Chapter 59 – Two Harvests

“Isn’t this a bit too unreasonable?”

“What is?”

“Siwoo. Is it really okay to trample over the philosophy of the people who designed this Labyrinth like this? Imagine how much effort and brainpower they put into making people suffer. And yet, in one single piece of work…”

Seongjae pointed toward the Rough Terrain Pioneer.

“Is it really okay to just make a highway like this?”

Contrary to his sarcastic tone…

He looked utterly satisfied.

“Still, uh, the intent of the people who wrote this Labyrinth exam, huh? Or the value of the reward obtained after all that hardship, huh? Is it really okay to just ignore all that and go straight for the reward?”

I replied to him simply.

“Isn’t it the best?”

“Yeah, it’s the best. Loyalty, loyalty! The power of machinery is great!”

In the end, Seongjae beamed and cheered three times.

Meanwhile, the Rough Terrain Pioneer continued to carve its path steadily—

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Following the destructive footprints of the machine’s repetitive movements, we simply had to walk in a straight line.

There was no need to take the long way around.

‘It’s almost boring.’

Still, we encountered traps every now and then.

Clink—Screech!

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

A rain of arrows poured viciously from the walls. However, they had absolutely no effect on the Rough Terrain Pioneer’s Adamantite Drill.

Tatatatat—

They simply snapped and bounced off the floor.

If anything… it was a gain for me.

“Steel arrowheads, huh? Perfect timing.”

In this manner, every time a trap was dismantled, I added new materials to further strengthen the Rough Terrain Pioneer.

Unlike the Rough Terrain Pioneers used for actual development outside, the one used inside the Labyrinth was a makeshift device created by attaching temporary materials.

‘I couldn’t bring all those materials with me.’

To properly build a single Rough Terrain Pioneer, about 180 tons of resources were required. No matter how much my body was reinforced with Mana, I couldn’t carry all of that.

So, I filled it with materials easily found nearby, while selecting only the most critical parts to be made of Mithril and Adamantite.

Then, whenever a part broke, I would create a new one to replace it. It was incredibly inefficient, but it was more than enough to smash through Labyrinth walls.

Thump! Thump!

And so, Seongjae and I advanced toward the Labyrinth Core.

* * *

A short while later.

We finally faced the last wall.

Thump! Pshhh!

The final wall seemed to be quite thick.

Crack—Crackle!

Because of that, the Rough Terrain Pioneer was struggling.

“Tsk, is this the limit for a makeshift machine?”

But regardless, it was only a matter of time.

Crash—Rumble!

The moment the final wall collapsed with a thunderous roar.

Swish, swish, swish—

The instant the hole opened in the wall, the familiar sound of wind being sliced began to echo from inside. It was definitely that thing.

“Seongjae. It’s coming.”

Simultaneously with my warning—

Thud—Thud!

Brown tentacles struck the Rough Terrain Pioneer with dull thuds.

“Mommy!”

Seongjae looked startled.

While the tentacles couldn’t pierce the Adamantite Drill…

Since the machine was made of mediocre materials, the other parts were inevitably vulnerable.

Screech—! Bang!

Eventually, the tentacles pierced through, churning the internal components into a mess, and the Rough Terrain Pioneer—

Rumble—

Became completely dysfunctional.

“Thank you for your hard work, sir!”

Seongjae gave a playful salute. Since these were tentacles we had dealt with easily until now, there was no sense of urgency for us.

I laughed at his joke and pointed at the tentacles.

“Seongjae. Burn them.”

“All right!”

Whoosh!

As he quickly summoned flames—

“Kieeeeeek!”

The brown tentacles began to recoil in panic.

‘What a peculiar entity.’

I thought deeply while watching the tentacles.

It wasn’t known exactly what kind of Monster the brown tentacles were. This was because adventurers from the previous life had barely managed to escape with the Artifact the creature was guarding.

There were only a few useful pieces of information they had obtained. The most useful was simply that it was extremely weak to fire.

That was why I brought Seongjae, but it seemed even weaker to fire than I had anticipated. Seeing this, I thought:

‘Perhaps this could be a hint regarding its identity…’

Furthermore, there was information that resistance grew stronger the closer one got to the Labyrinth Core. Based on that, I could judge that these tentacles were part of a single entity with its main body located at the core.

‘Well, I can just check for myself.’

Thinking so, I began to walk slowly toward the Labyrinth Core, following the retreating tentacles.

Meanwhile, I didn’t let my guard down.

I ordered the Worker Bugs to start sorting out the Adamantite and Mithril components from the ruined Rough Terrain Pioneer.

“Ding!”

And gathering those parts…

‘Summon [Assault Cannon].’

I immediately summoned the Assault Cannon.

Click—Clack—

Then, following behind Seongjae, I entered the center of the Labyrinth.

Seongjae’s eyes widened at the sight of the interior.

“What is this?”

The core we entered was a wide-open clearing, and in the very center stood a massive tree, resembling a World Tree.

The center of the tree appeared to be hollow, and a metallic staff floated in the air above a black obsidian altar.

It was exactly as I had seen through the Observation Probe.

“What do you think? Our destination.”

I smirked. This staff possessed effects that were more than sufficient for creating the first Aerial Mothership.

The goal was right before my eyes.

However, it seemed the Monster felt the same.

The moment we stepped into the core, as if it realized there was nowhere left to flee, it began to resist violently.

Whoosh—Slam!

I lightly dodged the fiercely flying tentacles.

And slowly began to advance toward the staff.

‘I feel like the tentacles have gotten thicker?’

I did notice it, but it wasn’t a major problem.

“Seongjae. Keep burning them.”

“Fire!”

Because there was Seongjae, who, seeing the tentacles sobbing in fear of the fire, began to ignite them with excitement.

‘At this rate, there should be no problem.’

The moment I thought that.

Splosh—Squelch—

A thick resin suddenly began to pour from the ceiling.

* * *

“W-what is this?!”

Seongjae was flustered.

“Can’t you burn it?”

“The fire won’t catch! Dammit!”

Naturally, the tentacles took this opportunity to attack even more fiercely.

“Sigh…”

I let out a sigh.

This was a situation I hadn’t heard about at all.

‘In the end, it’s just fragments of information.’

In the previous life, everyone was too preoccupied with surviving. So even if they achieved something, it was mostly a result of coincidence upon coincidence.

Since it was information from those times, and since much of it was heard through rumors rather than experienced firsthand, I had to account for the fact that the information couldn’t be complete.

Just as Tenos’s Spear hadn’t been broken.

But anyway—

“It doesn’t really matter.”

Regardless of the information, it was a simple matter of destroying everything.

Vreeeeeee—

Following my command, the Assault Cannon began to condense light.

Much stronger and brighter than before.

It was thanks to the Photon Condensation Upgrade.

And the moment the light was sufficiently condensed—

“Commence fire.”

Boom—!

A beam of light erupted from the Assault Cannon, blasting a huge hole through the tentacles. It was a straight, clear path leading to the staff.

I began to walk that path once more.

Vreeeeeee—

Boom!

Every time the tentacles blocked my way, I blew them away with the Assault Cannon. However, the closer I got to the staff, the more violent the resistance became. It was as if it were trying to protect the staff.

‘Why on earth the staff…’

I couldn’t understand it.

Monsters rarely engage in behavior to protect something. Especially those with low intelligence like this one.

‘At most, it should just be an instinct to protect itself.’

I wondered if I was missing something.

The moment I checked the surroundings once more.

“Huh?”

Something around the staff caught my eye.

‘Why did I only see this now?’

“Ha… Hahaha.”

I was so absurdly amused that I burst out laughing.

Seongjae looked bewildered, seeing me laugh out of nowhere.

“Siwoo! What’s wrong?!”

I said to him.

“Seongjae. That tree around the staff. Try setting it on fire.”

* * *

After that, the battle proceeded smoothly.

Boom!

First, I blew away the resin with the Assault Cannon.

Whoosh!

Then, Seongjae used his ability to set the tree on fire.

“Kieeeeeeeek?!”

At that moment, a monstrous shriek erupted.

I smirked.

“As I thought.”

The brown tentacles that had been attacking us all this time. I suspected that their identity wasn’t tentacles, but rather branches or roots.

The reason the attacks intensified as we approached the center wasn’t to protect the staff, but to protect itself, which was wrapped around the staff.

‘Well… with the ability of that staff, it’s understandable why a Monster would like it.’

It was an Artifact with the effect of scraping and storing Mana to reduce Mana consumption.

It was clear that the Monster could have used that Mana as power to grow itself.

‘The free ride ends here.’

Because I intended to take that staff for myself.

As the tree burned away, the tentacles gradually began to lose their strength. I walked through them and…

Grab—

The moment I naturally picked up the staff.

Whoosh—

A massive amount of Mana began to flow into me through the staff. It was an Artifact with the same ability as in my previous life.

“Good.”

‘Now, if I use this to build an Aerial Mothership…’

Not only would I be able to worry less about maintenance costs, but the staff’s own ability could also be deployed by the Aerial Mothership.

“Hahaha.”

A satisfied laugh escaped me. It was then that Seongjae pointed behind us with startled eyes.

“S-Siwoo!? Behind us!”

“Kweeeeeek!”

A massive swarm of Monsters began to flock toward us.

* * *

When the strongest entity guarding a territory dies, it is a common phenomenon for nearby Monsters to swarm in. Just like now.

“Dammit! They look endless!”

Seongjae was throwing fireballs with a distressed expression.

In truth, the number of Monsters wasn’t as many as during a Defense Battle, but since it was just me and one Assault Cannon, Seongjae seemed anxious.

“Seongjae. Buy me some time.”

I instructed him.

Unlike his playful demeanor from before, he looked pale, as if he were truly feeling a threat to his life.

“So you have a plan! Got it!”

Still, he gave his all to the battle.

Whoosh!

Slam!

His combat abilities had certainly increased.

He seemed more than capable of buying some time.

‘Good. I can finally try using the staff properly.’

Feeling the Mana gathered in the staff—

Whoosh—!

I drew even more Mana. However, this Artifact, which was excellent at gathering Mana, wasn’t just for that.

‘Gather more Mana.’

Like a battery, it also had the function of storing Mana. This would undoubtedly be helpful in operating the Aerial Mothership.

But—

This staff wasn’t merely a supportive Artifact that gathered and stored Mana.

Rather… gathering and storing Mana was closer to a supporting function used to activate the staff’s core ability.

‘Activate [Anti-Gravity Field].’

Because this staff was, in itself, a weapon.

Vroooooom!

With a powerful vibration.

The Monsters rushing toward us began to float into the air.

“W-what?!”

The moment Seongjae shouted in surprise.

“Assault Cannon. Commence fire.”

The Assault Cannon, which had been condensing and gathering light, emitted a single bright beam toward the sky.

KABOOM!

“Kieeeeeek!”

The Monsters, rendered helpless in mid-air, were completely wiped out.

* * *

After the battle ended.

I looked down at the staff for a moment.

‘If I use this to build an Aerial Mothership… how much stronger will it become?’

The amount of Mana an Aerial Mothership can operate instantaneously is greater than the amount I can operate personally. In other words, it would be able to lift a far more massive number of Monsters into the air than I could.

‘The combination of abilities is perfect.’

The Interceptors loaded inside an Aerial Mothership are basically air-to-air machines. This means the Aerial Mothership’s air-to-ground capability should be limited.

But with this Artifact, that was different.

‘Because I can just lift the ground enemies into the air.’

Clearly, while dealing with enemies on the ground, it wouldn’t be an air-to-ground situation, but an air-to-air one.

‘Then… I can sufficiently operate an Aerial Mothership fleet.’

It was an ability that made me truly look forward to the future.

Meanwhile, while I was deep in thought.

“Siwoo, but when are we leaving?”

Seongjae spoke up.

He seemed bored of waiting.

“Hold on a second.”

I had ordered the Worker Bugs to search through the burnt tree, and we were waiting for them to finish their work in the clearing.

‘I feel like there’s something there.’

Since it was a Monster I had never seen before, I wanted to search it thoroughly. After a long while, just as a tired Seongjae declared he would sing a song to pass the time.

“Ding!”

A Worker Bug brought back a large Mana Stone.

“As I thought, it was a Special Entity.”

And not just any, but a [Plant]-type Special Entity.

‘I’m looking forward to the Essence.’

I smirked.