Ch. 206

1. Back to the Labyrinth (1)

‘Even if I become famous, I’ll be able to walk the streets openly, but…’

Unlike the ordinary-looking Hyun, Ain’s unique aura easily caught the eyes of other users, making these disguises necessary. The atmosphere of the Labyrinth, upon their return, had changed significantly from before.

「Whoa, there are so many people here!」

From the moment they stepped out of the teleportation gate, they could see numerous people dressed in outfits identifying them as ‘Users.’ There were solo players, parties of three or four, and even large groups of dozens. Most of the users gathered here were likely at least Level 150.

「Huh? Hyun, look at that person!」

At Ain’s shout, Hyun followed her pointing finger. There was a female user wearing a pair of sunglasses from the costume shop. Judging by her equipment, her level was at least 200! There was no mistake, as she was wearing earrings with a Level 200 requirement. Even more surprising was that neither Hyun nor Ain recognized her face.

「What is that?」

「She must be a user who hasn’t registered for the Hall of Fame, just like us!」

「Really…?」

The idle thoughts in Hyun’s mind vanished instantly. Ever since Latis removed his name from the Hall of Fame, Mayday had been maintaining the number one spot. Since Mayday reached Level 200 about a week ago, that user had to be considered at least on par with Mayday.

‘There’s a user who can hit Level 200 without being noticed by the community? Like me? But they wouldn’t even have Assimilation…!’

Doubt surged within Hyun. Ain seemed to be harboring the same question.

「Is she an Asra user?」

「No, she looks Western… though she might have changed her appearance.」

「Ah, she disappeared!」

While they were watching from a distance, she vanished into the crowd. Hyun and Ain quickly tried to follow, but she was lost behind the complex terrain of the desert city. Or perhaps she had logged out; if so, it was naturally impossible to find her.

「Whew, we should stay on our toes.」

Coming to a place teeming with rankers meant all sorts of monsters were starting to crawl out. Hyun resolved to carefully examine the woman’s face later using the recorded footage.

「It’s fine. You and I won’t lose to any user, right?」

「Right, I’m counting on you, Ain.」

Cutting through the crowd, Hyun and Ain encountered various types of users. Ranker guilds, unknown players, and even several corporate gaming teams were gathered at the Labyrinth.

‘A gaming team? I haven’t seen that one before…’

Professional gamers, who prioritized stable hunting, didn’t fit the dangerous atmosphere of the maze at all. However, the fact that they were jumping into a field outside their expertise was proof that the prices of magic materials were skyrocketing. But it was too early to be surprised. The level of interest users had in the Labyrinth far exceeded Hyun’s imagination.

“Sector 21. The entrance fee is 24,000 gold.”

Hyun jumped in surprise as he tried to enter the maze.

“Twenty-four thousand gold? For an entrance fee…?!”

Startled, he shouted in Ain’s voice, then cleared his throat awkwardly.

「What kind of price is this?」

Ain also asked, searching her memory.

「Was there an entrance fee before?」

「No! It was actually a danger zone where anyone below Level 150 was prohibited! But now it seems even that restriction is gone.」

Converting 24,000 gold at recent rates made it about 8 million won! And that was only because the value of gold had dropped as the user base expanded. An entrance fee for an in-game dungeon costing nearly 8 million won in cash was something unimaginable during the Asra days. It didn’t take long for Hyun to grasp the situation.

‘Right, the Magic Kingdom NPCs have sniffed out the scent of money like ghosts!’

The maze was the easiest hunting ground to secure magic materials. The rise in entrance fees was a direct result of the laws of supply and demand.

「Still, 24,000 gold… that’s 8 million won for an entrance fee.」

「Hyun, if you’re short on gold, you can use mine.」

「No, I’m not short, but… it’s scary how my old sense of money still lingers.」

Hyun barely resisted the temptation to use invisibility to sneak in. He could handle 8 million won, but if he became a wanted man in the Magic Kingdom, he might not be able to handle the consequences.

‘At least it’s a single-person fee thanks to Assimilation.’

However, even after entering the maze, the administrator’s price-gouging wasn’t over.

“Ah, Adventurer! We have a lift prepared that can transport you safely to the Supply Zone! Would you like to use the lift?”

As they walked down the entrance corridor, the administrator began reciting additional options.

“Supply Zone? Lift…? What are those?”

“Haha, the ‘Users’ call the place where only monsters between Level 250 and 300 appear the Supply Zone! We manage the Supply Zones of the maze specifically! If you use the lift, you can hunt there immediately!”

In short, the administrator was talking about a “hot spot.” The NPCs understood exactly what users wanted with surprising accuracy. Since the level of monsters in the maze varied wildly, users who farmed in areas where only moderately strong monsters appeared could save both time and their lives.

“So, how much is the lift fee…?”

“The lift to the Noble Zone is 52,000 gold, and for the Royal Zone, it’s only 89,000 gold…!”

“Ah… okay.”

The girl nodded soullessly and passed by. The administrator quickly followed, adding more words.

“Wait, are you planning to just go down without using the lift?! You could die! No, you will definitely die! From the entrance, it’s full of trap magic circles that have lost control, and every corridor is swarming with vicious monsters!”

Tsk tsk. To say such things after taking the entrance fee—where did he sell his conscience? Hyun reduced further pointless debate by ignoring the administrator.

‘Business should have its limits.’

Hyun ignored the voice trailing behind him and slowly descended the dark stairs. The worried expression on the administrator’s face changed only a few seconds after the girl disappeared.

“Tsk, these users who don’t know the value of their lives…”

His face was full of annoyance and laziness. However, his expression transformed back into a benevolent smile within seconds. This was because a new ‘sucker,’ clearly a user, was walking toward the entrance of the maze.

“Ah, Adventurer! Are you entering the maze? The fee is…”

Clink. The woman, adjusting her sunglasses, handed over a heavy pouch of money and muttered briefly.

“Straight to the Royal Zone.”

After a moment of daze, the administrator quickly snapped out of it and put on his best business smile. Upon a quick magical verification, the gold coins in the pouch totaled 113,000 gold! Occasionally, there were users like this—those who threw around huge sums of money as if they were royalty or tycoons.

‘Hehe, another one has arrived!’

The administrator served them like royalty whenever they appeared. The higher the profit, the more money he personally pocketed. In this way, since the arrival of users, the Labyrinth was enjoying its greatest boom.

Labyrinth, 23rd Underground Floor.

Boom! Babros, the master of the floor, lost his strength and collapsed. Subsequently, a blue crystal rose above his massive corpse. A stone of condensed mana—a Mana Stone. Like this, most giant Named monsters carried a power source within their bodies.

“Five pieces. It’s finally over.”

Louise complained as she picked up the mana stone.

“Only one respawn per year? Isn’t that too stingy?”

“Respawn…?”

The man beside her frowned and tilted his head in confusion. But he soon shrugged. It wasn’t the first or second time the Priestess had muttered incomprehensible words.

“Have you achieved all your goals?”

“Yes, I can finally leave this place now.”

“I’ll be seeing the sun for the first time in five years.”

“Yes, from now on, to the sky… huh?”

As Louise was speaking, she suddenly trembled at a strange sensation. Even though she was sealing her empathy, she felt a faint tremor of the soul. It was a resonance with the being she held most dear. She remembered his energy, even if she forgot everyone else’s. If she hadn’t been able to recall his face before falling asleep, she wouldn’t have been able to endure those five years.

“Oh, this is!”

“What is it?”

A nostalgic smile slowly spread across Louise’s lips as she closed her eyes.

“Fufu, he must be offering a prayer again.”

“What are you talking all of a sud— oh!”

At the same time, the man with her, Poppy, felt something as well. Celestials are sensitive to energy perception. They could feel a presence with great divine power even from very far away.

‘Has someone come to the maze?’

Poppy looked up at the ceiling. Divine power was a familiar energy to Celestials, but for the current Poppy, it was a somewhat uncomfortable energy. He had been hiding in the depths of the Labyrinth for five years precisely to avoid the eyes of the Sky forces. However, the faint divinity he felt soon vanished. Soon, it couldn’t even be caught by his energy perception.

‘No… maybe it was just an illusion.’

Shaking his head, Poppy decided not to worry about it. He would be leaving this hideout in a few days anyway.

‘Priestess… please wait just a little longer.’

Poppy looked at Louise’s back with pitying eyes. His own past overlapped with her image. Being deceived by a demon and tainted by demonic energy, and the memory of having to run from the Sky forces, was a nightmare to recall. A Celestial fearing the Sky? Was there any more ridiculous story in the world! But to Poppy, who had crossed the line between life and death for over a decade, it wasn’t funny at all. Once again, Poppy looked at Louise with a determined expression.

‘The Priestess will also be able to regain her divinity soon.’

Suddenly, Poppy felt Louise’s wistful gaze. The Priestess would sometimes look at him with such an apologetic look and then look away, even though there was no need for her to feel such emotions.

‘I, at least, will never turn away from you.’

The entrance to the maze.

While descending the long staircase, several messages appeared before Hyun’s eyes.

<This place will not be the one you once knew. Can you truly make it out safely?>

[The atmospheric mana is distorted!]

[Laws different from the outside world apply within the maze!]

• Items dropped from monsters cannot be kept in the inventory for 1 minute.
• Physical mutilation is possible with damage exceeding 5% of max health.

‘It hasn’t changed.’

Hyun nodded after reading all the contents. Just like in the Asra days, the maze was a place that resembled ‘reality’ in many ways. In reality, it is possible to snatch someone else’s items, and you can kill an opponent by inflicting just a small wound on a vital spot. The change in the physical mutilation setting was especially like a curse to NPCs. Normally, they wouldn’t die suddenly from just 5% damage instead of 33%. That was likely why high-level NPCs were reluctant to enter the maze.

‘That’s probably why Louise hid here.’

Hyun knew Louise’s location, excluding the ‘depth.’ This was because he had zoomed in as much as possible on the red dot marked on the Globe of Demons. By overlaying the maze map he obtained from the Interloop onto the fixed X and Y coordinates, he was able to narrow down Louise’s potential location to three candidates.

‘20th floor, 22nd floor, 23rd floor. There is no other space!’

Hyun looked up. The 3D map projected at the top of the screen was full of countless arrows. It was a perfect route he had stayed up all night creating before coming to the maze. By following the arrows, he would be able to secure enough materials requested by Jini, obtain materials for Legendary items, and inevitably meet Louise along the way.

「Oof?! Shadow Sprint!」

It was while he was running quickly along that route that steel spikes suddenly shot up from the floor and down from the ceiling. Crunch! Teeth made of awls bit through the entire corridor. Immediately after barely escaping, Hyun noticed that the corners of Ain’s mouth were curled up.

「Don’t mess around. I almost died!」

A trap reacting to the flow of mana. It seemed Ain had used a skill in the middle of the corridor on purpose.

「I knew you’d dodge it, Hyun.」

「What if I hadn’t?」

「You did dodge because you’re Hyun, right?」

Whew… Did he have to deal with traps, monsters, and even Ain’s pranks? But as Ain said, if he couldn’t react to traps of this level, he wouldn’t even be able to make it halfway down the maze.

「Fine. Only do these kinds of pranks on the lower floors.」

「Do them as much as I want~?」

「No, not too much… we have to make it to the bottom.」

1. Back to the Labyrinth (1) End.