novelraw Chapter 155 : The Labyrinth of Tranquility - (3)
Chapter 155 : The Labyrinth of Tranquility - (3)
Chapter 155: The Labyrinth of Tranquility - (3)
An attack no one had expected.
That included the man-eating plant monster, Veltas, which was properly knocked back by the sudden blow.
Although the system did have something called basic skill resistance,
There was a huge difference between being attacked while focused and being attacked without noticing at all.
It resulted in a negative effect.
Anyway, because it had been clinging to the wall, the knockback applied to Veltas left it dazed and staggering.
With no space to be pushed back, it had to absorb the entire impact energy with its body.
Tatatat!
Sanghyun accelerated and entered the corridor.
Had Veltas been fine, its roots would have erupted from below and its stem from above to entangle Sanghyun’s body.
But Veltas, unable to control its own body, didn’t even realize Sanghyun was approaching.
“Found you!”
Sanghyun, who had quickly slipped into the inner corridor, spotted Veltas quietly and cleverly hiding in a corner.
The location was spot on.
A perfect spot to devour anyone who walked in unaware.
『Full Bash』
He immediately slammed Full Bash into it.
The still-dazed Veltas was instantly afflicted with Stiffness, and its trembling body ceased all movement.
“If you get caught, you die. Right?”
…….
Veltas, frozen and unable to even make a sound, couldn’t scream as Sanghyun slashed it one-sidedly.
He carved through Veltas’s body so fiercely that its flesh scattered like thinly sliced onions.
As the Stiffness from Full Bash ended and the fight entered the freezing phase, Sanghyun deliberately connected another tactic.
Since Veltas might try to recover during the freezing state, he chose to extend the Stiffness duration.
『Blaze』
To more firmly block Veltas’s regeneration, Sanghyun imbued his sword with a fire attribute.
In that moment—
◎ Wrath of the Scorching King
◎ 50% increased fire attribute skill damage.
Han Hyunjeong, who had quickly entered, amplified the fire attribute. It was reliable buff support.
“You’ll leave a mess before dying!”
“I know. Keep buffing from range at a blind spot.”
“Got it!”
Han Hyunjeong swiftly moved behind a winding rock where Veltas’s attacks couldn’t reach.
Truthfully, she could have added some minor damage, but had to be cautious to maintain the no-kill condition.
“You die too.”
Sanghyun let out a chilling smile.
In that moment, Han Hyunjeong sensed not the pure Sanghyun she knew, but a madness soaked in blood.
It was just for a moment.
But there was no doubt—an indescribably intense madness emanated from Sanghyun.
And then—
Pook!
Sanghyun drove in the Sword of Ruin.
Crack!
At the same time, lightning exploded, turning Veltas’s insides into rags.
Kkiieeeek!
Unable to withstand it anymore, Veltas’s body began to swell.
The aftermath Han Hyunjeong mentioned! It was self-destruction. A filthy death that spewed highly acidic poison in all directions.
“……!”
Though she trusted Sanghyun to evade on his own, Han Hyunjeong clenched her fists without realizing.
She worried what would happen if he got drenched in that poison right in front of her eyes.
Of course, that worry disappeared in just a second—foolish and unnecessary.
It was all thanks to Another World.
At the very moment the poison spewed during its final burst, Sanghyun had already entered a subspace.
“My goodness... Even though I trusted him to avoid it, my heart nearly gave out. I’m going to die young.”
Han Hyunjeong placed a hand on her chest.
She had no doubt Sanghyun had a way to dodge it—but she just couldn’t imagine what method he’d use.
While she was the only one nervously holding her breath, Sanghyun was calmly confirming the death of Veltas without much change in expression.
“Huh. So it’s not considered a mid-boss monster.”
“But the EXP was sweet. It must’ve given a good amount.”
“Oh? You’re right. My experience bar is filled up like crazy.”
It definitely was.
Though he didn’t obtain an Artifact as loot, the experience gain healed his disappointment right away.
It gave enough EXP to fill 25% of the bar! That was boss monster level.
“Since no one had ever taken it down before, the dungeon’s EXP and energy must have built up over time.”
“Exactly. Anyone would think we just killed a boss monster.”
“We got more EXP than from running dungeons all day. Isn’t this a total win-win?”
“Sanghyun, really… Honestly, I didn’t see this skill coming at all. Is it a counter skill?”
“It’s a skill you can use from odd angles if you put your mind to it. It even has a knockback effect.”
“The knockback skill I know Sanghyun uses is the one that slams with a greatsword, right?”
The skill Han Hyunjeong referred to was ‘Knockback Burst.’ It was well-known thanks to word of mouth.
But Sanghyun also had knockback-related skills like Gale Blast and Storm Frenzy.
Since he had a variety of options,
He could improvise combinations according to the situation. Even he couldn’t predict them all.
Then—
Kugegege!
Perhaps sensing Veltas’s death, a large group of monsters appeared at the passage ahead where they needed to proceed.
It seemed quite a few had been lying in ambush, fitting the nature of a trap corridor.
‘They’re probably Crazy Kobolds.’
Just from their appearance, he identified the type. They were threatening up close but had weak durability.
Of course, they were nowhere near the level of trivial kobolds—these were monsters in the level 200 range.
『Downward Current』
Thanks to the God of Storms, the enhanced Downward Current was ready.
Sanghyun was enjoying himself, feeling like he was excitedly testing out all sorts of skills inside the labyrinth.
Unlike Han Hyunjeong, who remained tense every moment.
Having witnessed too many tragedies from the scouting party before, Han Hyunjeong couldn’t relate to his ease.
Boom!
Eventually, the rushing horde of Crazy Kobolds was struck by the Downward Current.
The force of gravity pressing down from above was more than enough to shrink the agile monsters.
Kikiki. Kekeke.
But as if that wasn’t enough, one of the kobolds at the very front shook its head from side to side.
A gesture full of arrogance, as if saying, “Did you think you could stop us with just that?”
Sanghyun quietly smiled and let it pass.
“Come, you worms.”
Sanghyun raised his True Demon Sword diagonally and beckoned at the kobold group with his hand.
They weren’t intelligent creatures, so even a simple provocation triggered an emotional reaction.
Kkieeeek!
The charge resumed.
Right at that moment—
Kwa-gagang!
The second slam of the enhanced Downward Current struck.
At that instant,
All ten of the Crazy Kobolds couldn’t withstand it and slammed face-first into the ground.
Like someone running joyfully only to get hit on the back of the head, they planted their faces flat on the dirt.
Grrrghh!
But the kobolds, full of ferocity, stood back up again with an expression that said, “That was nothing.”
Then—
Kwaang!
A force easily double the previous pressure smashed down on them again.
They had barely managed to stand before, but this time the power was on a whole different level!
Wuaaargh!
There was no need to differentiate—every single one of the ten kobolds was flattened like dried fish jerky on the floor.
It was as if a giant press had crushed them, leaving their bodies squashed and stuck to the ground.
『Law of the Jungle』
Due to the status effects, Law of the Jungle activated. Sanghyun immediately rushed the kobold group.
With their necks exposed and bodies flattened against the ground, they were like living mannequins.
Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!
They couldn’t even budge—skills would’ve been wasted on them.
Sanghyun precisely drove the True Demon Sword into each of their cervical vertebrae with full force, swiftly ending their lives.
Struck in their weakest point with the greatest force, the kobolds died without a sound.
One among them, likely the leader—
Guooooh!
Managed to raise its head to unleash a final scream of desperation—
Slaaash!
But Sanghyun’s indifferent greatsword strike ripped through its mouth and out the back of its skull. A dog’s death.
In this way, Sanghyun and Han Hyunjeong passed yet another section with ease.
It was such a smooth and brisk progression that one would wonder why the labyrinth was considered difficult at all.
The labyrinth was divided into five sections.
Having passed the first section with ease, Sanghyun and Han Hyunjeong quickly picked up the pace, moving on to the second and third sections.
The fourth section, however, had a notorious reputation. Players from Hyunjeong Corporation had failed there.
Some had died right at the first section or retreated early—it was either one or the other.
“The buffs have really stacked. I was curious how much the labyrinth would give, since it supposedly grants buffs after each section.”
“It’s structured so that the deeper you go, the stronger the players become. I figured it would be manageable.”
“Which means this is where the real stage begins.”
Sanghyun brushed his chin thoughtfully.
A terrain in the form of a maze greeted Sanghyun and Han Hyunjeong.
Flying over it was impossible. The acidic clouds filling the maze’s upper airspace were proof enough.
Some mage-type players had attempted entry, only to lose their legs from brushing against the clouds.
Sanghyun didn’t have any aerial or hovering skills either, so that kind of trickery wasn’t an option.
“For now, just like in the briefing, about 50% of the rooms in the maze have pre-known information.”
“But getting lucky and finding a shortcut is one thing—we can’t rely on luck.”
“Exactly. That’s the biggest problem. And it’s also why our guild hit a wall in the labyrinth raid.”
Sanghyun already knew the reason behind the obstacle Han Hyunjeong had hit, though she herself didn’t yet realize it.
Countless rooms inside the maze had doors that simply wouldn’t open no matter what.
It was a maddening place that raised Han Hyunjeong’s blood pressure when no correct answer could be found.
“For now, take care of the rooms we have info on. I’ll handle the rest.”
“You’ve got a plan? Even before we entered, I asked you to tell me during the briefing and you just said to wait.”
“I don’t make empty boasts.”
With Sanghyun’s concise answer, Han Hyunjeong stopped asking. If he had one, then he had one.
The only entrance and exit.
Inside were over a hundred rooms.
Each room was indestructible no matter what you tried. They were in a constant buffed state.
If you couldn’t find the method to unlock the exit, not even the top-ranked player in the world could break through.
In a place where only straightforward tactics would work, Sanghyun and Han Hyunjeong’s advance began.
Five hours later.
Somewhere around the middle of the maze, the pair’s progress came to a halt. They had reached a room with no known solution.
The route to other adjacent rooms was blocked too. Those also lacked any known answers.
Sanghyun spoke.
“What does Master think is another key to this maze?”
“I’m not sure. Aside from finding a hidden mechanism in the room or identifying a pattern in the numbers or symbols…”
Han Hyunjeong shook her head.
She had already tried everything worth trying. Nothing worked. That was why she had given up.
“Now I’ll tell you about this labyrinth’s nasty little taste.”
But Sanghyun knew the definite key.
The only issue—
『Full Bash』
『Updraft』
『Knockback Burst』
『Downward Current』
(……Omitting the rest of the status-effect-related skill list.)
Was choosing which key to use. That was all—and the end of it.