Chapter 173

Chapter 173

When he heard its unpleasant cackling, Hyunwoo’s eyebrows twitched .

- Good . Very good .

“Why are we going out of our way to use this method? We already have our original plan . ”

- It"s good to have many plans in reserve . If the backup plan is more effective than the original plan, there is no reason why we can’t switch them . The transport of the Behemoth was a success . I don’t think it"s an exaggeration to say that my plan is better than the original plan .

“Is that how it is? I wouldn’t recommend you using that plan . ”

When it heard Hyunwoo’s words, its four eyes narrowed .

- … What are you saying? Didn’t you say the attempt was successful?

“Yes . It was a success . The transport to earth was a success . ”

- … It seems there was some other problem

Hyunwoo could imagine the repulsive face scrunch up within the hood, and the thought cheered him up . He spoke .

“The Behemoth was successfully transported to Earth, but there was a fatal side effect . ”

- What kind of side effect?

“It became incredibly weak . ”

- … By how much?

“The Behemoth had staggered on its feet after letting out one Breath . ”

Hyunwoo heard a groan as a response to his words .

It always showed arrogance as it looked down on humans . It even looked down on him . So when it groaned, Hyunwoo felt his mood significantly improve .

“Since there was no magical energy in the surroundings, the Behemoth couldn"t use its true power . However, it had become too weak even if there was a lack of magical energy . The only conclusion I can come to is that there is a problem with the transportation process . Why don’t you just focus on executing the original plan?”

He was giving advice in good faith, but it coldly turned him down .

- You don’t have to worry about that . In my plan, I have some room to work with . A variable of this magnitude won’t stop my plan from coming to fruition .

“However, what if your carelessness brings harm to your master?”

In a flash, a ma.s.sive amount of killing intent shot out of its four eyes . However, Hyunwoo remained languid as he let the killing intent flow past him .

“Hey, hey . Don’t get so excited . I’m saying this because I’m worried . I"ve no ulterior motive . Although I"m human, I’m on your side . He isn’t just your master . He is our master . Of course, I would be worried about our master, right?”

Its killing intent lessened, but the unpleasant energy coming out of its body didn’t disappear .

- That"s none of your d.a.m.n business .

“Is that so? I’m fine with that . ”

Hyunwoo didn’t push any further and backed off . This caused it to glare at Hyunwoo even more fiercely before turning its back on him .

- Do not forget this . Your power was given to you by us .

After leaving behind those words, it disappeared into the darkness .

Hyunwoo snorted .

‘It doesn’t matter if it"s Lee Dongin or this b.a.s.t.a.r.d . Why am I so unlucky? Why can"t I get a decent boss? Jeez . ’

Lee Dongin was probably going nuts at the arrival of the Behemoth on Earth . He was probably looking for Hyunwoo . Hyunwoo just shook his head .

Hyunwoo no longer wanted to stay in this dark and damp place . He turned around to exit this place . However, he suddenly felt the urge to look behind once again .

‘Our master… . ’

For a brief moment, Hyunwoo looked at the door that remained firmly closed . Then he resumed walking .

***

Sungyoon and Grace were cautious as they hunted monsters within Sungyoon’s Personal Labyrinth . This went on for several days before the Ross siblings finally arrived on the Moon . When the much-antic.i.p.ated news about the siblings" arrival was delivered to Sungyoon and Grace, they immediately headed back to Armstrong .

“It"s really good to see you, Mr . Sungyoon!”

It seemed Tim had gone through some difficult times . He vigorously shook Sungyoon’s hand . Emily, who stood behind Tim, also looked very happy to see Sungyoon .

“Did everything work out?”

“It didn’t go well . ”

Tim shook his head from side to side . At the very least, Tim and Emily wanted to match their rotation schedule with Sungyoon and Grace’s schedule . However, it had been impossible to arrange it that way .

Sungyoon listened to the Ross siblings" schedule .

“Our schedule differs by a month . ”

“We did our best to match our schedule to yours . ”

Tim sounded as if he was making an excuse, but that wasn’t the case at all . Tim and Emily had fought tooth and nail in order to sync their schedules with Sungyoon and Grace .

“Thankfully, the fact that we were partied with Mr . Sungyoon and Ms . Grace allowed us some leeway . ”

If that had not been the case, the higher rank Connectors would have been given priority over the Ross siblings in the rotation schedule . Then, Tim and Emily would have been given a completely different schedule from Sungyoon .

“I bet they were giving priority to parties with all Canadian members . It"s to be expected . ”

“That"s right . ”

When Sungyoon spoke in an understanding manner, Tim enthusiastically nodded .

“It’s fine . The difference in our scehdules isn"t that big . I think it turned out pretty well all things considered . ”

It wasn’t as if they could meet only once a year like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl . A month"s difference could be overcome .

Anyway, the mana stream within the Great Labyrinth was constant . There wasn’t a time period that was safer to enter, unlike the regular labyrinths .

“So we’ll finally be entering the Great Labyrinth tomorrow . ”

When Sungyoon spoke those words, the faces of Grace and the Ross siblings stiffened from nervousness . They would finally enter the infamous Great Labyrinth .

The three of them had decided to raid the Great Labyrinth of their own volition, but it didn’t mean they weren’t nervous about it .

Still, they couldn’t be fearful forever .

“Let’s do it!”

As if he wanted to break the chain of fear, Tim shouted out loud .

“I can finally continue my mother’s legacy . ”

“As a member of the British Royal family, there is no better way for me to serve the country than this . ”

Emily and Grace vocalized why they wanted to go into the Great Labyrinth, and they let their fighting spirit take over .

“We’ll head in tomorrow . ”

The Ross siblings and Grace nodded at Sungyoon"s words, and the firm resolve on their faces was evident .

***

On the next day, Sungyoon’s party re-checked everything one final time in front of the entrance to the Great Labyrinth .

Each member needed three Jewel rank Gems in order to enter the Great Labyrinth . Aside from Sungyoon, the rest of the party had been short a Jewel rank Gem . However, the British government had given them each a Silver rank Gem as a reward for investigating the magical energy within the cave .

Sungyoon and Grace had received more since they had saved London . Each of them received an additional Jewel rank Gem, and Sungyoon even received a high-rank Device .

Sungyoon checked the Jewel rank Gems that he possessed .

The Rainbow Gems was divided into seven ranks . As for the Jewel Gems, they were divided into eight ranks . Diamond was the highest rank, followed by Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Jade, Platinum, Gold, and Silver .

Sungyoon possessed a sixth Jewel rank Gem in the Platinum armor . Then he possessed two seventh Jewel rank Gems in the Gold s.h.i.+eld and the Gold amplification Gem . Finally, he also possessed a fourth Jewel rank Gem in the Ruby evolution Gem .

This evolution Gem had originally been a White evolution Gem that Sungyoon possessed . But the British Government had given him a one-time-use Gem that instantly upgraded a Gem to Ruby rank . And Sungyoon had immediately used it on the White evolution Gem .

He had done this before, so he was familiar with the process . He didn’t hesitate as he further invested in upgrading the ‘evolution’ Gem . Then he equipped it on the Brooch type Device, which was given to him as a reward .

The brooch had eight universal Ruby rank slots . In some ways, this brooch type Device was more precious than a low Jewel rank Gem .

One could tell how grateful the British government was toward Sungyoon by the rewards he had received .

Sungyoon slotted the Ruby evolution Gem, the Platinum full armor Gem, the Gold sword Gem, the Gold s.h.i.+eld Gem, and the Gold amplification Gem . He also slotted in the Rainbow rank Gems . These included the Red rank halberd Gem, Orange rank cape Gem, and Orange rank sevenfold strength amplification Gem .

‘If I can evolve all eight Gems to Ruby rank, I’ll have a much easier time clearing the Great Labyrinth . ’

In the past, he had focused on evolving his magic Gems first, but his party now had Grace . She was an accomplished magic specialist Connector . Sungyoon"s role in this party now was offense, so he decided to fully commit to evolving Gems for offense .

Sungyoon looked at his party members . They had finished checking and activating their Gems .

“Let’s head in . ”

Sungyoon pointed at the entrance . All of them slowly walked toward the Great Labyrinth .

Most Connectors avoided the Great Labyrinth like the plague, but the four of them steadfastly advanced toward their goal of raiding the Great Labyrinth and stepped inside together .

***

The violent magical energy that was unique to the Mana Stream tickled their entire body . Was it the evil reputation of the Great Labyrinth causing the nervousness? Or was it the fact that they had finally achieved a dream that they had for a very long time? Sungyoon’s party was silent .

Aside from Sungyoon, fear and antic.i.p.ation were etched into all of their faces . Sungyoon had already entered the Great Labyrinth once before, so the other party members had heard his story . It had the effect of heightening their emotions .

They could see a light in the distance . Soon, they arrived at the gra.s.sy plain, which was the 1st floor of the Great Labyrinth .

“T . . . this is…!”

“Wow!”

“Oh my!”

Tim, Emily, and Grace didn’t even try to hide their emotions . Even the most famous tourist destination on Earth couldn’t compare to the sight before them . The gra.s.sy plain was beautiful .

‘There is no way this looks like a place with an evil reputation . ’

This was his second time here, yet Sungyoon was still almost mesmerized by the scene in front of him . However, he knew that a brutal blade was hidden within this peaceful atmosphere .

Kahng! Kahng!

Sungyoon clapped his hands twice . His gauntlets clashed against each other, so the sound of steel hitting steel rang out .

“I understand being mesmerized by the sight, but please do not forget that we are within the Great Labyrinth . A small mistake will get us killed . ”

Hearing Sungyoon’s words, the party quickly readjusted their mindset .

Sungyoon was the first to step onto the gra.s.sland, but he didn’t move any further . He could feel a faint vibration through his feet . In his previous visit, he had such a hard time learning how to identify this vibration .

“Everyone… Our first guest is here . ”

As soon as he finished saying his words… .

Pah-ah-ahk!

Dirt sprayed into the air, and something shot out from below the ground . The monster was creepy and long, and its large mouth looked like a lamprey eel . It was the Brutal Worm .

“Kyahh!”

“Oo-ahht!”

The female members let out a high pitch scream . While the prospect of danger didn’t faze them, they were more sensitive to things that had a gross outer appearance .

This didn’t mean Tim was unaffected either . His face was scrunched up within his helm . And in contrast with them all, Sungyoon, who was used to it all, looked calm .

“Let’s start . ”

Sungyoon spoke as he raised his sword .

***

Kwahng!

A large pillar of fire rose into the air . The hot flames consumed the small patch of forest in its entirety . Black smoke covered the blue skies .

Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhk!

Amongst the green trees, camouflaged monsters had been waiting for their prey . And after the attack, several Moving Trees screamed as they ran out of their cover .

Even though their entire body was on fire, these monsters charged through the gra.s.sy plains toward Sungyoon’s party .

“You should act like trees . Just die after being set ablaze!”

Tim swung his ax at a Moving Tree, and then, he bashed it with his s.h.i.+eld . Sungyoon dodged the sharp branches as he swung his sword .

Kah-doo-doo-doohk!

The flame had burned away the monster"s outer bark, and its defense had gone down significantly . Despite this, Sungyoon was having a hard time cutting through the Moving Tree .

Boom!

He swung his s.h.i.+eld to bash the monster . Then using the rebound of the s.h.i.+eld, Sungyoon extracted his sword and stabbed once again .

Ggoo-reek!

The monster let out a bizarre scream before it fell .

However, Sungyoon had only taken down one of them . Tim was attacking another Moving Tree, but he was more focused on his role of protecting Emily and Grace . So, most of the Moving Trees had to be killed by Sungyoon .

“Hoo-ahhhhhhhht!”

Sungyoon planted his sword in another Moving Tree, and at the same time, he summoned his mace . He swung it toward the hilt of his sword . He had used this method to defeat the Behemoth before .

Ggyahhhhhhhhhhk!

The sword went deep into a vital point, and the Moving Tree fell over . Sungyoon moved on to the next foe .

After a short time, all the Moving Trees in the plain fell over like cold blocks of wood .