Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Two weeks had almost pa.s.sed since Sungyoon had started exploring the 2nd floor . The exploration was going pretty smoothly . The 2nd-floor monsters corresponded to the monsters that appeared on the 4th to 7th floor of the Beginner’s Labyrinth . However, he was used to killing most of these monsters with the help of the Ross Siblings, and they were stronger than monsters from the Beginner’s Labyrinth . This was why Sungyoon was starting to reach the limit of his powers . At this rate, the 3rd floor might be too dangerous for him .
He went around the second floor . He killed monsters and drew squiggly lines that were supposed to resemble the tunnels on the 2nd floor . When he decided to leave the labyrinth, he moved toward the 1st floor . Following the arrows, he took the shortest route toward the exit . But before he reached the exit, Sungyoon came to a stop .
At the last fork leading to the exit, he found something in his path .
‘Monster?’
Sungyoon s.h.i.+fted his grip on his weapon as he stared at his new foe . However, no matter how hard he stared at the figure, it didn’t look like a monster . It had the form of a human .
‘There is no way another human is in this labyrinth besides me . ’
Sungyoon slowly approached the figure . He was tense as he faced an unexpected situation .
Finally, Soobin caught sight of Sungyoon . He was filled with joy .
“You are Woo Sungyoon?”
Soobin grinned . Sungyoon’s eyebrows twitched . His opponent was a human, and it seemed this person knew him .
“Who are you?”
“I am your sunbae . ”
Hearing the absurd answer, Sungyoon narrowed his eyes . The man in front had worn a helmet, but it was an open face helmet, and Sungyoon could clearly see his face .
‘I think I’ve seen him somewhere before . ’
His face didn’t ring a bell . However, Sungyoon couldn’t conclude with certainty that the face was one he hadn"t seen before . It was as if he had seen this person in pa.s.sing somewhere, but he didn’t bother to remember everyone he met in pa.s.sing . Moreover, Sungyoon didn’t know anyone that he would call his sunbae .
“What if I said I’m Kim Soobin? Does that ring a bell?”
Soobin told him the answer .
Kim Soobin . It was a name within Sungyoon’s memories . However, it wasn’t a good memory .
‘He’s the first Connector who betrayed the president and left her company . ’
He finally understood why Soobin had named himself as Sungyoon"s sunbae .
“… what brings you here?”
“I have one request for you . ”
This was their first meeting, yet Soobin wasn’t using any honorifics . He was being rude, but Sungyoon didn’t say anything . His low self-esteem worked in his favor once again . However, Sungyoon felt suspicious at the content of Soobin’s words .
“… we don’t have a close-enough relations.h.i.+p where we can ask each other for favors . ”
This was their first meeting . They were basically strangers, so why was he asking for a favor? Sungyoon’s labyrinth was far away from Armstrong, yet this man had come looking for him . This man was very suspicious .
“Don’t be like that . Just hear me out . ”
He spoke in a cutesy manner . However, there was a bloodthirsty smile that refused to leave his face, as if the man was mocking Sungyoon . It clearly proved that Soobin wasn’t being honest in his request .
“… what is your request?”
“Ah! It isn’t that big of a deal . ”
Soobin let out a bright laugh .
“You just have to die by my hands . ”
Kyoooohng!
It was as if a beam of light had shot through the short distance . If Sungyoon hadn’t been on his guard, he would have instantly lost his life to the attack .
Sungyoon quickly raised his s.h.i.+eld .
Boom!
An intense sound rang out through the labyrinth . It was hard to believe that a weapon striking the s.h.i.+eld could create such a sound .
“Kuhk!”
Sungyoon was barely able to defend against the halberd . But the attack was too strong, and Sungyoon was sent flying backward .
Boom!
He was thrown to the floor . His body almost folded on itself . His entire body hurt, but Sungyoon knew he didn’t have any time to rest . He immediately got up .
“Ho-oh! As expected of someone able to clear the Beginner’s Labyrinth in a short amount of time! It seems your rumored abilities weren’t a lie!”
Was he playing with Sungyoon? Soobin didn’t track down Sungyoon, and just mocked him .
However, Sungyoon didn’t care that his attacker was making fun of him . Someone making fun of him couldn’t hurt him . It couldn’t even inflict a 1mm wound on him . He wasn’t offended at all as he had something to do right now .
He inspected his s.h.i.+eld . A deep scar had formed on the surface of his square s.h.i.+eld .
A chill ran down his spine . This was a Blue Gem s.h.i.+eld . Moreover, the attack had been so fierce that he had overclocked it .
A deep wound had appeared on his s.h.i.+eld, just from defending against a single attack .
‘High-rank Gem!’
It might be Soobin’s weapon or his physical abilities . It might be something entirely different . Due to something, Soobin had damaged Sungyoon"s overclocked Blue Gem s.h.i.+eld . It meant Sungyoon was at a significant disadvantage .
“What? Are you surprised by the power I have, considering it took me seven years to clear the Beginner’s Labyrinth?”
Soobin spoke, slowly approaching Sungyoon . He was clearly boasting . He was no different than a child boasting about the present he received from his parents .
Sungyoon didn’t respond to him . Instead of talking with his opponent, he was trying to find a way out right now .
‘As expected, that’s the only option I have . ’
This man had the power to dominate his Blue Gems . Sungyoon’s options were limited . However, he knew there was one card that could get him out of this situation .
Gold Gem .
It was the hidden card that had already saved Sungyoon’s life twice before . But, he couldn’t use it right now .
Sungyoon glanced at the pocket on his pants . The Gold Gem was in there .
‘s.h.i.+t!’
He had prioritized growing his other Gems, so he had placed the Yellow Gem into the Universal slot instead of the Gold Gem . He was really regretting that decision right now . However, regretting wouldn’t help him right now . It would change nothing .
He had to bide his time . He had to somehow swap out the Yellow Gem with the Gold Gem .
Soobin’s eyes twitched .
He wanted to slowly tell Sungyoon how great he was . But when he looked at the man, he found that Sungyoon wasn’t listening to him . This man was like all those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, who ignored him because he was a 1st Gen .
“You son of a b.i.t.c.h! Listen to what I have to say!”
Soobin yelled out in anger .
However, there was no way Sungyoon would listen to him . In fact, he used that opportunity to start running away .
‘I have to use this time to slot in the Gold Gem!’
Sungyoon placed his hand in his pocket and felt the hard Gem . He took a glance backward . Maybe it was because he had suddenly started to run away . His attacker didn"t show any intentions of following after him . Sungyoon desperately took out the Gold Gem .
‘If I equip this, I can…!’
Boom!
Sungyoon felt his movement become slower . It was as if something was pressing down on his body .
‘This is . . . !’
He had felt this before . It was like transitioning from the light gravity of the moon to the heavy gravity of Armstrong or the labyrinths .
“You son of a b.i.t.c.h!”
He could hear Soobin cuss from behind, and he could hear him running . Sungyoon’s weight had become too heavy, so he couldn’t run away . His movements had slowed . He did his best to widen the distance as he tried to take out the Yellow Gem from its slot .
However, it was too much for him .
In the end, he had to give up on swapping the Gems during for the moment . He raised his s.h.i.+eld .
Boom!
“Koo-oohk!”
His body was sent flying once again . Due to the impact, the Gold Gem was flung into the distance . Sungyoon despaired as he watched the golden light fly away in an arc .
Koo-dahng-tahng!
He once again rolled across the ground .
“Kool-luhk!”
He coughed . The attack was stronger than before . It was as if he had fallen to the ground with several people strapped to his body . However, Sungyoon immediately got up again . His body hurt, but he would be killed if he remained lying on the floor . He refused to die . He took a glance at the surface of his s.h.i.+eld . The s.h.i.+eld had taken the brunt of the second attack, and another large scar had appeared on its surface . Moreover, an ominous sound could be heard every time he moved the s.h.i.+eld . The s.h.i.+eld had become disfigured . The steel plate that was reinforcing the wooden s.h.i.+eld had become malformed .
‘I can take one more blow . If things turn out well, I can take two . ’
Sungyoon inwardly went over the information . It seemed his s.h.i.+eld wouldn’t be able to take much more abuse .
“It’s a Gold Gem . ”
Soobin looked at the Gem that had been sent flying into the distance .
‘That was dangerous . ’
Soobin didn’t show it on the outside, but he was a bit surprised . To be precise, he didn’t know what ability the Gem held, but it was a Jewel rank Gem . This fact in itself was dangerous .
‘If that b.a.s.t.a.r.d had it equipped, he could have forcefully activated it . . . ’
He felt a slight chill run down his back . His ability couldn’t contend against a Jewel rank Gem yet .
‘However, I’ll remedy that fact in short order . ’
Since he had the ability of the Blood Gem, his abilities were limitless now .
‘I won’t be like him, who carries around a Jewel rank Gem for life-saving purposes only . I’ll become a Connector capable of handling a real Jewel rank Gem . ’
Soobin didn’t know that Sungyoon could handle the Gold Gem . It was to be expected . He thought Sungyoon was carrying it as a one-off item that could save his life in an emergency . If he had realized that Sungyoon was advanced enough to handle the Gold Gem, he would have raged more . He would have been swept up in jealousy .
Soobin slowly approached his opponent, who looked like a cornered mouse .
“I can hear your eyes turning . ”
Soobin derided Sungyoon, who continued to look at his surroundings for an exit strategy .
However, Sungyoon also let out a snort of derision .
Soobin became angry again .
This would be fun only if Sungyoon showed some kind of reaction . It wasn’t fun if he didn’t get the reaction he wanted . He looked like a loser splas.h.i.+ng water because the river water was flowing by him .
Sssk!
Suddenly, the thing pressing down on Sungyoon’s body was gone .
“The gravity was lifted . ”
Soobin mumbled to himself .
Gravity . It was a worrying word . Sungyoon thought about the words spoken by Soobin . If the phenomena that had affected his body was related to gravity, it all made sense . Moreover, the sensation was the same as when he adjusted to a stronger gravity .
‘It might be a spell or a special-ability Gem . ’
He needed more information .
Soobin grinned at Sungyoon’s reaction . Sungyoon had been like an expressionless stone Buddha up until now . So, Soobin felt good when he saw some reaction . He wanted to see despair and misery reflected on Sungyoon’s face .
“It is useless to run away . I have a Gem with a gravity spell . I can increase your gravity eight-fold every time you try to run away!”
Soobin cackled as he spoke .
The information he had been eager to learn had been revealed to him . The information was like a much-needed rain during the drought for Sungyoon .
However, he didn’t completely trust Soobin’s words . His words might be the truth, or it might be a trick to cause Sungyoon to make a miscalculation .
But, Soobin had a triumphant look on his face . Sungyoon felt like an idiot for thinking this guy was that devious . Still, it was a possibility that Soobin was capable of acting better than a famous Hollywood actor .
He decided to save this information in his brain . Even if the information was akin to a rotten rope, he had to pack it away .
“Isn’t it amazing? You’ve only been a Connector for a year, so you probably have never seen this type of Gem before . ”
Soobin stroked the Gems embedded in his bracelet .
“These are all the Gems I’ve gathered for the past seven years . I had to work from the bottom . I acquired Gems from monsters . I purchased them, and I traded for them . Everyone laughed at me for gathering these Gems when I had already reached my limit . What was I going to do by gathering Gems that I couldn’t even activate? But I ignored their derision . ”
He was the pig gathering a pearl necklace . That was his nickname .
“However, I believed! I believed my rank would rise someday! I’m different from the other 1st Gen losers! I believed I would succeed!”
But, he never rose in rank . It didn’t matter how many monsters he killed, and it didn’t matter how much time he spent within the labyrinth . His rank remained the same as the rank he had entered the conglomerate with .
His rapid growth had been the product of Jimin’s excessive investment . Soobin had been on a roll since he had awakened as a Connector, and then, he had contracted with a large conglomerate . It was why Soobin hadn’t been able to accept reality . He didn’t want to believe in this reality . His pride had already grown large, and it wouldn’t allow him to accept the truth . This was why he obsessively collected high-rank Gems even though they were useless to him . His madness wouldn’t allow him to accept the reality for the past seven years, and he had gathered a good number of high-rank Gems as he toiled in the Beginner’s Labyrinth .
“However, I was able to acquire strength! I acquired strength with which I’ll make those who made fun of me bend their knees! It is the strength that’ll allow me to gain the future success that I deserve!”
Soobin yelled out loud .
“No one will be able to ignore me!”
That was the sentence . That was what he wanted to say . Sungyoon, who silently listened to Soobin’s words, came to this realization .