Ch.4141. Demon Blood

I continued the leisurely hunt with Shiro.

‘Instantaneous Hardening.’

I slashed the approaching wolves with my sword and maintained formation by pushing them back with my shield.

“I froze the left side. Watch the right for a moment.”

“Understood.”

We killed the wolves entering the room through the door, and after a few minutes of combat, we successfully cleared them all.

[Wave 2 has been cleared.]

[Before proceeding to the second floor, you will be given a 5-minute waiting period.]

“…Phew.”

I caught my breath while looking at the blue message.

Frost Wolves appearing for two consecutive waves—I already had a good feeling about this.

Today felt like something special was going to happen.

“Good work.”

Shiro came to my side with a subtle smile.

It wasn’t like other people whose lips visibly curl upward, but I could now recognize when she was in a good mood.

…Or perhaps my observation skills had evolved?

“You did well too, Shiro. How much mana do you have left?”

“I think I can fight about ten more times like just now.”

“That’s good to hear.”

It would be difficult to reach the ninth floor in our current state, but there would be a bonus stage soon anyway.

The fifth floor is just a maze without traps or monsters, and if you navigate it well, you can find treasure chests along with altars.

Since I had memorized all the paths, it would be perfect to synthesize Shiro’s Source there.

“If what just appeared before us is correct, we should be safe for five minutes, so let’s sit down and rest a bit.”

“Okay.”

We sat leaning against a corner to pass the time.

No matter how easy the enemies were, fighting continuously for several minutes without rest would wear down anyone’s stamina.

“By the way, I didn’t expect so many Frost Wolves to appear. We got a ton of Mana Stones.”

I looked up at the ceiling and spoke with joy.

Though still far from enough, I was one step closer to my dream of owning a home.

“Indeed.”

“What would you like to do, Shiro?”

“I don’t know how many floors there are, but when we get out this time, I might be able to get new equipment. And my priority is to buy the magic book you mentioned before to learn new spells.”

….

“Come to think of it, you’re right. With this much money, we might even be able to get Adamantium equipment.”

“That’s great. You’ve wanted that for a while, haven’t you?”

Our conversation continued like that until we both focused on recovering our strength, and silence fell between us.

“…”

I lifted my head and stared blankly at the ceiling.

After our conversation, I felt an inexplicable tightness and nausea as my thoughts continued.

Yes, this was because I had been thinking incorrectly.

Why had I forgotten?

‘This isn’t the time to be dreaming about a house.’

Right.

‘I am a modern person. I’m different from the people of this world. I have a place to return to. I killed people to survive. I must return home.’

I absolutely had to climb the Labyrinth.

As someone not from this world, I had a duty to return to the modern world. No, I simply had to go back.

That should take priority over everything else—it was my ultimate goal.

That’s why I killed people in the Labyrinth. I needed to survive and return to Earth, so harming someone who tried to kill me was the right thing to do.

Even if they had no such intention, if there was any threat to my life, I had to kill without hesitation.

Because I needed to reach the twelfth floor.

When I reached the twelfth floor, I had to be able to return. Then I would be able to go back.

I repeated these thoughts to myself over and over.

‘I feel a bit better now.’

The tightness and discomfort that had been constricting my heart were already gone.

‘If I go back, I’ll have to leave Shiro behind.’

Thinking about that made me feel strange.

Leaving behind someone I love to return to my original world.

The fact that I needed to return remained unchanged, but I was beginning to feel reluctant.

A life with Shiro, or a life on Earth that I would have to abandon her to continue—

It seemed right to make that judgment, but—

[The waiting period has ended.]

…My thoughts were interrupted.

However, I wasn’t sure if it was due to external factors or my own will.

[All participants will be transported to the second floor.]

My vision turned completely white.

***

This time, a long corridor made of blue ice stretched out before us.

It was of immeasurable length, with a width just over one meter.

-Ding.

[You will receive a reward for clearing the first floor.]

Along with a sound like a phone notification, something was placed in my hand.

When I opened my palm, I saw a silver jewel, which then became transparent and seeped into the back of my hand.

I might have been surprised by the reward suddenly disappearing, but I already knew the identity of this artifact.

The Jewel of Radiance.

Once every 12 hours, it completely nullifies an attack that you successfully defend against.

In other words, no matter how powerful the attack, if you deflect it with your shield, you take absolutely no damage.

The long cooldown was a drawback, but it was an incredibly powerful ability.

‘This is insane.’

Normally, just getting an artifact from the first floor would be more than enough to be grateful for.

Usually, before the fifth floor, you only get buffs that apply specifically to the Ice Tower.

But to receive the Jewel of Radiance, the best of all artifacts—today really seemed to be my lucky day.

“Adel. I received something called ‘Second Floor Exclusive Mana Enhancement.’ What about you?”

Shiro, who was behind me, spoke up.

“I had some kind of jewel in my hand, but it turned transparent and seeped into the back of my hand.”

“I see.”

When I showed Shiro my hand where the Jewel of Radiance had been absorbed, she took it and brought it close to her eyes.

After examining it for a while, moving her head this way and that, she eventually gave up and put my hand down.

“…I can’t see anything.”

“I see. I wonder what it was?”

As I was pretending not to know, a blue window appeared, announcing the start of the next wave.

“I don’t know how many floors there are or when we’ll be able to get out of here, but let’s keep going strong.”

“Okay.”

Time passed as we endured wave after wave.

After clearing the second floor, we continued through the third and fourth floors.

Though not as good as the first floor, the overall monster variety wasn’t bad.

There were many Frost Wolves, but since their value as upper-mid 4th rank monsters was high, there wasn’t a huge difference.

The total profit would likely exceed 4 million Ars.

‘That’s 40 million won in Korean currency.’

An insane profit no matter how you look at it.

We did get injured a few times as we climbed higher, but it was nothing that couldn’t be covered with mid-grade potions.

And so,

[All participants will be transported to the fifth floor.]

…

The white light faded, and we found ourselves in another space.

A maze that felt similar to the first floor overall. The only difference was that the floor and walls were entirely made of ice.

[This is a safe zone.]

[All participants will be transported to the sixth floor after 24 hours.]

“…Does this mean no monsters will appear on this floor?”

I spoke as the blue window disappeared.

“I think so. Should we stay here without moving?”

“I think it would be better to look around. Seeing that there’s a maze, there might be other purposes besides just resting.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Shiro nodded readily at my suggestion.

Usually, one might hesitate, but her immediate agreement showed that she trusted me.

“Let’s move this way.”

Hoping that I hadn’t forgotten the path through the maze, I started walking.

The first place to head to was the altar for Source synthesis.

There were actually two synthesis altars, but the one I was heading to had the easiest path to remember and also guaranteed a treasure chest.

Of course, I had memorized the path to the other altar as well.

“I definitely don’t sense any energy here.”

While we were walking, Shiro spoke while surveying the surroundings.

Even though it was called a safe zone, she seemed tense, thinking there might be traps.

I knew this place was safe so it didn’t matter to me, but from Shiro’s perspective, it would be impossible to let her guard down based on just one message.

“I’m keeping a good watch, so you can relax a bit, Shiro.”

“…Thanks.”

That was all I could offer her at the moment.

After that, several dozen minutes passed, and we were approaching the altar.

Fortunately, we didn’t get lost.

‘If I turn left here, that’s the end.’

Just as I was about to let go of my anxiety about not forgetting the path,

“Adel.”

Shiro stopped me.

“Yes?”

“I sense something ominous at the end of the path.”

Since Shiro’s mana sensitivity and intuition were much better than mine, her words were puzzling to me.

‘Is there something there?’

As far as I knew, no monsters appeared on the fifth floor.

But this was the Labyrinth. It wouldn’t be strange if something unexpected happened at any time.

“…”

Should we turn back?

I was standing still, contemplating what choice to make.

-Hissss.

Along with a sound like something evaporating, I began to feel that ominous energy Shiro had mentioned.

Only one thought struck my mind—that place was dangerous.

I cautiously backed away while keeping an eye on the left path, when—

“Grrrr, rrk?”

A monster with blood on its face peeked its head out from beyond the path.

Sharp eyes and hard scales reminiscent of a lizard mixed with a beast—it was definitely a Lesser Drake, but there was something strange about it.

Its neck was half-severed and dangled as it walked, and one of its eyes was completely crushed as if pressed by something.

“Shiro.”

The moment I called her name,

-Creeeeak!

With a sound like something twisting, the walls turned red, transforming into something like a puddle.

From within, numerous monster corpses slowly rose.

“The situation seems to have changed. Let’s move quickly.”

I started running, pulling Shiro along, and at the same time, a blue window appeared.

[The safe zone has been deactivated due to interference from outside the Labyrinth.]

[Floor rules are temporarily ineffective due to interference from outside the Labyrinth.]

“Kreeeek!”

The living corpses of monsters began chasing after us.

Since there was already some distance between us, we wouldn’t be caught immediately, but—

“Adel. They’re slowly catching up.”

As Shiro said, the distance was narrowing.

“They seem faster than their normal state.”

I continued thinking as we retraced our steps.

I had never experienced anything like this while playing the game.

There was a possibility that I simply hadn’t encountered it before, but this situation felt different.

‘It mentioned interference from outside the Labyrinth.’

Some kind of interference had broken the rules of the dungeon within the Labyrinth.

That fact was quite disturbing.

“Adel. They’ll catch up soon.”

Shiro reported the situation.

The corpses were all emitting bizarre energy as they ran, and as we got closer to them, the energy became more distinctly perceptible.

“Shiro, can you emit mana behind us for a moment?”

“Understood.”

I asked Shiro on a hunch.

She briefly turned her gaze backward and extended her hand, from which blue energy radiated.

-Hissss!

That sound of something evaporating, which I had heard once before.

‘Just as I thought.’

This wasn’t ordinary energy.

Energy that evaporates upon contact with mana could only be one thing.

The reason why people in this world live confined in lands blessed by gods, sanctuaries:

The curse left behind by the Demon King upon his death, Demonic Blood.

For some reason, that Demonic Blood was present in this maze.