episode_0118

Dawn, three days later.

Yoo-shin Jung stood alone in the yard, examining his body.

Even after the festival, he had difficulty finding time for himself due to his busy schedule.

He looked down at his palm.

Excluding minor repairs.

‘The one benefit I gained from this festival.’

Sacred Weapon.

An engraving blessed by Mother Earth during the fight with Ret.

A novice priest’s magic that equally possesses physical and divine power. A technique to pull a weapon from the mind into the real world.

It was magic that could not be used unless you were a priest class. However, through the engraving, Yoo-shin Jung was able to use it.

When he first received this engraving, the time it took to summon a weapon was too long, and its power was mediocre.

Not anymore.

The more he used it, the more his magic power increased through mana adaptation.

The Sacred Weapon became stronger.

And now, blessed by Mother Earth.

He was able to grant not only the form but also the characteristics of the weapon.

Of course, due to the crude amount of magic power, granting characteristics to the Sacred Weapon was limited to once. If you imagine an ability that is too absurd, you will fail midway.

For reference, a typical Sacred Weapon could be used about 15 times.

‘Can I say I’ve become stronger?’

I’m not sure. But I thought I would know soon.

From now on, I will be working at the Explorer Headquarters in the central area.

Explorer Headquarters.

The enormous building I saw when I first came to the maze city.

I still vividly remember the scene of countless explorers swarming around.

Is this what it feels like to go out to the big sea?

My heart pounded with tension and excitement as I thought about the explorers I would meet in the future.

As I stood in the yard, lost in thought, Tarman approached.

“Sir, you have a guest.”

“You’ve been getting a lot of visitors early in the morning these days.”

“I guess it’s because the weather is getting hotter.”

“That’s right.”

I wiped away the sweat and went to the inn’s hall, where Ashur was sitting at a table.

Sword Art Guild Leader.

Elf Stalker Sword Master.

Ashur nodded slightly when he saw Yoo-shin Jung.

“Sca, sit down.”

“Yes.”

Yoo-shin Jung sat across from Ashur.

“Nothing unusual happen?”

“No.”

Ashur chuckled at Yoo-shin Jung’s stiff answer.

“Nothing unusual? I heard you fought hard to save people in the streets?”

“That’s right.”

“Good job.”

Ashur smiled and patted Yoo-shin Jung on the shoulder. Only then did Yoo-shin Jung’s body relax.

“I thought you would be very angry that I swung my sword recklessly again.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not such a cruel person. You can swing that sword as you please to save people. Haha.”

Yoo-shin Jung smiled brightly.

“Is that so? Hahaha.”

Then Ashur hardened his expression.

“Don’t laugh. I’m not that generous. Ah, now that I think about it again, I’m getting angry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s enough that you lived and won.”

“…”

“Ahem! I found out the information you asked for last time.”

“You mean the case where Revenger and Death Postponement Engraving are combined?”

“That’s right. There is something to point out first. The case where engravings combine to produce abilities. People call this case ‘Engraving Linkage’.”

“It’s a very straightforward name.”

“That’s right.”

“Is there an example?”

Ashur crossed his arms and looked up at the empty air for a moment before opening his mouth.

“There was a magician a long time ago. That guy got an engraving that converts magic power into muscle.”

“Oh?”

Magic power into muscle?

Isn’t that a strength-based magician?

Is it really a maze?

There was romance.

“On top of that, he got an engraving for infinite magic power multiplication. An engraving that steadily increases magic power just by breathing.”

“That’s amazing?”

Isn’t that a crazy scam engraving?

“I’m not kidding, he was so strong that even the best warriors in the city couldn’t beat him in strength. Do you understand? This is an example of engraving linkage.”

Is it a case where engravings create a synergy effect?

Taking that strength-based magician as an example.

At the same time that magic power is infinitely increased, it becomes a constitution in which that magic power is converted into muscle.

In other words, muscles increase infinitely just by breathing.

My heart was pounding.

“Engraving linkage is a shortcut to becoming a higher-level explorer. Of course, there are also people who slowly reach the ranks of the strong through endless training without such things.”

Ashur quietly looked at Yoo-shin Jung.

“I’m saying this out of concern, but don’t rely too much on engravings.”

“Yes. I understand.”

The master’s words were correct. It was difficult to survive in the maze by relying only on engravings.

The reason I was able to overcome the crises so far was because of my constant training and efforts.

“Ahem! I have to finish the example. To put it bluntly, that magician guy died.”

Yoo-shin Jung’s eyes widened.

“Yes?”

“The city was in an uproar. We were also surprised. There was no one who could touch that guy. We did an autopsy, wondering if it was an assassination by poison.”

“So?”

“His heart muscle was abnormally thickened.”

“Huhu.”

Yoo-shin Jung was speechless and opened his mouth wide.

The strongest strength-based magician died suddenly from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

‘Damn it. My romance.’

Is it really a maze?

“Engraving linkage is not that good.”

“I understand even if you don’t drive a stake in it.”

“Ahem! Let’s get to the point. It is theoretically possible to escape from death postponement with Revenger.”

‘Actually, I heard it from Mother Earth.’

I didn’t bother to say it.

Ashur continued.

“You can recover with Revenger after being driven to the brink of death. It’s a training method that greatly increases the potential of the Revenger engraving. Easy, right?”

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, I felt a bad feeling slowly building up in my stomach. Dancing on the edge of death, just barely avoiding it, is an insane level of difficulty?

Dark clouds spread in my peaceful mind.

“Why are you saying that so easily? My disciple is going to die.”

“Then just don’t think about engravings and swing your sword hard. I think that’s the most likely possibility.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for now.”

Ashur got up from his seat.

“Give me the money later after you come back from the maze. Next time, let’s train a little more seriously.”

“I understand.”

Yoo-shin Jung saw Ashur off and returned to the inn table and sat down.

“Oh my gosh. My life.”

I sighed involuntarily.

‘If I had just strengthened the Virgin Female Corruption Engraving, would it have been possible to live a happy maze life with a powerful virgin harem party with full satisfaction and honey dipping? It’s karma. Yoo-shin.’

Someone whispered in the darkness.

Slap!!!

Yoo-shin Jung slapped himself in the face.

“Ah, the darkness of the maze again.”

* * *

Again, the evening two days later.

Party members gathered in a corner of the inn.

Iron Mask opened his mouth.

“The client is Sarpia, a high-ranking priestess who worships the spirit god of wind. The request is to go through the 7th floor of the forest area and bury holy objects in specific locations.”

“Specific locations?”

Yoo-shin Jung asked.

“I heard it’s a place where magic power tends to gather. You know the cause of the Eldritch Wave, right?”

Isn’t it a phenomenon that occurs when magic power accumulates in a stratum?

I almost died because of it, so how could I not know?

“Do the holy objects have the role of suppressing the accumulation of magic power?”

Iron Mask nodded.

“That’s right.”

“But why are they entrusting it to a party like us?”

“It’s because the route is long and they also have to carry the weight of the holy objects. I heard that they have been ignored for a long time because the commission fee is not very high.”

Thinking about it, it made sense.

I need to see the weight of the holy objects, but if they are heavy and bulky, the amount of exploration items that can be brought will inevitably be limited.

The amount of food, water, antidotes, and potions that can be taken will decrease, so the time spent in the maze will naturally be shortened.

The route was also said to be long, so the exploration time would be even tighter.

Eventually.

It was bound to be a burden to explorers who were trying to earn a lot of money in one go.

“What kind of shitty request did you take?”

Mas grumbled.

“But is there a reason why we have to do it? Even if you say it’s a designated request, I think it’s just a dump.”

“Everyone, gather closer.”

The party members looked curious, but soon brought their heads close together as Iron Mask said.

They brought their faces close together as if plotting something, and looked at each other’s eyes.

“···This is a secret. Listen carefully. One thing happens when you bury holy objects in a specific location.”

“…”

The party members forgot what to say and listened quietly.

“When you bury the holy object in the ground, the stagnant magic power scatters. When the magic power spreads around, if you are nearby, that magic power accumulates in your body and causes transformation. You become healthier or your magic power increases a little more.”

The party members’ eyes widened.

“Is it like leveling up?”

“It’s similar. It’s not as great a leap as leveling up, but it’s definitely not something to be ignored.”

You become healthier or your magic power increases.

In game terms, it was similar to increasing hp or mp.

It might be the most necessary benefit for me, who is struggling with a lack of magic power. It was even more so because I didn’t know when I would level up again.

“Why didn’t anyone know until now?”

“Isn’t it because the change isn’t dramatic?”

“I don’t know. It’s even weirder for shady explorers to openly talk about these benefits.”

“There are so many suspicious things happening in the maze that they might just pass it off as such.”

The party members shared their opinions.

Yoo-shin Jung looked at Iron Mask without saying a word.

‘Where did you get this information?’

Isn’t it quite high-level information?

‘Anyway, he’s a mysterious brother.’

Still, it wasn’t just an unpleasant suspicion.

It was because I had faith that Iron Mask wouldn’t say such things with bad intentions.

“If that’s true, this is a good opportunity.”

“That’s right. For your information, this phenomenon is said to happen only once in a lifetime.”

“I see.”

Yoo-shin Jung smacked his lips in disappointment.

You can’t copy unlimited magic power?

“Okay. I’m in favor.”

“Me too. It’s a benefit if my stamina increases.”

“It’s an act of protecting the safety of the maze, so as a priest, I can’t refuse. It’s right to go.”

Iron Mask nodded as he listened to the party members’ words.

“Then let’s split up here and meet again in 3 days.”

“Okay.”

After finishing the meeting, the party members got up from their seats and left the inn.

Yoo-shin Jung stared at the departing party members for a long time before returning to the inn and sitting at the counter.

Suddenly, one question flashed through my mind.

‘Why did they specifically designate our party?’

Yoo-shin Jung shook his head and swallowed the question.

It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by thinking deeply about it.

‘It must mean that Iron Mask’s connections are that great.’

It was time to prepare.

* * *

Dawn, three days later.

It was time to enter the maze.

Yoo-shin Jung put on the armor he had received from Boron’s smithy one by one.

He put on a chain mail over the cloth clothes and wore a plate armor that covered his belly and back.

The part where one shoulder protruded particularly was a pauldrons. The remaining flat part is a spaudler.

It was similar to the shoulder pad armor that comes out in Warxraft.

The helmet was an armet helm with a visor. It had higher defense than the barbute he used last time.

He tied two daggers and an arming sword to the sword belt with scabbards, and hung a longsword on his back.

He wrapped the remaining miscellaneous equipment around his body.

Lastly.

He held a heater shield in his left hand and carried a magic backpack containing daily necessities on his back.

Karin smiled as she saw Yoo-shin Jung standing at the entrance of the inn.

“Cool.”

“Huuuk. Huuuk.”

Yoo-shin Jung gasped for breath. The armor was heavy, but it was also completely steaming.

‘I’m really going to die.’

It was worse than putting on thermal underwear and heat tech in midsummer, then putting on a top, padded jacket, and outerwear in order, and finally putting on a raincoat.

In short, it’s not an object made for people to wear.

Karin put her hand on Yoo-shin Jung’s chest.

“Are you okay?”

“Huuu. I feel like I’m going to die from the heat. Really.”

I admired the maze guards who wore full plate armor even in midsummer.

“I’ll be back. Work hard to save money.”

“Don’t get hurt. I’ll be waiting.”

“Okay.”

I wanted to say something cool, but I was so crazy hot that my mind was going back and forth.

Yoo-shin Jung left the inn with his luggage and arrived in the central area.

By the time I arrived at the temple that worshiped the spirit god of wind, which I had heard about at the last party meeting, my whole body was soaked.

The party members who were waiting at the entrance of the temple greeted Yoo-shin Jung.

The naked dwarf looked at Yoo-shin Jung and smiled slyly.

“Sca? That’s a great outfit.”

Yoo-shin Jung took off his helmet, tucked it under his arm, and swept back his sweaty hair.

“Don’t talk to me. I really feel like I’m going to die.”

As we waited at the entrance, a few priests came out carrying three boxes.

The party members gathered in a circle and observed the boxes brought by the priests.

‘Is this the holy object?’

A small square steel box.

Several letters were engraved on the surface. Other than that, it didn’t look very special.

I received the box from the priest and estimated the weight.

‘Hmm.’

It was quite heavy.

A fluttering elf priest came over and handed Iron Mask a small piece of paper.

“Explorers, thank you for accepting the request. If you go to the area marked on the map here and bury the holy objects, the request is complete.”

“How do you plan to confirm the completion of the request?”

“There are many priests belonging to our order who are active in the forest area. You don’t have to worry about that. You can report the completion of the request at the exchange office in front of the maze. Then.”

The elf priest finished speaking and entered the temple.

The party members divided up the boxes and walked into the maze.

We walked for a long time, wedged in the swarming crowd, and arrived at the entrance of the maze.

“Line!!! Line up!”

“Don’t push!”

“There are a lot of people today. We have to go quickly.”

“Guys, it’s our first time, but there’s no need to be nervous. Look at the people. Everyone is doing okay, so that’s why so many people are gathering.”

People lined up and said something to each other.

It was already hot, but the heat emitted by the crowd made my head spin.

As I waited, sweating profusely, it was Yoo-shin Jung’s party’s turn.

Following the guidance of the guards, I stood on the magic circle.

“Sca, don’t you have anything to say? Like ‘What could go wrong?’”

Iron Mask’s voice was filled with laughter.

“Huu. Let’s just go. Quickly.”

Yoo-shin Jung gasped and replied.

My whole body was already soaked in sweat even before I entered the maze.

I stood on the magic circle and clenched the flint tightly.

Light flashed and I felt a floating sensation.

Soon darkness came.