Moon's Labyrinth

The Bigfoot swung fists that were as big as a cauldron, and a large sound emanated each time its fists violently impacted on the shield.

“Koo-oohk!”

Tim’s body was being pushed backwards. He was taking each heavy blow from the Big Foot without being sent flying backwards. It was almost a miracle that he was pulling this off.

The Bigfoot became angry. The weak and small prey actually had the audacity to resist against its attacks. Moreover, there were two other prey it wanted, and if it was not careful, it might lose them. Hence, the Bigfoot’s instinct told it to go on the offensive.

-Koo-rahk!

The Bigfoot gathered both hands together, and it raised both arms into the air. It brought down its gathered fists towards Tim.

Boom!

The shock and explosive sound couldn’t be compared to before.

“Ahhhk!”

Tim let out a scream. His shield had barely withstood the attack and wasn’t broken. However, his arms, legs, and his entire body felt creaky. His muscles were screaming, and his bones had reached its limit.

“Tim!”

Emily yelled out his name. Sungyoon moved quickly into action.

‘I can’t allow him to die now.’

Since he had decided to fight the Bigfoot, it would be strategically advantageous for him to have as many allies alive. He gripped his spear, and he approached the Bigfoot, who was trying to hit the shield again. Fortunately, the Bigfoot was too angry to notice Sungyoon. It kept attacking Tim. Sungyoon ran at full speed with both his hands gripping his spear. He stabbed the Bigfoot.

Puhk!

Sungyoon’s face crumpled as if he had chewed on something bitter. He didn’t hear his spear pierce through flesh. It sounded as if he had hit a drum made out of leather. An unpleasant feeling ran up his hands. Sungyoon had struck with all his might, yet he hadn’t been able to critically wound the Bigfoot. In fact, he hadn’t even been able to pierce through its thick hide.

-Koo-roohk!

The Bigfoot’s red eyes slid to the side, and it caught sight of Sungyoon. It looked at Sungyoon as if he was an annoying mayfly.

Hoo-oohk!

The Bigfoot tried to slap Sungyoon with its open palm. It swung without much thought. Even this minor movement had the power to threaten a person’s life. Sungyoon really did feel like a mayfly as he dodged the hand. Of course, his pride wasn’t hurt. His pride had already suffered to a point where it didn’t bother him to be treated as a mayfly. There was no way he would get angry.

“I’ll help you.”

Sungyoon stood next to Tim. Tim didn’t say much in regard to Sungyoon’s offer of help. He had already heard the words exchanged between Sungyoon and Emily. Tim just let out a sigh. Soon, he reignited his fighting spirit. He spoke as he glared at the Bigfoot.

“Thank you.”

The two men looked tense as they pointed their weapons towards the Bigfoot. The Bigfoot just stared down at them. In the end, its wrinkled face twitched.

It once again smirked.

It seemed Tim’s pride was hurt. His face turned a little bit red. However, Sungyoon maintained his blank face as he focused on observing the monster.

Hwooohng!

Suddenly, a weak light emanated from Sungyoon’s body. He flinched in surprise. At that moment, he heard a voice from the back. 

“I’ve enhanced your strength and speed. I’ve also enhanced your senses and weapon.”

When he turned his gaze around, he saw Emily. She was pointing her short staff at him.

‘I see. This is support magic.’

He had heard about it, but this was his first time experiencing it.

“Emily’s Gems are geared toward healing and support magic. I’m embarrassed to ask this of you, but you have to protect Emily even at the cost of suffering some injury.”

Tim felt abashed. Tim had asked Sungyoon to prioritize his sister’s life above his. However, Sungyoon wasn’t offended as he answered Tim.

“Understood.”

He didn’t care if Emily was Tim’s sister or not. There was sound logic behind the idea of protecting Emily. Since he accepted the reasoning behind the request, he didn’t plan on giving Tim the stink eye. In fact, he was extremely happy to hear that Emily was capable of using healing magic. 

“How effective is her healing magic?”

The amount of risk he could take depended on how effective her magic was. This was why this question was very important.

“It is quite effective. She won’t be able to do anything if you suffer a major injury like losing a limb. However, she can instantly heal broken bones and cuts. The only downside is that there is a long delay between each healing spell. Moreover, she can’t heal multiple people at the same time. She can only cast it five consecutive times.”

“I’ll remember that.”

It was enough. He was thankful to have her on his side.

Tim placed his shield in front of him, and he raised his axe. Sungyoon also aimed his spear and shield towards the Bigfoot.

“My level is low, so I can only maintain the support magic for a short amount of time. I’ll reapply the buff before it runs out, but it isn’t a sure thing. Please be mindful of this. Your enhanced abilities might run out during battle.”

“Understood.”

“Also, I cannot use the support magic multiple times. When all my magic runs out, I’ll yell out to inform you.”

Sungyoon once again nodded his head without making a fuss. He took a glance at Tim, who was standing next to him.

“Do you not need the support magic?”

“The buff is already on me.”

Even before Tim had met Sungyoon, he had been receiving the help of Emily’s support magic.

The Bigfoot charged once again. Sungyoon’s eyes could pick up Bigfoot's movements more easily, thanks to the support magic. His tracking was better than before, but he was still having a hard time keeping up with its movement. 

-Gwuhhhhhh!

Its large hand came down towards them. It was as if the Bigfoot wanted to squash both of them with a single blow. The two men split up to either side as they dodged the hand.

Boom!

The large impact shook the ground as the hand collided with the floor of the labyrinth. It was terrifyingly strong. Sungyoon felt a chill down his spine. If he took that blow without any defense measure, he was sure his corpse would be blown to pieces.

“Hoo-ahhhhhp!”

However, he couldn’t remain afraid. He used the long reach of his spear to attack the Bigfoot. His movement was swift thanks to the support magic.

Poo-oohk!

His strength had been enhanced, and his weapon had been reinforced. Sungyoon’s spear blade was finally able to damage the Bigfoot. However, his face immediately crumpled. He was able to damage it, but the damage was laughable. It was almost embarrassing. After piercing through the Bigfoot’s hide, it only went in 1cm deep. 

However, Sungyoon’s attack had the effect of diverting its attention. When the Bigfoot turned its head towards Sungyoon, Tim swung his axe from the other side.

“Eee-yahhhht!”

He let out a loud shout. His overclocked axe impacted on the Bigfoot's side.

Poo-shoohk!

This attack was effective. The blade of the axe dug ruthlessly into the Bigfoot’s side.

-Kwuhhhhhhhhh!

The Bigfoot felt pain as it struggled. It swung its arms wildly.

Boom!

“Koo-oohk!”

Tim’s reaction was a bit late, because he had been trying to extract his axe. The Bigfoot’s arm impacted on his shield. He lost his balance as he took steps backwards.

Toohk!

He had already lost his balance, but to add insult to injury, his heel tripped on an uneven surface.

“Ooh-ahht!”

Tul-suhk!

It was an ungainly sight. Tim swung his arms in the air as he fell backwards.

The Bigfoot let out a roar of anger as it charged Tim. A Fang Boar’s charge didn’t hold a candle to this. It felt as if the whole world was shaking. Tim’s face turned pale.

“Tim!”

Emily became surprised by the turn of events. She ran towards the Bigfoot. In a flash, her short staff was gone. Instead, she was holding a mace and a shield. It seemed she had brought these weapons in case she had to get into a close combat.

“You idiot! Don’t come here!”

Tim yelled out in desperation.

-Koo-roohk!

The Bigfoot also noticed her.

Duhl-kuhk!

Her body froze in place. At the end of the day, Tim and Emily were also beginners. Moreover, Emily had always supported Tim from the back. Even if both of them were beginners, her experience in fighting monsters from the frontline was pitiful compared to Tim. She had equipment for close combat, but it was a contingency measure.

The oppressive pressure given off by the Bigfoot’s presence was unimaginable. She had run forward, because she had been worried about Tim. However, the Bigfoot’s eyes were looking straight at her, and fear made her unable to move.

“Ah, ah...”

She couldn’t even form a proper sentence. She could only scrape out a small sound from her vocal cords. She could only make short broken sounds.

“Emily!”

Tim desperately jumped to his feet, and he tried to run towards Emily. However, he was too late. The Bigfoot had already swung its hand towards her.

She didn’t even have the presence of mind to lift the shield she held. She trembled in fear. In reality, it was a short amount of time, but the moment felt very long to her. The rugged hand was approaching her. It would break her slender body into pieces. She knew she had to move, but her body wouldn’t move.

‘Ah. This is how I die.’

She had such thoughts. It felt as if she was watching events unfold from a third person view.

However, something pushed her hard at that moment. Her slender body rapidly fell to the ground and rolled across the floor. The dirty ground turned her white robe black. However, one thing was for sure. It was better than becoming a red smear on the ground.

Kwah-jee-jeek!

At the same time, she heard something shatter, and something dispersed into the air. It fell from the air like rain, and the unknown substance hovered in her vision. However, she was being dragged away from where she had fallen. She didn’t even have the chance to check what had dispersed into the air.

“Please do not leave the backline.”

His voice sounded restrained, yet it was very cold. He had her by the collars as he dragged her away. She was having a hard time breathing. She quickly turned her head. Sungyoon’s blame filled eyes looked down at her.

Half his shield had been blown away, and the other half was mangled. She could see his left arm hanging limply by his side. Emily finally realized what had sprayed in the air. The shield couldn’t withstand the Bigfoot’s attack, and the wooden splinters had dispersed into the air. 

His broken shield disappeared in the next moment.

Then...

Pah-jeek!

One of the Gems slotted into his bracelet broke, and it fell to the ground. 

Sungyoon looked at it with mixed emotions.

“You bastaaaaaaard!”

Tim charged the Bigfoot. The Bigfoot had been approaching Emily and Sungyoon. Tim rammed it with his large shield.

-Koo-rook!

The Bigfoot easily changed its target to Tim. It seemed the Bigfoot viewed Tim as the biggest threat since he was able to injure its side.

“You guys should run away!”

He once again shouted with all his might. A deep sob was mixed in with his shout.

When Sungyoon joined the battle, Tim had allowed himself to hope a little bit. However, this was an impossible fight. Emily couldn’t fight properly, and Sungyoon’s Gem was damaged by the Bigfoot. His level was too low, and it wasn’t as if they were proper allies. It was enough to kill any little hope that had remained within Tim.

Sungyoon became conflicted when he heard Tim’s words. His spear could do no damage and his shield was broken. In truth, he had overclocked his shield, yet it hadn’t even been able to take a single blow before breaking. He was a bit shocked by that development, but it wasn’t as if he couldn’t understand why his shield had broken. It had taken a lot of damage in previous fights on this floor. It had taken the blow of the Bigfoot while it wasn’t at its peak durability.

‘As expected, this is impossible with Purple Gems.’

Even if his shield was intact, it was unknown as to how long he could hold out. He was wondering if he should run away when his eyes landed on the fallen Emily. He caught sight of her mace and shield.

At the very least, her weapons didn’t look worse than his. Sungyoon grabbed Emily’s shoulder.

“Give me your mace and shield.”

She had just escaped death, so it seemed she had completely taken leave of her senses. She finally woke up from her daze to look at Sungyoon. It seemed she realized his intentions, so she quickly took off her left glove.

There were two Gems attached to the back of white glove. It was located at the back of the hand. Surprisingly, the Gems were higher ranked than what he possessed.

‘This treasure was being wasted on her.’

Sungyoon grumbled inwardly as he quickly put on the glove. The glove had looked a little bit small, but it expanded to fit Sungyoon’s hand. 

Sungyoon unsummoned his spear then he imbued the newly acquired Gems with his magical energy.

These weapons were two ranks higher than his broken shield and ineffective spear. He probably won’t lose one sidedly with this level of weapons.

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