Moon's Labyrinths

Chapter 299

Chapter 299


Chapter 299


After handing over the corpse, Sungyoon borrowed a small room . He then looked over the Device he had acquired from the armored Connector .


‘I was lucky . ’


The opportunities to kill a high rank Connector like that man without getting wounded were few and far between, and Sungyoon had been rewarded for grasping this opportunity .


For a brief moment, he looked at his own Devices and Gems . He had experienced many fierce battles recently, and his Gems had experienced rapid growth . His sword, halberd, ax, and hammer, all had evolved to Ruby rank, the fourth highest rank amongst the Jewel rank Gems .


The Gravity magic Gem had reached Silver rank, and the Earth magic Gem was now Gold rank . The Strength Enhancement Gem had been upgraded to Jade rank, and his s.h.i.+eld had climbed to Platinum rank .


After all his weapons had reached Ruby rank, he had swapped them with a new set of Gems . He had been focusing on evolving his cloak and another strength-enhancing Gem . Both of them had evolved to Jade rank . As a cherry on top, he even raised the Sense Enhancement Gem and the Strength Doubling Gem to Platinum rank .


Anyone who had fought Sungyoon before would"ve noticed his increase in power if they were to fight again .


Even without the Bone Gem, Sungyoon had become plenty strong .


‘Let’s see . ’


Sungyoon now moved on to the armored Connector’s Device and Gems . Similar to Sungyoon"s devices, many Gems were slotted into the bracelet type Device . The Device wasn’t shaped like a conventional bracelet that clasped around one’s wrist . It spiraled upward from the wrist to the forearm as if it were a snake winding up the arm .


‘This is why he could slot so many Gems . ’


The Device contained thirteen Gems, but a total of twenty-six slots, most of them being high rank . Ten of the twenty-six were Ruby rank slots, and ten were Emerald rank . The remaining six were Sapphire rank slots, which could house the second-highest rank Gem in the Jewel Gems .


Moreover, all the slots were universal, and it didn’t matter what the Gems were shaped like .


‘I can decrease the number of Devices that I wear . ’


Sungyoon found it annoying to equip a lot of Devices . He welcomed the chance to wear a Device that slotted a ma.s.sive number of Gems .


After the Device, he turned to the Gems . Most of them weren"t to Sungyoon’s taste . He had a Ruby rank Evolution Gem, and this cheat could help him acquire many high rank Gems .


In contrast, the armored Connector possessed a good number of low rank Gems . Moreover, a lot of these Gems" abilities overlapped with the abilities Sungyoon"s Gems had . They mostly increased one’s strength .


Of course, he would take them, but he wasn’t interested in them .


‘I’ll take the s.h.i.+eld . ’


Sungyoon picked up the cross-shaped Ruby Gem . Until now, Sungyoon had lost his s.h.i.+elds the most in battles . The one he carried right now was something he had bought with money .


‘Four of my s.h.i.+elds have been destroyed until now . ’


Aside from the disposable Gem that he had used to evolve another Gem and the multiple destroyed s.h.i.+eld Gems, Sungyoon had lost only one other Gen, the spear Gem .


Therefore, Sungyoon was delighted to acquire a new s.h.i.+eld . He immediately activated the Gem, and a new s.h.i.+eld appeared in Sungyoon’s hand . The top of the s.h.i.+eld was straight, and the curved sides met at a point on the bottom . When most people thought about European medieval s.h.i.+elds, this was the shape that would come to mind . It was a Heater s.h.i.+eld .


The s.h.i.+eld was large enough to completely protect his upper body .


‘It"s a st.u.r.dy one . ’


Unlike most of his Jewel rank equipment, the s.h.i.+eld didn’t possess any special abilities . However, it did possess a special characteristic—its unusual st.u.r.diness .


Sungyoon was satisfied with it .


‘The best characteristics for defensive gear are durability and st.u.r.diness . ’


Defensive gear had only one purpose: blocking attacks . For them, durability and st.u.r.diness were more important than any random ability that came with a high rank Gem .


This idea was reinforced by the fact that Sungyoon"s s.h.i.+eld had been destroyed four times .


‘This s.h.i.+eld can sufficiently block weapons that are one rank above it . ’


Sungyoon didn’t hesitate in turning his current s.h.i.+eld into his backup s.h.i.+eld . He decided to use the Heater s.h.i.+eld as his main s.h.i.+eld . Since this s.h.i.+eld was higher in rank, he didn’t need to think about swapping it out .


He then tried swinging it in various directions .


‘I need to use it in battles if I want to get familiar with it . ’


This wasn’t a problem for Sungyoon . In the current atmosphere, it was clear that the army of monsters would continue to attack humanity . He would be fighting an awful lot of battles .


Next, Sungyoon checked the mace .


‘Magical energy amplification?’


The mace was capable of amplifying the effects of support magic including healing spells .


‘This should go to Ms . Emily . ’


Sungyoon immediately had that thought .


‘The armored Connector healed and buffed himself in the fight . ’


Sungyoon had also found very high rank healing Gems and Support Gems in the lot he had gained .


‘I’ll just hand all of this to Ms . Emily . That"ll be for the best . ’


This time, he took out the armor . The armor was Ruby rank too .


Moreover, it was similar to the s.h.i.+eld . It didn’t have any extra abilities other than being extra durable and st.u.r.dy . However, Sungyoon didn’t feel the need to swap out his current armor . Still, he was pleased with acquiring a backup armor .


‘I’ll have to get rid of this . ’


Sungyoon had kept various pieces of armors in case his main armor was destroyed . He no longer needed them . They were Orange rank boots, Yellow rank bracers, leg guards, and a helmet .


Even if these Gems were rare, a Connector of Sungyoon’s caliber carried them as backup gear . He even found that thought to be absurd, so he shook his head from side to side .


‘I’ll donate it to the company . ’


It would be given to the Connectors who would be juniors to him in the company . Of course, this was all a.s.suming Armstrong city and the Moon returned to normal .


Lastly, Sungyoon looked at the Emerald Gem . This was the first time he had set eyes on such a high rank Gem . It was the third-highest rank amongst the Jewel rank Gem .


Sungyoon activated it .


‘It"s another special ability Gem . ’


When he saw the hexagonal shape, he had thought about all the possibilities .


‘This can increase the ability of an equipped Gem to correspond with the rank of the slot . ’


This meant that Sungyoon could slot the lowest Rainbow rank Gem into the highest Jewel rank slot . He could put a Purple Gem into a Diamond rank slot, and by activating this Emerald rank Gem, the Purple rank Gem would perform like a Diamond rank Gem .


It was a special ability Gem that was very narrow in scope, but had the potential to become a boon for Sungyoon .


‘He was supposed to be weakened on Earth, yet his mace was unusually powerful . Was this the reason?’


The man had probably slotted his Ruby rank Gem into the Sapphire rank slot and used the special ability . Thus, the Ruby rank Gem behaved like a Sapphire rank Gem .


‘The limitation didn’t come from the ability of this Gem . He could only raise the mace"s rank by one level because he only possessed a Device with a Sapphire rank slot . ’


If the armored Connector had a Device with a Diamond rank slot, he would have been able to wield power equivalent to a Diamond rank Gem .


Still, Sungyoon didn’t mind the gain . He had basically acquired the power of a Sapphire rank Gem . Now, his mind was working to decide which Gem he should use the ability on .


It didn’t take him too long to make a decision .


‘This is the only logical choice . ’


Sungyoon tapped his finger on a Gem . It was the Evolution Gem, the reason for Sungyoon"s rapid growth .


‘If I can increase its ability to Sapphire rank, I should be able to evolve the other Gems into Sapphire rank . ’


There was a possibility that even the Evolution Gem would evolve itself .


Sungyoon placed the Gems into the new Device .


‘I’ll have to return this . ’


To evolve the Gems of his comrades, he had borrowed a Device with five Ruby rank universal slots from Sir Russell . He now stored that Device into his storage Gem .


Then, he started to transfer all his Gems to the new Device .


‘This is great . I can slot so many Gems at once . ’


He made sure he still had enough s.p.a.ce to slot in six Gems for his party members . The rest twenty slots had been filled with Gems . He slotted in the Emerald rank strength-enhancing Gem that he acquired from the armored Connector alongside his own strength doubling Gem .


Unlike before, he wasn’t wearing the arm bracer, the brooch, and the numerous necklaces . He only wore two Devices, sporting a clean look; one was the Device that spiraled up from his wrist to his forearm, and the other was a large brooch on his chest .


‘I like it . It"s neat . ’


Sungyoon loved his new look, and he was satisfied by the fact that he would be able to evolve his Gems further .


‘The only thing left is to fight . ’


He would probably fight until he was sick of it .


Sungyoon hardened his heart as he put the finis.h.i.+ng touches on his newly-acquired power .


***


As Sungyoon had predicted, the monsters" attacks continued . Thankfully, after a while, a pattern in monsters" appearance was discovered, and this helped the countries avoid ma.s.s casualties . Of course, it also meant that the Connectors were fully focused on Earth .


The forces of Grenoid got their wish; humanity’s movement became greatly restricted .


“Aren’t you tired?”


“I’m fine . ”


Even though she heard Sungyoon’s words, Jimin’s face didn’t relax .


If she hadn"t been driving, she would"ve brushed his cheek with her hand to see if he had lost weight .


Jimin"s worries weren"t baseless . All the Connectors capable of using their abilities on Earth, which included Sungyoon, continuously fought the monsters .


“Please go home and rest . Don’t do any work . ”


“I’ll do as you say . ”


Sungyoon didn’t feel any fatigue, but he showed an understanding of Jimin’s feelings . Without saying much, he nodded .


The two of them were heading toward their home . After Woosang and Woosung had been arrested, they had gained a new family member in Soyoung . Therefore, Sungyoon, Jimin, and s.h.i.+nhae were living at Hweeyoung and Aiin’s house . However, the situation with Fabion was coming to an end . Woosung and Woosang had been deemed innocent, and they would be released in a couple of days . Then there was Plu-El, who was trying to find a place to settle down .


It was slowly time for Sungyoon and his family to return to their home .


The two of them were going to check up on their house before bringing back s.h.i.+nhae .


Jimin smoothly parked her car in the driveway . They were about to walk past the front yard to enter their home when they noticed it .


“Huh?”


Jimin, who had been walking ahead, came to a stop . Sungyoon also stared at their home .


“… Light?”


Their house should be empty, yet a faint light was leaking out through the window . Sungyoon placed a hand on Jimin’s shoulder .


“Are we expecting someone today?”


“N . . . no . I didn"t tell anyone about the security code . ”


“Step back . ”


Sungyoon stepped in front of Jimin as if he wanted to protect her . He then carefully moved forward as Jimin cautiously looked at him .


“Please be careful”


She spoke in a low voice full of worry .


Ggee-eek!


Sungyoon found the front door unlocked . He slowly entered the house and saw that all the lights were off . The light that was leaking outside was the light coming from the TV . Moreover, Sungyoon could hear voices coming from the TV speakers .


He slowly entered the living room . Someone was sitting on his sofa and watching the TV . The man looked as comfortable as if he were the owner of the house .


“You"re here?”


Sungyoon knew this voice, and he felt a chill run down his spine . He immediately activated his Gems as he raised his guard against the man sitting on the sofa . In contrast to him, the man on the sofa was relaxed . He stood up and turned toward Sungyoon .


“You"re late . ”