing in the same place as these idiots."
A loud chime echoed from the sky, cutting through the cheers and the groans of the poisoned swordsman.
[The preparation phase has concluded]
[The entrance to the Labyrinth of Forgetfulness will seal in 5 minutes]
The Vanguard, eager to reclaim his lost dignity, hoisted his greatsword over his shoulder. He nearly toppled backward from the weight again but managed to catch his balance at the last second.
"Alright, playtime is over!" the Vanguard yelled, his face still a bit flushed. "You all saw the Sniper! The Council has your backs! Get into formation! We are entering now!"
This time, Ian didn't say a word. He just clutched his broken arm and quietly shuffled into the middle of the pack.
He didn't realize that an unknown pair of eyes had already started paying attention to him.