The Maze’s Blueprint
“Another anomalous gate?”
While Ye Jiram was grumbling after checking the gate alert, I found myself focusing on the name of the gate: Maze. That was because of the Maze Guide I’d just obtained. The word maze was plainly written there.
Just as I thought.
Seeing that, I became certain of one thing.
The quest reward.
It was meant to be something that would help with whatever was about to happen.
...But how do they know?
How could they know about future events or gates and keep handing out rewards like this? That was the question.
And the being called the Martial God is strange to begin with.
It was my past life, yes, but there was also the fact that it was EX-class.
Not only did it hand out quests no other superhuman had ever even heard of...
It even interferes with the System.
It had directly meddled with the System itself. No matter how I looked at it, something about it was off.
What does it want?
It seemed to have a will of its own, but it never clearly told me what it wanted in return.
It only ever pointed me toward whatever was beneficial to me, so I followed along.
Just as I was mulling over the Martial God, the System message continued.
This gate is a party gate.
Please enter in pairs of two.
A two-person party?
I did do a party gate once before.
It had been a gate related to the playful hero, and we’d entered with four people. But this time it was just two.
As I watched that with curiosity, Ye Jiram spoke up.
“This works out nicely.”
“Pardon?”
Before I could even react, she grabbed my wrist.
A party has been created.
Would you like to join?
“Wait, hold on—”
“Wait, hold on—” has been accepted.
“Huh? No, what the hell!”
“Well then, shall we?”
The party leader has approved gate entry.
Entering Maze Appearance (A) Gate.
Before I could even respond, my vision flickered.
＊ ＊ ＊
Kugugugugung-!!!
A harsh rumbling reached my ears. I opened my eyes at the sound.
It was dark beyond belief.
What the hell? Why is it this dark?
It was pitch-black. I couldn’t see a thing in front of me, and the discomfort was already creeping up.
Hero's Super-sensory has activated.
The skill triggered on its own. My vision wasn’t brighter, but I could vividly sense what lay ahead.
There wasn’t much of anything, really. Just a passage. A passage so deep I couldn’t even tell how far it went.
So this is... the maze.
As I was taking stock of the situation, a rough voice rang out.
“Why is it so dark in here?”
It was Ye Jiram.
“You there?”
At the sound of her calling me, I was about to answer immediately, but I had to pause.
...Wait a second.
There was a problem.
What state am I in right now?
One of the issues that came with entering a gate was that once I became the Martial God, I’d wear the mask and my voice would change.
I hurriedly reached up and felt my face. But...
Huh?
There was no mask. What? Why wasn’t it there? It should’ve been on me. As I was wondering, the System appeared.
You are carrying the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
The Martial God trait is deactivated, and the Heavenly Demon (SS) state has been applied.
Only then did I realize, belatedly, that a sword was hanging from my waist.
So because I’m carrying a sword, the Martial God state is suppressed and the Heavenly Demon’s power is being applied instead.
“What? I can’t hear you. Are you even there?”
“I’m here.”
My voice remained unchanged as well.
“Well, if you are, say so.”
“...Ah, sorry. I’m just a little thrown off. It’s my first time seeing this kind of situation.”
“First time? Ah, you said you only awakened recently, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Good grief. Now that I think about it, you’re a beginner, aren’t you?”
Ye Jiram sounded faintly annoyed. Seriously? She was the one who dragged me in here.
Fwoosh—!
With the sound of something catching fire nearby, the area suddenly brightened. It was Ye Jiram. She had created flames in her palm.
The flames floated upward slowly before settling in midair. The sight made them look almost like a lantern.
With the view now lit, Ye Jiram strode ahead and said to me, “Follow me. And don’t slow me down.”
“...Ah, yes.”
I followed after her.
Maze 10F
You have entered the labyrinth of the dead.
An ominous notification greeted us as if it had been waiting all along.
＊ ＊ ＊
When I thought about the known facts regarding the Black Night Witch, Ye Jiram, the first thing that came to mind was that she was beautiful.
Black hair, black eyes, and on top of that, flawless white skin and striking features.
With a high-grade past life, Ye Jiram was one of the more famous names among the top-tier superhumans.
As was true in any world, beauty and handsomeness were their own kind of power. Ye Jiram got plenty of advertising and sponsorship offers from all sorts of superhumans.
But by contrast, there was also a side of public opinion that wasn’t exactly flattering.
That was...
Her personality was absolutely insane.
The problem was that Ye Jiram herself was seriously hard to deal with.
Just looking at the things she’d said over the years made that obvious.
-Why the hell do you keep hanging around me? Should I burn your crotch off, then? What kind of filthy-looking bastard keeps throwing himself at me without knowing his place?
That was what she’d said to a male superhuman who’d openly shown interest in her.
-Why does he talk like such a piece of shit? Did he lose his hair and his common sense at the same time? Should I pull out the rest too before he learns his lesson?
That was what she’d said while targeting a politician who had proposed a law restricting the rights of superhumans.
For the record, that politician had been nearly bald.
There were other examples too, like when she called a Japanese superhuman who’d insulted Korea a red-nosed monkey brat, and of course her infamous feud with Camilla Lilias of Russia.
...Camilla once said that if she ever came to Korea, she’d kill Ye Jiram for sure.
But Russia had banned both departures and arrivals, so she couldn’t come. Due to the disasters ravaging the country, Russia itself was in chaos, and superhumans weren’t allowed to leave. That was because people often went abroad under the pretense of travel or business and simply never came back.
At any rate, because of those incidents, and because of Ye Jiram’s name being tangled up in them, a slang term had emerged in Korea.
Jiramhane.
Ye Jiram with a personality that’s just insane.
That meme was fairly well known in Korea.
On one side, there were people who said it was refreshing that she said exactly what she thought.
On the other, there were those who found it uncomfortable that she never seemed to care where she was when she spoke.
Still, Ye Jiram didn’t seem to give a damn about any of that.
Besides...
How should I put this?
Despite the rumors,
“So, when you come to a place where your vision is cut off like this, the first thing you should do is figure out the terrain. If you can make fire like I can, that’s great, but, baby, you can’t do that, can you? So first you close your eyes, get used to the darkness, and then— are you even listening?”
“...Yes. I’m listening closely.”
she actually seemed kind of considerate.
At first she’d flat-out said I looked like a beginner and that I’d probably be a pain to deal with, but now—
“Pay attention. You won’t hear this anywhere else. This is a chance worth a fortune, and you can’t just waste it, got it?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“At least you answer properly. Anyway. Looks like some kind of maze-like terrain... and that usually means there’ll be traps, right?”
Ye Jiram looked around as she said it. At the same time...
Swiiiiish—!
A black aura spread out from her body. It swept across the surroundings.
“Looks like nothing’s here yet.”
“What did you just do?”
“I checked. I used mana to feel out the area. Doesn’t seem like anything’s registering. So if we just keep going...”
Just as Ye Jiram was about to move forward, I spotted something and stopped her.
“What?”
“Ah, hold on a second.”
I picked up a pebble from the floor and tossed it ahead.
Tap.
As it landed on the ground in front of us...
Kwagagagagak---!!!
“...Oh my.”
Spikes erupted from the floor and blocked the way.
If we’d gone straight ahead, our bodies would’ve been riddled with holes.
“...What? How did you know?”
When Ye Jiram asked about the trap, I answered with a sheepish look.
“I saw something on the floor, so I thought I’d better check.”
“...You saw something?”
“Yes. I’ve got good eyes.”
“I definitely didn’t feel anything through the mana... Is there some kind of barrier blocking it?”
Ye Jiram frowned and looked back and forth between me and the passage ahead.
“...Well, good job.”
It was an awkward compliment.
...I did say my eyes were good.
The reason I’d been able to detect the trap was simple.
It’s not a lie.
Because I really could see everything.
Maze Guide has been applied.
The guide for Maze 10F has been executed.
The Maze Guide I’d obtained as a quest reward had kicked in the moment I entered the maze, just as the explanation had promised.
In front of my eyes, a translucent holographic window appeared. And what was that?
A map.
It was a map of the maze. Not only did it show me where to go, it also revealed the route.
...It even marks all the traps.
Every trap embedded throughout the labyrinth was listed there.
It was, quite literally, a walkthrough.
With this...
Clearing the maze didn’t seem all that difficult.
“As for the trap, let’s leave that aside. Now, next—”
“I think there’s a path over there.”
“Hm? A path?”
Ye Jiram looked to the side. At first glance, there was only darkness. Just when she seemed to wonder what path I was talking about—
“Could you send the fire over there?”
I asked her for a favor.
At that, Ye Jiram looked unconvinced but sent her flame over anyway.
“Huh?”
There really was a path over there.
“Looks like we should head that way, right?”
I said, and Ye Jiram answered in a tone that somehow sounded like her pride had been slightly wounded.
“...Well, seems like it.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Sometime after the maze gate had appeared...
“...They’re saying it’s another anomalous gate. Doesn’t that seem weird to you guys?”
Kim Hyukcheol, a B-class superhuman and classified informant, said while broadcasting from inside the gate.
“Usually there might be one or two a year, if that, but this year alone, how many is this already? At this rate, I’m starting to wonder if the country’s going to go under.”
-For real lol if we end up like Russia, it wouldn’t even be weird
-If the country actually collapses, what then? Isn’t the contamination rate almost ready to trigger a disaster?
-We should pray over a bowl of water and make offerings or something. And even if it does go off, Hale Irene’s in Korea, so it’s all good, right? At least Korea’s safe.
-True that.
-Two SS-class monsters in Korea? lol There’s nothing to fear.
Just the fact that Irene was in Korea was enough to make people breathe a little easier.
That was what the world’s strongest looked like.
Kim Hyukcheol glanced at the chat and activated a skill.
He already had one channel he’d marked in advance.
“Since we’re on the subject, shall we take a look at Irene-nim?”
This A-grade gate, Maze, had surprisingly seen Hale Irene participating. Usually she didn’t bother entering gates even after they opened, so this was unexpected.
As soon as Kim Hyukcheol opened the space where Irene had gone in...
Kwagagagagagang---!!!!!! Kugugugung--!!!
-Huh?
-What the hell? Earthquake?
-Why’s it shaking like that?
The screen was shaking like crazy.
Was there some kind of error? As Kim Hyukcheol panicked—
-...Isn’t Irene just smashing the maze apart?
-Yeah, she is. She’s just blowing everything to pieces.
Hale Irene was crushing the maze’s walls with magic.
What kind of brute-force solution was that?
Kim Hyukcheol stared in dumbfounded disbelief.
...Annoying.
Irene flicked a finger at the screen.
Beep-!
“...Oh, damn.”
The channel cut off just like that.
She must have noticed she was being watched.
As Kim Hyukcheol reeled in horror at that absurd sensory ability...
-Then is Irene the one with the highest breakthrough rate?
-Yeah, probably. She’s smashing the maze and moving down, so of course she’d be first, right?
Breakthrough rate. The topic had come up. It was a system that appeared alongside the maze gate: the maze’s breakthrough rate.
The channels were being ranked by how high that rate was, and—
-Huh? What?
-It’s not Irene?
Against everyone’s expectations, it wasn’t Irene.
Channel 122 was Irene’s channel, and 122 was in second place.
The one in first place was...
328?
Someone else from a different party, not Irene.
Seeing that, Kim Hyukcheol immediately said, “A channel that’s beating Irene for first place? Let’s check it out right away.”
Who was it? If it was another SS-class, then was it Yu Jin? Had he entered? No. That wasn’t his channel.
Then who was it?
As Kim Hyukcheol checked the channel, a familiar woman appeared on screen.
“No, over there. Over there, do it like this.”
“Like this?”
“...”
“......?”
The woman I knew appeared on the screen.
“...Huh?”
-Isn’t that Ye Jiram?
-Wait, it really is the Black Night Witch.
-What the hell? The Black Night Witch is in first place? How?
Ye Jiram, the Black Night Witch, was crouched on the floor.
And beside her was...
“No...! A little more to the side...! That’s not what I mean. Move out of the way, will you?”
A youth with a somewhat boyish face was looking thoroughly exasperated as he hounded Ye Jiram.