Chapter 101

Xiao Chen, a member of the Cursed Technique cult Night School and a Barrier Master, found herself here the moment she woke up one day.

‘What is this?’

As someone who prided herself on having more expertise in Barrier Techniques than anyone else, grasping the peculiarities of the Eternal Labyrinth took only an instant.

And its level was, to be sure, something she had never seen before.

‘…Who on earth created a place like this?’

Xiao Chen was intensely intrigued by this Eternal Labyrinth.

While walking along, lost in thought, and having dealt with a few Specters, she encountered another human within the Barrier. It was Woo Kibeom.

‘So it’s a labyrinth that draws people in from various locations.’

As time passed and she lived as the Leader of Woo Kibeom’s group, she decided it was time to meet the leader of another faction said to be here.

In the midst of this, when subordinates who had gone to catch bait were late, she went to check the situation and discovered someone emitting a rather peculiar aura there.

It was Han Kangyoon.

‘…I’ve never felt a lingering trace of Spiritual Power like that before.’

It was different from Bihyeong, who no longer exists in this world, and from Hectail.

Among the members of Night School, there were hardly any with such conspicuous Spiritual Power, so it piqued her interest quite a bit.

‘Honestly, he was kind of handsome too,’

And Han Kangyoon, facing Xiao Chen, delivered his demand without backing down an inch.

He would find a way to escape from here, so please don’t interfere with his faction.

And so, the situation had led to the present.

“Hey, sis, why did you do that? Shouldn’t we have just captured and killed him to get information, or at least followed and kept him under surveillance? What if those guys escape, leaving us behind?”

In response to Woo Kibeom’s worry, Xiao Chen let out a soft, derisive laugh.

“You still don’t know me? There’s no need for that.”

After all, she had already roamed this entire area and deployed her own Barriers at every important point. In short, the inside of this labyrinth was now completely Xiao Chen’s domain.

“Wherever that kid goes, he’s still within the palm of my hand.”

Therefore, there was no reason to be hasty. She just needed to wait for the fruit to ripen.

“…As expected of you, sis. My thinking was too short-sighted.”

Come to think of it, as I felt earlier, he really is a guy who isn’t much help.

‘He’s noisy about every little thing, and I don’t particularly like him either.’

Staring blankly at Woo Kibeom, Xiao Chen slightly drew up her Spiritual Power, raised a finger, and drew a straight line down through the empty air.

“Sis?”

Then, a thin line appeared on Woo Kibeom’s body.

“Guh, kuh?!”

Woo Kibeom, sensing something strange, opened his eyes wide, but there was nothing he could do.

That’s because, the moment Xiao Chen drew her finger down, Woo Kibeom was already as good as dead.

Swoosh.

Splatter—!

Thud.

Looking at Woo Kibeom’s body, split in half and fallen, Xiao Chen blankly recalled Han Kangyoon’s appearance.

“As expected, interesting.”

This labyrinth is special. For Xiao Chen, a Barrier Master, just examining its structure is helpful. To put it simply, it feels like a treasure trove.

And Han Kangyoon definitely seemed to know a whole lot about this space.

If that’s the case, then the best plan would indeed be to let him move freely for now.

‘Lately, it’s been nothing but boring things…’

It’s been a long time since she found a playground she liked.

With a smile full of anticipation, Xiao Chen lay down right there and fell asleep.

Not minding at all the pungent scent of blood that filled the cave.

The first thing we did after deciding to conquer the labyrinth was to inform the civilians we were protecting and have them evacuate to a safe place.

“We can’t just blindly trust the enemy’s words. Especially if it’s that Woo Kibeom, he might use them as Sacrifices if things go wrong.”

The civilians also had a strong desire to escape, so even though the hideout was in a poor environment, they readily moved and hid themselves.

Their representative, the old man we met when we first arrived here, offered a sincere prayer to Yoo Taejin and his group.

“We will never forget your kindness, even in death. Even if things go wrong, don’t worry about us, and we pray you achieve your goals safely.”

For the remaining week, we fully embarked on a time attack to conquer the Eternal Labyrinth.

“You all, who have faced them for a long time, probably know best about the information on the Specters scattered everywhere.”

“Right. It’s not like we’ve only caught one or two of them so far.”

However, even Choi Taekil said he wasn’t confident in facing the Specters in the depths of the Black Forest one-on-one.

“Those guys are especially stronger than the ones around here. The Leader might be able to handle one alone, but Hansoo and I need to team up to barely deal with one. And there’s more than one type of such creatures.”

Originally, if we think in game terms, the appropriate conquest Level is that of a 1st-Rank Exorcist or higher. It wasn’t that strange for them, who hadn’t reached that level yet, to struggle.

“…That’s not all.”

Finally speaking up, Choi Dain began mentioning the out-of-spec monsters she had briefly mentioned to us before.

“There’s something completely on a different level. I think the Leader said he saw it from a distance once?”

“Yes. I definitely saw it. The appearance of a monster that seems like it would only appear in myths.”

And its identity was recorded in the witch’s diary I found.

Its name was Manticore.

A Specter from Western folklore, said to have the body of a lion, the skin of a dragon, and the characteristics of various other creatures all in one body.

“…Can we really capture that thing?”

As Jang Hansoo said, the Manticore is certainly a troublesome opponent. Its Level is a whopping 60, making it a bona fide A-rank or higher Specter.

But, unfortunately, such worries from Yoo Taejin’s group were still just childish complaints.

“There’s one more besides the Manticore.”

“What?”

“The Seven-Horned Serpent, sleeping deeply somewhere in the cave area. It’s on the same level as that one.”

“…So the ruler of the Colorless Mountain mentioned in the diary was referring to it.”

First, we have to capture those two Specters. Only then can we enter the ‘Trial Hall’ to gain the witch’s recognition.

The fact that they had to fight powerful Specters, and that even that was just the beginning, made Yoo Taejin’s group each harden their expressions.

Around that point, I decided to lighten the mood.

“There is a way for this team to somehow capture the Manticore.”

“…I now know you don’t talk nonsense, but it’s hard to believe easily.”

“And as for the Seven-Horned Serpent, perhaps we won’t even have to face it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

I, the developer of this Black Forest, know. I know that the Seven-Horned Serpent wakes up at certain periodic intervals to roam around looking for prey.

Well, that’s because I was the one who programmed that data in.

And the ones currently settled around the cave area are none other than Woo Kibeom’s group. Consequently, the Seven-Horned Serpent will inevitably clash with Xiao Chen.

‘Xiao Chen should be more than capable of handling the Seven-Horned Serpent alone.’

Then, in effect, we only need to capture the remaining one, the Manticore.

“…If that’s the case, then it might not be an entirely impossible task after all.”

A clear light began to swirl in Yoo Taejin’s eyes. He had decided to take the gamble.

Seeing Yoo Taejin like that, the rest of the group also steeled their resolve. It was only natural, as they were people with strong bonds to their Leader, Yoo Taejin.

“If the decision is made, I’ll explain the operation.”

The decisive battle is in two days.

That is when we will finally begin to uncover the secrets hidden within this Eternal Labyrinth.

A day had passed since everyone steeled their resolve for the conquest.

And the time was already midnight; if today passed, we would truly head into the depths of the forest to capture the Manticore.

Deep in thought about the events of the past few days, Han Seoa, unable to sleep, slipped out of the hideout and breathed in the night air.

Perhaps thinking the same thing, she saw Han Kangyoon sitting on a pile of rocks ahead, looking troubled.

‘Oppa, what exactly are you hiding?’

After leaving the orphanage facility and heading to the Academy, Han Kangyoon had changed somehow.

That was something she could fully sense even during the Yeongwoldo incident.

‘……’

Han Kangyoon probably had a rough idea too, but Han Seoa had sensed that Han Kangyoon was hiding something and deliberately didn’t ask.

Nevertheless, the appearances of Han Kangyoon she had seen here only brought more questions to Han Seoa.

Around the time she finished her thoughts, Han Kangyoon, who had finally noticed Han Seoa, spoke to her with a calm face.

“…Not sleeping?”

“I just couldn’t fall asleep. You too?”

“Just organizing my thoughts a bit before going in.”

Han Kangyoon is exceptionally capable. Even though we fell into this inexplicable space together like this, he instantly gathered information and took the lead in the situation.

However, for some reason, Han Seoa felt that wasn’t all there was to it.

“…Oppa, I have something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Oppa, by any chance, have you been here before?”

It was a sudden question.

Even though they had been together almost the entire time since coming here, Han Kangyoon knew far too much compared to Han Seoa.

For example, even that witch’s diary—Han Seoa couldn’t even guess when Han Kangyoon had gotten his hands on it.

In response to Han Seoa’s words, Han Kangyoon laughed as if she were saying something silly and answered.

“That can’t be.”

“Right, I thought so. Sorry for saying something strange.”

But Han Seoa’s frustrated feelings wouldn’t easily dissipate.

Actually, this was the first time she had brought it up directly, but thinking about it, it had been like this before. Han Kangyoon always acted as if he knew the answer and took the lead in resolving incidents.

Still bothered, Han Seoa, knowing it was strange behavior, spoke to Han Kangyoon again.

“…By any chance, are you hiding something from me?”

It was something she had implicitly kept bottled up inside until now.

Even now, after saying it out loud, she felt a little regretful. Wasn’t it something she shouldn’t have probed? Had she done something unnecessary?

Perhaps sensing that Han Seoa had become serious, Han Kangyoon’s expression changed slightly for a moment.

And then he opened his mouth quietly.

“…Why do you think that?”

“Just… in many ways.”

Well, what’s said is said. So Han Seoa began to spill the truth she had been hiding, bit by bit.

“Actually, I didn’t really want to ask. I thought maybe you’d tell me someday when the time was right.”

“……”

“But because we’re family, I hate pretending not to know even though I do.”

In response, Han Kangyoon gazed at Han Seoa with a look different from any before.

Soon, the words that came from his mouth were something Han Seoa had never expected.

“I have a talent for glimpsing the future.”