Chapter 196
Chapter 196
Sungyoon sat in his seat and checked his equipment .
In the Golem extermination mission, he had gained many things . First, he received real estate in Armstrong . Then, since he had killed many Super Golems, he was told that he would be receiving a lot of additional rewards .
He had picked up information about the Golems and the Super Golems, and he had also learned a little bit more about his mysterious power .
‘Then there’s the Gems… . ’
In the past, all his Gems had evolved from just killing one Super Golem . This time Sungyoon had killed a group of Super Golems .
Of course, his Gems went through explosive growth .
‘Still, isn’t this a bit too much?’
Until now, Sungyoon had been growing at an abnormal rate . However, this was too much even for him . It made him question if this was really ok .
‘Now I have . . . ’
His highest rank Gem was his Evolution Gem that was a Ruby rank Gem . His ‘Amplification Gem" and "Full-body Armor and s.h.i.+eld Gem’ were Jade rank Gems . His Sword, Halberd, Red Cape, and the Strength-Enhancing Gems were Platinum rank . T
All of them had been Jewel rank Gems originally .
However, Sungyoon possessed a Brooch with eight Ruby rank slots, and his Gems had been evolving too fast . So he had taken out the bracelet with two Platinum slots and two Gold slots and stashed it away as a backup . His seldom-used Red rank ax, which was the highest ranked Rainbow rank Gem, was raised to Platinum rank . His Silver rank Gem was raised to Platinum rank . Then there were the ‘Sense enhancement and strength enhancing’ Gems, which had been Purple rank Gems . They were now Gold rank Gems .
‘The evolution of the Rainbow rank Gems went way too fast . ’
He had skipped two to three ranks each time . The speed was shocking . However, the evolution speed of the Jewel rank Gems had drastically slowed as their ranks increased .
Sungyoon slotted the Gem Evolution, Jewel Amplification, Full-body armor, s.h.i.+eld, Sword, Halberd, Ax, and Hammer Gems into the Brooch . He slotted the Cape, Gem two Strength Enhancing Gems, and the Sense Enhancing Gem into the bracelet .
Sungyoon’s fighting style depended on switching weapons using his fast Gem activation speed .
This was why he determined it would be most advantageous for him to evolve his weapons and s.h.i.+eld .
At this point, he had pretty much caught up to the high rank Connectors who had partic.i.p.ated in the Golem elimination mission . Of course, this would allow him to clear the labyrinths more easily .
‘The problem is the power difference between me and my party members . ’
His party members hadn’t reached their limits yet . If they worked diligently to acquire good Gems, they’ll reach his level at some point .
‘I could evolve their Gems . ’
However, he had to discuss this with them first .
‘It is about time for me to leave too . ’
At some point, Sungyoon had become the ultimate weapon against the Golems . So the researchers had pushed hard for him to stay behind . Since he still had some time until his party members would arrive on the Moon, he had decided to agree to their request . However, now, it was time for him to return to Armstrong .
‘They should be fine now . ’
The Golems no longer appeared in the labyrinths, and the researchers would return to Armstrong city soon .
They had already gathered many samples, and they were under financial pressure . Armstrong couldn’t continue to keep so many Connectors on their payroll .
Sungyoon went to look for the Director . He had to give a report to the director since the Director was in charge of investigating the labyrinth .
The Director and several researchers practically had their faces against the wall as they studied it . Sungyoon approached them, but they show any reaction .
Sungyoon lightly cleared his throat .
“Huh? Ah . It"s Mr . Woo . What can I do for you?”
The Director moved away from the wall . However, his eyes remained stuck on the wall .
His dedication to research was astounding . The other researchers had reacted to Sungyoon clearing his throat, but they went back to examining the wall once again .
“I’m about to head back to Armstrong . ”
“Ah . Is that so? I guess it"s already time for you to return to Armstrong . Will you be leaving immediately?”
“No . I plan on staying another day . ”
“Thank you for everything . I’m not sure it"s appropriate for me to say this, but I would like to thank you as a representative of Armstrong . ”
“It was nothing . In fact, I wonder if I gained more from this venture than you . ”
“You worked hard for our research… No, you embraced the opportunity to help Armstrong city when it was in peril . ”
“You almost revealed your true feelings . ”
The Director laughed out loud in embarra.s.sment .
“So how’s your research going? Is it going well?”
When he heard Sungyoon’s questions, the face of the jovial Director stiffened . He let out a sigh .
“If I’m being honest, it isn’t going well . ”
“Didn’t you gather a lot of samples?”
“That"s about all we accomplished . Of course, it"s a good thing that we acquired a lot of samples of the Golems . However, we quickly found out that the wall samples were unexceptional . ”
Sungyoon was surprised . The wall boasted extreme st.u.r.diness, and it was capable of deflecting all high rank spells . It couldn’t be cracked with weapons under a certain rank, yet the Director called the samples unexceptional .
‘Is it because it"s too hard to a.n.a.lyze?’
Even if it was the case, the Director wouldn’t have used the word ‘unexceptional" .
“Those samples are worth nothing . It might be useful for astronomy, but it holds no value as a sample for studying the labyrinths . It"s something easily found on the moon . The samples are regular rocks . ”
“… Only a very high rank Connector could excavate those samples, yet you"re saying the wall is just made out of regular rocks?”
“I heard about what happened . I do plan on researching the subject further . However, I don"t think the research will bear much fruit . There must be a different reason why it takes a high rank Connector to excavate this common rock . I believe it has something to do with the flow of magical energy within the labyrinths . That is my theory . ”
The Director"s words were very surprising .
“Moreover, there are no ores here . This time, we thought we would be able to gather more samples of the ores . ”
The discovery of the ore had led to the destruction in Armstrong city . It was why they had encountered the Super Golems . It was why the second Lunar city was being built . The ore that was found in the Beginner’s Labyrinth was the root cause of recent events .
However, they were unable to find any ores in the labyrinths that they had investigated so far .
“It isn’t as if you finished investigating all the labyrinth yet . You might still find some . ”
The director nodded .
The Director could see a thread of hope, but he had no idea if that hope could come to fruition .
“Oh my! I unnecessarily showed you an unsightly side of me . Anyways, I will never forget your contribution . Please have a safe journey . ”
“Thank you . ”
After he shook the Director’s hand, Sungyoon left him behind .
He then said goodbye to all his acquaintances . They were all the top Connectors of their respective countries, so there was no downside to making personal connections with them .
It was as if Sungyoon"s instinct as a businessman was revived, and he inwardly let out a bitter laugh .
“Ah . You are leaving now?”
Hyunwoo had left, but Jinsoo, who was a member of Fabion, remained behind .
“Yes . I have to raid the Great Labyrinth once again with my party members . ”
“I see . I was ordered to stay here, so I can’t leave . ”
‘Son of a b.i.t.c.h! He’s so lucky! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Sung Hyunwoo! Why did he leave me here?!’
As always, Jinsoo’s inner thoughts didn’t match his outwardly smiling face .
“If you don’t mind me asking, which floor of the Great Labyrinth is your main hunting ground right now?”
“We are on the third floor . ”
“You"re on the snowy fields . So you"re still around the entrance . ”
Jinsoo puffed out his chest . The famous Knight was raiding a floor that was worse than his . Jinsoo felt a depraved joy in his heart .
“Mmm . Please don’t take this the wrong way . Don’t underestimate the Great Labyrinth . After you get past the plains, plateau, and snowy fields, you’ll have to go through the volcano, lake, jungle, island, swamp and the desert . These nine floors are considered to be the initial floors of the Great Labyrinth . We operate in the true Great Labyrinth, which is deeper than those initial floors . ”
Jinsoo felt superior so he spoke about it in a proud manner . Then he observed Sungyoon’s face . He wanted to see Sungyoon’s face crumple from his pride being hurt .
“I know you"re experienced in this manner . Thank you for the warning . ”
Jinsoo’s expression soured when Sungyoon gave a heartfelt thanks . Sungyoon’s actions made him look like a very petty loser .
“Mmm . If it’s you . . . ”
This time he was trying to act magnanimous . He was about to give a compliment when it happened .
“Mr . Sungyoon!”
Someone called out Sungyoon, and Jinsoo shut his mouth .
It was Chelsea .
“I heard you"re heading back?”
“Yes . It"s about time when the others will be coming to the Moon . ”
After answering Chelsea, Sungyoon turned toward Jinsoo once again .
“Were you about to say something?”
“No, it"s nothing . ”
‘s.h.i.+t! He even has a beauty by his side during a mission . . . ’
In this mission, Chelsea had gone out of her way to look after Sungyoon . When Sungyoon had felt a pain in his hear the first time, she had stuck close to him and monitored his health . It seemed she was quite worried about him .
Of course, the fact that she was interested in Sungyoon was one of the reasons she was so worried about him .
“It seems she has some business with you . We’ll meet again if the opportunity arises . ”
“Yes . I’ll see you at a later time . ”
When Jinsoo quickly got out of there, Chelsea moved up next to Sungyoon in earnest .
“How’s your heart? Is it ok?”
As expected . Sungyoon let out a bitter laugh .
“I’m fine . That power doesn’t come out unless I face off against the Golems . ”
Other 1st Gens had felt this sensation fighting normal monsters, but it had been a random and rare occurrence . For some odd reason, Sungyoon only felt the sensation when he fought the Golems .
Chelsea stared at the part of Sungyoon’s chest, where his heart would be . However, she couldn"t do much for him .
She inwardly had some regrets about her field of study . Maybe, she should have studied biology .
“Still, you should really be careful . There isn’t much known about the anatomy and physiology of Connectors . ”
“It"s something hard to do as a Connector . However, I will try my best to be careful . ”
“Good . Let’s have some drinks later on . I’ll have to focus on my research for a while . ”
Until now, the researchers had conducted their research within the research facility in Armstrong city . However, they now had six labyrinths they could use for their research . They just needed to hire some decent Connectors for protection .
The researchers would probably spend a lot of time within these labyrinths .
“They said they’ll call me when they will clear the Beginner’s Labyrinth . I’ll see you then if you have some spare time . ”
“Mmm . That sounds reasonable . Alright . I’ll see you then . ”
The two of them conversed a little bit more . Chelsea wanted to talk to him more, but she had come here for research . She couldn’t continue to have a private conversation with him, so she returned to her fellow researchers .
Kyaa-ahk!
At that moment, a monster’s cry rang out .
Sungyoon looked at the source of the sound . A low-rank monster was mindlessly charging toward them .
All the Connectors looked annoyed by the appearance of this monster .
Sungyoon signaled to everyone that he"d take care of it .
Suh-guhk!
He didn’t need any fancy movements . Sungyoon just went through the motion as he cut down the monster . Then he tried swinging his sword a couple more times through the air .
He had tried to a.s.sure Chelsea with his words, but he was quite worried about his own power and body .
If he could use this new power and senses freely, it would help greatly him in his goal of clearing the Great Labyrinth . That was a guarantee .
Sungyoon put away his sword .
‘I’ll have to hunt monsters and try to awaken that sensation while fighting them . I’ll also have to look up 1st Gen Connectors who felt the same sensation as me . ’
Sungyoon turned around and returned to the other Connectors .