Chapter 189

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 189

Chapter Title: Floor 30 - Lv. 875 Dwarf Kingdom (2)

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The Mind Map is a blessing of the Labyrinth granted only to Exiles.

Those born as NPCs from the start don't receive such systematic support from the system.

For them, skills are either supernatural phenomena they're born with by chance or realms achieved by honing their techniques to perfection.

It's only natural that Exiles, who can wield such powers with minimal effort, grow increasingly powerful.

Flying over the mountains, Heewoo casually summoned her Mind Map.

She'd practiced here and there plenty of times, and now she could view the dark sea of stars without even consciously thinking about it.

At its center, she could check her face and stats.

The stat numbers had changed quite a bit, but they weren't all that important.

They merely indicated how much her fundamental physical abilities had improved compared to her past self.

Far more crucial were the fruits borne by the branches extending from the center.

The skill tree.

Or, in translation, the technique lineage diagram.

Heewoo's Mind Map was quite vibrant now.

A golden divinity symbolizing the God of Time enveloped the cosmic background, casting a bright glow.

The branches and fruits shimmered with a soft halo representing angels.

The branches had a metallic texture because Heewoo was an Archangel.

Compared to the beginning, it had extended incredibly far. A vast portion of the cosmos was now filled with various branches and fruits.

The extensions headed downward from the center.

That was because of the structure: strength in the lower right, agility in the lower left, intelligence at the top.

No twigs had extended toward intelligence at all.

They delved deep downward, scattering firmly and densely like roots taking hold.

Gazing into this Mind Map had become a rather enjoyable pastime.

She still only understood a fraction of the diverse conditions for unlocking all sorts of skills, but it felt like an album chronicling everything she'd done in this Labyrinth, neatly stacked away.

The shallower branches held long-acquired skills like Heavy Strike and their derivatives.

A bit deeper down, the background color shifted slightly, revealing mid-tier skills like Dagger Mastery and eye-catching actives such as Hero Landing.

Most of Heewoo's skills were passives or trigger-based buffs.

Uncle had thoroughly guided her that way.

Eventually, unique skills would fill in the gaps, so there was no need to waste resources on anything else.

Her combat style ultimately relied extremely on fundamentals rather than skills.

For Heewoo, who had superhuman base specs from the start, stacking minor passives actually yielded greater power.

In PvP, she overwhelmed with strength and speed techniques plus her angelic racial specs.

She'd only adopted one AoE for situations like this.

The skill Super Hero Landing itself was one most wouldn't pick due to its many flaws.

Its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠power scaled with altitude and velocity, so flight was nearly essential, and durability was required too. There was zero protection for the caster from the fall's impact.

Angels and demons were ideal, or sturdy warrior-class harpies, or even unorthodox fairies.

If adding more, trolls leaping from heights.

But massive races that could use siege weapons had no reason to obsess over such AoE.

True to the Labyrinth, though, its risks made it the most potent AoE dealer at similar tiers.

Recalling when she'd obliterated Sharkma's city...

Thrilling.

It was ridiculous that she felt that way herself, but she might have come to like this Labyrinth even without meeting Uncle.

Was it the blood of her clan, raised for battle since ancient times?

Either way, Heewoo activated a few buffs.

Her fin-like wings ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vibrated fiercely.

An Archangel, whose wings felt less like magic and more like advanced tech.

She spun upside down once, facing the ground.

The wings folded, clinging seamlessly to her body like they weren't there.

She looked down.

The city viewed from cloud height was beautiful.

From sculptures carved into mountains to magitech gas lamps and neon signs emerging with advancing magitech, they pierced the night sky's darkness.

Products of civilization parting the subtle veil of night.

A spectacle comparable to modern Earth's nightscapes.

All achieved by burrowing into the mountain range and urbanizing its interior.

In sheer scale, it might surpass any Earth city.

That was why the dwarves' misfortune lay in easily pinpointing fortress-worthy spots.

All who qualified as an army would soon vanish.

Truth be told, plenty of things still felt off.

Was unleashing tragedy on a city full of civilians right?

If she dwelled on it, then definitely not.

No doubt about it.

But the approach had to change.

If they could survive without killing, sure, but...

Threats closed in by the second.

Fail to act, and they'd be the ones crushed.

She hadn't experienced high-rankers' power firsthand, but she'd seen plenty she could gauge by eye.

Like the proxy war pitting the War God's and Chaos Goddess's avatars.

Gods were peak high-rankers among Exiles.

She had to overcome such power, and even the trials that broke them.

Uncle had said it.

In the Labyrinth, even lives were sometimes just numbers.

No need to witness each flicker up close.

Kill one, you're a murderer; kill millions, a hero.

To conquer the Labyrinth, become a hero.

She still struggled to grasp Uncle's motive for clearing, but she'd decided to help.

She closed her eyes, letting "Exile" sand down the rising guilt and spinning square of conscience into a smooth circle.

She avoided gazing at the approaching city below.

Heewoo had to be the Exile's hero, not the dwarves'.

The heroine beside the hero. That was her role.

Even eyes closed, the terrifying air rush battered her. Piercing the atmosphere, then the sound barrier.

Body-shaking velocity flooded her brain with dopamine.

Moments stretched into eternity...

Until the moment of landing.

The countless lives forming the dwarven city converted to another number: experience.

The kid didn't agonize much. She'd become a monster too young to learn ethics.

What could be funnier to a vampire than human morality? She had to suck blood to survive.

She'd killed people before.

Her allotted human blood once came from a living child.

She'd gripped a terrified kid her size with vampire strength and drained it.

So starved she'd blacked out, regaining senses to a cold corpse.

Her first murder.

No guilt. Not because her heart was monstrous, but because it was survival of the fittest.

A medieval fantasy world where races killed endlessly. Born powerless human in its corner—that was the kid.

In such a life, her mom's occasional talk of morals and ethics felt alien.

Obvious outside.

Not here.

She'd settle for that mindset.

To the kid, family mattered most.

And magic, her life's goal.

Gazing toward that distant point, she spun her mana without guilt.

Rotation was the basics of mana control for manifesting spells.

Accelerated mana rapidly sketched the magic.

No magic circle needed now. The kid lived in a vision where all mana flows shone clearly.

Magic circles visualized mana flows for easier control—a tool unnecessary for a mage born with Archmage talent.

But this demanded beyond her level, so the meticulously drawn massive circle glowed.

Mana linked circuits, weaving colorful flows into a spell formula.

Rampaging mana forms dazzled her sight.

Snowy northern mountains.

Snow began melting.

From mana's heat and the vibrations it caused.

Birds took flight.

Mana ripples lifted their bodies.

The circle blazed blindingly.

Bright enough for the dwarven city to observe.

Trees shook off snow.

Concentrated mana spread as heat and wind pressure.

A round white circle melted away.

The glowing circle's background blackened.

Once mana filled every crevice, the kid lightly opened her closed eyes.

Target sighted.

The mountain roof blanketing the city.

Licking her lips, she triggered the layered formula.

A mana thread carrying will raced across the entire circle.

That pulled the trigger.

Gates of heaven opened.

Majestic magic poured forth.

The spell supreme for demolishing structures.

Destructive stellar energy rained like meteors across the night sky.

Heaven and earth quaked, shoving back the night.

I'm no philanthropist. I'll offer kindness when I can, but even that's rarely pure.

I want to stay human, and I still am.

I do it to remember that.

Drawing lines matters.

Can't save everyone or befriend all.

How to treat NPCs is up to each Exile.

I'll treat them as lives when possible, but draw lines when needed.

A path with zero sacrifice?

Find that in fairy tales with heroes.

Tried it? Of course.

Each time, I met despair.

Even struggling to survive alone, I shared all my knowledge, mobilized everything for the best path.

The result? My best wasn't everyone's best.

And it wasn't even best for me.

Society forms from individuals clashing.

No perfect good amid diverse conflicts.

One always trying to be good in the Labyrinth?

They'll face the price of ignored reality someday.

I deemed Server 43 outside my line.

I'll side with humans in linked random encounters, nothing more.

I'll ignore how this server's residents fare, won't inquire.

They have their lives and dignity, but necessity crushed it all.

No right to know, shouldn't know.

No mourning either.

Just keep killed NPCs in a brain corner.

Memory alone.

Explosions lit the night like day. Amid continent-shaking roars, Jenny's swallow sounded eerily loud.

I saw the leaf fairy dual-wield swordsman's ears pinned back in fear.

A reaction beyond resolve.

The normal, healthy human response.

The common reaction when proposing such acts.

Why Heewoo's first sight on Floor 1 satisfied me most: this aspect.

Heewoo could execute this.

Innate lack, nurture, or feelings for me—doesn't matter, she could.

Took me 70 years to manage it.

Ridiculously, in game days, this was "standard."

Jenny turned to me, terror-stricken.

How did I look in her eyes?

Her cat-like yellow irises faintly reflected me.

Vampire Lord backed by a blood army—utterly chilling.

And that expression was unvarnished truth.

I said softly,

"Go."

Red wolves and bats from every blood spring charged.

Not Crimson Beasts of the Apocalypse, but thousands of potent summons.

They'd finish the destruction's survivors.

Summoners were great—no need to witness it all.

Experience came as numbers only.

"Plenty of delivered chimeras out there too, circling the city's outskirts. They'll come running."

Jenny's eyes shifted.

Not overwhelmed by the sight, but peering farther.

Eyes seeing graspable hope.

Her sword grip tightened. Beast specialist, right? Chimeras counted as beasts.

Might be the wall between veteran and ranker.

The goddess was probably watching too.

'When was it? Floor 7? You said it'd be better if the Labyrinth were just a game.'

The goddess had watched.

"...Right."

'Same here.'

"...Yeah. Figured it'd be something like leveling, but the scale's impressively huge."

She was thinking the same.

If continent residents weren't NPCs.

If not data scraps of 0s and 1s.

No ranker avoids hell for kills.

'Stop watching. What's good about it?'

「Gotta stick together for this. Aren't we the type to lick each other's wounds?」

'Saying it lewd.'

「Your head's the lewd one.」

Life's sometimes futile.

Futile enough to question surviving like this.

Mired in hypocrisy and self-justification, I'll reach the Labyrinth's end.

And hope someone whispers it's all a lie in my ear then.