Chapter 24
Chapter 24
It looked like a dog, and its size was as big as a mid-sized dog . It possessed brown fur that stood on its end as it had been exposed to static electricity . The creature"s mouth was slightly open, and one could see its sharp fangs .
‘Mad dog . ’
It was obvious as to why it was given such a name . It had fierce red eyes, and it was drooling . It looked like a mad dog .
Sungyoon s.h.i.+fted his weight towards the back of his foot as he gripped his spear with his right hand . A s.h.i.+eld was strapped to his left arm . He pushed the s.h.i.+eld forward .
‘Let’s go for the safer approach . . . ’
He’d never fought with his life on the line before . He had gotten into a fist fight with his friend when he was a teen, but that was it . Since he didn’t have much experience, it would be bad if he got his throat ripped out by being rash . Currently, he needed to use this opportunity to get used to fighting .
The Mad Dog was a more dangerous monster than the Big Rat . It was bigger and more powerful . It was also agile, so he might get this throat ripped out if he wasn’t careful .
Despite all of this, it was a monster from the Beginner’s labyrinth . He was a Connector, and his heart was supplying him with magical energy . Unless he severely underestimated his enemy, he should be able to kill this monster without much difficulty .
The Mad Dog slowly moved towards Sungyoon . It moved like all the animals seen in doc.u.mentaries and crouched low to the ground . It reminded Sungyoon of a compressed coil spring . It was probably trying to pounce at the most opportune moment .
The Mad Dog was slowly advancing towards him, yet Sungyoon didn’t move . His body was tense as if he was trying to react to all possibilities .
-Koo-rahhhhhh!
The Mad Dog sprung forward . It pushed off on its hind legs, and it extended its front legs . It was more than a jump . It basically shot towards Sungyoon, and he could see the terrifyingly sharp teeth within its open jaw .
Puhhhhk!
Sungyoon bashed the Mad Dog’s head with his s.h.i.+eld .
-Yip!
A dog was a dog . The Mad Dog let out a yelp like a normal dog and was sent flying sideways .
Chwahhhhk!
The Mad Dog flew around 2m in the air before it rolled on the ground .
Sungyoon didn’t chase after it . He pushed his s.h.i.+eld forward, and he once again got into his stance .
The Mad Dog quickly got up . It shook its head to get rid of the fuzziness . It seemed it hadn’t taken too much damage since it recovered quickly . It bared its teeth towards Sungyoon . The Mad Dog was growling louder as if it had lost its sanity from being too angry .
-Koo-ahhhhng!
There was no wariness in the Mad Dog’s movements . It rushed towards Sungyoon in its agitated state . However, the monster used the same simple attack pattern . Sungyoon once again bashed the head of the Mad Dog with his s.h.i.+eld .
-Kang!
The Mad Dog was sent flying for the second time . It seemed the second strike had done some damage . The Mad Dog swayed to its feet . However, Sungyoon remained patient .
The Mad Dog used the same attack, and Sungyoon responded like before . However, he didn’t backhand the Mad Dog with his s.h.i.+eld . He brought down his s.h.i.+eld from up high .
Puhk!
Unlike before, the Mad Dog fell in front of Sungyoon . In that moment, Sungyoon moved his right hand . The blade of the spear pierced through the side of the struggling Mad Dog .
-Krrrrr-rahhhhh!
The Mad Dog let out an odd scream as it thrashed its body . Sungoon didn’t want to lose his spear, so he tightened his grip around the spear shaft . Then he kicked the Mad Dog with his right foot .
Puhhng!
A satisfying sound rang out when his foot struck its target . The spear blade broke free from the Mad Dog and it was sent flying again . It made a red skid mark on the ground with its blood .
He thought about chasing after it to finish the monster . However, he shook his head .
‘I need experience right now . ’
He was obstinate as he once again pushed his s.h.i.+eld forward .
This time the monster had taken a lot of damage . The Mad Dog whined as it struggled to its feet . There was a deep wound on its body, and blood was pouring out from it .
Sungyoon kept his s.h.i.+eld in front of him as he slowly moved towards the Mad Dog . The Mad Dog was barely able to get back on its feet . By all indication, the Mad Dog looked incapable of continuing the battle . Its tongue was lolling . It was panting as it coughed out blood, and its red eyes were clearly starting to dim . However, the murderous intent in its eyes remained the same .
Boom!
Sungyoon took a big step forward . The surprised Mad Dog reflexively charged forward, but once again, Sungyoon swung his s.h.i.+eld to strike down the Mad Dog .
Then he stabbed with his spear .
Poohk!
The b.l.o.o.d.y spear blade planted itself in the Mad Dog’s head .
-Kek!
It let out a short scream before its body started to convulse . Then it stopped moving . However, Sungyoon didn’t get out of his battle stance .
Poohk!
He stabbed once again to make sure it was dead . However, there was no response from the Mad Dog .
“Whew!”
He let out a sigh as if he wanted to blow out all the tension in his body . He used his sleeve to wipe the single bead of sweat rolling down his forehead .
‘This is really mentally exhausting . ’
Was it because he wasn’t used to this yet? His muscles ached from being so tense . It had been a battle with his life on the line, so he had consumed a lot of mental power .
‘I don’t know if I’ll get used to this . ’
However, he had to get used to it . He would face much worse foes on his road to the Great Labyrinth .
Sungyoon was somewhat serious about aiming for the Great Labyrinth . Of course, it might be impossible for him, since there was a ceiling to his abilities as a 1st Gen Connector . Jimin didn’t look like she was expecting too much from him, but his heart was set on reaching the Great Labyrinth .
‘It is part of the contract . ’
Of course, he would be doing this, because he felt grateful towards Jimin . However, another big factor was the fact that he made a contract with her .
‘If I throw away a contract like old shoes, I’ll be like that son of a b.i.t.c.h . ’
He wanted to avoid that at all cost . Sungyoon had been duped into thinking Jaeho was his friend . He couldn’t lower himself to act on the same level as that son of a b.i.t.c.h .
He didn’t feel any shock from killing a living creature . In his basic training, he was taught about what it was like to kill . Up until that point, he had only killed bugs in his life . Now he thought of these as slaughtering cattle, so he had no qualms about killing the monster .
Hwahhk!
In an instant, light started to emanate from the Mad Dog’s body . Since he was in a completely dark place, the light was that much more noticeable . Sungyoon looked a bit touched as he looked at the light .
When the light faded away, Sungyoon found a sliver of a stone on the floor . It was as big as his finger .
He bent to pick it up . This was the first time he had held such an item . The angular stone had a smooth surface, and it felt like the stone was about to slip out of his fingers .
He gripped it tight . He felt a cool sensation in his palm . It was a sensation unique to this stone .
‘I finally got one!’
It was merely a small fragment . He had only one, and he didn’t know how much it was worth . Still, it was a giant step forward for him . The acquisition of moonstones would open up his future .
* * *
Sungyoon went around the labyrinth for a little bit longer . He encountered two more monsters . Both his opponents were Big Rats .
In the beginning, he used the same strategy as the one he used against the Mad Dog . He put his s.h.i.+eld in front of him, and he was careful in his hunt . However, he quickly had to change his strategy against the Big Rat . Unlike the Mad Dog, the Big Rat couldn’t leap . It tried to bite his s.h.i.+n . The Big Rat was the size of his forearm, so he couldn’t effectively defend against it using his s.h.i.+eld . He almost lost his balance when he bent too low with his s.h.i.+eld . It was more effective for him to keep distance . He placed his hands on the lower quarter of the spear to lengthen his reach .
Kwah-jeek!
The Big Rat had numerous wounds all over its body, yet it continued to charge towards him . Sungyoon pierced the spear squarely through its head . The Big Rat fell over .
Sungyoon extracted his spear . The spear blade and the top portion of the shaft was covered in red blood . He lightly swung his spear to flick the blood away .
Hwahk!
This was his third fight, and he was starting to get a hang of it . The light dissipated, and a Moonstone appeared in the place of the corpse . He skillfully picked it up, and he placed it in his pocket .
‘I should start heading back . ’
In the first place, Jimin had told him to explore the labyrinth until he gained some experience .
‘It is tiring to maintain this level of alertness . ’
Sungyoon turned around, and he started retracing his steps . The number of Connectors increased as he got closer to the entrance . All of them were exiting the labyrinth . Most of them looked tired . He also saw some injured Connectors . They were bleeding profusely .
Sungyoon was slowly starting to see the light . It meant the entrance was not that far away . Everyone hastened their steps . Sungyoon became part of the crowd .
When Sungyoon exited the labyrinth, he was greeted by the bright lights of the city . He had exited the stuffy and gloomy labyrinth . He was within the sphere of civilization again . His shoulders relaxed as he straightened himself . It was as if the small amount of tension that was in his shoulders was blown away .
‘I’m a bit tired . ’
When the feeling of tension went away, tiredness took its place . It seemed he had acc.u.mulated a lot of stress . He headed towards the location where he had separated from Jimin .
Jimin was still there . She looked the same as when he had left her . It seemed she hadn’t moved at all from her original spot . She had waited for him .
“I am back . ”
“You did a good job . Are you hurt anywhere?”
Jimin looked over Sungyoon’s body . Normally, she was cold and aloof, but at that moment, unlike her usual self, she was a bit intense . She looked like she wanted to strip him to check for any wounds .
“I’m not hurt anywhere . I did as you advised, president . I was conservative in my actions to build experience . I put my safety above all else . ”
“I’m glad to hear that . A lot of people get excited in their first battle, and they come back wounded . ”
She let out a small sigh of relief .
“It is quite the experience, right?”
“I killed three monsters . I killed one Mad Dog and two Big Rats . ”
Sungyoon rooted through his pocket . He took out one Moonstone that was the size of his finger . The other two Moonstones were the size of his fingernail .
“How was it?”
Jimin’s eyes landed on the Moonstones for a moment then she looked at Sungyoon once again .
“If I’m being truthful, it wasn’t that hard . I was able to hunt in relative safety, and I was able to reflect upon my actions after each fight . The only thing that bothered me was the acc.u.mulation of stress that comes with a life or death battle . ”
Jimin nodded once .
“It is to be expected . Still, you have to get used to it . ”
“I know . ”
Sungyoon already knew this .
“Then let’s go . You had a successful debut, so I’ll buy you something delicious for dinner . ”
“You don’t have to . . . . ”
“It’s fine . I’m paying because I want to . ”
It seemed he wouldn’t be able to change Jimin’s mind . Sungyoon silently nodded .
“Thank you . ”
“Ah . Do you mind if I invite a friend to dine with us? This friend might help you out in the future . ”
‘She has a friend on the moon?’
He was a bit surprised by this news, but Sungyoon nodded to show his affirmation .
“You are buying dinner, so I’ll follow whatever you want to do . ”
Sungyoon didn’t have social anxiety . In the past, he had to meet a lot of people for business . In fact, he was used to meeting and dealing with strangers . Of course, this didn’t mean he liked everyone . There was only one type of people that he was trying to avoid, but it didn’t mean he was uncomfortable being around people .
‘There is no way this friend is another beauty . ’
Recently, the frequency of encountering a once in a lifetime beauty had increased . Still, there was no way Jimin’s friend was a beauty too .
“Alright . Let’s go . ”
Jimin turned around and she started walking .
Sungyoon suddenly turned back to look at the labyrinth that looked like a big maw . It felt as if the labyrinth was glaring at him . It probably felt bitter at the fact that it couldn’t capture Sungyoon . He did his best to look away from the labyrinth and followed after Jimin .