Chapter 12 – Labyrinth Libarintos (6)

[10 viewers were caught cheating]
[These viewers will not be able to watch videos until the following month]
[The penalty will inflict damage to parts of the body]
[If caught again, the viewer will be permanently expelled.]
Their limbs might end up paralyzed. They could lose their sight or taste. If they were unlucky, they might even lose the permanent function of an organ.

The penalty for breaking the rules was severe.

“W-what just happened.”

Park Hana stuttered.

Cold sweat formed on her face.

Until now, she had thought she had been the only one walking straight through her prepared plan, but it clearly wasn’t that.

Just how?

Did this mean he had figured out all the cards she had prepared?

“You, just what are you?”

“What would you do if you knew?”

“T-that! because not a single thing makes sense! It is like…”

Her mind is being read.

‘He was like someone who has experienced everything.’

Park Hana couldn’t speak. She knew the rest of her common sense would come crumbling down if she said that out loud.

And, of course.

Jin-hyuk had no intention of answering her either.

“You won’t understand even if I tell you.”

Even if he told her his username in the Tower of Trials.

Even if he talked about what happened there, no one would remember it.

It was a character that had gone down a long path. He had been the last player in that world as everyone else had left.

It was then.

[Condition met]
[You have successfully copied the unique ability ‘Communion (C)’!]
[Saving the copied skill in the ‘Memory of the World’.]
[Communion
Acquisition Difficulty: C
It can give affinity to other living things. This is true even at the first meeting. However, if the level of the ability is low, the effect will decrease.]
A status window appeared in front of him, confirming that he had copied her skill before slowly vanishing.

‘Nice. I finally got it.’

Jin-hyuk nodded his head, satisfied.

A growth-type unique ability.

Right now, it was just at C rank, but there was room for growth.

B… A and even further.

Furthermore.

The reason that he wanted to acquire this ability wasn’t the ability to receive communion with others.

‘The reason is special.’

‘The reason I could get to the tower’s last floor.’

It wasn’t simply copying a skill. He had acquired these skills because he could fuse the copied skills to create new ones.

“I will call upon the powers of ‘Memory of the World’.”

Jin-hyuk mumbled in a low voice.

The abilities…

‘Element of Fire’ and ‘Communion.’

There were two recorded now.

Woong!

Several lines of flames sprouted from his left hand.

Woong!

And a golden light flashed in his right.

When Communion was fused with an ability with the fire attribute, its effects would be amplified by almost double.

‘Not bad.’

Should he say it was closer to being very nice?

He would be able to approach people without creating a harsh atmosphere. On the other hand when Communion was fused with a fire-type ability, he could create Stigma.

A Stigma would compel complete submission from those who were mentally broken.

Psss!

As his left hand and right hand met, a dazzling light shone between them.

[Fusion successful!]
[You have acquired the skill ‘Stigma of the Soul (A)’!]
[Stigma of the Soul
Acquisition Difficulty: A
Description: Engrave a ‘stigma’ on the target. The stigmatized target must obey the caster’s order and wouldn’t do anything to harm the caster. Failure to do so will inflict terrible pain on the stigmatized body.]
It was a cursed flame capable of engraving a stigma on the soul.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Jin-hyuk’s heart beat rapidly.

This exhilaration filled him up each time he collected a new skill.

‘Right. That’s it!’

It was because of this satisfaction and excitement that he chose the unique ability of Fusion. Everyone else only depended on their one and only ability.

However, he could embrace all of the abilities existing in this world.

‘This is just the start.’

To climb to the top of the tower, the abilities he needed to gather were as tall as a mountain.

“…Hm?”

But it was then that Jin-hyuk felt something.

It was,

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

A roar that shook the labyrinth.

“Roar!”

The roar of a familiar beast.

‘Right. You were still here?’

He had gotten so used to it that he had forgotten its existence. It was the other being who lived with them in this labyrinth.

“A-again! That monster is coming.”

Park Hana hesitated as she stepped back. The fear seeped into her bones.

For Park Hana, the Minotaur was a walking disaster.

She had to run away from here, right away.

But… where?

Jin-hyuk was the only person who knew the way out, yet he only smiled while looking into the air.

‘What is so good for you to smile!’

She wanted to swear at him, but getting out of this place was her main priority.

“You will lose if you go and fight, so just tell me where to go.”

Until now, Jin-hyuk told the party in advance the directions to go so they wouldn’t get involved in the battle.

The reason behind this was unknown.

Maybe he didn’t like people getting involved in the fight.

Whatever it was, the important thing was that she didn’t want to be involved in the fight.

But…

“Why do I have to tell you that?”

Jin-hyuk shrugged.

“Because… until now…”

“Until now, I needed something from you, so I protected you.”

But not anymore.

Because he already met the conditions for copying and had gotten her skill.

Whether she wandered through the labyrinth, starved to death, or fell into a trap, there was no reason for him to help her now.

“Are you going to abandon me? In here?”

“Don’t make that face. Wasn’t it a you die, or I die situation from the start?”

Anyone who saw them would know that they are too closely tied together. Their relationship was one based on searching for a gap to secretly attack.

As Jin-hyuk said this coldly, Park Hana’s face darkened.

“W-wait! You will regret it. If my Oppa finds out about this…!”

“Oppa…”

Why didn’t she say this until now?

The threat of retaliation from the Black Crow Guild that Park Hajin belonged to.

Srng!

Jin-hyuk pulled out his dagger.

Shh…

As Jin-hyuk infused magic into it, the force from the dagger made Park Hana’s heart shiver.

“You are so funny no matter how I look at you.”

Up until now, he mainly avoided attacks to raise his Rift stat.

From the standpoint of an observer, there would be no chance of a head-on match. It must have seemed as if they were only running away like loaches.

But….

“Look carefully from there. That stupid guild and me. Which of the two should you fear?”

“What?”

Park Hana asked incredulously, but Jin-hyuk had already moved.

Tak!

He then appeared above the head of the running Minotaur.

From above.

To below.

The dagger unerringly fell towards the giant bull’s head.

Kwang!

“Ack!”

A pained scream.

Even if the relic said he wouldn’t get hurt, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be pain.

Since he was aiming to kill it with a strengthened +10 weapon…

It was more than enough force to flip the minotaur upside down.

‘It was worthwhile raising my Rift stat.’

When he had first met it, the Minotaur had been quite a daunting creature. It was fast and had a wide attack range.

There was also the problem of the physical gap.

At most, he could have dealt with it for around 20 minutes or so.

But…

The situation changed completely thanks to the practical experiences and stats that he had earned over the past ten days.

Woong!

Jin-hyuk titled his head to avoid the ax.

At the same time…

[Lv1′ Element of Fire’ is activated.]
A three-pronged stream of fire blasted the bull’s head in the face.

Pupupung!

Piercing explosions echoed through the hall, followed by the smell of burning flesh.

A direct hit.

“Gooo!”

It stumbled. The Minotaur’s body shook violently.

And it didn’t end there.

Jin-hyuk’s eyes narrowed.

‘I will have to continue to push him.’

He cannot kill it.

Then…

Let’s create a similar situation.

Kakaka!

Kakakakak!

The dagger cut through the joints of the Minotaur’s ankles and knees.

He was aiming for the legs that supported that heavy body.

“Kwaaaaa!”

The Minotaur swung its arms to push him back. Of course, Jin-hyuk would never face those kinds of attacks head-on.

After retrieving the dagger, he immediately moved back.

Wong!

The ax cut through the empty air once more.

“Don’t rush in. When you gain muscle, the flesh turns tough.”

Didn’t you know that fat was what made beef taste good?

Jin-hyuk groaned.

“Gooooo! Goooooo!”

It was natural for the Minotaur to get angry.

Just one…

One hit would snuff out his breath.

Whatever the case, finding that one correct timing was the most insanely difficult task.

Seeing the minotaur snorting, Jin-hyuk smiled.

‘Should I provoke it a little more?’

It was almost the end, so he should consider using that last card.

And as expected.

The Minotaur, who had dealt with his constant provocations, activated its unique ability.

[The Guardian of the Labyrinth activates Lv10′ Berserker’.]
[For a duration of 5 minutes from activation, the Minotaur’s attack speed, power, and movement are increased by 30%.]
[Intellect increases temporarily.]
[It will be able to speak.]
Clench!

Clench!

The muscles on its body were swelling up as its eyes turned red.

It was now almost three times its original size. The ax, which had seemed so massive, now looked like a small gardening tool…

Its appearance was quite hard to describe.

“H-how could you defeat this?”

Park Hana fell back as her legs lost strength.

‘This man will not be able to handle it. There is no chance at all now.’

She knew. No matter how hard he tried, it was useless now.

Tingle!

Jin-hyuk felt a tingling sensation on his skin.

It was a strong magic force.

Well…

It was supposed to be a monster that would meet on the 5th floor or higher in the tower.

Even if he tried his best, there was no way for a level 1 player to beat it. It would be impossible even if there were a hundred players here.

Or even if dozens of people were there.

“Human! I will tear you apart and scatter your flesh at the labyrinth’s entrance. I will ensure that people who have lost their minds like you will never invade my place again!”

The Minotaur growled.

Clank!

It stretched the ax in front of its body and released a tangible force of magic from within itself that encroached throughout the labyrinth.

The soil and moisture in the air were slowly burning.

But…

“Not bad. I feel like my magic management is better than before. Still, isn’t it better to use land attributes than fire? In terms of efficiency, it looks better?”

Jin-hyuk was enjoying this pressure. No matter how powerful and fast the attack was, as long as it didn’t hit him, he would be fine.

And Jin-hyuk had the experience to make it possible.

“That isn’t confidence, Human. It is arrogance and ignorance.”

Ignorance… arrogance?

Why was a bull trying to utter such words?

Are you an Australian bull?

“Well. From my view, it isn’t me who is arrogant, but you. Did you know that?”

“Huh? Why do you think so?”

“Berserker. You can’t use that, can you?”

There was a reason the bull didn’t use it till now.

There was a penalty of being unable to move for 24 hours after the effects of Berserker ran out in 5 minutes.

It was because of that.

“… you know more than I thought.”

The Minotaur looked a bit startled.

But it was just for a short moment.

“But do you think you can run from me in that amount of time?”

Five minutes was long.

Especially on such a narrow path.

“Who said that? Me? Running?”

Flames spread across the blade of his dagger.

The flames shimmered across the weapon.

And at the end.

Wheik!

Jin-hyuk released his magic.