Moon's Labyrinth

The 4th floor wasn’t that much different from the higher floors. It was dark and it was cold. The cave was large, and the tunnel looked like it would continue forever. It still felt oppressive to Sungyoon.

The only difference he could detect was the denser magical energy.

Sungyoon was prepared for an ambush as he walked next to the wall of the labyrinth.

-Koo-rook!

It didn’t take him too long to hear the cry of a monster. Sungyoon lifted his spear and gripped it tightly as he looked at his surroundings. A monster was coming towards him from a 45 degree angle.

‘Fang Boar!’

It possessed a massive body covered with rough brown fur, and two curved tusks were protruding from its mouth. The tusks were about 1m long. The monster possessed the red eyes, unique to monsters. The eyes were overpowering, and the Fang Boar slowly approached him.

Sungyoon became tense. The Fang Boar was bigger than any monsters he had encountered up until now. It was 1m tall, and if one measured its length from head to tail, it was easily over 1m in length. Underneath its rippling fur, muscles were hidden, which were tensed as it moved forward.

-Koo-roo-rooohk!

The Fang Boar’s cry changed. Its red eyes looked straight at Sungyoon.

-Koo-rahhhhhhhhhhh!

It let out a roar that sounded as if it would bring down the labyrinth. It charged at Sungyoon. But this charge was completely different from the charges he faced from various monsters up until now. He felt the ground shake. Every time the feet of the heavy beast hit the ground, it sounded as if the floor was screaming out in pain. In comparison to these monsters, the charge of the Mad Dog and the Slash Cat felt almost cute. They were like pets compared to the Fang Boar. 

  

He subconsciously almost brought up his shield, but he stopped himself. The shield had become damaged when the Slash Cat attacked it. It was a weak wooden shield anyway. This monster had 1m long tusks, and they were enormous in size. There was no way he could take this attack head on. Even if his shield did not get shattered, his whole body would be sent flying.

Fortunately, the Fang Boar wasn’t that fast. Sungyoon observed it with fierce eyes, and his legs were tense as he prepared himself to dodge the attack. He also didn’t forget to raise his spear and shield in front of him. It was better than doing nothing.

The sharp tusks were getting closer to him. The tusk's sharpness could not be compared to blades, but one had to consider the monster’s exceptional sturdiness and the power generated by its mass. It had the effect of masking its shortcomings.

He put strength into his enhanced eyes as he tried to time his attack.

‘Now!’

He put strength into his feet and quickly ran to the side.

-Gweeeeeeek!

The Fang Boar had been charging forward like an angry boar. It let out a cry. Was it angry that it had lost sight of Sungyoon? Before the angry cry could end, it quickly decelerated in order to avoid ramming into the wall of the labyrinth. However, there was too much momentum for it to stop on a dime.

Boom!

The power generated by the enormous mass and acceleration was used against the Fang Boar. It hit the wall so hard it made one worry the labyrinth might collapse on them.

-Gweeeek!

It let out an odd screech as the Fang Boar rolled on the ground. One of its vaunted tusks was broken, and the other one had a deep crack. At the very least, it seemed the wall of the labyrinth was sturdier than the Fang Boar’s tusks.

It was apparent for all to see that it was the perfect opportunity. Sungyoon struck out with his spear.

Poo-oohk!

The spear blade pierced through flesh, but Sungyoon furrowed his brows.

‘It isn’t going in!’

The sturdy and thick hide of the Fang Boar was a problem. He could pierce through it, but he was facing great resistance. The resistance he felt was unrivaled compared to the monsters he experienced up until now.

-Gweeeeeeek!

The Fang Boar struggled on the floor. The embedded spear shook ruthlessly, but Sungyoon used his enhanced strength to hold on. Still, he was having a hard time.

“Koohp!”

One couldn’t tell if it was a scream or a shout of concentration. He was barely able to extract the spear.

“Ha-ahhhhht!”

He grabbed the spear with two hands. The Fang Boar was trying to get up, but then he stabbed with all his might towards the head.

Bboo-jeeek!

An odd sound rang out. He had basically jammed it in by force, and the spear blade had embedded itself deep into the head of the Fang Boar. Its red eyes started to dim.

Boom!

The enormous body of the Fang Boar fell to the floor. 

Sungyoon pulled out the deeply embedded spear blade by force. He had a hard time extracting it. Blood seeped out from the hole created by the spear blade. Sungyoon had mixed emotions as he looked at this sight.

Ssssk!

Sungyoon aimed the spear blade towards the corpse of the Fang Boar. This time he used one hand to hold the spear. He struck out with all his strength.

Poo-oohk!

The spear blade met great resistance, and he was unable to pierce all the way through the thick hide of the Fang Boar. Sungyoon let out a sigh as he extracted the spear.

‘I’m tired.’

Sungyoon raised his spear, and he watched the blood drip down from the spear blade. The Fang Boar’s blood stuck to the spear blade, and it felt as if the blood was slowly dulling the sharpness of the spear blade.

‘As expected, this is my limit.’

It felt as if he was cutting tough meat with a dull knife. If he had not used both of his hands to strike out with all his strength, it would have been hard for him to inflict critical wounds to the Fang Boar.

‘At the very least, I hoped my equipment would last until the 6th floor.’

But contrary to his thoughts, he hadn’t come close to reaching the 6th floor. It would be hard to explore the 4th floor with these equipment.

If he was fighting a one on one battle with a Fang Boar, he could somehow handle it. However, if it showed up with more than one monster by its side, he would be in trouble.

‘It can’t be helped.’

The Fang Boar was swept up in light as it disappeared. Sungyoon turned back after he picked up the moonstone. It was impossible to explore the 4th floor with his equipment, so he had no choice but to hunt in the upper floors. He just had to hope for a better Gem to drop.

His steps looked much heavier as he walked up the stairs.

* * *

Chwahhhk!

Another monster fell as it sprayed blood. Sungyoon wiped the blood splashed on his cheek, and he watched the monster disappear as it was swept up in light.

‘It isn’t there again.’

He furrowed his brows. A moonstone had dropped again. But the Devices and Gems, which he wanted, were nowhere to be seen. He had run into a wall called the 4th floor, so he had been wandering around the 3rd floor for the past couple days. However, the needed Devices and Gems didn’t appear in front of Sungyoon.

‘As expected, they don’t drop easily.’

It seemed he had been lucky last time. Wasn’t Jimin surprised when he came back with an extra Device and Gem? It was proof that it was difficult to acquire Devices and Gems.

If he thought about it, he had no reasons to feel restless. Jimin’s goal for him was to raid the Great Labyrinth. It wasn’t his goal. However, Sungyoon was acting as if it was his goal. It was, because he had signed the contract. After being backstabbed by his friend, contracts were important to him. The second most important thing after Shinhae was contracts. He valued it more than his life.

On the other hand, he couldn’t go to the Great Labyrinth if he couldn’t find any more Devices and Gems. He couldn’t even go down to the 4th floor. It seemed he had no choice. He would have to hunt here for an extended amount of time.

It was unexpected, but there were a lot of people in the same boat as Sungyoon. He saw a good number of people turn back when they reached the tunnel heading towards the 4th floor. They probably weren’t qualified to enter the 4th floor like Sungyoon.

Sungyoon was diligent as he hunted down the already familiar monsters. The size of the labyrinth was so large that he hadn’t been able to explore the entirety of the 3rd floor yet.

As always, he walked towards directions that he had never explored before. Thanks to the signs placed at each entrance, it would be impossible for him to get lost in this labyrinth.

Sungyoon had been walking slowly. He came to a stop when a large wall appeared in front of him.

‘It is a dead end.’

It happened occasionally. There were spaces that looked like rooms. This was one of the many tunnels that led to a dead end. However, he hadn’t come here for nothing. There was a Mad Dog prowling around in front of the wall.

It seemed the Mad Dog had become allerted to Sungyoon’s presence. Sungyoon lightly grasped his spear.

Third floor Mad Dogs were no longer his equal. He swung his spear towards the screaming Mad Dog.

Chwahk!

The spear blade sliced through its hide, skin and muscles. Blood sprayed into the air. He heard the familiar yelping noise as he accurately pierced through the body of the Mad Dog. Soon, its body started trembling before it died.

‘It feels like I’ve become a butcher.’

It basically was a job to him. In the beginning, he had felt bad about ending the life of a living creature. However, he no longer felt such unpleasant feelings. The Mad Dog fared poorly against him even in the beginning, and now after earning the strength enhancing Gem, the Mad Dogs were no longer a threat to him.

Sungyoon picked up the moonstone, and he turned around in an attempt to exit the dead end.

‘Huh?’

He heard sounds from down the tunnel.

‘Footsteps?’

It sounded like a person running. If he had to guess, it was two people running. However, that wasn’t all. Alongside the footsteps, he heard the rumble of some large creature’s steps.

Sungyoon quickly turned around in place.

‘Why now of all places!’

He inwardly cursed as he watched the wall blocking his path. He usually had a route that would allow him to escape danger. However, the tunnel was a dead end.

Sungyoon did his best to remain calm. He raised his shield and spear in preparation for a battle that may be heading his way.

The sounds were getting louder. Soon, the owners of the footsteps appeared.

They were humans. He saw a man carrying a large shield reinforced with steel and a sharp axe. The man was a warrior type like Sungyoon. Then there was the woman wearing a white fluttering garb. She looked to be wearing a priestess robe, and she was carrying a short staff over 50cm long. The two of them flinched when they saw Sungyoon. Their faces turned pale when they saw the enormous wall behind Sungyoon.

“I... it’s a dead end...”

The man spoke with despair in his voice.

-Koo-reek!

He heard another sound emanating from down the tunnel. It was an ominous and creepy sound. It sounded like something was laughing in a mocking manner. The man and woman quickly turned back.

Boom!

A large cloud of dust created by a foot appeared. It was the owner of the other sound that could be heard alongside the footsteps of the two humans.

It was easygoing. That was Sungyoon’s first impression. It moved like a king sneering down at its peasants. It acted like a cat looking down at cornered mices. It looked like a hyena approaching an injured gazelle. It approached them, its prey, at a slow pace.

Drip!

Cold sweat ran down Sungyoon’s face.

This couldn’t be!

No way!

This bastard shouldn’t exist on the 3rd floor.

‘Bigfoot.’

It was named after the unidentified creature from earth. Sungyoon thought about the warning given to him by Jimin before he had come back to the moon. 

-Most of the stronger monsters would have been exterminated from the Beginner’s labyrinth by now. However, you have to remember that some of the high ranked monsters still exist, and there are rare instances where they cause harm. Please remember that.-

‘It seems she jinxed it.’

He knew Jimin wasn’t at fault. However, he couldn’t help feel a bit of resentment towards her at that moment.

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