Legendary Artist: I Draw My Summons From Scratch

Chapter 2: Coliseum

By the time the three of them reached the Coliseum, they split off at once, weaving into different clusters to trade wishes of luck before hell was unleashed.

It used to be a marble amphitheater, rebuilt fifty years ago to house the Labyrinth’s entrance. From its eastern gate, a long colonnade ran down to the maw itself: a black archway big enough to swallow a cathedral.

Today, the colonnade was choked with first-years.

Around a hundred eighteen-year-olds in academy blazers, half of them clutching their stomachs out of fear, the other half pretending to be fine.

They were all classmates, wet behind the ears and scared of the possibility of death.

Well, they were about to enter the Labyrinth, after all. In the first month alone, the numbers said nearly a quarter of the first-years never came back. He wondered just how brutal the 1st Floor monsters could be.

"C-Can I tap out? I don’t think I’m ready..."

As expected, the first-year wimp was already thinking of quitting. His name was Leonard, and while it might sound mighty, maybe even heroic, he was anything but.

"You’re alright, man. Just chillax!"

The guy encouraging Leonard was Decion, and they were complete opposites. Decion carried himself like a carefree, intrepid soul. He was the type to enjoy the smell of death in the Labyrinth more than life outside.

Farther away, a group of girls could be heard gossiping.

"I heard Felicitas is on sale right now! You guys better get as many LCs as you can."

"Ahaha. Shopping spree right after the Labyrinth? You’re crazy!"

"Hey hey. We need something to destress after, don’t we?"

Nuri also considered a shopping spree for new drawing supplies and digital art tools. He had used the same drawing tablet and stylus for years. They had never failed him, but he could feel the limitations of older models.

As he contemplated it, some students approached to greet him.

The first was Daphne, a sharp-eyed girl with sun-browned skin, dark hair, and a bright, restless energy.

"Nuri! How’re you feeling?"

He cleared his throat.

"Never been better."

She gave him a thumbs-up.

"Nice! Good luck out there. If you find me in the Labyrinth, I’ll be sure to protect you!"

Nuri snorted.

"Ay ay, who do you think I am?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, you’re Nuri Natlan, the scoundrel of House Natlan!"

"Tsk, just go away."

He shooed her off.

Daphne giggled and patted his shoulder before waving goodbye.

Then a group of two boys and a girl in academy blazers shoved through the crowd, laughing loudly and posturing. They approached him with smirks on their faces.

"Ah, if it isn’t the disgrace of House Natlan." free𝑤ebnovel.com

The immediate insult came from Aurélien, a blond man with sharp blue eyes and an easy, cruel smile.

"Why are you even here?" another voice chimed in. It belonged to Raphael, a tall, narrow-faced student with ink-black hair slicked back. "Quit while you can. You’re dying in there anyway."

"Tch. A sight for sore eyes."

This time, the voice came from a girl at the back of the group. She didn’t even bother to look at Nuri when she said it, picking at the hem of her sleeve like a conversation with him was beneath her.

"Indeed," Aurélien continued. "This bastard is here only to stain his House’s legacy. Don’t you feel a bit of shame, Lewd Artist?"

Penelope snorted.

"Pervert."

"Deviant," Raphael added.

"A plague upon our class," Aurélien concluded with a smirk.

Nuri, unable to bear the weight of such slander, placed a hand on the black-haired man’s shoulder.

"One more word and I’ll kick all three of your asses."

Raphael’s tough expression held for about half a second before breaking down immediately.

"No wait! I swear it wasn’t my idea. It was Aurélien’s!"

"You... traitor," Aurélien said, but he was already grinning.

Penelope stepped forward and pointed at Raphael.

"Snitch."

For a moment, they all held still, and then the whole pack just burst into unhinged laughter.

"Worth it!" Raphael wheezed.

"Absolutely," Aurélien said, straightening up with zero regrets.

Nuri clenched his first, irked. But he was also moved to tears. His friends had grown up so much that they could act like third-rate bullies.

"You’re all dead. I was kinda hurt, bastards!"

"Ooooh, scary!"

"Scary."

"I’m shaking, man. I’m literally shaking."

Aurélien raised his hand, shaking it far too exaggeratedly.

After a show of banter, he approached Nuri and slung an arm over his shoulder.

"In all seriousness, you good?"

"What’s wrong with everyone today? Haven’t you seen me enough?"

"Just checking in," Penelope flatly said, her eyes still wandering elsewhere.

"Exactly!" Raphael affirmed, nodding. "We know your capabilities, but we still gotta look out for each other, you know."

Aurélien jabbed a finger at him.

"You’ll go down in the Labyrinth if you keep that mean look. Karma’s a thing, you see."

"Tsk, worry about yourselves."

Nuri shrugged him off, but his not-so-hidden smile had already given him away.

"Alright, go. It’s about to start."

One by one, they peeled away. Aurélien went first with a lazy salute. Raphael pointed at him one last time.

"Don’t embarrass us!"

"Stay safe."

Penelope finally looked up at him.

"Safe."

Nuri nodded in kind.

’What a weird trio.’

His trio of himself, Cookie, and Yunara made sense; their personalities meshed. But this group was all sharp edges and contrasts, especially the taciturn Penelope.

Before long, everyone settled into their spots. Cookie and Yunara had also returned beside him. After another five minutes, everybody was as silent as falling snow.

Then, a professor strode across the platform and landed at the center. She was Kendros Almina, a combat theory professor known for her ruthlessness and unrealistically high standards — she had once failed forty students in a single afternoon for breathing wrong!

’It has begun.’

[Indeed.]

"Class of fifty," Kendros said, her voice firm. "In one hour, the Labyrinth will open. You will become Explorers upon stepping through the threshold. Understand the weight of becoming history. Understand that some of you will not return. You, who were once hatchlings, are now full-fledged birds, and your duty is to soar."

The colonnade was extremely quiet, so quiet that someone’s stomach gurgling sounded like an avalanche.

"Do not be afraid. The academy has prepared you for this day. You yourself have been anticipating for this day. That’s why you all joined the academy. You all search for honor and glory, not just survival. Or am I wrong?"

"No!" the students screamed at the top of their lungs in unison.

The Labyrinth appeared in this world half a century ago, and with it came gods of the Pantheon, demanding patronage and entertainment from mortals. Once a person turned eighteen, they had an obligation to pay tithe every month to the Church, the Empire, the Divine Association — whatever you wanted to call that damn organization — or they would be executed.

That’s right. Execution.

The only currency the gods accepted was Labyrinth Coins, and they could only be found by killing monsters in the Labyrinth. LCs had essentially become the only currency this world used.

People would risk their lives just to collect enough LCs to pay the tithe and live miserable lives month after month. Some others would seek glory, finding thrill in this cat-and-mouse game between gods and mortals.

If one could grow strong and become a legend, why not put in 120% the work? Death was the only choice if you didn’t, anyway.

The Explorer Academy had ingrained this mindset in them throughout their one year of training.

Kendros, the embodiment of steel, nodded.

"Good. Very good."

She paused for a moment, then said:

"Let’s go to hell."

At her signal, the students gathered on the Coliseum field. freewebnøvel.coɱ

For a moment, the field held its breath. Then the marble beneath them shivered to life, a low hum echoing through the arena as the entire floor began to sink.

Cries burst from every side as the students lurched and grabbed for balance, staring with their eyes wide at the wonders of the Coliseum’s hidden machinery.

"This is so cool," Yunara breathed, both hands flat against Nuri’s back. "I can’t believe the Labyrinth Gate is just underneath the Coliseum!"

He huffed a laugh and turned to Cookie, who was also flabbergasted.

"Where are the rest of our squad?"

"Vivian and Krus?" Cookie said without facing Nuri. "They’re with their friend groups."

Nuri clicked his tongue.

"Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Focus on surviving first. I don’t want to see a missing member by the time we group up."

Cookie shot a look at Yunara, who was fully geared up from head to toe.

"I don’t want to see two million LCs disappear, either!"