episode_0030

The first floor of the Great Labyrinth.

Flaring.

A torch blazed in the darkness.

Karin held up the torch and looked around.

The party members took out their respective weapons and guarded their surroundings.

Karin said.

“We teleported far from the second floor. Let’s go.”

“Understood. Let’s depart.”

The paladin took the lead, followed by Karin and Roinel. Finally, Ahiman and Jeong Yu-shin took positions in the rear.

The group walked through the dark cave unhesitatingly at a fast pace, as if they were used to it.

They moved at a quick march for about two hours.

“Enemies. 5 hobgoblins.”

“Kueeek.”

“Kikeke.”

The eerie sounds of the goblins and Karin’s warning echoed in the cave.

“Understood.”

The paladin grabbed the Zweihander slung over his shoulder with both hands and charged.

Karin followed behind the paladin, and Roinel loaded an arrow into her longbow.

The paladin swung the greatsword horizontally.

Whooong!

“Kkeeeeek!!”

The greatsword tore through the torsos of 3 hobgoblins at once.

Puhaak.

Blood splattered on the helmet, but the paladin didn’t care.

Karin jumped out and swung her dagger.

The hobgoblin’s neck flew into the air with the light swing of the dagger.

The remaining hobgoblin turned its back and ran away, but it was too late. The arrow fired by Roinel pierced the hobgoblin’s back.

Jeong Yu-shin, who was watching, nodded indifferently.

‘They have to be this good to be mid-level explorers.’

“Let’s go.”

The paladin departed without even thinking of wiping off the blood.

They walked again.

Had about 4 hours passed?

Sweat trickled down Jeong Yu-shin’s forehead.

‘Wow. Seriously. This is no joke.’

He felt like he was going to die from exhaustion. It felt like he was carrying 4 military packs at once. He lifted his head, which kept drooping down.

He gritted his teeth and walked.

He received 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins as payment.

He couldn’t show how tired he was.

Perhaps because of the week-long labyrinth closure order, there were many hobgoblins attacking.

The battle time was the only time Jeong Yu-shin could stop and rest.

Chuaaaak!

Hobgoblin blood painted the cave wall from the greatsword swung by the paladin.

A sword strike engraved with law and order.

Even while resting, Jeong Yu-shin shone his eyes and watched the paladin’s battle.

After the short battle, they passed by the hobgoblin corpses and moved again.

They didn’t pick up the ears.

Jeong Yu-shin felt disappointed and looked back at the hobgoblin corpses several times, but the party didn’t stop.

Karin’s party walked without rest and reached the end of the first floor.

A large monument was visible in the joint center.

“Hoo.”

Jeong Yu-shin’s body was drenched in sweat. His legs were shaking, and a metallic smell was wafting from his mouth.

He was barely standing on the cave floor.

But he didn’t collapse.

If his body hadn’t been strengthened by leveling up, he wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

“Let’s rest here for a while.”

Said the paladin Gilshian.

‘As expected of a paladin.’

Jeong Yu-shin glanced at Gilshian.

Karin crossed her arms and said.

“Rest on the first floor? Are you already tired? Are you not adapting well because you haven’t been in the labyrinth for a while?”

“…”

Karin chuckled and looked back at Jeong Yu-shin.

“Skah, do you want to rest?”

Karin’s gaze sharply pierced Jeong Yu-shin.

‘I have to earn the money I received.’

“I can keep going.”

Jeong Yu-shin replied calmly.

“Is that so? Do you think I hired a porter because I have too much money?”

Gilshian silently approached the monument and placed her hand on it.

Ssssseuuueueueueu.

A red portal and a blue portal appeared in front of the monument.

Karin went in first. Next was Gilshian. The elf Roinel. The mystic Ahiman entered in order. Finally, Jeong Yu-shin readjusted his luggage and stepped into the portal.

He arrived on the second floor.

Nothing had changed.

Karin’s group walked again, and hobgoblins and black slimes attacked.

Gilshian, Karin, and Roinel became the main force and repelled the monsters.

Ahiman and Jeong Yu-shin only watched from behind.

The group continued on.

It felt like they had been walking for half a day without rest.

Just before dried foam came out of Jeong Yu-shin’s mouth, they found a shelter.

“Let’s rest here today.”

Karin said.

A small cavity in between the cracks in the cave wall.

The group went inside.

Jeong Yu-shin unpacked the luggage on his back and distributed it to the party members.

Then, he moved his creaking body, spread out a blanket, blocked the entrance to the shelter, and planted a torch in the center of the shelter and fixed it.

Gilshian took off her helmet.

Jeong Yu-shin’s eyes widened.

It was a beastkin with silver fur.

Judging from the slender face, it was a woman.

Judging from the drooping ears wet with sweat, it was a dog beastkin.

‘I’m sure her voice was husky.’

Looking closely, there was a knife scar on Gilshian’s neck.

‘I see.’

Jeong Yu-shin understood and turned his head.

His body was too tired to pay any more attention.

He untied his walker’s laces.

His soles felt sore, as if blisters had burst.

He massaged his legs and stretched his body.

He drank water and chewed on jerky.

Seeing Jeong Yu-shin eating voraciously, the group members also began to take out food from their bags and eat.

After the quiet meal time, it was time to decide on the night watch.

“There’s an alarm magic, so we don’t need to set up a separate night watch.”

Ahiman said.

Gilshian frowned.

“I think it would be better to just set up a night watch.”

“Stand watch yourself. I need to get some sleep.”

Ahiman replied.

“Don’t fight. Gilshian, are you going to be like this every time? Just accept it.”

Gilshian closed her mouth at Karin’s nagging.

Ahiman closed his eyes and muttered.

Jeong Yu-shin’s eyes shone.

Is that a mystic’s magic?

What kind of magic is it?

He listened attentively to Ahiman’s incantation out of curiosity.

“Oh great 𐒗𐒚𐒥𐒚𐒠𐒞𐒏 who walks the stars and the universe, your faithful servant wishes to dwell within the holy realm of 𐒥𐨀𐨩𐩓𐆉𐅗𐆃, so watch over this place under 𐆅𐆉𐅯 and 𐠖𐠫𐠱.”

In an instant, the light of the torch weakened.

A bizarre darkness and silence settled in the shelter.

‘What?’

The fine hairs on Jeong Yu-shin’s neck stood on end.

A strange shadow brushed past his eyes.

And.

He felt it with his body.

From a distant place.

From a tomb in a universe beyond the universe.

The gaze of that which walks between dead stars.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered.

Beyond the faint torchlight.

Bizarre and blasphemous things were dancing in the shadows cast on the shelter wall.

He sensed it.

To maintain his sanity, he had to look at people.

He had to turn his gaze away from things beyond perception and look at something smaller and more familiar.

He barely turned his head and looked around.

Gilshian was gripping the hilt of her sword and glaring at Ahiman.

Karin and Roinel were closing their eyes as if they were used to it.

[Abyss Realm]

Ahiman’s presence disappeared as soon as his incantation ended.

No.

It was still faintly lingering. Right here.

Jeong Yu-shin’s hands were trembling slightly.

Something was rustling in his head.

What on earth was going on?

He thought it was an alarm spell.

Was he mistaken?

‘Was he a black magician?’

Ahiman opened his closed eyes.

His entire pupils were dyed black.

“Barbaroi.”

Ahiman smiled at Jeong Yu-shin.

“What is it?”

“I just called you.”

‘This bastard is making me uneasy.’

His fingers were itching.

Because he had witnessed a magic beyond perception, murderous intent was seething in his head.

Jeong Yu-shin took off his helmet and swept back his black hair.

Conversely, Gilshian pressed down on her helmet and said.

“Barbaroi. That’s just Ahiman’s prank. Don’t mind it.”

Karin laughed and said.

“Gilshian had the same expression as you when she first experienced it.”

Roinel also added with a faint smile.

“Barbaroi, you’re amazing. Gilshian drew her sword and was furious, saying she would kill him.”

Ahiman chuckled.

Jeong Yu-shin was the only one who couldn’t laugh.

‘Why is the atmosphere suddenly so friendly?’

Jeong Yu-shin, exhausted, leaned against the wall.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to sleep.”

He wrapped his robe around his body and closed his eyes.

He could hear the party members talking about something, but it didn’t reach his ears.

He was too tired.

* * *

“Skah, wake up.”

Someone shook Jeong Yu-shin’s shoulder.

Jeong Yu-shin opened his eyes and saw Karin standing a little ways away.

“Ah, did I sleep for a long time?”

“Yeah. You were sleeping like you were dead. Can you put away your sword?”

Jeong Yu-shin looked down at his hand.

He was holding a sword.

He didn’t even remember when he grabbed it.

When he thought about it carefully, he seemed to have grabbed it before going to bed yesterday.

The party members were all awake and eating breakfast.

Jeong Yu-shin got up, cleaned up his spot, and stretched his body.

It felt like his legs and thigh muscles were stiff, as if they were filled with rocks.

His feet were swollen, and his back and shoulders were sore.

But he didn’t show it.

After stretching his body sufficiently, he drank water and chewed on the remaining jerky.

Jeong Yu-shin received the party’s luggage and carried it on his back.

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he could handle it.

He replaced the torch and finished preparing to depart.

Karin said, holding up the torch.

“Let’s go.”

Karin’s group fearlessly cut through the darkness.

A day. Two days. Three days.

Nothing had changed. Karin’s group continued to kill monsters, and Jeong Yu-shin continued to carry luggage.

They passed the second floor and broke through the third floor.

They reached the fourth floor.

Just one more floor and they would reach the fifth floor.

The edge of the surface level.

If they broke through the fifth floor, they would shed the skin of a novice explorer.

But anxiety was greater than the throbbing in his chest.

Karin said last time.

A new monster had appeared in the labyrinth. But for the past few days, he had only seen hobgoblins or black slimes.

‘Is it further in?’

Karin, who was walking with a torch, stopped. Jeong Yu-shin stopped thinking.

Karin sniffed and perked up her ears.

“Multiple hobgoblins. 2 hobgoblin warriors. 1 hobgoblin shaman.”

“That’s a lot.”

“Prepare for battle. Ahiman, get ready.”

“Got it.”

As they waited while maintaining their formation, they heard the laughter of hobgoblins from beyond the darkness.

“Kikeke.”

“Kkkkk.”

Jeong Yu-shin swallowed hard. The desperate struggle with the hobgoblin warrior was still vivid.

He fought like a demon, risking his life even when facing only one, but two of them.

Even if he tried not to be nervous, his body became nervous on its own.

They came.

The swarming hobgoblins were revealed under the torchlight.

The hobgoblin warrior had something tied to his shield.

Jeong Yu-shin checked what was tied to the shield and clicked his tongue.

A naked woman.

He couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive.

The hobgoblins screamed and charged.

“Ahiman!!”

Karin shouted.

“𐒗𐒚𐒥𐒚𐒠𐒞𐒏!!”

A huge portal opened above Ahiman’s head, and a bundle of tentacles popped out.

The tentacles, emitting an ominous energy, stirred up the hobgoblin crowd and grabbed the hobgoblin shaman.

Kwaak!

The shaman, caught by the tentacles, screamed and twisted his body from side to side.

But escape failed.

Pudeudeudeuk.

As the bundle of tentacles tightened around the shaman’s body, the sound of bones breaking echoed in the cave.

But it didn’t end there.

The bundle of tentacles dragged the shaman right in front of the party.

“Gueeek.”

The shaman, whose bones were shattered all over his body, vomited blood from his mouth.

Chuaaaak!

Gilshian’s sword accurately cut the hobgoblin shaman’s body in half.

“Let’s go!!”

Karin shouted.

The hobgoblin warrior charged, holding his shield forward.

Roinel’s arrow roared as it flew.

Ppeooooeeeok!!

“Keueok!!”

The arrow pierced the hobgoblin warrior’s head and barely stopped after skewering the hobgoblins behind him like skewers.

Overwhelming power.

Jeong Yu-shin’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

‘Is this what a mid-level explorer is?’

The remaining hobgoblin warrior seemed flustered and hesitated, holding out the ‘human’ shield.

Gilshian quickly stepped to the side of the hobgoblin.

The blind spot of the shield.

Gilshian swung her greatsword from there.

From bottom to top.

Puhaaaak!!

The greatsword blew away the hobgoblin warrior’s thick arm.

“Kkieeeeek!!”

Tung!!

The arm that had been flying for a while fell to the cave floor.

Blood gushed like a fountain from the severed area.

“Heuaaap!!”

Karin jumped high and landed on the hobgoblin warrior’s shoulder.

Shaak!

Two crossed daggers shone, and the hobgoblin warrior’s neck fell to the floor with a thud.

Puhaaaaaak!!

Blood spurted like a fountain from the severed neck.

Karin jumped again and landed on the ground.

Not a single drop of blood touched her body.

Both hobgoblin warriors were dead.

The rest were just leftovers.

After that, it was a one-sided massacre.

They cut, smashed, and killed.

The hobgoblins’ screams and groans echoed, and blood and dying words collided with the cave walls and spread far away.

The battle ended quickly.

Not a single one escaped. All of them were killed by Roinel’s arrows piercing their heads and hearts.

Gilshian approached the 2 women tied to the shield.

Jeong Yu-shin also approached and examined them.

He could recognize one of the two.

It was Allone.

The dwarven woman he met in the new explorer class.

Gilshian took off her gauntlet and put her finger to Allone’s nose.

After a while.

Gilshian shook her head.

She wasn’t breathing.

‘I see.’

She’s dead.

They weren’t that close.

Still, Jeong Yu-shin felt bitter about Allone’s death because they had spent time learning and joking in the same class for a week.

“Did you know her?”

Gilshian asked Jeong Yu-shin.

“Yes. She was a classmate in the new explorer class.”

“Don’t be discouraged or sad. It’s the fate of an explorer.”

“It’s not that bad.”

Jeong Yu-shin drew a line.

Just bitter.

Allone’s unclosed eyes stopped in the air.

Jeong Yu-shin reached out and closed Allone’s eyes.