episode_0076

When I came to my senses, all I could see was darkness.

An impenetrable darkness where not an inch ahead was visible. It was there that I quietly opened my eyes.

‘……Does stealing dirt really make my head hurt this much?’

It was a little absurd.

-It’s because of your trait that interferes with space. Meddling with labyrinths tends to consume a lot of that allocation.

‘……You could’ve told me that earlier.’

-I didn’t expect it to turn out like this either. Hmm, but now that I think about it, it’s been a while.

‘What has?’

-Gifts related to space. Gifts tied to time, space, annihilation, and creation are truly rare.

‘…….’

I had completely misread the situation.

But it was strange in its own way.

‘Has the gift [Severing Strike (S)] never appeared even once?’

I thought the thief’s ultimate technique had manifested, but every time I explained the gift [Severing Strike], those who heard it were horrified.

Or perhaps they were under some grand delusion.

“You’re awake. That’s a relief.”

The voice of Glasses B reached me.

Just hearing it put me at ease.

‘Doesn’t seem like anything’s wrong.’

Cheong Yurang and Mayu seemed to have passed out cold.

“How many hours have passed?”

“Roughly five. More importantly, thank you. I owe you my life.”

“Though it’s a problem that the boss is still attached.”

“Haha……”

At my words, Glasses B let out a weak laugh.

“Anyway, what do we do now?”

“First, we should check our food supplies.”

“Food isn’t an issue. We have enough to last the four of us at least a week.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

“The problem is…”

Glasses B looked up as he spoke.

“Those things… there must be hundreds of them.”

“…….”

Even from down here, I could feel it.

That the things above were still there.

“The question is how we deal with them.”

“Can we reach the entrance using the gift or skill that created this place?”

“……That might be difficult.”

Perhaps because it was a labyrinth—a special kind of space.

Even stealing a 10x10m area made my head feel like it was splitting open.

‘Waiting for rescue…’

That would be idiotic.

A labyrinth is a space where time and space are tangled.

There’s no hope for rescue here.

We’d probably grow old and die before that happened.

‘Then we’ll have to move.’

For now.

I closed my eyes and scanned our surroundings.

“Glasses.”

“……You’re talking to me, aren’t you.”

A bewildered voice answered. Now that I thought about it, we hadn’t even introduced ourselves.

“Ah, now that I think about it, we haven’t exchanged names. I’m Darcel.”

“……I’m Han Yuseong.”

“Let’s work together to escape.”

Darcel—no, Glasses B—smiled faintly and shook my hand.

‘……Their names are similar.’

Marcel, Darcel.

Could he be some kind of doppelgänger of Marcel?

“Do you know what the bone monsters’ weakness is?”

“Sorry, but I don’t.”

“Then we’ll have to test it ourselves.”

“Test it?”

I closed my eyes and focused, sensing the presences above.

‘First, one of them.’

Severing Strike.

I pulled one of their bodies directly toward me and slashed down with my sword.

Crunch!

A single slash was enough to kill the bone monster.

But I couldn’t help but feel troubled.

‘Stronger than I thought…….’

-It’s tough, isn’t it?

As if reading my thoughts, the Holy Sword laughed, amused.

-Now try weaving sword aura and fighting spirit together.

I followed the Holy Sword’s advice. With a crackle, purple and black lightning intertwined and surged along the blood-soaked blade.

And once more—Severing Strike.

Slice.

This time, it was cleaved clean through.

‘At this rate, I could probably take out a few dozen.’

The problem was that there were hundreds of them.

Glasses B and I experimented whenever we had the chance.

The result?

“They have magic resistance, so magic should only be used for support. We’ll have to hold them off with frontliners.”

They couldn’t be wiped out all at once—they had to be killed the hard way.

That’s what made them so troublesome.

-Hmm…….

The Holy Sword fell silent.

-The only way to break through is to unlock the beastkin’s racial trait.

‘Is there a way to escape?’

-Probably. Things have gotten quite amusing now.

‘Amusing?’

-Yes. Whether you live or die now depends on the resolve of that Cheong Yurang girl pretending to be unconscious.

‘Cheong Yurang’s resolve?’

The Holy Sword stopped there, firmly closing its mouth.

Was this thing actually useless?

Just as I was seriously considering it—

I looked at Cheong Yurang.

The Holy Sword had said she was pretending to be asleep.

“How about waking up now?”

“……You noticed?”

Cheong Yurang sat up quietly and spoke to me.

This seemed genuine.

‘If Cheong Yurang makes a decision…’

That would be proof we could escape this place.

Before I could say anything, Glasses B spoke to her.

“Lady Cheong Yurang.”

“What is it?”

“We might die here anyway. What do you think about unlocking your beastkin trait?”

“…….”

“Y-You! How dare you say such a thing to Lady Cheong Yurang!”

The rabbit beastkin, who had woken up at some point, pointed at Glasses B and shouted.

“Mayu, be quiet.”

Cheong Yurang approached me.

“It can’t be helped.”

Cheong Yurang closed her eyes, then looked at me with trembling eyes.

A strange heat swirled in her gaze—a mix of excitement and joy.

“This is an emergency. The fate of our entire beastkin tribe might be at stake—no, it definitely is.”

As she spoke, Cheong Yurang pulled out a dog collar.

“Take it.”

“……?¿?¿?¿?¿”

The sudden turn of events left me unable to keep up.

I stared at the collar she held out.

No matter how I looked at it, it was a dog collar.

“Put it on me, Yuseong. Fasten it around my neck.”

“……?¿?¿?¿?¿”

I understood even less.

“Informing my father about this place is our top priority. To do that, we must use our beastkin’s uniqueness to escape. Yuseong… if you become my master, we might be able to break through this situation.”

What kind of insane nonsense was this?

“So become my master, Yuseong.”

What the hell are you talking about?

Each race possesses different traits.

Elves command spirits and wind, born with heightened senses and an innate affinity for archery.

Beastkin possess savage physical abilities, keen senses of smell, animalistic instincts, and an affinity for bloodlines.

Orcs wield brutal strength, high stamina, an unyielding will for victory, and mastery over weapons.

Dwarves wield sturdy bodies and power harmonized with spirits, standing unshakable while on the earth.

Humans alone have no inherent traits—

‘But conversely.’

Humans hold the potential to manifest any of those traits.

Regardless, these five races maintained their territories, scavenging the byproducts of the labyrinth.

Each discovered their own method of awakening what they called racial traits.

And of all things, the beastkin—

‘Beastkin evolve their bloodline by choosing a lifelong partner.’

What kind of bullshit was that?

But apparently, this was because Cheong Yurang carried the bloodline of Fenrir.

‘……My head hurts.’

Fenrir.

Canine beastkin designate a lifelong partner.

They live and die together.

That was the racial trait of canine beastkin.

By merely choosing a partner, they gained unimaginable, overwhelming power.

“……I-I can’t allow that! I’ll do it instead!”

“You think you’re worthy of handling Lady Cheong Yurang? Ridiculous.”

Glasses B sneered at the rabbit beastkin, Mayu.

“After surviving this far, you still refuse to open your eyes? Is it inferiority? Admiration? That man saved us with his power over space. At the very least, he’s qualified.”

“Ugh……”

“Yuseong, you have what it takes to be Lady Cheong Yurang’s master. Even my eyes can’t see the depths of your potential.”

“But Darcel, just yesterday, you said he wasn’t fit to stand by Lady Cheong Yurang’s side……”

“How long will you cling to the past? What matters is the present—the future.”

Glasses B spoke with a stern expression.

“Anyway, take the collar already.”

“…….”

I took the dog collar.

I looked at Cheong Yurang. Her blue eyes trembled with excitement before she closed them.

Her expression was like that of someone about to receive a kiss.

Yet here I was, about to fasten a dog collar around her neck.

“…….”

No matter how I thought about it, it made no sense. How could putting a collar on a woman make her stronger?

This wasn’t some Japanese eroge.

‘Ah.’

Now that I thought about it, this game’s roots were Japanese. Giving up on understanding, I—

Fastened the collar around her neck.

And then—

BOOM!

A tremendous gale began to rage in all directions.

I stared upward in disbelief.

The moment I put the collar on her, Cheong Yurang transformed into a pure white wolf.

A whirlwind formed around her, and she tore through the earth, surging upward.

‘What the—’

The wind howled, soon becoming a storm that began sweeping away the bone monsters.

“……Good grief, just how much potential do you have for Lady Cheong Yurang to grow this strong?”

“…….”

The rabbit woman, Mayu, glared at me with pursed lips.

Ignoring her, I climbed up. In mere moments, Cheong Yurang had shredded every last bone monster.

‘Terrifying.’

I should never provoke her.

Just as I made that resolution—

Cheong Yurang appeared before me.

“Get on my back.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’ll be faster this way.”

I climbed onto the back of the wolf-formed Cheong Yurang. The sensation of her soft fur.

“Then we’ll also……”

“The wind will guide you.”

As soon as she spoke, a gust lifted them gently into the air.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

We were at a loss for words.

-You should hurry. That form is temporary.

‘Took you long enough to say that.’

Cheong Yurang seemed to realize it too, as she began moving swiftly.

Whoosh!

Her movements were smooth, but the wind roared. With each step, she covered over 10 meters.

As we advanced—

‘…….’

A figure exuding overwhelming presence stood in our path.

A skeletal mage, leaning on a staff, seated atop a boulder.

Perfect timing. I was getting annoyed anyway.

-That’s……! Run! That’s not an enemy you can face!

‘I can do it.’

-Fine, you might kill it! But in its dying moments, it’ll consume part of your party’s souls to manifest a physical form!

The Holy Sword spoke urgently.

-If you escape using your space-related gift—

‘I can’t.’

You’ve misunderstood from the start.

About the nature of my gift.

‘My gift isn’t space-related.’

-What do you—

Before the Holy Sword could finish—

The skeleton’s eyes curved. I don’t know how, but we all recognized it as a smile.

-Welcome. To hell.

“Attack him. Don’t worry about what comes after.”

“Understood.”

At my command, Cheong Yurang gathered mana in her maw. An overwhelming power surged.

I drew the blood-soaked sword and focused.

Sword aura infused with fighting spirit. Using this in battle required preparation.

Crackle.

Black and purple lightning intertwined and surged along the blade.

BOOOOOOM!

A breath of monstrous mana blasted toward the skeleton.

-Kuhahaha! Fools! You dare face us without a thought for the consequences!

The skeleton raised its hand, and countless bone monsters emerged from below.

A barrier formed before it, blocking Cheong Yurang’s breath.

But—

‘It’s fine.’

I descended, readying my sword.

BOOOOOOM!

Darkness rose majestically, melting through the skeleton’s defenses.

-That wolf is nothing compared to you.

The skeleton reached toward the sky—and was struck.

At the same time—

-Your body… I can feel potential others could only dream of!

“I hate your kind.”

I glared at them with genuine disgust.

You never drop good gear.

Just worthless experience.

Risiel claimed that was the reward.

‘But I got nothing.’

With that thought, I reached out.

Severing Strike.

The sensation of its soul caught in my grasp—

-This can’t be! H-How can you manipulate souls……?!

The skeleton recoiled in horror.

And then—

Fsssssh.

Its soul was sucked into the towering darkness and vanished.

Witnessing this—

-Impossible…… How? No, wait—when you said you were a thief, did you mean you steal space itself? Not a gift related to space, but the very fabric of it……? This power is beyond human…….

The Holy Sword’s voice trembled in disbelief.