Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Realization (2)
As if they had eaten honey and become mute.
As if they had heard something they shouldn’t have.
All three Possessors simultaneously shut their mouths.
‘What did he just say?’
Killing party members right after catching a boss was a type of bug exploit.
Solo clears came with maximized rewards.
If there was only one survivor right after a boss clear, that clear would be counted as a solo clear.
The game’s bugs worked the same way in reality.
‘Instead of killing us all to maximize the rewards……‘
He was going to catch the Floor Master alone?
He was going to catch the Floor Master alone?
It was unbelievable, but they had to believe it.
‘It can’t be… a joke.’
Wasn’t it none other than Erik who had said those words directly?
It literally meant he would purely catch the Floor Master alone and obtain the maximum reward.
As if to prove it wasn’t empty words, Erik disappeared alone beyond the giant wooden door where the Floor Master resided.
“Hiik!”
“Wh-what do we do……”
Seeing that, Nishida Ryo and Kang Pung-ho sat down in terror.
‘He ended up going in after all.’
Park Chang-ho felt the same.
Why were they despairing when he wasn’t even using the Possessors as sacrifices?
The reason was simple.
“Aren’t you brats going to prepare for the Monster Wave?”
When the Floor Master awakens, a Monster Wave rushes in.
In other words, they would have to face the Monster Wave with just Jang Du-sik holding a club and the three Possessors.
“Wait a moment! Let me think for a moment……”
Park Chang-ho maintained his composure as much as possible and sought a way to overcome this situation.
He was composed, befitting someone who had performed in the Olympics watched by hundreds of millions.
‘There’s no way to escape.’
But his composure only brought him despair.
‘Damn it.’
A Monster Wave was rushing toward the only entrance, and on the opposite side, a battle between Erik and the Floor Master would break out.
Moreover, behind them, sparkling Jang Du-sik was holding a club.
“Well now, that door opens quite refreshingly! Aren’t you all going to get up?”
Kung! Kugugugung!
The Floor Master’s room.
The massive door swung wide open.
Park Chang-ho collected his wits amidst the brilliant light pouring through the door crack.
‘I’m the only one who can take responsibility.’
He extended his hand to the collapsed Nishida Ryo and Kang Pung-ho.
“We have to catch the Monster Wave ourselves. We have to prove our usefulness to survive!”
Nishida Ryo, Kang Pung-ho.
Both stood up seeing Park Chang-ho’s fighting spirit.
“Uuu…… Usefulness.”
“L-let’s do this together!”
Jang Du-sik scratched his head while looking at the three Possessors.
Well, well.
How could such pathetic guys exist?
Uuung!
“Brats, I received a consecration, so when I use magic, divine power comes out along with it.”
Jang Du-sik raised his mana from the tip of his club, and its form was quite strange.
In a form where golden divine power was mixed between the blue mana mass.
‘Mana and divinity are mixed?’
‘Mana and divinity are mixed?’
It wasn’t a normal phenomenon.
Mana, aura, and divine power were mutually non-invasive forces.
That’s why knights received consecrations on their weapons and armor.
And that’s why mages couldn’t receive assistance from divine power……
“How is that possible?”
The consecrated Jang Du-sik made it possible.
Park Chang-ho finally asked the question he had been holding back.
They would have to deal with the Monster Wave together with Jang Du-sik anyway.
Kung, kung, kung, kung!
Just then, massive footsteps were heard from the single path beyond the Floor master Room.
Jang Du-sik fired a massive mana mass toward the passage and said:
“How would I know? Ask brother about that kind of thing.”
***
“Insane size.”
Erik faced the master of the Labyrinth’s 1st Floor.
In a room wider than a soccer field, he saw a goblin that appeared to be 5 meters tall.
Entity name: Goblin King.
The creature stood in front of the wall directly opposite Erik, holding a greatsword.
Hwareuk. Hwareureuk.
As torches lit along the dark walls, the interior of the Floor master Room filled with bricks was revealed clearly.
Unlike the cave made of rough and slippery rocks, the Floor Master’s room was a dome shape filled with massive bricks.
‘Like bricks used in pyramids.’
This was Erik’s first Floor Master clear too. So he looked around with interest.
Unlike the game, it was overwhelmingly large.
Kureureureuk.
Just as Erik surveyed the Floor master’s Room, the Goblin King also looked at Erik.
Then it raised its massive body and slowly approached Erik.
Kung! Kuung. Kung!
A monster with hideous green skin, screaming and reeking of foul odor.
That was a goblin.
Since normal goblins in the Labyrinth were 2 meters tall, wouldn’t the Floor Master be even bigger?
He had thought so.
‘My neck is getting stiff.’
But when it became the size of a small building, it was truly bewildering.
Fear?
Dread?
No, his neck just felt stiff from looking up.
Kigiik. Kigiik.
As the Goblin King dragged its greatsword toward Erik, Erik’s head tilted further upward.
‘I’m looking up?’
The fact that he was looking up at a mere monster……
Erik’s trapezius muscles twitched.
He felt as if his human dignity had been disregarded.
“A mere monster.”
He immediately pulled out the [Blade of Creation] from his subspace pouch.
Kiiing.
The blade emitted a sharp resonant sound as it absorbed divinity.
At that, the Goblin King moved its body.
Kung. Kugugugung!
The small-building-sized goblin raised its greatsword, then charged at Erik like lightning.
Huung!
The greatsword, larger than even the giant Erik, was swung.
Kkaang! It collided with Erik’s crude iron sword.
Chijijijik!
As the clashing blades scattered sparks, a contest of strength began.
A power contest between the 5-meter Goblin King and the over-2-meter paladin.
With swords pressed together, Erik was briefly lost in thought.
‘They say the 1st Floor’s Floor Master is equivalent to level 50?’
There were several major reasons Erik decided to enter the Labyrinth.
One was utilizing the Possessors.
Although it was an imperial order, Erik had no intention of killing all the tens of thousands of increased Possessors either.
Two was finding traces of Riferoze.
Erik thought there was a high possibility that Riferoze Astia was somewhere in the Labyrinth.
‘And lastly, three.’
‘And lastly, three.’
Chaeng!
Erik deflected the Goblin King’s greatsword. With that impact, huung— wind pressure arose and the Goblin King was pushed back.
Kwang! Kwagwang! Kwang!
The goblin screamed as it rolled on the ground.
The monster widened its eyes and glared at Erik.
As if unable to believe it had been pushed back by a human in a pure contest of strength, the Goblin King trembled.
Erik waited until the Goblin King stood up.
A bloodthirsty smile hung on his lips.
‘So the Floor Master wasn’t much either.’
The final reason for entering the Labyrinth.
‘How strong am I?’
Precisely, to accurately know his own military power.
Compared to the game.
And compared to the strong ones of this world who had cleared the Labyrinth ahead.
He was trying to coldly assess his own position.
But.
‘Even after clashing for a while, it doesn’t feel burdensome at all.’
He couldn’t gauge his limits with a mere goblin.
And well, whether King or Queen, wasn’t it just a ‘goblin’ anyway?
A vicious, cunning, lustful evil species that coveted and preyed upon humans.
That’s what they were called, but reality was different.
Kiiiiiii!
Erik raised his divine power and aimed the [Blade of Creation] at the Goblin King.
Then he activated his skill without hesitation.
[Creation (開闢)]
On the first attempt, he had erased Ruelle’s church.
At that time, divine power equal to the skill’s basic consumption value had disappeared.
On the second attempt, he sucked in the goblins of the Labyrinth’s 1st Floor.
There he conserved power as much as possible, using only one-tenth of his divine power.
And the third time.
Kuuuuung.
Heavy and brilliant divinity descended upon the sword.
It was a power that made one feel its weight just by existing.
As Erik swung down the sword the air was torn.
Unlike before, the torn space was as clean as the blade’s trajectory.
But the result was different.
Kkyeeeeeek!!!
At an impossible speed, everything around was sucked into the torn space.
And inside it, unknown artifacts could be glimpsed.
“So this is true Creation.”
What did it mean to open the Labyrinth with a sword?
‘It literally connects to a different space.’
Erik felt indescribable satisfaction with the phenomenon created by the skill and sacred relic.
***
“Th-that’s…… a consecrated person.”
Jang Du-sik cast magic and the afterglow of mana gently rose.
Park Chang-ho’s arm tingled.
‘A harmony of divine power and mana.’
Jang Du-sik’s flame magic filled the wide passage.
Blue flames mixed with golden flames created a mystical atmosphere.
Those flames burned up all the charging monsters.
Kkiik!!
With a single scream, a goblin burned to death.
Only after the tenth goblin turned to ash did Jang Du-sik’s magic disappear.
The mana contained in the magic circle had been depleted.
“Twinkle twinkle mode consumes too much mana.”
Jang Du-sik said that while looking at the Possessors.
Since they kept staying still, Jang Du-sik pointed his club and asked:
“What are you doing?”
Only then did the three people move.
They lined up in a row in front of the passage.
“Do Possessors have ranged dealers standing next to the tank?”
Even to Jang Du-sik’s eyes, it was a strange position.
The buzz-cut guy blinked at him……
Apparently someone needed to step up and give orders.
In that situation, Park Chang-ho bit his lower lip.
‘Fucking bastards.’
‘Fucking bastards.’
Nishida Ryo and Kang Pung-ho were staring at him intently.
Like staring at the bus driver in a university group project, it was a shitty feeling.
However.
‘If that bastard Nishida Ryo grabs the wheel, we’ll flip over, and Kang Pung-ho has lost his mind……’
Park Chang-ho had no choice.
“Nishida, stand at the very front and block the entrance. Kang Pung-ho, since Nishida has Pain Resistance stats, don’t hesitate to fire area attacks.”
“Woong!”
Unlike Kang Pung-ho who answered energetically and stepped back, Nishida Ryo had a blank face.
“Is there a problem?”
Positioning in order of tank-melee dealer-ranged dealer was basic.
So what was strange?
Since he was well-versed in hidden pieces, maybe he had some subtle information……
“Ryo, if we’re comrades fighting together, aren’t we friends? Japanese people call each other by first names when they’re close. Call me Ryo.”
“Shit—. Huu. Yeah, Ryo. Just hold the tank line well.”
Jang Du-sik laughed watching the three Possessors.
‘Well now, this is interesting.’
Jang Du-sik had been expecting the Possessors’ battle.
But the actual battle was disappointingly anticlimactic.
Jwaeeeeek!
“Hit!”
The flame arrows Kang Pung-ho shot split into multiple streams, turning the cave floor into a sea of fire.
The arrowheads exploded, giving the goblins [Rupture] penalties.
The arrows that missed and hit the floor or ceiling spread like persistent traps everywhere, benefiting from the synergy of [Arrow Explosion] and [Chain Spread].
“Th-they’re coming!”
Excessively powerful attack power was bound to draw monster aggro.
About a dozen 2-meter goblins rushed at Kang Pung-ho.
At that moment.
“Dobaaarl—!”
Nishida Ryo turned red.
Immediately the goblins changed direction and rushed at Nishida Ryo.
[Taunt] with only 2 points invested was weak.
So two superior Hobgoblins avoided the taunt’s influence and threw themselves at Kang Pung-ho.
Kureureureuk.
3-meter Hobgoblins.
The green-skinned monsters drooled as they approached.
They even oozed thick blood from their whole bodies after being hit by flame arrows and rupture, making them nothing short of terrifying.
At that, Kang Pung-ho cried out:
“Uiit! Chang-ho!”
“Shit.”
Park Chang-ho frowned deeply and ran through the air.
His two rapiers gleamed.
Puk puk puk puk!
Park Chang-ho mercilessly slashed the Hobgoblin’s head.
And so the battle ended.
“Huuk. Huuk. Huuuk.”
Nishida Ryo sat down, exhaling rough breaths.
Blood-soaked goblins were scattered all around him.
“That was cool!”
Kang Pung-ho looked at Park Chang-ho with trembling eyes.
His short hair stuck to his cheeks with sweat, and his round, pretty eyes looked moist.
Kang Pung-ho was truly pretty.
‘Aaah……’
At that, Park Chang-ho grabbed his head and sat down.
How had things come to this……
He wanted to escape reality for a moment, but the club touched Park Chang-ho’s head.
“Possessor, why are there so few monsters?”
He looked up to see sparkling Jang Du-sik.
At that, Park Chang-ho quickly answered:
“D-Director Erik gathered all the m-mobs…… no, all the monsters!”
“That Beo-something thing earlier—”
Jang Du-sik stopped speaking mid-sentence and looked at the wide-open Floor master Room.
“Heo.”
The three Possessors also carefully followed Jang Du-sik’s gaze.
“Huk!”
They had the same reaction as Jang Du-sik.
Erik, who had only been clashing swords until now, suddenly began overwhelming the Goblin King.
Erik pushed the goblin with his strength and slammed it to the ground.
“Do you guys become like that too?”
Jang Du-sik blinked and asked, but the Possessors were speechless.
“Aren’t you answering?”
Nishida Ryo and Kang Pung-ho looked at Park Chang-ho.
‘……These fucking idiots.’
Park Chang-ho pressed his temples hard and said to Jang Du-sik:
“After the 2nd…… no, 3rd class change, or if we do a 4th class change, it might be possible.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
Roughly, he meant it was impossible, said in a roundabout way.
4th class change didn’t even exist.
3rd was the maximum, and 3rd class change was possible at level 100.
Considering the absurdly difficult Labyrinth difficulty, and assuming they rode the bus like this.
“It might be possible in a few decades.”
Park Chang-ho calmly stated the facts.
He was even prepared to get hit.
“Is that so? Sooner than I thought.”
Jang Du-sik said casually and turned his gaze toward Erik.
The Possessors didn’t know exactly, but.
In the deep layers of the Labyrinth, the time ratio became absurdly large.
The reason nobles could live as nobles was because they had endured such hardships and returned alive.
Kureureureuk!
The slammed Goblin King rose.
Erik’s stance changed.
“Brats, watch carefully. Brother is going to do that Creation or whatever it is.”
Jang Du-sik recognized the Creation skill’s motion and said.
At that moment, the air was torn.
Kkyeeeeeek!!!
The Goblin King let out a single scream and then vanished.
“Turning to powder……”
Literally vanishing.
The Goblin King, which had turned into particles, disappeared into the sword mark floating in the air in an instant.
It didn’t end there.
Tuk, tuduk. Kung!
All three Possessors collapsed to the floor as if crumbling.
They had clearly put up defensive shields?
As Jang Du-sik’s eyes widened.
—A human, alone, has killed a Floor Master.
The Labyrinth’s praise resonated through the Floor master’s Room.
—I’ll give you the best thing.
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