31The second word overturns the game board (Episode 119)
Snowfall’s eyes turned cold in an instant..
“do you know me?”
Park Chang-sik said while looking at the person next to him who ran here with him..
“also! You did things right!”
“brother! I said that's right. I was always guarding the north gate, but I passed by at the right time and ran straight to my brother.!”
“Well done, well done!”
Kang Seol asked the people who were having an unknown conversation among themselves..
“Let me ask you. do you know me?”
“Oh, sorry. With the guests in front... Have you ever stopped by Audenin before??”
“yes. you're right.”
“phew… This is the person we missed back then. I've been waiting ever since then.”
There was only one thing that Snowfall could think of right now..
‘You waited for me? Why?’
Requests to intervene in conflicts or disputes between guilds were refused..
Of course, I was going to refuse any request that was more trivial than that..
“The reason you waited for me….”
“I will explain it to you step by step. First of all, it seems like you haven't found a place to stay. Instead of sleeping in an uncomfortable place, let's go to the place we have prepared in advance..”
“beforehand… You prepared a bed for me??”
In Kang Seol's mind, the image of Park Chang-sik was left as a man who was so thoroughly prepared that he went beyond thoroughness and was a bit reluctant..
“yes. It had been vacant for quite some time, but I was still maintaining it just in case. Let's go there first..”
Originally, it was an offer that should have been rejected. Sleeping in accommodation prepared by someone whose intentions I don't know..
“We won't have anything for you to worry about. If we meet again like this and there is a problem, we are in a more difficult position..”
“I understand for now.”
“thank you Jong-seo, take the kids first and check the management of the accommodation..”
“Okay, bro..”
“Okay, good job..”
As people rushed out, only Park Chang-sik was left..
“Oh, the woman next to me….”
“We are a group.”
“You can rest assured that the property has multiple rooms..”
Although he didn't really worry about that problem, Park Chang-sik looked proud as if he had solved it..
“Isn't it cold??”
Park Chang-sik's attire looked a little simple. He nodded furiously at Kang Seol’s question..
“Yes, it's very cold. So, let’s walk quickly. The night air is cold.”
Kang Seol implicitly felt that he was left alone for a purpose..
If it was simply to guide you to your accommodation, you could have asked others to do it..
Taking action without hesitation means that there is a purpose that suits it..
“Do you have something to say??”
“Yes, there is. First of all, I have to remove that wariness that was placed on me. I think it'll be enough while I'm on my way home.….”
“well.”
“Haha, I can't help it.”
Park Chang-sik was bolder than expected..
He said while blowing on his hands..
“To begin with, I need your help right now..”
“I hate getting caught up in troublesome things..”
“You don't need to worry about that. You probably won't think it's a hassle..”
“Let me tell you..”
“Some time ago, even before the day you first came to Audenin, an object was discovered. That's why I've been waiting for you.”
Kang Seol smelled the insidious smell of Park Chang-sik’s words..
Not exactly from Park Chang-sik, but from the object he spoke of..
Park Chang-sik took something out of his pocket and showed it to Kang-seol. It was a pebble with a strange pattern engraved on it..
“Hmm….”
Soon, information about the object occurred to me..
[Proof of qualification (penance))]
Grade: Rare
Appropriate level: None
Weight: 0.1kg
Proof needed to enter the Labyrinth of Asceticism.
A total of 5 people can enter with one certificate..
Special ability: Enter the Labyrinth of Asceticism.
“This….”
Snowfall looked at the pebble and thought for a moment that it looked familiar..
Especially the patterns carved on the stone surface..
‘It is a sign of the labyrinth.!’
labyrinth.
A type of ruin that exists throughout the Pandean continent..
There are many reasons for distinguishing between regular ruins and labyrinths, but if I had to choose just one, it was the survival rate..
Unlike regular ruins, the labyrinth was literally impossible to escape from..
The demonic beasts and traps within the labyrinth were a problem, but the most egregious thing was the murderous intent..
‘The labyrinth wants the blood of the intruder..’
The labyrinth had a will in the space itself..
If the ruins are about exploring the body of a dead whale, the labyrinth is about entering the mouth of a living whale..
However, despite these differences, numerous adventurers and mercenaries headed there as soon as the labyrinth was discovered..
Because there are many treasures sleeping right there..
The labyrinth was a place where you could get special rewards that were slightly different from the treasures you could normally get from ordinary ruins..
Like a flytrap, people were sucked into the labyrinth..
But even if the labyrinth was discovered, not everyone could enter it..
There had to be a certificate, which was the minimum requirement to enter the labyrinth..
And the token could be harvested from powerful monsters around the place where the labyrinth was discovered..
In short, the token was a symbol that proved the minimum qualifications to enter the labyrinth..
‘The fact that I got this... Has the labyrinth been discovered??’
Snowfall had explored labyrinths throughout the continent of Pandea. It can be said that he broke through most of the continental labyrinth..
Once someone breaks through this labyrinth, they move to another area..
So, I was able to encounter the labyrinth I had overcome in the southern region again in the northern region..
Of course, the probability of that happening was very slim..
“Has the labyrinth been discovered??”
“Yes, that's right. It is literally a labyrinth of asceticism..”
Kang Seol thought of a question mark to Park Chang-sik, who answered calmly..
“I don't understand. Why are you telling me, an outsider, that fact??”
“haha… As an outsider, aren’t you keeping your distance too much? You're not an outsider since you already know about the labyrinth, aren't you??”
Park Chang-sik scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly..
Although he showed his wit, Kang Seol's expression was cold..
“…You've already been there once..”
“Ugh… I'm noticing... Are you familiar with the labyrinth??”
“It's hard to say I don't know.”
“okay. Well, your score is almost 3 times higher, so it's worth it. Is there ever a secret?….”
“Rather, let's talk about the labyrinth..”
“Yes. The labyrinth comes first. therefore… hmm… Private? How should I call it??”
“This is Snowman.”
“Snowman. It's a snowman. It's exquisite, the score doesn't seem human.….”
Park Chang-sik said, clutching the certificate tightly..
“In fact, the token was never one to begin with..”
he spread his fingers.
3The dog's fingers are spread out.
“3It was a dog.”
“But there is only one left….”
“Yes, that's right. I have already entered the labyrinth twice. I did it myself once.”
Kang Seol listened to Park Chang-sik's words and synthesized the before and after situations and suddenly remembered a memory from the past..
Sometimes memories surface like this. Because I haven't gotten all my memories back yet..
‘Labyrinth of penance... is it. That's how it happened.’
The Labyrinth of Penance proceeded in a slightly special way..
Kang Seol knows that, but for now, she listened to Park Chang-sik..
“The Labyrinth of Asceticism plays out quite uniquely..”
“What way is it??”
“First of all, as of now, only 5 people can enter the labyrinth. And even if there are fewer people than that, entry is not allowed..”
Up to this point, it was commonly known to those who have experienced the labyrinth..
Now the characteristics that only the labyrinth of asceticism possesses will flow from his mouth..
“First of all, when we enter the labyrinth, we enter a dark space. Visibility is extremely limited. So much so that I can barely see in front of my feet..”
there will be a door.
“There's a door there. There are a total of 5 doors.”
One door will be different.
“However, not all doors are the same. The other doors are plain and crude in appearance, but only one door has some rather bizarre designs carved on it. like… like the devil's door.”
It was the same up to this point.
Will it really be the same after that?.
“As the name “Labyrinth of Penance” suggests, each door of the labyrinth offers a different experience of penance. The door I entered was… It was a place where I walked around in a dark place..”
knew.
A gateway where the concept and sense of time become blurred and you cannot tell where you are heading..
“Anyway, the important thing is not the door I experienced. It was a door that was locked until the end..”
“How did you open that door??”
“4As people entered different doors, they heard that the last door was open. Probably the last person to go through that door.”
“okay.”
“And, our party was able to get out of the labyrinth a little later..”
Snowfall also knew very well the reason..
“The person who entered the last door... He's dead..”
“hmm….”
“That's what I learned when I first entered the labyrinth, and here's what follows:.”
“If I went in one more time... Didn't you go in yourself??”
“I decided that it was still difficult to conquer, but others didn't seem to think so. Because I have various interests..”
“Is it a guild problem??”
“Similar. In Audenin, five large guilds are leading the transferees. My failures are just my failures, I don't consider them to be my failures..”
“That's foolish..”
“Because they have not entered the labyrinth of asceticism themselves..”
Kang Seol was curious about the next story..
I could roughly guess the result, but.
“To conclude, here are some things I found out after entering once more..”
“what is that?”
“The labyrinth constantly pollutes the mind of the ascetic. After a while, this was expressed in numbers. This is something I didn't know when I first entered..”
“What happens when the mental pollution level is full??”
“I do not know. The person who entered the last door before that died..”
“hmm….”
“However, the person who joined this time was a fairly elite member of the alliance, so he lasted for a long time..”
“What I found out there?”
“The last door was the answer. It is said that the ascetic at the last door did something, and the person who endured the asceticism at one door was freed from suffering..”
Kang Seol summarized his words..
“In other words, the ascetic at the last door holds the key to the lives of the party members..”
“Failure can occur for a variety of reasons. All party members who could not endure the penance would die, or their minds would be irreparably corrupted. But if you succeed, there will be only one reason:.”
Park Chang-sik looked at the snowfall..
“The last ascetic breaks through all the gates. That's it..”
“That was some valuable information. Now then, tell me the business..”
Sigh.
Park Chang-sik bowed his head and spoke seriously..
“Please, please be the last ascetic to break through this labyrinth..”
“Instead, you're asking me to take on the risk..”
“I plan to enter this labyrinth again. However, I am not sure if I myself am suitable to be the final ascetic. It's a little ahead of the others, but it's not so great that it puts the lives of the other four on the line..”
He looked at the snowfall with burning eyes..
“Aren't you afraid of dying??”
“There's no way you're not afraid. When I first got out of the labyrinth, I was so ashamed that I vowed never to go in again. Because I was so scared.”
He felt the murderous intent coming from the labyrinth..
‘It's natural to be scared.’
Kang Seol knew well about the labyrinth of asceticism..
Two of his horses, no, two of them have already passed through there..
One of them was eaten by the labyrinth..
I didn't know if he was dead or alive. Because my mind was polluted and I lost control..
“However, what is scarier is that it collapses, succumbing to the labyrinth. I'm not the one to break down here. I can get more done. This labyrinth will be the beginning.”
“And you need my help for that..”
“I have met many transferencers so far, but among them, Snowman had the most overwhelming adventurer score. I thought he was someone worth risking my life for. I think that even if people lie, scores don't lie. I thought it would be better to trust the overwhelming score rather than shallow trust. I'm embarrassed, but please….”
“great.”
“…yes?”
And another word of snowfall.
“I'll hear more details tomorrow. I think we've arrived at the accommodation..”
Those words conquered the labyrinth of penance.
One of his strongest horses was the Blood Saint..
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