Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Jimin’s words were so cold that it could cause frost to form . Suh Ahjung’s face stiffened . She took a step backwards when faced with Jimin’s vehemence . Still, she decided to act shameless by forcing a smile onto her face .
“W . . . what are you saying? I birthed you . I’m your mother . ”
Jimin’s gaze cooled another notch . Her gaze had already been frosty, and right now, it could even create a blizzard . Jimin didn’t say anything as she approached the front door of her company .
“Get out of my way . ”
Ahjung loitered around in front of the door . But Jimin roughly pushed her aside as she opened the door .
“W . . . wait a moment! Your mom came here to see you… At the very least, you could hear what I have to say . ”
Jimin completely ignored her as she tried to close the door . Ahjung quickly put her foot between the crack in the door .
“You better move your foot . I don’t have money to give you!”
There was only one reason why this shallow woman would be standing in front of Jimin’s company . Ahjung was a woman that would use her daughter strictly for her own benefit . It was as if she didn’t have an ounce of motherly love in her bones . Jimin wanted to erase the fact that this woman’s blood was flowing within her body .
‘She also never learns . ’
This wasn’t the first time Ahjung had visited Jimin’s company . Jimin chased her away every time, yet her mother kept coming back to beg for money . It was quite stressful .
“Do you really think I only come here for money?”
However, Ahjung didn’t retract her foot, which was keeping the door open .
“I came here for a different reason . . . ”
“I don’t care! Just go!”
Jimin was a bit more forceful with her words this time . However, Jimin’s words went in one ear and out the other . Jimin started to kick Ahjung’s foot, and she started forcing the door closed .
“W . . . wait a moment! I’m here to introduce you to a good marriage partner! At your age, you should start thinking about marriage! You should meet him at least once . . . !”
Bam!
Jimin finally pushed out Ahjung’s foot and slammed the door closed . Then she locked it . It seemed Ahjung hadn’t given up yet as Jimin could hear her pound on the door . However, she wasn’t going to open the door .
‘She wants to sell me away through marriage?’
Jimin was aware of her own beauty . Her mother was probably trying to set her up with a wealthy man that had fallen for her . Ahjung would gain much by facilitating the match . Her mother probably hadn’t checked if her prospective marriage partner had a good personality or not . In fact, she was probably conspiring with some trash of a man with the promise of money .
There was a possibility that Ahjung had recognized her own sins and she was trying to do good for her daughter . However, Jimin knew that would never happen . Turning over a new leaf was an impossibility for this woman .
A big ruckus could be heard through the door . It seemed her mother would not give up . If she was the only occupant of this building, it wouldn’t have mattered . However, other companies rented out s.p.a.ce within this building . If she left her mother alone like that, she would become a nuisance for other people within this building . This didn’t mean Jimin would let her mother into her office .
Jimin contacted the security office of her building . Loud noises could be heard outside, and Ahjung’s sharp and vulgar screams could be heard within the building . However, the security guards were good at their job . Soon, silence descended outside .
Jimin held her head with both hands . All the good feelings from the morning were gone .
* * *
Sungyoon wandered around the 2nd floor for a couple days . The 2nd floor was clearly tougher than the 1st floor, but he became somewhat used to the place after a couple days . Afterward, it didn’t take him too long to find the entrance to the 3rd floor .
‘This is the third floor . ’
Was it his imagination? The air felt heavier here, and the magical energy in the air was denser . Sungyoon gripped his spear tight . He was on his guard as he walked forward . ,
‘Mad Dog!’
It seemed he had some weird fated relations.h.i.+p with this monster . It had been the same on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor . He always ran into a Mad Dog first . It had the familiar long head of a canine, and drool was dripping down its sharp canines . It growled at Sungyoon .
Sungyoon got into his familiar stance . He was quite experienced in hunting Mad Dogs now . He wanted the Mad Dog to be his trophy for his first victory on the 3rd floor . However, Sungyoon noticed something when he lowered his spear into place .
“What the h.e.l.l?”
Sungyoon’s question was infused with bewilderment . If past experiences were any indication, the Mad Dog should have rushed towards him . However, it wasn’t moving . It didn’t look afraid . Its red eyes glared at Sungyoon, and it was filled with killing intent .
Tuh-buhk!
The Mad Dog took its first step . However, it didn’t rush him . Its eyes remained on Sungyoon as it circled him .
An alarm rang inside Sungyoon’s head .
‘This b.a.s.t.a.r.d is different from the others . ’
It seemed the monster"s behavior changed as one went deeper into the labyrinth . Since he had hunted so many Mad Dogs, he had let his guard down a little bit . He forcefully put himself on edge . He pushed his s.h.i.+eld forward and returned the glare of the Mad Dog .
It was as if the Mad Dog was looking for a weakness . It circled around Sungyoon like a hunter trying to end the life of a wounded animal . Sungyoon matched its movement . They slowly circled each other .
-Koo-roong!
In the end, the Mad Dog became impatient and rushed towards Sungyoon . Fortunately, it had the same attack pattern .
Puh-uhk!
He was almost sick and tired of using this maneuver . He bashed the Mad Dog with his s.h.i.+eld when it rushed him . It let out its unique yelp as it tumbled to the floor . However, it reacted differently compared to the other Mad Dogs . It stood up immediately, and it glared at Sungyoon . The past Mad Dogs had needed time to recover from the bash . This wasn’t true for this Mad Dog .
Then…
-Kuh-huhng!
It charged towards Sungyoon once again . However, it didn’t leap like before . It dodged the s.h.i.+eld, which had been covering Sungyoon’s upper body . It went low as it tried to bite Sungyoon’s leg . This surprised him . He hurriedly brought down his s.h.i.+eld on the Mad Dog’s back .
Crunch!
-Kang!
He heard something break . The Mad Dog was a couple centimeters away from his foot, but it hadn’t been able to reach him . Sungyoon brought down his spear on its back . He stabbed it once more before it could struggle .
Slump!
Sungyoon let out a sigh of relief when its body lay limp on the floor .
‘Its attack pattern changed now that I’m on the 3rd floor . ’
As he watched the light surround the corpse, he rea.s.sessed the dangers he would be facing now . His previous information about this place could still be used, but he had to expect some variance starting from the 3rd floor .
-Koo-roong!
Another monster appeared in front of him .
‘Slash Cat . ’
It was a large monster that looked like a large cat . Its long claws left behind a big impression, and it showed no efforts to hide its claws . Each claw was around 10 cm long, and they looked very sharp .
-Koo-ahhhhhhng!
It charged headlong towards Sungyoon . The distance between them was covered in an instant as it swung its front paw towards Sungyoon’s body .
Kwah-jeek!
Splinters of wood flew off the wooden s.h.i.+eld . However, the claws failed to damage Sungyoon . Sungyoon took a big swing with his spear .
-Kyang!
The Slash Cat flew across the air .
‘s.h.i.+t . What the h.e.l.l!’
Sungyoon quickly looked at his s.h.i.+eld . There were four shallow claw marks clearly carved into his wooden s.h.i.+eld . His skin was much frailer compared to the wooden s.h.i.+eld . If this attack had landed, his skin would have been shredded into a b.l.o.o.d.y mess .
‘It said that its attack power was high, but as a price, its defense was poor . ’
He recalled the information he had memorized . The data was correct . After falling to the floor, the Slash Cat was struggling to get back on its feet . If it was the Mad Dog from 3rd floor, there would have been no delay, and it would have immediately attacked Sungyoon .
Sungyoon carefully closed the distance . The Slash Cat was barely able to get to its feet . It hissed as it raised its hackles .
Boom!
Sungyoon took a big step . The Slash Cat jumped straight up into the air in surprise . Sungyoon’s eyes shone . Until now, he had been gripping the middle of the spear’s shaft, but now he moved his hand to the rear of the spear to lengthen his reach . Then he struck out with his spear .
Puh-uhk!
It struck the fl.u.s.tered Slash Cat . It flew through the air . Sungyoon quickly followed after it and stabbed his spear into its body .
-Kyahhk!
The Slash Cat shuddered before its head fell to the ground . Soon, its corpse was surrounded by light .
“Hoo-ooh~!”
It was a bit unexpected . It usually took more than two blows to kill a monster unless he hit a vital point . This monster had died after taking a single thrust to its body .
‘It has low health’
Anyways, he had succeeded in the hunt once again . Sungyoon recovered the moonstone . Normally, he would continue to explore the labyrinth, but this time he didn’t move . Sungyoon raised his s.h.i.+eld, and he checked the claw marks once again .
‘I’m only on the 3rd floor yet it is like this . ’
Of course, the weapons summoned through the Gems couldn’t be completely destroyed . One just had to unsummon it, and it would regain its original form after time pa.s.sed . His s.h.i.+eld had taken blows from the Needle Hedgehog on the 2nd floor, and the Slash Cat had gouged the wooden s.h.i.+eld on the third floor . At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to use this s.h.i.+eld if he went further down into the labyrinth .
‘This is the limit of the Purple Gem . ’
It was the lowest Gem . When clearing a labyrinth, the quality and amount of magical energy possessed by the Connector was important . However, one’s magical energy meant nothing if one was without high ranked Gems . Of course, the opposite was true too . Since his s.h.i.+eld was in this state, his purple ranked spear and armor would reach its limit soon .
‘I’ll keep going until I reach my limit . ’
He knew the limit was close at hand . It was obvious . It might be the 4th floor . If he held out a little longer, he might be able to last until the 6th or 7th floor with these equipment .
However, one thing was for sure .
‘She can’t have a cat as a pet!’
It didn’t matter how much s.h.i.+nhae begged . Sungyoon had made up his mind .
* * *
One had to put one’s life on the line to explore the labyrinths . The monsters were like animals on earth, yet they were completely different in many aspects . The biggest difference was the moonstones that could be extracted from their bodies . However, there was no way these monsters would die without putting up a struggle . In order to defend themselves, the monsters attacked the Connectors with everything they got . It was a life and death battle for both sides . The conditions and circ.u.mstances of the fight didn’t matter . Even if there was a low chance of dying here, one was putting one’s life on the line . The exploration of the labyrinth continued under such dire circ.u.mstances .
Sooner or later there came a time when one had to put one’s life at risk .
“Koo-oohk!”
The sharp needle flew towards Sungyoon’s shoulder . Fortunately, the needle embedded itself at the edge of his armor . Sungyoon felt like letting out a sigh of relief and a shout of joy . He had been lucky, but he didn’t have the leisure to do either .
-Kyahhng!
Something was swung at his face . He desperately moved backwards .
Sss-kahk!
His cheek felt hot, and he felt liquid flow down his cheek .
“s.h.i.+t!”
Sungyoon cursed as he wiped his cheek, which had been cut by the Slash Cat’s claw . His cheek stung as blood seeped into his sleeve .
‘Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like the wound was deep . ’
He hoped that was true .
He wanted to immediately tend to his wound, but the Slash Cat’s claws weren’t the end of the attack .
-Kuhng!
A Mad Dog ran forward in an attempt to rip out Sungyoon’s throat .
“Son of a b.i.t.c.h!”
Puh-uhk!
He struck out with his s.h.i.+eld . The Mad Dog was sent flying backwards . However, the 3rd floor Mad Dog wasn’t discouraged by the attack . It immediately got up as it bared its teeth .
Sungyoon gripped his spear as he looked at his surroundings . The Mad Dog and Slash Cat were growling as they glared at Sungyoon . A Needle Hedgehog wasn’t too far away, and it glared at Sungyoon with its needles pointing into the air .
It was a frightening team up of three monsters . Sungyoon gritted his teeth .