Chapter 81

Chapter 81

The entrance of the Beginner’s Labyrinth was bustling with Connectors exiting the labyrinth . Some of them looked relieved that they had survived the day . Most of them had bright faces as they converted the weight of the moonstones into wealth in their minds .

Sungyoon, Tim, and Emily observed this sight .

“In the beginning, I wanted to gain experience as soon as possible . I wanted to be a.s.signed a Personal labyrinth . Now that the time has come, I have mixed feelings . ”

Tim let out his thoughts .

He wanted to achieve his mother’s dream with his sister . He thought about the day he took his first step into the Beginner’s Labyrinth . He had done so with high spirits . Had he become attached to this labyrinth? The man knew that was bulls.h.i.+t, so he shook his head from side to side .

“… it really is the end . ”

Emily stood next to her brother as she looked at the labyrinth . She let out a sigh as she spoke .

If there was a beginning, there had to be an end . By clearing the Beginner’s Labyrinth, they had walked a step closer to achieving their dream . They should be happy, and they were happy . However, there was a part of their heart that felt wistful .

They had finished clearing the Beginner’s Labyrinth, but it also meant that they had to disband their party with Sungyoon .

“It isn’t the end . It is a new beginning . ”

As if he understood her feelings, Tim consoled his sister by patting her shoulder . However, her reply was ruthless .

“My a.r.s.e!”

Tim’s face contorted in a funny manner .

“Really…!”

Soon, the two siblings fell into their familiar routine of bickering with each other . They exchanged verbal insults . Words flowed back and forth like water . It was as if they were in their element . They even used childish arguments . They brought up an incident from 10 years ago as to who ate more pie . Sungyoon stood a bit away from them as he looked at the labyrinth .

If he thought about it, his relations.h.i.+p with the two siblings had left a profound impression in his heart . In the beginning, they had been a nuisance that had brought a monster towards him . Of course, there was no ill intent behind their actions, and they had taken responsibility for it . Sungyoon had no ill-will left towards them . Afterward, he had accepted their offer of making a party, and the trio had been fighting together for the past half a year in the dark and dreary labyrinth . Now, it was time for them to part from each other, and it would have been a lie if Sungyoon said he felt nothing .

Normally, he had nothing better to do, so he usually waited for the two siblings to finish their fight . However, that wasn’t the case that day .

“Shouldn’t we start going now?”

The two siblings stopped their verbal spat when Sungyoon interrupted them . Both of them looked embarra.s.sed and shame-faced . However, they continued to glare at each other with sharp eyes .

Sungyoon pointed towards the opposite direction of the labyrinth .

“We’ve cleared the Beginner’s Labyrinth as beginner Connectors . This will be the last time we’ll be able to have a drink with each other . Since we don’t have much time left, we should start heading out right now . ”

They would occasionally meet to work on their teamwork, so they might get the chance to come back to the Beginner’s labyrinth . However, they won’t have the same opportunity to drink alcohol like today .

“We really don’t have time to waste here . ”

This was their last hurrah . Even if it was a bit unreasonable, Tim wanted them to drink until their nose turned crooked . Sungyoon just accepted Tim’s loud proclamation . Emily was still staring daggers at her brother, so he just walked past her . She grumbled at Tim but agreed with the plan . She silently followed after him .

On that day, Tim and Emily drank as if they wanted to kill their liver . They had started off lightly with a couple cans of beer, but they had also ordered hard liquor with very high alcohol content . They started drinking like a fish . Connectors" bodies were hardy, so they didn’t get drunk easily . However, there was a limit to how much a Connector’s body could process .

The two siblings pretty much pa.s.sed the bottle between the two of them, and they poured alcohol down their throat . Unlike the two siblings, Sungyoon stuck to his usual beer . In the end, he was the only one that wasn’t severely impaired by alcohol .

‘I guess I should have expected this . ’

After he downed the last ounce of beer remaining in the can, Sungyoon stood up . The Ross siblings had paid beforehand, so the receipt was present at the corner of the table . Sungyoon tried his best not to see the figure printed on the receipt as he cleared the table . He helped the two outside . The two siblings were in a complete stupor .

‘I should really be thankful for having the body of a Connector . ’

Tim was a stocky man that was over 190cm tall . Emily was taller than the average woman, over 170cm tall . Sungyoon was supporting both of them, yet he wasn’t having a hard time . Drunk people usually became touchy, so that was annoying . However, the two of them were capable of walking if Sungyoon supported them .

Sungyoon exited the store and moved towards where the Ross siblings resided . He already knew the location of their lodging . Fortunately, the place wasn’t that far from the store .

He arrived in front of a building after walking for around 30 minutes . The three-story building was made out of concrete, and it was indistinct . It was accommodations provided by their company . It wasn’t some fancy house, but it was much better than living in the ‘Chicken Coop’ .

First, Sungyoon tried to wake up Emily .

“Ms . Emily . We’ve arrived at your lodging . Ms . Emily . ”

He was supporting Tim with one hand, so he had to shake the hand supporting her . Emily’s body shook this way and that . Her face was slack, and her hair covered her face . It made her look like some crazy cat lady . However, the shaking was effective . Emily groaned as she raised her head .

“Mmm!”

She barely regained consciousness, but she wasn’t of sound mind yet .

She turned to look at Sungyoon, who was propping her up .

“Ah~! Sungyoon~ Bah~!”

She spoke much slower, and she was tripping over her words . She was the ideal image of a drunk person .

She raised both hands and encircled her arms around Sungyoon’s neck . In the next moment, she clung to him like a baby monkey hugging its mother .

Tuhk!

However, she couldn’t put any strength into her arms and legs, so she almost fell to the floor . Sungyoon halted her fall by grabbing her waist . She was tall for a woman, but Sungyoon was also over 180cm tall . There was enough of a height difference and an angle that allowed her to hang from Sungyoon’s neck .

Emily possessed a dazzling beauty . There was a sweet-smelling fragrance that tickled his nose, and her ample b.r.e.a.s.t.s were pressed against his body . Any man would find their heart beating faster in such a situation .

However, Sungyoon just frowned as he let out a sigh . She was only an annoying drunkard to him right now .

“Look~ Here~! I~~really regret it~!”

The arms around Sungyoon’s neck tightened, and she moved her face closer to his face . She had pale skin and large brown eyes . She was exhaling breath that was mixed with the smell of alcohol . She was oozing s.e.x appeal . It was enough to make anyone blush . However, Sungyoon looked annoyed, and he raised his head to avoid her face .

“Continue~! With Mr . Sungyoon! I want to~ Party with you~!”

“I see . It really is too bad . ”

“That’s~ Right! It reeeeeeeeeeeeallllllllly is too~ Bad!”

“Yes, yes . I understand . Ok . ”

Sungyoon gave soulless answers . He gave up on trying to make Emily come to her senses .

She kept mumbling as she tried to entangle herself with Sungyoon . He did his best to fend her off, and this time Sungyoon shook the brother .

“… . ”

He didn’t wake up at all . He was already on a trip to the dream world, and he had set up real estate there . Tim was fully asleep . In fact, it was faint, but Sungyoon could hear him snore .

One sibling was clinging to him, and the other wasn’t waking up . Sungyoon had no choice . He moved the two of them towards the front door of the building .

Ding dong!

He was barely able to use his thumb to press the doorbell, since he was holding the two siblings in each hand . It didn’t take long for the interphone to let out static, and Sungyoon heard someone’s voice .

[Who is it?]

“h.e.l.lo . My name is Woo Sungyoon . I’m party members with Mr . Tim Ross and Ms . Emily Ross . They are both drunk, so I’ve escorted them here . ”

[Wait a moment . ]

It seemed the man had seen Tim and Emily’s wrecked state through the interphone’s camera . He didn’t ask any other questions and hung up the interphone .

After a brief moment . . .

Squeak!

The door opened, and a man stepped out . It was a young-looking man with a large beard . He was a Connector, and one much older than he looked . His eyes headed toward Sungyoon and then at the two hanging onto him . Emily was rubbing her face against Sungyoon, and Tim was snoring . The man frowned .

“Would you look at these… . ”

He looked at Sungyoon .

“Did you say you are Woo Sungyoon? You are a member of their party?”

“That"s right . ”

The man yelled loudly into the building . After a brief moment, two people exited the building . It was a young man and a young woman . Their faces hardened a little bit when they saw what kind of state Tim and Emily were in . The two of them took instructions from the bearded man, and they moved to take Tim and Emily .

Tim was sleeping, so he didn’t present much of a problem . But Emily was semi-conscious, and she wasn’t letting go of Sungyoon’s neck . Everyone looked surprised by this . However, Sungyoon was too busy trying to detach Emily’s hands from his body to notice . She was a woman, but she was also a Connector . She had a vice-like grip, and Sungyoon needed to use a considerable amount of strength to peel off her arms .

She continued to flail her arms towards Sungyoon as she was being dragged into the building . Sungyoon ma.s.saged his neck, which had turned red . It felt as if he had been attacked by a wild animal .

“They caused you a lot of trouble . Thank you very much . ”

The man thanked Sungyoon .

“It’s fine . I’ll take my leave . ”

Since he had walked the two siblings home, his work here was done . He no longer had any reason to stay here . Sungyoon gave his farewell, and he left .

As Sungyoon moved farther away, the man kept his searching eyes on his back .

‘So, he is the man named Woo Sungyoon . ’

He was Tim and Emily’s party member and was quite famous within their company . Tim and Emily were bright future prospects, and they had continued to praise Sungyoon nonstop .

However, Sungyoon didn’t enjoy high public sentiment in their company . Tim spoke about all the reasons why he admired Sungyoon, but he was only met with ridicule . In the first place, most Connectors didn’t think too highly about the idea of raiding the Great Labyrinth . That was the prevailing opinion in their company . When they heard about Sungyoon, he sounded like a dummy that didn’t know how the world worked . Moreover, he was only a 1st Gen Connector . He was barking up a tree that he couldn’t climb . This was why everyone thought Sungyoon was a blowhard .

However, Tim didn’t allow others to mock Sungyoon . He almost got into several fights with other members of his company . Thankfully, surrounding people stopped the fight, so nothing big came out of it .

No one talked to Tim about that topic afterward . It also meant opinions about Tim within the company tanked, and Sungyoon’s reputation tanked further .

Moreover, Emily was showing signs of being romantically interested in Sungyoon . It was another reason why the man"s image suffered greatly .

Emily possessed extraordinary beauty . Many men within the company liked her . Connectors were polygamists, and they maintained their youthful appearance as they aged . This was why many Connectors had much younger spouses . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say most of the Connectors within their company was aiming for Emily . However, some weirdo had shown up from nowhere, and he had stolen Emily’s heart . Not to mention, he was only a 1st Gen Connector .

For many reasons, many in the company didn’t look kindly on Sungyoon .

Everyone had a nickname for Sungyoon . The Connectors called him idiot, blowhard, scammer, etc .

Of course, the man looking at Sungyoon’s back didn’t have friendly eyes either .

‘Still, this is the end to their a.s.sociation . ’

Sungyoon was a mere 1st Gen, while Tim and Emily were 3rd Gen . They would live a different life from this point on . They were living in different worlds . They had said that they would try to meet occasionally to practice teamwork for the Great Labyrinth raid . That was easier said than done . He would come up with likely excuses to split them apart .

If Sungyoon used their personal relations.h.i.+p to ride the coattails of the Ross siblings . . .

‘I"ll take care of him somehow . ’

Murderous intent flickered in his eyes as he stared at the distant back of Sungyoon .