Chapter 354
The Pitch Black Labyrinth had been placed under special management by the Federation and the North’s major guilds.
Perhaps it was thanks to their efforts in retrieving the tokens scattered nearby that the number of huge monsters in the vicinity had significantly decreased.
Whenever a labyrinth appears, countless people are bound to seek it just as insects swarm toward light; some seek a fortune, and others want to test their limits.
Whatever their purpose was, the labyrinth was a fairly appropriate place where they could achieve their goals.
That's why it wasn't surprising that all factions wanted to get a grasp of such a place.
That was also the case now.
The Federation and related guilds had dispatched troops to block the Pitch Black Labyrinth’s entrance.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
"What could go wrong? How many people are gathered here? I guess they came to change shifts."
"Huh, but isn’t this a bit too showy?""You aren't wrong. Who would dare interfere with the Federation’s affairs unless they have multiple lives?" The guard on duty said while relaying the special instructions for the shift change.
"But what kind of crazy person would enter such a dark labyrinth?"
"They are troublemakers. Most are transferees. They seem desperate to die."
While they were switching shifts, their superior approached the labyrinth’s entrance.
"Ugh, look at how quickly they came just because we talked a bit."
"Tsk…"
The reason their superior had come to pay them a visit was different from what they expected.
"The tokens’ owners have been decided."
"Yes? R-Really?"
If his superior's words were true, it would mean they managed to collect all the labyrinth's tokens in less than two weeks since its appearance—it was a small peek into the Federation’s power.
"Who… No, which side got the tokens?"
Their superior bluntly told them the results.
"One for a Federation’s Watcher, one for the Testimony Society, and two for the New Humans. They also took a reserve position."
"So the New Humans have secured three spots. Is there something special about them?"
"Well, some people said they exercised some influence, but we aren't sure about that. All of the figures they put forward exceeded expectations. The other guilds also presented quite capable individuals."
"Are they all transferees?"
"It seems so. They’re probably the only ones willing to enter such a dark place."
"I agree with that."
At that moment, there was commotion nearby.
"H-How did he get here?"
"Stop him! Don't let him get close!"
Upon hearing the disturbance, the superior poked his head out to inspect the scene.
Step… Step…
A man wearing a robe was slowly approaching the entrance of the labyrinth they were guarding. But for some reason, he wasn't being stopped.
"S-Stop!"
"Didn't you hear?! Stop?!"
Everyone was shouting, but no one tried to block him.
Just as the superior was about to scold the guards angrily, he saw the eyes of the man in the robe.
When he met the man’s golden eyes, his body froze.
"Huh…"
He heard a low voice.
"I'm passing by."
Whir…
A dark energy swirled around the man. It was a feeling of being overwhelmed.
"Y-You cannot do anything without a token!"
"…"
"I don't know what you're looking for, but don't cause unnecessary conflicts. You won't be able to gain anything here…"
At that moment, the man removed his gloves and extended his hand forward.
A ring engraved with a strange phrase reacted with the door.
Whoosh…
Crack…
[The Flagellant's Seal activates.]
[Entering the Pitch Black Labyrinth.]
"…"
"H-Huh?"
Then, the man disappeared in an instant.
The people gathered at the labyrinth’s entrance couldn't hide their shock; they just rolled their eyes at each other, mouths agape.
Unfortunately, their catastrophe wasn't over yet.
From behind them came another voice.
"This is bad! Phihi… I'll go catch him!"
Phihi…
'Phihi?'
The superior recalled that among the people here, only one woman laughed that carelessly and turned his head.
"You… No, both of you…"
With an expressionless face and a body as rigid as an iron tower, a Latin woman with a greatsword on her back stood next to a handsome white man.
They seemed to recognize each other.
The woman grinned and brought her hands together as she pretended to pray.
"I was wondering how to pass! But having someone take the lead is too convenient for us, isn't it? To think someone was more vicious than us!"
They extended their hands.
Whoosh…
Crackle!
The black lightning swallowed both of them simultaneously.
The situation was escalating.
Paf—!
Paf—!
Suddenly, two masked individuals appeared from both sides and extended their hands like the other two that had just disappeared.
And as expected, they had a seal.
BZZT—!
All of that happened in an instant.
Before those who had obtained the tokens started the exploration, as many as five people had already entered.
And there hadn't been any conflict at all.
"Uh…"
The guard tried to soothe his superior.
"Phew… Fortunately, there was no conflict."
However, the man's reaction was strange.
"Are you… alright?"
"Of course. Taking into consideration the troublesome people who appeared, we didn't suffer any losses."
"I-Isn't this a big problem? The higher-ups told us to guard this place tightly…"
"What you heard was right. However, they are exceptions."
"What? Who are they…?"
"It's obvious. If they can enter the labyrinth without a token…"
The man looked at the entrance of the labyrinth with a bitter expression.
"They're people who have already conquered a labyrinth. The higher-ups call them Conquerors. We would have been in trouble if we tried to stop them. After all, even the higher-ups ordered to let them go if they appeared."
"That…"
The superior was speaking more than usual to calm down his subordinates.
"Did you see the rings on their hands?"
"Those strangely shaped rings?"
"That's the labyrinth's seal. The mark of the Conquerors. They're like an award given to those who have overcome deadly situations."
The guard tilted his head and then mentioned a feature he had found only in one of the people who had just passed by.
"But the pattern on the woman’s ring… It felt like there was some overlapping…"
"You don't know who Lucia is?"
"Huh? Lucia? Ugh… Are you talking about that Lucia…?"
"Yes. Now you understand why I told you not to block them, right?"
Lucia, a Latin Transferee, had an eccentric personality masked by cheerfulness, which had earned her many enemies.
The only problem was that she was moving so far ahead of her enemies that they couldn't do anything.
"Is it true that Lucia has conquered two labyrinths?"
"Yes. If we hadn't been careful, our necks would have been cut. She handles that greatsword like a kitchen knife. She isn't a woman the Federation can easily mess with. We should be thankful that she passed quietly like this."
"Then, among the Conquerors, she must be the most dangerous."
"…"
"Is there anything wrong?"
The superior hesitated before answering.
Until just before the incident, he thought similarly to his subordinate. However, doubts arose upon seeing them in person.
'Is Lucia really the most dangerous one?'
For some reason, he had a hard time agreeing because…n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"The man who appeared first…"
"Yes? Ah! You mean…"
"No… First, let's report the situation. Damn… What we were worrying about has happened. Problems might arise inside the labyrinth."
* * *
Seol was able to enter the labyrinth easier than expected. Labyrinths were usually easier to navigate with companions. Unfortunately, the Pitch Black Labyrinth was an exception.
'Was this the right choice…?'
He had thrown himself into a labyrinth before heading to the East to meet with Seol Hong and retrieve Yu Hwa's unfulfilled desire.
He just hoped he made the right choice.
Amidst the flowing time and disasters, the most powerful action Seol could take was to make a choice.
'If it's here… There's a possibility.'
There were numerous ways to get stronger. The main one was the Stat Tree. There was also the realization one could gain during battle.
Usually, one had to use both methods harmoniously to become as strong as they desired.
However, what Seol aimed for was above that—he wanted to break through the walls and move to the next stage.
Sticking to the Stat Tree, which only increased efficiency, or waiting for a realization that was uncertain, wasn't the method Seol was thinking about.
There were other ways to grow.
'I'm glad I saved my skill points.'
Seol hadn't used the Stat Tree in a while and had accumulated a large amount of skill points.
He had no intention of wasting skill points on the Stat Tree.
So, where else could skill points be used?
That was by sacrificing stat points to awaken new skills.
This was slightly different from the Stat Tree.
Using skill points to enhance your abilities further, something that should have normally been gotten through a realization, was a noticeable way to increase one's strength.
Of course, it wasn't easy.
There had to be an environment suitable for realizations, the newly obtained power had to be related to the ones you already had, and you also needed plenty of skill points.
Now, Seol had thrown himself into a place where he could meet all those conditions.
He stood at the entrance of the Pitch Black Labyrinth.
'Five doors.'
There were five doors in total.
Each had a pattern engraved above them. The unusual thing was that there wasn't just one pattern.
Next to each pattern was a square engraved.
'Hidden attributes...'
Seol knew about the Pitch Black Labyrinth quite well. So, he roughly recognized the hidden attributes.
Bzz…
While Seol was lost in thought, two more figures appeared behind him.
"Phihi.. We met immediately! Hi! Where did you come from?"
"…"
Seol looked back at them for a moment and furrowed his brows.
'An exploration team? No, that's a seal.'
It had been quite a while since Seol had conquered the Labyrinth of Penance, so there were most likely others who had conquered other labyrinths.
He didn't know how much stronger the Transferees had gotten, but he thought that they should at least be stronger than him when he overcame the Labyrinth of Penance.
'Well, maybe not. But… she has overlapping patterns.'
Seol was slightly surprised upon seeing Lucia's seal, but seeing the patterns in detail gave him a clearer understanding.
The public considered Lucia as an expert who had conquered two labyrinths. But Seol, who knew the truth, evaluated her differently.
'The Labyrinth of Blood and the Labyrinth of Plague… She was lucky. Did she only encounter the most basic labyrinths?'
The Blood and Plague labyrinths were relatively short compared to the Labyrinth of Penance. They also weren’t that difficult in comparison.
Of course, besides the seal, their rewards were quite bad.
That's why it would be safe to say that the only thing you could get from them were the seals.
This was something only Seol, someone who had explored several labyrinths, knew. So they had no way of knowing that.
"Hmm? Maybe you're the quiet type? Want to join forces? I'm Lucia! If the exploration team or whatever comes, they might attack us, right? Let's make a temporary alliance. Although there are two of us, there won't be any kind of hazing. Right?"
Nod…
The man wearing the iron armor remained expressionless and didn't join the conversation.
Seol looked at the two for a moment and then shook his head.
"I'll pass."
"Hm… Really? Why? No… What's your name?"
"I'm Seol…"
"Seol…? Hmm… I guess it can't be helped. But don't trail us, okay? And... What about you guys?"
Flinch…
The masked individuals had been quietly observing the situation since being transferred.
They waved their hands in response to Lucia's question.
"Well, fine. I'm fine, too!"
Lucia crossed one arm and swung the other one to choose a door.
"Where should we enter…"
Although she seemed carefree, Seol didn't value that highly.
'It's an important choice. Especially in the Pitch Black Labyrinth.'
If they casually decided it like that, it might cause trouble for them later.
To alleviate his own guilt a bit, Seol gave them a hint.
"Don’t underestimate this place. It’s…"
"Are you worried? Pfhihi… How cute. Although I might look like this, this is my third labyrinth. So…"
The iron-plated man looked at Seol and said.
"You're overstepping."
Seol shrugged his shoulders and ended the conversation.
"Then, I'll go here…!'
Each pattern had a different shape, and the meanings inside were different, too. The patterns symbolized Blood, Light, Darkness, Storm, and Dreams.
"Hmm… Since there's no sword pattern, this one seems the best. I'll go here! Don't follow, everyone."
"…"
"Then, Lucia's off!"
Seol watched her and the iron-plated man cross the Blood and Storm doors, disappearing through them.
The masked individuals extended their arms as if telling Seol to choose first.
Since Seol knew very well what the patterns next to the square symbolized, he decided without hesitation.
Whoosh…
Seol stood before the door of Darkness, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
Ziinng…
A strange reaction emanated from his belongings.
【Yaksha is crying.】
"…"
As Yaksha, which Agony hadn't fully absorbed yet, stood before the door of Darkness, it began vibrating.
Seol nodded slightly and then disappeared through it.
Creak…
Before the door closed, Seol whispered.
"There's one thing I haven't told you, Jamad."
- What?
"From here on…"
[You are entering the door of Darkness.]
[Your vision is restricted.]
"I must do this place alone."
[Your connections to all your Shadow Summons have been severed.]
[A strong darkness is approaching.]
Whoosh…
A cold sensation overcame him.
That was his first impression of the darkness.
Seol felt a sense of loss.
Since his summons constituted the largest part of his worth, a huge sense of emptiness came over him when their connections were severed.
They were connected through the lineage, so he could recognize their presence, but in places where there was no light, there were no shadows either.
Seol vowed while in a place where nothing could be seen. No matter how long it took, he would conquer this place with his own strength.
"Yes… From here on, I have to walk this path by myself."
At Seol's self-deprecating words, a response came from nearby.
A small life form was clinging to Seol's arm.
【But Agony is still here…】