Chapter 10

Chapter 9: The Labyrinth of Labyrinth (3)

Whoosh!

The sound of something slicing through the air was heard at that moment.

Thud!

"Ugh?"

A massive axe embedded itself into the head of a civilian.

Given that it was a chunk of metal at least 2 meters long... there was no need to confirm.

Instant death.

‘Is it finally coming?’

Jinhyuk took his stance.

“It’s a monster! At least a medium-level one!”

“Damn it. Just when we need to be on our guard!”

The others reacted a beat later.

Some pulled out crude-looking weapons.

Cheap items bought from the shop with the 100 coins they initially received.

Of course.

With these, they wouldn’t even scratch it.

Only a few special relics among the holy artifacts could pierce its skin.

Thump! Thump!

His heart raced.

Every nerve in his body was on edge.

At the same time.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Something approached from the end of the dark corridor.

It’s coming.

And it’s coming very fast.

“Roooar!”

A moment later, a 2-meter-tall monster revealed itself.

A spirit (靈物) with the head of a bull and the body of a human.

Minotaur.

This creature is the only monster that roams this labyrinth.

“W-What the...!”

“What is that thing?”

“What kind of labyrinth is this? This is the first floor! The first floor!”

The situation turned chaotic in an instant.

Whoosh!

The Minotaur swung the massive axe in its hand.

Crash!

A huge gash appeared in the rock with a single strike.

Dust and smoke rose as the wall crumbled.

If it even grazed a human, the flesh would be torn to shreds.

But right then.

Thud!

Jinhyuk sprinted forward.

Directly in front of the Minotaur.

“Roooar!”

Was the tiny creature attacking with bare hands annoying it?

The Minotaur gripped the axe with both hands and raised it high.

A downward strike aimed at the head...

Jinhyuk slightly changed direction to dodge.

Crash!

The ground shattered uselessly.

And at that moment.

[You have dodged the attack.]

[The stat ‘Gap’ has increased by 0.05.]

Two lines of status appeared in front of Jinhyuk.

‘Great!’

Jinhyuk swallowed his cheers.

- Dodging a Minotaur’s attack grants the hidden stat ‘Gap (間隙)’. However, this reward is limited to when the player chooses the labyrinth as the first hunting ground after entering the tower.

‘Gap (間隙)’.

A stat that narrows the gap in battle against a much stronger opponent and widens it against a weaker one.

Ding!

[Detailed Explanation]

When fighting a stronger opponent, it narrows the level gap by 1 level for every 3 points.

When fighting a weaker opponent, it widens the level gap by 1 level for every 2 points.

The path to growing from level 1.

The only method discovered after countless trials and errors.

It starts with a mere 0.05, but...

‘There’s no need to rush.’

It’s just the beginning.

Jinhyuk dodged the axe from all angles.

Whoosh!

Crash!

The axe sliced through the wall with a terrifying whistling sound.

Debris flew in all directions.

It was a dangerous game of cat and mouse where even a small mistake could mean death.

But Jinhyuk didn’t flinch.

There was no room for mistakes.

‘I’m a veteran.’

‘I’ve survived much more dangerous situations than this.’

And.

He enjoyed every moment of it.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

He dodged the storm of attacks by a hair’s breadth.

“M-Monster.”

“Oh my...”

“W-We were going to mess with that thing?”

For Jinhyuk, it was a familiar pattern, but to those seeing it for the first time, it was jaw-dropping.

Of course.

His movements were absurd, beyond mere reflexes.

The result of countless repetitions ingrained deep into his bones.

It was more like foresight than prediction.

‘I must have been completely insane.’

Park Hana swallowed hard.

To think she had planned to kill a veteran and take his rewards.

It was like dousing herself in oil and jumping into a fire.

***

“Roooar!”

The enraged Minotaur attacked even more fiercely.

Crash!

Crash!

The axe grazed Jinhyuk’s neck.

[You have narrowly dodged a critical attack!]

[The stat ‘Gap’ has increased by 1.]

Dodging dangerous attacks grants more stats.

High risk, high return.

Jinhyuk wiped a drop of blood from his neck.

‘Sure enough, I need to go this far to get the maximum stat.’

He deliberately timed it to the extreme.

Giving up a layer of skin in exchange for 1 stat point wasn’t a bad trade.

But if he did it too often, he risked excessive bleeding.

A few minutes passed.

“Huff. Huff. Huff.”

Jinhyuk’s breathing became labored, and he could feel his stamina dropping.

Fatigue began to accumulate in his muscles.

‘It’s time to wrap up the first battle.’

There would be plenty of opportunities to gain stats.

He planned to extract 100 stats over the month it would take to escape the labyrinth.

Jinhyuk glanced behind him.

While he was fighting the Minotaur, his companions were trying to sneak away.

‘Look at this? The supporting characters are trying to leave on their own?’

That can’t be allowed.

You decide when and where they live and die.

‘Besides, they don’t even know where the exit is. Where do they think they’re running to?’

Jinhyuk subtly increased the distance from the Minotaur and leaped toward his companions.

“If you want to gain stats, come with me.”

“...What?”

Park Hana’s eyes widened.

“Dodging the creature’s attacks grants hidden stats. It’s easier than it looks. Try it once.”

Good things are usually not shared, but this time is an exception.

Just this once, for the sake of kindness.

“...”

Park Hana’s face twisted nastily.

It seemed to say, ‘You’re crazy. How is that easy?’

“Come on. Don’t back out. Just once. If you don’t like it, I won’t force you again.”

Jinhyuk smiled.

At the same time, he pushed Do Gwang-woo forward.

“Eh... Eeeeh?”

Do Gwang-woo took a few steps forward without realizing it.

Just a few steps.

But those few steps were the line between life and death.

“Aaaaaah!”

There was no time to dodge.

No time to beg for his life.

Swoosh!

Do Gwang-woo’s upper and lower body split in two.

The Minotaur, enraged, showed no mercy.

“Ouch!”

Jinhyuk covered his mouth with his palm.

“Come on, you can’t just stand there. You need to duck or create distance.”

Really. It felt like eating 100 sweet potatoes.

What were you going to do, just stand there?

Do something.

He wanted to tell him to try harder next time, but.

Ah.

There is no next time.

***

The labyrinth changed again.

Rumble!

The walls and floor moved frantically.

They had to leap to avoid being crushed.

But it allowed them to distance themselves from the Minotaur.

“Haa. Haa. Haa.”

“L-Luckily.”

“Almost... died.”

Everyone panted heavily.

They had lost two companions, but no one showed any signs of sadness, only relief at being alive.

‘Are we finally out of its sight? It won’t chase us anymore, right?’

Park Hana trembled, looking beyond the wall.

As if the Minotaur might burst through at any moment.

“It will keep chasing us.”

Jinhyuk fiddled with the small dagger in his hand.

It was the weapon Do Gwang-woo had carried.

Now a relic.

“Why... why will it keep chasing us? The path has changed!”

“Because of this.”

Jinhyuk revealed his palm, glowing blue.

With the phosphorescent moth dust on his skin, the Minotaur would continue to track him.

Until they escaped the labyrinth.

“No way. Why did you do that? Why?”

Why?

“To increase my stats. I need to play with the calf while resting a bit during the labyrinth’s changes and replenishing my stamina.”

“How... long?”

“Until we escape the labyrinth.”

“So, how long will that take?”

“Hmm. About a month?”

Exactly, a month if we go quickly. If you keep causing trouble, it could take two months.

But I’m going to extract everything from you anyway. Being harsh will just make the process more painful.

“...”

Park Hana collapsed.

A month.

She wasn’t even sure if she could survive the day.

“I, we’ll go our separate ways. If we don’t go with you, we won’t be chased by that monster, right?”

This time, Lee Hye-min spoke cautiously.

“That’s true.”

Jinhyuk nodded.

‘Of course, I’m the primary target with the dust on me.’

But.

“Which way will you go?”

You don’t know the exit.

Are you going to wander around hoping to escape?

I don’t think that’s a good choice.

“Do you know the exit?”

“As I said, I know this labyrinth better than anyone. Of course, I know the exit.”

“I see. Then we’ll go with you... Huh. There’s no other way.”

“Sure, I don’t mind you coming with me.”

Jinhyuk trailed off.

Lee Hye-min asked, somewhat anxiously.

“Just...?”

Why are you being so picky?

“It won’t work that way.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing in this world is free. You’d have to give up all your coins, at the very least.”

To put it simply,

If you want to ride the max-level bus, you have to give up everything you have.

***

[Coins: 500]

Combining the coins from the starting point and those taken from the four people, he had 500 coins.

It wasn’t enough to buy decent weapons or armor, but.

It didn’t matter.

With this, he could buy the items he wanted.

“Stop standing around. Everyone, get to work. We need to gather moss for bedding and find firewood. There’s a lot to do.”

“Understood.”

“Just go. Just go.”

“Huh.”

A deep sigh.

Dreaming of a big score, they came here only to lose everything.

And now, their lives were in danger.

But do they know?

That no matter what, their fate won’t change.

Once everyone left, Jinhyuk activated the exchange.

[Welcome to the Coin Exchange.]

A massive status window appeared with a short message.

A place to buy and sell hundreds of thousands of items.

A land of opportunity filled with hidden gems and false gold.

This is the ‘Coin Exchange’.

Jinhyuk quickly scanned the list.

[‘Ancient Degoisan’s Tooth (SS)’ - 395,250,700 coins]

[‘Phoenix Feather (S)’ - 188,187,000 coins]

[‘Divine Artifact Dangunwanggeum’s Miracle (S)’ - 159,155,300 coins]

From items that made your eyes sparkle just by looking at them.

[‘Worn Small Pebble (F)’ - 1 coin]

To items that were practically trash.

A wide variety of items.

But.

‘Looking at these for a hundred days won’t do any good.’

If he can’t buy them, it’s just a waste of time to window shop.

Jinhyuk scrolled down the category without hesitation.

Down.

Further down.

The items he wanted were at the bottom.

‘This one... and this one. And this one too.’

Jinhyuk quickly bought the items he wanted.

[‘Enchanted Tarot Card (F)’ - 70 coins]

[‘Worn and Tarnished Bronze Key Fragment (F)’ - 80 coins]

[‘Wooden Wheel Fragment (E)’ - 300 coins]

[‘Lotto Reinforcement Scroll (F)’ x 10 - 1 coin each]

Four types in total.

All practically trash, but Jinhyuk smiled, satisfied.

The individual items weren’t important.

What mattered was how he used them.

“I will combine three items.”

[If the combination is incorrect, all items will be destroyed.]

“Understood. Proceed.”

Jinhyuk nodded.

Then.

[Combining three items.]

[Combination successful!]

As if to celebrate the success, a dazzling mist burst forth.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart raced.

‘Success.’

Looking at the item that appeared before him, Jinhyuk was certain.

All the time he spent playing [Tower of Trials] was not wasted.