Episode 9: Labyrinth Rabinthos (3)

Whooosh!

The sound of slicing through the air occurred at that very moment.

Thwack!

“Ku…eugh?”

A gigantic axe had buried itself in the head of one of the commoners from Chonmin Country.

It was at least 2 meters long, a massive piece of iron… There was no need for confirmation.

Instant death.

‘It’s finally happening.’

Jinhyuk readied his stance.

“Mo, monster! It’s a mid-sized one or bigger!”

“Damn it. Of all times now!”

The others reacted a step too late.

Some hastily pulled out shabby-looking weapons.

They were the cheap items purchased from the shop with the first 100 coins they received.

Of course.

Such items wouldn’t even make a scratch.

Only a few unique relics among the holy artifacts could penetrate the skin of their foe.

Thump! Thump!

His heart pounded rapidly.

Every nerve in his body stood on end.

And then.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Something approached from the end of the dark corridor.

Coming.

And at a very fast pace.

“Graaaaagh!”

A moment later, the figure that emerged was a 2-meter-tall monster.

A spiritual creature with the head of a bull and the body of a human.

The Minotaur.

This creature was the sole monster that roamed this labyrinth.

“Woah, aaaaaah!”

“What the hell is that?!”

“What kind of messed up labyrinth is this, we’re only on the first floor! The first floor!”

In the midst of the suddenly chaotic situation.

Whooosh!

The Minotaur swung its colossal axe.

Crash!

With one strike, a huge scar was gouged into the rock.

The wall crumbled, and a dusty smoke rose.

If merely grazed, the fragile human flesh would doubtless become tattered rags.

But at that moment.

Swoosh!

Jinhyuk charged forward.

Straight ahead.

Right into the face of the Minotaur.

“Graaaagh!”

Perhaps it was annoyed by a mere human daring to confront it bare-handed?

The Minotaur grasped its axe with both hands.

And lifted it high.

The attack aimed at the head…

Jinhyuk swerved slightly and evaded.

Boom!

The ground shattered into pieces.

In that instant.

[You have evaded the attack.]

[Your ‘Gap’ stat has increased by 0.05.]

Two lines of status windows appeared in front of Jinhyuk.

‘Nice!’

Jinhyuk swallowed a cheer inside.

-By evading the Minotaur’s attacks, one can acquire the hidden stat ‘Gap (간극)’. This reward is limited to those who choose the labyrinth as their first hunting ground after entering the tower.

‘Gap (간극)’.

A stat that narrowed the difference in a battle with much stronger opponents, and conversely, widened the gap even further when facing weaker ones.

Ding!

[Detailed Explanation]

Against stronger foes, each 3 points will reduce the level disparity by 1.

Against weaker foes, each 2 points will increase the level disparity by 1.

Following numerous trials and errors, the only method to grow from level 1 was found.

It began with a mere 0.05…

‘No need to hurry.’

It was only the beginning, after all.

Jinhyuk continued to dodge the axe.

Whooosh!

Crack!

The axe carved through the wall with a terrifying sound wave.

Shrapnel flew in all directions.

A dangerous balancing act, where even the smallest mistake could lead to death, but…

Jinhyuk didn’t blink an eye.

There was no chance he’d make a mistake.

‘I’m a seasoned player.’

‘I’ve survived even more treacherous situations than this.’

And he relished every part of it.

Bang! Crash! Boom!

He dodged the torrential onslaught of attacks by the breadth of a sheet of paper.

“A mon, monster.”

“Unbelievable…”

“Were we really going to hassle that thing?”

To Jinhyuk, the pattern was familiar, but to those witnessing it for the first time, it was simply jaw-dropping.

For good reason.

Seen as more than mere reflexes, the movements were a result of viciously repeated memorization deeply ingrained down to the bone.

Therefore, it was closer to precognition than prediction.

‘I must’ve been completely insane.’

Park Hana swallowed dryly.

The thought of killing such an elite player and taking away their reward was beyond imagination.

Like pouring oil on oneself and leaping into flames.

＊＊＊

“Graaaaagh!”

Furiously angered, the Minotaur became even more violent.

Boom!

Crash!

The axe grazed past Jinhyuk’s nape.

[You barely evaded a critical attack!]

[Your ‘Gap’ stat has increased by 1.]

Dodging dangerous attacks rewarded more stats.

High risk, high return.

Jinhyuk wiped a drop of blood from his nape with his finger.

‘As expected, this level of danger is needed to gain the maximum stat points.’

He had deliberately timed it to the extreme.

Parting with a layer of skin for one stat point was not a bad trade.

However, if used too often, over-bleeding could become a danger.

A few minutes passed.

“Phew. Huff. Huff.”

Jinhyuk felt his breath grow ragged and his energy waning.

Fatigue had started to build in his muscles.

‘Time to wrap up this first encounter.’

He had ample time to gain stats.

Aim was to extract 100 stats within a month of escaping the labyrinth.

Jinhyuk glanced back.

While engaging the Minotaur, he noticed the others sneaking away.

‘Look at that? The secondary characters trying to exit on their own?’

But he wouldn’t allow that.

It was him who decided when and where they lived or died.

‘Besides, where could they possibly run without knowing the exit?’

While maintaining a careful distance from the Minotaur, Jinhyuk lunged towards the group.

“If you all want to gain stats, you should give it a try with me.”

“…What?”

Park Hana’s eyes widened as if she were a startled rabbit.

“If you dodge its attacks, it gives you a hidden stat. It’s actually really easy. Give it a try.”

While good things should not be shared, this was an exception for this time only.

For once, with a magnanimous heart, he decided to make an exception.

“…”

Park Hana’s face twisted miserably, as though she wanted to scream, ‘Are you insane? How can that be easy?’

“Ay, don’t back out. Just give it a go, just once. If you think it’s no good, I won’t press you again.”

Jinhyuk smiled warmly.

At the same time, he pushed Do Gwangwoo, who stood next to Park Hana, forward.

“Oh… ohhhh?”

Do Gwangwoo unwittingly took a few steps forward.

Just a few steps.

Yet those few steps were the dividing line between life and death.

“Aaahhh!”

There was no time to dodge.

Or to plead for life.

Slice!

Do Gwangwoo was bisected at the waist.

The Minotaur, having lost its temper, was unforgiving in its speed.

“Whoops!”

Jinhyuk covered his mouth with his palm.

“Why stay still? You should’ve ducked or distanced yourself quickly.”

Really. It felt like eating a million sweet potatoes.

What do you do by just standing there, dumbfounded?

Do something.

He wanted to tell them to try harder next time but…

Ah.

There was… no next time.

＊＊＊

The labyrinth changed again.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The walls and the ground moved chaotically.

Though they had to leap to avoid being crushed, this afforded them the chance to distance themselves from the Minotaur.

“Haah. Haah. Haah.”

“That was… close.”

“I almost… died.”

Everyone gasped for air.

Despite losing two companions, no one seemed sad—preserving their own life was paramount, after all.

“Did we lose it? It won’t follow us anymore, right?”

Park Hana trembled slightly as she peeked beyond the wall, as if the Minotaur might emerge through it at any moment.

“It will continue to follow us.”

Jinhyuk fiddled with a small dagger in his hand.

Until recently, it had been Do Gwangwoo’s weapon.

Now, it was a relic of the past.

“How can it keep following us? The path has changed!”

“Because of this.”

Jinhyuk showed his palm stained with a phosphorescent substance.

Covered with the glow moth dust, the Minotaur would continue to track them.

Until the moment they escaped the labyrinth.

“That… That’s insane. Why would you do something like that! Why?”

Why indeed.

“To get stats. When the labyrinth changes, rest a bit to recover then spend the rest of the time playing with the calf.”

“How long…?”

“Until we get out of the labyrinth.”

“So, how long will that take?!”

“Hmm. Roughly a month?”

To be exact, it’ll be a month if you go fast. If you keep messing around, it might take two.

Either way, he intended to drain them down to the bone, but if they spoke harshly, the process would only become more painful.

“…”

Park Hana collapsed on the spot.

One whole month?

She was unsure if she could even make it through the day, let alone a month.

“We’re going to split off. If we don’t accompany you, we won’t be chased by that monster, right?”

This time, it was Lee Hyemin who spoke carefully.

“That’s correct.”

Jinhyuk nodded.

‘Certainly, I’d be the primary target since I’m covered in the dust.’

However…

“Which way are you planning to go?”

You don’t know the exit, do you?

If you blindly walk away, hoping to escape, that wouldn’t be a very good choice.

“Do you know where the exit is?”

“As I said before, I know this labyrinth better than anyone else. Of course, I know the exit.”

“Alright, then. We’ll come with you too… Sigh. If that’s the only way, let’s go.”

“If you wish to come, that’s fine by me.”

Jinhyuk trailed off.

Lee Hyemin, appearing anxious, pressed for more.

“But…?”

Why are senior members acting like this?

“You can’t come empty-handed.”

“What?”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You have to cough up all the coins you have, at the very least.”

To put it simply,

If you want to ride the max-level bus, give up everything you’ve got.

＊＊＊

[Coins in possession: 500]

Adding the coins received from the starting point and the ones taken from the four individuals resulted in 500 coins.

It was far too insufficient to buy any decent weapon or armor.

But it didn’t matter.

He could purchase the items he wanted with this amount.

“Don’t just stand there like statues. Everyone, get busy. Collect moss for bedding and gather firewood for the night. Lots to do.”

“Got it.”

“Just go already. Off you go.”

“Sigh.”

There was a deep sigh.

Having come here dreaming of a jackpot only to lose everything, and now their lives hung in the balance, so understandably…

But did they realize?

Even doing all this wouldn’t change their predetermined fates.

After everyone had left, Jinhyuk activated the trade post.

[Welcome to the Coin Exchange.]

A brief message appeared alongside a massive status window.

A place where hundreds of thousands of items could be bought and sold.

A land of opportunity filled with both hidden gems and fool’s gold—this was the ‘Coin Exchange’.

Jinhyuk swiftly skimmed through the list.

[‘Ancient Dregonian Tooth (SS)’ – 395,250,700 coins]

[‘Summoned Vermilion Bird Feather (S)’ – 188,187,000 coins]

[‘Holy Artifact Dangun’s Sword Spirit (S)’ – 159,155,300 coins]

Items that dazzled on sight.

[‘Worn Small Pebble (F)’ – 1 coin]

Items essentially worthless as trash.

A wide array of items were on offer.

However,

‘Such stuff is useless no matter how you look at it.’

I can’t afford to buy them now, window shopping such items is just a waste of time.

Without hesitation, Jinhyuk scrolled to the very bottom of the category.

Down lower.

Even lower still.

What he sought lay at the very bottom.

‘This one… and this. And this as well.’

Jinhyuk quickly purchased the items he wanted.

[‘Cursed Tarot Cards (F)’ – 70 coins]

[‘Worn Bronze Key Fragment (F)’ – 80 coins]

[‘Wooden Wagon Wheel Fragment (E)’ – 300 coins]

[‘Lotto Enhancement Scroll (F)’×10 sheets – 1 coin per sheet]

Four types in total.

All were almost trash, but Jinhyuk smiled, apparently pleased.

It was not the individual items that were important.

What truly mattered is how he would utilize them.

“I’ll combine these three items.”

[Incorrect combinations will result in the destruction of all items.]

“Understood, proceed.”

Jinhyuk nodded.

Then,

[Combining the three items.]

[You have successfully combined the items!]

As if celebrating the success, a blinding mist was emitted.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart began to race.

‘It’s a success.’

Looking at the item before him, Jinhyuk was certain.

All the time he had spent playing the [Tower of Trials] had not been wasted.