Chapter 59
Chapter 59: Operation to Rescue Jang Du-sik (4)
Humans driven to the brink of survival sometimes display power beyond imagination. Like someone who survived dozens of days in a collapsed tunnel, suffering from lack of food and water.
Or a mother who supported a wall weighing tons—beyond what a human could normally bear—at a building collapse site to protect her young child.
"Y-you bastards, squeeze it out to the limit! Then even non-existent mana will be created!"
Such miracles also occurred in the Labyrinth.
"Uaaaah-!!! T-Taunt-!"
Red light bloomed from Nishida Ryo's shield, which had shown 0 mana in his [Status Window]. The manifestation of the [Taunt] skill.
For Possessors, activating a skill without mana was impossible.
"It worked! Shield Charge-! Wh-why won't this one work?"
But right now, they had no choice but to hope for such impossible things.
"Erik said it's because your spirit is lacking-!!"
"Hwaaaaah-!!! Shield Charge-! I-it worked!"
That's how dire Jang Du-sik's party's situation was
"There's another big bastard coming over there. Possessors, I'm leaving the rear to you."
Perhaps because the number of survivors on the 5th Floor had decreased absurdly, countless monsters including the Floor Master were rushing toward them.
'W-we're holding on thanks to hyung-nim's Consecration.'
While Jang Du-sik hunted the Floor Master alone, the three Possessors had to block the Monster Wave. Three-meter-tall, bipedal werewolves.
Monsters commonly called Gnolls were their enemies, and from the Possessors' perspective, they were extremely troublesome opponents.
"Nishida! Taunt doesn't work on higher species! Chang-ho, quickly-."
Because there was no size difference between individual specimens like with Hobgoblins and Goblins.
Higher-ranking Gnolls would hide among regular Gnolls and wait for opportunities.
"Kang Pung-ho, get down!"
That's why Park Chang-ho, who could handle Gray Gnolls alone, was the busiest.
"Hieek-!"
Park Chang-ho leaped over Kang Pung-ho's back. Thanks to resetting his skills and applying a new skill set as Erik recommended, Park Chang-ho's body was light as a feather. [Sword Aura Max] [Thrust Max] [Rapid Strike Max]
Activation of the three active skill set. Sword Aura formed on Park
Chang-ho's long rapier, and the combination of Thrust skill and Rapid Strike, along with his experience as a fencing athlete, harmonized to create a combo in an instant.
Puk puk! Pubuk-!
Several giant werewolves in front of Kang Pung-ho collapsed, riddled with holes. She immediately raised her bow and fired the skill she had been charging in Nishida Ryo's direction.
"Shock Absorption-!"
In the area-of-effect attack that didn't distinguish friend from foe, Nishida Ryo preserved his health. Thanks to the [Pain Resistance] stat, it didn't even hurt.
He just watched the health numbers in his status window to time when to drink potions. When the situation settled down.
"You bastard."
Park Chang-ho roughly shoved Nishida Ryo.
"-Absolutely not!"
A rift had formed between them some time ago.
"You too, reset your skills like Erik Director recommended!"
"......Fuck, you call that reasonable! Huh? Kang Pung-ho dies in one hit and you're similar, aren't you? I absolutely refuse."
Without [Pain Resistance], it would have been extremely difficult for Nishida Ryo to survive in this world. Park Chang-ho fully understood that feeling, but now was a moment when they needed to pursue efficiency even if it meant enduring pain. After much deliberation, Park Chang-ho brought out words to move Nishida.
"Idiot, you're really losing out."
"L-losing out?"
As he expected, Nishida Ryo hesitated for a moment. He seemed to be thinking it over.
"Just try doing exactly what Erik Director says. Your world will change."
Park Chang-ho's words were sincere without any exaggeration. Erik's recommended skill set truly had ridiculous performance.
"Just endure the pain, throw away trash stats like Pain Resistance right now."
"Backstep? Delete all those stupid movement skills and invest in attack skills that flow like water."
"Lacking mobility? That's solved with all-min stats and passive skill combinations."
You get 2 skill points per level. Park Chang-ho, now level 44, had maxed out 4 skills and invested 8 points in the remaining one. [Veteran Warrior Max][Imperial Standard Swordsmanship 8] They said learning swordsmanship could wait until last, and it was truly so.
'Swordsmanship is the most useless for killing monsters.'
As Park Chang-ho was lost in such thoughts.
"B-but the pain is still..."
Nishida Ryo stubbornly shook his head.
"You little shit. Whew. Hey, look at me! I'm flying around without Air Step or Backstep, aren't I? Because of that shitty 4-point Taunt you took, we're all going to die!"
Park Chang-ho tried to persuade him again.
"Y-you think that'll work, I'm not an idiot?"
But the opportunity was over.
Tap, tap!
Tapping his palm with a club, Jang Du-sik approached.
"I haven't been interfering because I didn't know what skills were, but I roughly understand how things work now."
He uttered a chilling remark.
"From now on, I'm going to beat you until you change it the way brother said."
Whoosh! Crack!
A breathless beating began.
***
"How long has it been since......"
The Imperial Army and some surviving adventurers faced a peaceful moment for the first time in dozens of days.
The goblins that had filled the forest had disappeared. The light of divinity that Erik emitted washed away everyone's fatigue and healed their wounds.
"Aaah-."
Their hearts swelled with emotion that was difficult to express with any words of reverence or admiration.
In such a moment filled with praise.
Erik, wrapped in divinity, emerged from the cave where the Boss Room was located.
"Everyone, attention-!"
Watching that sight, the Imperial Army prepared their highest military salute.
"Salute to Erik Director!"
The Imperial Army uniformly raised their sword blades high and placed the hilts against their chests. They brought their legs together, straightened their backs, and raised their heads high.
Boom!
Stomping down one foot while simultaneously shouting.
"Loyalty-!"
It was a single short and powerful word, but it was the military's way of greeting filled with such intense gratitude.
Seeing the Imperial Army's rather majestic military salute, Erik waved his hand dismissively with an indifferent expression. He asked.
"Where are the stairs?"
Even after saving many people, Erik's appearance of silently seeking the next survivors gave the Imperial Army yet another great impression.
"Sir! Company Commander of the 4th Corps 3rd Company, Mesia reporting. I will guide......"
Thus the company commander personally stepped forward to accompany Erik, but he trailed off and uttered a shocking statement.
"......A-a black box!"
At those words, everyone's eyes turned to the box held in Erik's left hand.
'The reward for solo clearing a Floor Master.'
It was an item known as a [Black Box] that gave so-called legendary rewards. Though it was a random reward, what came from black boxes was on a different level from the minimum, so it would be understandable to covet it.
"Congratulations!"
But no one harbored such feelings. It was only natural for such a reward to follow the savior.
'Even though the Labyrinth is silent, the reward still appears.'
Perhaps because the Great Cataclysm Patch was in progress, the Labyrinth's notification sound didn't ring out. However, a proper reward was given. And in proportion to the number of added Floor Masters.
"As expected, you're amazing!"
Swoosh!
However, under the excessive attention, Erik stored the [Black Box] in his [Inventory]. And he looked at the company commander as if urging him on.
"Ah-! This way."
The Imperial Army were soldiers. Properly organized soldiers at that. Thanks to Erik, they had recovered their bodies and gained a moment's respite.
The Imperial Army quickly organized their military camp during that gap, so Erik could head straight to his next destination.
'As expected, the Empire was the answer.'
Erik climbed the stairs leading to the 3rd Floor while recalling memories of his mentor for the first time in a while.
"The Papal States are no good?"
"I don't want to live on top of a sheer cliff."
"Why not the Garcian Kingdom?"
"Isn't it a trash country where anyone becomes a noble if you give them money and can even buy slaves?"
Riferoze and Ruelle searched for a country to settle in with the children they had gathered from the battlefield. The Empire they chose was very satisfactory.
'Where is this place?'
As Erik ascended the stairs and looked at the changed surrounding scenery.
"This is the 3rd Floor lake terrain!"
The Imperial Army quickly began their briefing. The real-world Labyrinth was tremendously large, so identifying terrain features and getting one's bearings was basic.
Soldiers who made the Labyrinth their workplace were very sharp about such things.
"The Floor Master?"
"Estimated to be in the northeast direction."
Erik walked ahead. Today, for some reason, he felt empty on his right side.
'Du-sik is doing well.'
Right after entering the Labyrinth, for some unknown reason, he had a hunch that Jang Du-sik was alive. Perhaps it was related to seeing that divine edifice.
As he was thinking such thoughts.
"By, by any chance, even the soldiers on the 3rd Floor......"
Company Commander Mekia approached Erik's right side. Though it wasn't a question, the meaning was clear.
Erik stared blankly at the company commander as if to say what an obvious thing to ask.
"Ahem, s-sorry. My wife is also a soldier."
"Don't worry."
Erik had entered the Labyrinth to save Jang Du-sik, but he intended to save people within reach on the way there.
'Let's save those we can save on the battlefield.'
A resolution he made long ago. His height was different from then and now, and the power he possessed was different, so naturally the range of people he could save had grown.
It was only natural.
"Director, sir. An adventurer party has requested to join."
"Is there any reason to refuse?"
Erik's party grew larger as they traveled through the Labyrinth's 3rd Floor.
With a Paladin emitting tremendous golden radiance taking the frontline, from the survivors' perspective, it was no different from a golden lifeline.
'The situation seems different here.'
Erik looked at a stable group mixed with fairly mid-level adventurers. With the Imperial Army handling the Floor Master, the remaining Monster Wave seemed manageable.
'The problem is that adventurers' basic principle is each for themselves.'
Every man for himself, only the survivors survive. It was the iron rule of adventurers in the Labyrinth.
However, the scope of adventurers' 'every man for himself' was very narrow.
At 'party or clan' level, at most about twenty people total.
'I'll have to do something about the Adventurer's Guild too.'
Erik had pressured the Adventurer's Guild during the previous black mage incident. Now he had come up with more specific implementation plans.
'Adventurers need to be free?'
From what he saw. Freedom was merely a useless illusion.
To conquer the Labyrinth, rules were more important than freedom.
'Need to establish strict discipline and structure-.'
Just as the big picture was being completed.
"Th-there's a military camp visible over there!"
Erik encountered the Imperial Army that was handling the 3rd Floor's Floor Master.
Erik's head tilted at the sight of the Labyrinth Management Army. Erik turned around, and gathered there were adventurers who had joined belatedly, with their numbers exceeding a hundred collected along the way.
Erik asked them.
"......Didn't you think to help them?"
A heavily contorted face. Twitching trapezius muscles. Anyone could see it was an expression of anger.
***
"Company Commander! We're out of mid-grade Potion stock."
The situation of the Labyrinth Management Army 4th Corps 2nd Company was miserable. The 3rd Floor was a place with individual terrains consisting of land, lake, desert, swamp, and mountain dividing the entire floor into quarters. The Labyrinth's Floor Master was in the mountains.
"Save potions for borderline injuries."
"We're already doing that, sir."
At the military camp established on the mountainside, the leadership faced a difficult situation. Thanks to different themes existing in each area, the Labyrinth's 3rd Floor was a place where various natural minerals could be obtained.
So there were quite a few mid-level adventurers here as well.
However, those facing the Floor Master were all Imperial Army.
'Imperial law is resentful at times like this.'
The company commander had somewhat impious thoughts. Guarantee adventurers' freedom. This was declared in the name of the Imperial Family Arman.
Adventurers, if you dream of adventure, come to the Empire! Though 90% remained at mid and low-level adventurers, the remaining 10% were a group of powerhouses who roamed the upper floors of the Labyrinth. That was the Adventurer's Guild.
Moreover, they made their living entering and exiting Labyrinths or demon realms, so when in the city, they boasted tremendous spending power.
"The Empire's wealth overflows from His Majesty's insight!"
The Emperor, who well understood the psychology of wanting rewards on the surface proportional to the hardships endured in the Labyrinth with its different time ratio, used adventurers to revive the Empire's economy.
The price was freedom.
'To think they'd invoke freedom even in such a disaster situation.'
As time passed. It seemed the scope of freedom was somewhat excessive. At least that's what 2nd Company Commander Jasmine thought.
"......This Floor Master will also have 30 appear simultaneously."
If they had at least provided supplies. With the Sword Master in her company, they could have held out for a month sufficiently.
"Each for themselves is the Adventurer's Guild's iron rule."
"We're barely managing to take care of our clan members, sorry."
But the adventurers were cold. Military support was unthinkable, and material support was at most a few low-grade potions.
'Is it natural in a way?'
The Labyrinth's change. How could they force supply support not knowing what would happen going forward? Though they lived on the same Empire's land, the Imperial Army and adventurers had completely different positions.
"Whew...... I'll go."
Sword Master Company Commander Jasmine tied her long hair back and stepped outside the outpost.
"Drink a potion. If you endure more here, we might have to cut and regenerate it later."
"Ugh...... N-no need. Give it to guys who swing swords well instead of me."
In the Labyrinth that reset on an hourly basis. In the urgent combat, the soldiers had made their own best choices.
The optimal choice was impossible. So they had chosen the best they could.
"This time the officers will handle it. Soldiers may rest."
Jasmine tried to make a somewhat risky move to reorganize the army that had reached its limit.
'It might be a bit dangerous......'
Even a Sword Master had limits to their stamina. Though she could tear apart Floor Masters one-on-one easily, she wasn't confident about 30 appearing simultaneously. Nevertheless, she was about to step toward the mountain peak. That's when it happened.
"No need for such a tragic expression."
Boom. As heavy divine power descended, a radiant and massive presence appeared.
'......Tremendous.'
A brilliant face and imposing physique. And magnificent divine power that instantly healed the wounded. Jasmine bowed her head.
"I greet Saint Erik, Director of the Possessor Management Bureau."