Chapter 117
Chapter 117
“Did you talk to your company about it?”
Tim frowned .
“No, we didn"t . The evidence we have is just a single line written in my mother’s diary . It is too weak for the company to take action . Moreover, these are the same people that looked down on my mother after she pa.s.sed away . I’m pretty sure that even if I do talk to them, nothing will come out of it . ”
‘That is why he contacted me . ’
The Ross siblings had found about an odd pa.s.sage from their mother’s diary, yet the only person they could call was Sungyoon .
“If something suspicious exists in the labyrinth, the chances of it being connected to our mother’s death are high . If we find something, those that killed our mother will no longer be able to ignore us . ”
Tim was full of determination, and it was the same for Emily . However, Sungyoon was put in a bit of an awkward spot .
‘This isn’t just about clearing the labyrinth once . ’
“If something really is fishy inside the labyrinth, wouldn"t it be dangerous for us? Your mother was very capable, yet she lost her life . The degree of danger must be very high . ”
“I believe it will be . ”
As he gave that answer, Tim looked at how Sungyoon would react .
“If we do find something strange inside, we plan on immediately coming out . Our mother had the chance to write in her diary after witnessing it . We determined that we’d be fine if we do the same thing . If Mr . Sungyoon doesn’t want to do it, you don"t have to partic.i.p.ate . You aren’t obligated to come with us . ”
Sungyoon agonized over the problem for a brief moment .
This might turn out to be dangerous . If it were any other time, he would have walked away . However, the problem had arisen because the Ross siblings were the ones asking . He wanted them as party members for the Great Labyrinth .
‘Do I avoid the danger that’ll be sure to come, or do I want the siblings to be indebted to me?’
However, Sungyoon didn’t think too long .
‘Since I’m going to attempt the Great Labyrinth, it is better to have comrades that I can trust . ’
If it would aid him in his quest for the Great Labyrinth, he was willing to take the risk . Moreover, it would be a lie if he said a small part of him wasn"t worried about the siblings .
“I have a general idea of your situation now . For now, we just have to comb through the labyrinth as if we are trying to catch a flea . ”
Even after learning everything, Sungyoon was willing to help them . Tim and Emily’s expression tremendously brightened .
“Thank you very much . As expected, we were right in asking Mr . Sungyoon for help . ”
“Thank you very much . ”
After Tim and Emily gave their thanks, Sungyoon spoke in a muted manner .
“We can think about it as practice for the time when we’ll raid the Great Labyrinth together . ”
Sungyoon floated the idea in a discreet manner . Even if it was a little bit, he wanted to get a commitment from the siblings regarding the Great Labyrinth .
He had acted sly, but it seemed that his crafty plan had worked . Tim and Emily smiled .
“Of course . ”
“Please look out for us when that time comes . ”
The Ross siblings gave a firm answer, their voice infused with trust .
* * *
The three of them traveled using the Moon Surface Vehicles . In preparation for this day, the Ross siblings had rented a Moon Surface Vehicle . It was slightly larger than Sungyoon’s vehicle, and possessed two beds . Jimin had been very considerate and generous in purchasing a Moon surface vehicle for Sungyoon . But unlike him, the Ross siblings couldn"t use their company’s Moon Surface Vehicle for personal use . They had no choice but to spend a fortune on renting one .
Five days pa.s.sed, and the party arrived at their destination .
They could see the labyrinth"s entrance on a slope leading up to a small hill . The slope wasn’t steep, so it wasn’t hard to approach it .
After parking the Moon Surface Vehicles before the slope started to incline, the three of them walked up to the labyrinth’s entrance . The siblings looked at the entrance with great emotions in their eyes . This was their mother’s labyrinth .
Tim gestured with his hand and went inside first . Sungyoon and Emily followed him .
As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a monster .
‘The place must be overflowing with monsters . ’
It was a labyrinth previously owned by someone, yet a long time had pa.s.sed since the owner had disappeared . Moreover, this place was probably going through the same phenomena as his labyrinth . Sungyoon guessed it was overflowing with more monsters than usual .
The first monster to appear was a Mad Dog . It had very scary eyes, and it growled, revealing its canines . However, the party looked at it without much emotion in their eyes . Tim even snorted .
“I’ll say this again, but…”
Sungyoon thought Tim had relapsed into his bad habit of taking things carelessly . He was about to say something, but Tim stole the rest of his words .
“‘Don’t get careless . ’ You wanted to say that, right?”
Tim winked as if he understood Sungyoon’s sentiment . Then he took a step forward and raised his s.h.i.+eld that was unfamiliar to Sungyoon . Tim probably had acquired a new one .
“Well, it has been a long time, but let’s hunt together as a party!”
Tim sounded excited . However, his stance had no opening . It was rock solid, unlike his excited voice .
Sungyoon looked towards Emily, who let out a bright smile .
“He’s matured a little bit . ”
She looked towards her brother . Normally, she constantly bickered with him, but now pride and love could be seen in her eyes .
‘This is what it means to be siblings . ’
Siblings constantly fought each other as if their lives were on the line, but they also worried about each other .
Sungyoon summoned his halberd . Emily had to act as support, and she was faithful to her role as she stood a bit away from the fight . But when she saw Sungyoon"s weapon, her eyes turned round .
“You changed your weapon?”
“Yes . I’ll tell you the details after we kill that monster . ”
He moved to the rear of Tim . The Mad Dog had jumped to rip open Tim’s throat, its canines in full view . Tim responded by swinging his s.h.i.+eld .
-Kang!
It was way too easy . The Mad Dog was sent flying . Even if Tim didn’t look down on his opponent, it was too weak .
‘This is no fun . Jeez . ’
While he was inwardly grumbling, Sungyoon dashed forward .
‘Huh?’
This time, it was Tim, whose eyes turned round .
His eyes followed Sungyoon’s back . It wasn’t odd to see Sungyoon dash forward, since this was their usual formation, and Sungyoon was doing what he was supposed to do . Tim was surprised because of Sungyoon’s equipment . The man looked completely different than before . He now possessed a powerful halberd and a st.u.r.dy armor along with other armors that he hadn’t possessed before .
Tim saw Sungyoon swing his halberd . An indomitable force powered the attack . He wasn’t the target of the attack, yet he felt a chill run down his spine .
Suh-guhk!
The Mad Dog was severed into two . It was too easy .
The battle had ended in a flash . It didn’t even feel like they had been in a battle . The siblings didn"t look at the dead corpse of the Mad Dog . Their eyes were filled with curiosity as they looked at Sungyoon .
Tim looked over Sungyoon’s equipment .
“It seems your equipment went through a complete overhaul, Mr Sungyoon . ”
“It turned out like that . ”
Fortunately, Tim and Emily didn’t show any jealousy .
“Come to think of it, we haven’t really talked about what happened since we’ve parted ways . I really want to hear your story, Mr . Sungyoon . It’ll give us the opportunity to discuss how our Gems and Devices have changed . ”
Emily’s eyes shone as she spoke . She was curious about the changes that had occurred to him . It let her overcome her introverted personality .
Sungyoon had already planned on telling them about his Devices and Gems after entering the labyrinth . Since they were going to fight together, they had to fully know his capabilities . Moreover, it would quench their curiosity . It was basically killing two birds with one stone .
He started telling them about what had happened after he parted ways with them . Then he talked about his Devices and Gems .
The expressions of the Ross siblings was quite interesting to watch . Shock, anger, happiness, their expressions changed as time went on . It was as if they were showing him every emotion they could express .
“It really seems…”
Tim spat out .
“It really seems there is an endless stream of events occurring around Mr . Sungyoon . ”
Emily nodded from next to Tim, and Sungyoon turned his gaze on her .
“That is why the s.h.i.+eld given to me by Ms . Emily was destroyed . I would like to apologize about that . ”
“Ah . No! I gave it to you as thanks for helping out in the fight against the Bigfoot . I’m glad that it came to your a.s.sistance . ”
She let out a gentle smile . The delicate smile could strike a man’s instinct of wanting to protect a woman . Even Tim became mesmerized for a brief moment . Of course, an enormous wave of self-denial washed over him when he realized his sister’s smile had mesmerized him . It was destructive enough that he almost fell into self-hate . Sungyoon still had his expressionless face as he lowered his head .
“Thank you for saying that . ”
“I feel very rea.s.sured that Mr . Sungyoon has become so strong . We made a great decision in inviting you here, Mr . Sungyoon . ”
Tim had his arms crossed . He nodded at his sister"s words .
Sungyoon turned his head .
“What should we do about that?”
He pointed towards the moonstone left behind by the dead Mad Dog .
“As I’ve told you, I have a storage Gem . Should we use that? Or should we put it in the bag like before?”
It was a sensitive topic . If trust wasn"t established between the party members, the use of a storage Gem was discouraged . In some parties, it was outright banned . This was why when he had worked with a temporary party, he left behind his storage Gem in his Moon Surface Vehicle .
The siblings looked at each other for a brief moment . They nodded once to each other and turned to look at Sungyoon .
“We’ll leave it to you then . It’ll make our hunt easier . ”
“We won’t have to lug around a big bag . ”
Not even an ounce of suspicion were in their words as they entrusted the moonstones to Sungyoon .
“ . . . understood . ”
How could these people trust him so much? Sungyoon couldn’t understand them . The moonstone in his hand went into the Gem . He even put the siblings" baggage inside .
Tim and Emily looked sorry that they were causing too much trouble for him, but they didn"t even show a bit of suspicion towards him .
“I’ll give you this one warning . ”
Sungyoon suddenly opened his mouth .
“You shouldn’t trust people too much even if that person seems trustworthy . ”
It was a warning that came from personal experience . This experience was bitter like a concentrated brew of espresso . Tim and Emily looked a bit surprised by his words, but in the end, they just quietly laughed .
“Don’t worry about it . We aren’t dumb . We are selective in who we trust . ”
“At the very least, Mr . Sungyoon is a trustworthy person . A person who is untrustworthy wouldn"t say such words . ”
“ . . . I see . ”
They were saying something dumb . Sungyoon had been betrayed by two people whom he really trusted . So, to him, the words of the Ross siblings sounded naive .
However, a foothold was made in his heart when they had expressed unlimited trust towards him .
***
Sungyoon also heard about Tim and Emily’s Gems . Unlike his completely revamped equipment, not much had changed with their Gems . Tim now had an Orange rank s.h.i.+eld and a Green rank armor . Emily had acquired a Green rank defense magic Gem .
Still, it was enough to clear this low-rank labyrinth . Above all else, Sungyoon had become much stronger .
Too-hwahk!
The halberd shot forward like an arrow . The spear blade was precise as it ruthlessly pierced between the monster"s eyes . The enormous body of the b.l.o.o.d.y Rhino shook once and then fell to the ground .
“Whew . These guys are just foods to you now . ”
Tim let out a whistle as he kicked the corpse of the b.l.o.o.d.y Rhino . Sungyoon felt a bit of pleasure at Tim’s words . In the Beginner’s Labyrinth, the b.l.o.o.d.y Rhino had forced Sungyoon to turn back from the 4th floor . However, the dangerous charge, the hard horn, and the hard leather of the monster didn’t stand a chance in front of him now .
The party once again started to move after Sungyoon picked up the moonstone . They weren"t traveling in a random fas.h.i.+on . Tim held the map created by his mother . The three of them had decided to explore every location that looked a bit suspicious, and they were thorough in their search . However, everywhere they went, it looked like a normal labyrinth . The only differences were the old marks made by Mrs . Ross when labeling the forks in the tunnels .
After a while, they finally arrived at the entrance of the 7th floor .
“Until the 6th floor, only monsters from the Beginner’s Labyrinth showed up . However, on this floor, it will be different . Stronger monsters will start to come out . So please be cautious”
Tim warned them .
‘I’ll finally get to see it . ’
Although the monsters from the Beginner’s Labyrinth were considered to be monsters, it felt as if they were just a stronger version of animals . This was why those monsters were the only ones left behind when they swept the Beginner’s Labyrinth .
But the ones they would encounter from now on would be different .