31The second word overturns the game board (Episode 354)
The Jet Black Labyrinth has been placed under special management by major guilds in the Federation and the North..
Perhaps thanks to their efforts to retrieve the tokens scattered nearby, large demonic beasts nearby fell one after another..
When a labyrinth appears, many people will inevitably come, just like insects flock to the light..
Some people want to make a fortune, some people want to practice deeply, and some people want to test their limits..
Whatever the purpose, the labyrinth was a fitting visit to yield a satisfactory answer..
It was the same for any force to unleash a non-magical beast into such a labyrinth..
It was the same even in the current situation..
The Federation dispatched troops and related guilds to tightly block the entrance to the pitch-black labyrinth..
“W, no big deal.?”
“What's the big deal? How many people are gathered here? I came here for a shift.?”
“Oh, but isn’t this kind of event too much of a showoff??”
“It's not wrong, who would interfere with what the Federation is doing? Unless they have multiple lives..”
The security guard who was relaying special information for his shift said:.
“But who are these crazy people who want to enter this black labyrinth??”
“They are rich moths. The majority are transferees. Shouldn’t it be said that everyone is anxious to die??”
While they were changing shifts, their superior approached the main gate of the labyrinth..
“Yikes, look at how quickly it comes just because I made a little fuss..”
“Sheesh….”
The purpose of the superior's visit was different from what they expected..
“The owner of the token has just been decided..”
“yes? Is it really true??”
If what the superior said is true, all of the labyrinth's tokens were recovered in less than 15 days after the labyrinth's appearance..
It was evidence that gave us some idea of the power of the Federation..
“who… No, which one gets the token??”
The superior bluntly told me the results..
“There's one from the federal monitor, one from the testimony meeting, one from the implosion attack, and two from the new human race, and the reserve is there too..”
“New humans have taken up three positions. What exactly do they have??”
“Well, there is a rumor that breath was involved, but that is not accurate. First of all, all the characters presented exceed expectations. And the other side put up some pretty good characters too..”
“Is it all transfer interest??”
“It seem to be like that. The only people who will enter that black lair become strong are transferors who cannot use their own limbs..”
“I really agree with that..”
Just then, there was a commotion nearby..
“W, how did you get here??”
“Why didn't you stop it??”
“Stop it! Don't let me get close!”
The superior heard the commotion and stuck his head out to inspect the scene..
That… Jeopuk…
Someone wearing a robe was slowly approaching the entrance to the labyrinth they were guarding, but for some reason there was no stopping them..
“Oh, stop!”
“Can’t you hear me telling you to stop right there?!”
All I did was talk and didn't block the way..
Just as the superior was furious and was about to scold the guards, the eyes of the man in the robe sparkled..
When golden eyes looked at him, his body stiffened..
“uh….”
A low voice came out..
“I'll pass by.”
Hehehe…
A black energy swirled from the man..
Feeling overwhelmed.
“Yes, you can't do anything without a certificate.!”
“…….”
“I don't know what you're looking for, but let's not cause meaningless conflict with each other. There's nothing you can get from here….”
At that moment, the man took off his gloves and extended one hand forward..
A ring with a strange emblem engraved on it resonated with the door..
Whioooooooooooo…
Grinding…
[Ascetic's Seal activates.]
[Enter the pitch-black labyrinth.]
“…….”
“Uh, huh?”
A man who disappeared in an instant.
The people gathered at the entrance to the labyrinth could not keep their mouths shut and could only roll their eyes at each other..
Unfortunately, their disaster is not over yet..
Someone's voice came from behind me..
“This is a big problem! Puhihi… I'll come catch you!”
Puhi hit…
‘Puhi hit?’
The superior turned his head after remembering that none of the people here were smiling as frivolously as me..
“you… no, you….”
An expressionless face, a body like a steel tower.
Next to the handsome white man stood a Latina woman with a bayonet on her back..
The man recognized the woman among them..
The woman smiled and put her hands together and pretended to pray..
“I was wondering how I was going to get by! Wouldn’t it be so convenient for us if you let us start like this? this… There was someone worse than us.!”
they held out their hands.
Whioooooooo…
Holding support!
Black lightning that engulfs them both at the same time.
The situation was at a critical point..
pot-!
pot-!
Suddenly, two masked people came out from both sides and held out their hands, just like the ones who had just disappeared..
As expected, there was a seal..
Holding support-!
It all happened in an instant.
Even before those who got the certificate started exploring, as many as 5 people entered..
Even without any conflict.
“uh… So there….”
The guard noticed and tried to appease the man who was the most senior person here..
“phew… Fortunately there was no collision..”
However, the man's reaction was a bit strange..
“It’s okay… Are you okay??”
“It's okay, but aside from the troublesome guys showing up, there was no damage here..”
“excuse me… Wow, isn’t this a big problem? The superiors clearly told us to guard this place tightly.….”
“What you heard was probably enough. they are the exception.”
“yes? why… who are they?”
“It's obvious, those who can enter the labyrinth without a certificate….”
The man said bitterly as he looked at the entrance to the labyrinth that those who had just disappeared passed through..
“These are the only ones who have already conquered the labyrinth once. Those at the top are called conquerors. If I tried to stop them, something big would have happened. I even said above that if they show up, let them go nicely..”
“that….”
How many words and calculations were exchanged behind the scenes? The superior wanted to clear the guard's doubts, so he talked more than usual..
“I saw the ring on their hand?”
“You mean that unusual-looking ring? They all had different shapes.?”
“That is the seal of the labyrinth. The conqueror's mark. It is a medal for those who have overcome the danger of death..”
The guard tilted his head and then described a characteristic he had noticed in only one of those who had just passed by..
“…But the pattern on the second woman's ring seemed to overlap.….”
“What, you don’t know Lucia??”
“yes? Lucia? If it's Lucia... Ugh… That Lucia?”
“Okay, you know why I told you not to stop me.?”
Lucia.
Features and skin color suggestive of Latino origin..
In addition, he had many enemies due to his eccentric personality disguised as cheerfulness..
The problem is, she's getting ahead of herself to the point where her enemies are just sucking their fingers..
“Is it true that Lucia conquered two labyrinths??”
“Yes, if we touched it wrong, our heads would have been blown off. You handle that great sword like you would a kitchen knife. Yeon-Yeon is not a woman who can be easily touched. She should rather consider herself fortunate that it passed so quietly..”
“Then she must be the most dangerous of all conquerors..”
“…….”
“why are you like that?”
The superior hesitated to answer for a moment..
He had the same thoughts as Suha until the incident just happened. However, when I encountered their reality in person, doubts arose..
‘Is Lucia really the most dangerous person??’
Somehow, it was hard to agree..
because…
“The man who first appeared was a bit….”
“yes? ah! that….”
“…no. Let’s start by reporting. Shit… What I was worried about happened. Problems may arise in the labyrinth.”
* * *
Kang Seol was able to enter the labyrinth surprisingly easily. The labyrinth is a place where you can pass through it much more easily if you have a companion, but unfortunately, the pitch-black labyrinth was not one of them..
‘…Is it the right choice??’
The action of throwing oneself into the labyrinth before heading to the East to meet Seolhong to retrieve Yuhwa's oil..
I just hoped this was the right choice.
In the midst of passing time and disaster, the powerful action that snowfall was able to make was a choice..
‘If it's here... There is a possibility.’
There were many ways to become stronger, the representative one being the ability tree..
And during the battle, I had an epiphany..
Usually, if you use both methods in harmony, you can become as strong as you want..
However, what Snow Snow aims for is higher than that. Break down the wall and take the next step.
Focusing on ability trees that only increase efficiency or on enlightenment that may come at any moment was not the way Kang Seol thought to grow..
Because there are more than just two ways to grow..
‘Good job saving up your ability points..’
Snowfall hasn't used the ability tree for a while and has accumulated a large amount of ability points..
I had no intention of using this as an ability tree..
So where else can ability scores be used?.
That is, sacrificing ability points to gain new enlightenment..
This had a slightly different meaning from the ability tree..
By using the method of strengthening the power gained through enlightenment through ability points, it was a method to achieve a noticeable increase in skill..
Of course, it won't be easy.
There had to be an environment in which enlightenment could be achieved, the new power gained had to be related to the power one had, and one had to have a lot of ability points..
And now, Snowfall has thrown herself into a place where all the conditions are met..
He stood at the beginning of the pitch-black labyrinth..
‘five doors.’
There were a total of 5 doors..
Each door had a pattern engraved on it, but what was unusual was that the pattern was not just one..
5Both doors had a square engraved next to the pattern..
‘hidden properties….’
Since Kang Seol knew quite a bit about the Dark Labyrinth, he was also roughly aware of its hidden properties..
Grinding…
At a moment when Kang Seol was lost in thought, two figures appeared from behind..
“Puhihi… We met right away! hi? where did you come from?”
“…….”
Snowfall looked at them for a moment and then twitched her eyebrows..
‘Exploration team? No, it's a seal..’
It's been a while since Snowfall conquered the Labyrinth of Asceticism, so there are probably quite a few people who have conquered other labyrinths as well..
I couldn't guess how far the transferees had reached, but I thought they would at least be stronger than when they overcame the labyrinth of asceticism..
‘Well, maybe not. however… The patterns are overlapping.’
Snowfall was a little surprised when she saw Lucia's seal, but was convinced when she realized the true nature of the pattern..
Lucia was praised by the world as an absolutely talented person who had broken through the labyrinth twice, but Kang Seol, who knew the truth, evaluated her a little differently..
‘The labyrinth of blood and the labyrinth of plague... You were lucky. Did I encounter only the lowest level of labyrinth??’
The Labyrinth of Blood and the Labyrinth of Plague were so short that it was embarrassing to compare them to the Labyrinth of Penance, which I had overcome relatively early on, and the level of difficulty was not that high..
Of course, the compensation was poor, except for the seal..
No, it would be correct to say that there is almost nothing that can be obtained there except for the seal..
This was a fact that only Kangseol, who had explored the labyrinth many times, knew. There was no way they would know that.
“hmm? Are you a bit quiet? Why don't we join forces? I'm Lucia! If an exploration team or something comes in, they might target us, right? It's called a temporary alliance. There are two of us here, but there will be no territoriality. yes?”
nod…
The man in the iron tower kept a blank expression and did not participate in the conversation..
Kang Seol looked at the two for a moment and then shook his head..
“I decline..”
“hmm… really? why? No... What is your name?”
“…It's snowing.”
“snowfall… hmm… There's nothing I can do about it. Can't you just step behind me instead? and… You guys?”
flinch…
Those wearing masks who have been quietly observing the situation ever since they were transferred..
They waved their hands at Lucia's question..
“Well, that's enough. I'm done too!”
Lucia spoke arbitrarily and crossed one arm and flicked the other to select the door..
“where… Which door should I go through?….”
Although it was a calm and weak appearance, Kang Seol did not rate it highly..
‘It's an important choice. Especially in the pitch black labyrinth.’
If I decided roughly like that, it could have been four months later..
Snowfall gave a hint to relieve some of the guilt..
“You'd better not take it easy, this place….”
“Are you worried? Puhihi… It's cute, but this is already my third time in the labyrinth? therefore….”
The man on the iron tower spoke softly while looking at the snowfall..
“presumptuous.”
Kang Seol ended the conversation by shrugging his shoulders..
“Then... here!”
Each pattern had a certain shape and had different meanings..
Symbols symbolizing blood, light, darkness, storm, and dreams.
“hmm… Since there is no sword symbol, this would be best. I'll go here! Don't follow me, everyone..”
“…….”
“Then, Lucia sortie.!”
Snowfall watched her and the man in the pylon disappear beyond the Gate of Blood and Storm.
Those wearing masks stretched out their arms and pretended that Snowfall should choose first..
Kang Seol knew very well what the pattern hidden in the square next to the pattern symbolized, so she chose where she would go without hesitation..
Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…
Snowfall, standing in front of the door of darkness, closed her eyes and took a deep breath..
Jiiiiiiing…
A strange reaction came from my belongings..
【The yaksha cries.】
“…….”
The yaksha, whose grief had not yet been absorbed, trembled as he stood in front of the gate of darkness..
Snowfall nodded slightly and disappeared there..
Meeeee profit…
Before the door closed, Snowfall spoke quietly..
“There's one thing I didn't say. jamard.”
- what?
“From here….”
[Enter through the dark door.]
[visibility is limited.]
“I can only go alone.”
[Responsiveness to all shadow summons is lost..]
[A strong darkness is coming.]
Whioooooooooooo…
feeling cold.
That was my first impression of the darkness..
Snowfall felt a sense of loss.
His summons were the biggest part of his value, so when he lost touch with them, a serious feeling of emptiness came over him..
Their existence can be recognized because they are related by blood, but where there is no light, there is no shadow..
In a place where nothing can be seen, Snowfall made a promise.
I will conquer this place with my own strength no matter how long it takes..
“okay… From here on, I have to walk alone.”
To Kang Seol's self-mocking words, answers were heard from those around him..
A small creature got entangled in Kang Seol’s arm..
【There is also heartbreak.….】
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