Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Labyrinth
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Spin~ Whirlwind!”
By the third rotation, the strap’s length had exceeded three meters. It slowed down a bit as it got longer, but it was still fast enough to shred the lizardmen.
“Ugh, I feel like I’m gonna puke.”
The downside was that the more he spun, the dizzier he got. After five straight spins, vertigo hit so hard his body nearly buckled.
Luckily, his high stamina let him recover quickly, but in real combat, that could’ve been deadly.
“Still, it works like a charm.”
Dozens of lizardmen got bisected by that one attack. A few survived, but most were on their last legs.
“If I can just fix the dizziness issue, it’ll be perfect.”
From there, it was experiment after experiment.
He’d start with tail-grabbing spins, then swing the strap overhead, or wrap it around his waist, spin, and release.
‘It’s like I’m doing rhythmic gymnastics.’
Awkward at first, but he got the hang of it fast. As he picked up tricks, the dizziness faded, and his hunting speed shot up.
[Level Up!]
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 23. (0.1%)] [Mana 3/39]
[Strength 75, Agility 75, Vitality 53, Intelligence 50]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 13]
Two weeks into herd hunting, and he’d leveled up. Insanely fast for monsters a grade below him.
‘At this rate, I’ll hit 24 before the month’s out.’
He dumped the new points into vitality.
Hunting was faster thanks to the new technique, but it guzzled stamina, dragging out his breaks.
‘Higher vitality should speed up recovery.’
Once he hit 24, experience gains here would tank.
Level-up EXP seemed to nearly double each time.
Two weeks to 23 meant a month to 24, two months to 25.
“Not glacial, but compared to my 3-star promotion? Way slower.”
Charging the lizardman nest, all he could think was saving Hye-rin sis.
Reckless hunting, near-death experiences.
But looking back, that month was his fastest growth since awakening.
‘Hunt 3-star zones?’
No real need yet. Herd hunting netted plenty EXP, plus Meteor Shower practice on the side.
‘But next month?’
Pure EXP grind hell.
‘Yeah… better scout 3-star spots now.’
He’d hired extra succubi to give Moemoe Kyun a break. Full team could map bigger.
‘Right. Gotta scout for Mom anyway. Light up the surroundings, build an otherworld map.’
* * *
A month passed. Weekdays in the spider den practicing Meteor Shower, weekends herding lizardmen.
Hard work paid off—he hit 24 yesterday.
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 24. (0.0%)] [Mana 3/42]
[Strength 75, Agility 75, Vitality 75, Intelligence 54]
‘Whew. EXP’s basically zilch now.’
Hunting so fast, lizardmen were running low.
‘Damn… gonna wipe out the lizardmen.’
So he paused that, headed into the gate from Black Bears.
They needed weekly “cleaning” to keep monsters from spilling to Earth.
Santa Maria Guild lacked combatants, so he stepped up. A 3-star could solo a 1-star gate.
Couldn’t go alone—too suspicious—so Hye-rin sis tagged along.
The gate for monster prevention? Total mess.
“That cheapskate Ban Sang-woon! Handing us this trash gate!”
Hye-rin sis fumed, cursing him. Every gate they gave sucked for hunting efficiency.
Like the resource-hog king spider den, or the stingy-reward corpse cleaner fields despite high difficulty.
“Ugh, seriously! Screw the orientation—should I just bail?”
“Hold on a bit. They said even just showing up gets us a 2-star gate. Gotta milk ’em for more.”
“Bet it’s another low-efficiency dud.”
“Better than nothing. Guild status hinges on 2-star gates.”
“Fine. More gates boost rep, sure.”
Guilds got ranked by gate count and quality.
No gates? Not a guild. 1-stars only? 1-star guild. Up to 2-stars? 2-star guild.
Black Bears? One of Korea’s rare 4-star guilds. Held one of just five 4-star gates domestically.
‘No wonder they’re a top guild.’
Top five 4-star holders: the Big Five.
Black Bears, Steel Knights, Shadow Legion, Tomb Keepers, Red Wind Squad.
They ran regions like warlords, handling security.
“I mulled why Ban Sang-woon scouted you. Think it’s this.”
“This?”
Hye-rin sis squinted, laying out her theory.
“The labyrinth. That 4-star gate they’ve got. Wanna raid it?”
“What? Raid the labyrinth? Nah, no way.”
Black Bears’ 4-star: “Labyrinth.” Maze dungeon.
Took forever to navigate; lose your way, starve inside.
Unlike normal dungeons, entrants scattered separately. Solo maze run mandatory.
Nightmare for Black Bears’ rigid squad ops.
“Nope. High odds. It’s been four years since it popped.”
“Right! Boss kill deadline looms, or monster wave.”
“Yep. They’ll block the wave at any cost.”
Monster wave.
Fail to kill boss in time limit post-gate formation? All dungeon monsters flood out.
These bypassed gate debuff, hitting Earth at full otherworld power.
Mercy: generous timers. 1-star: 1 year. 2-star: 2 years. +1 year per grade.
Early days, plenty time. Level up in a year or two.
But 3- and 4-stars? Time crunch.
Gates spawning faster than hunters grew. Stable low-grade farming to blame.
‘Low-grades give crap EXP. Dungeon hunters level even slower.’
Why, 21 years in, 5-star hunters were still rare.
Kinda got it. Monsters scaled exponentially per grade.
Troll (1-star) vs. lizardman (2-star): double strength.
3-star naga? Five times lizardmen.
‘Few 3-stars beat equals 1v1.’
‘4-stars wave? Gangwon-do goes Stone Age. Black Bears’ fault.’
They had to stop the wave.
“Labyrinth… mostly 3-stars, right?”
“Floors 1-2: 3-star minos. 2-3: 3.5-star tauruns.”
Floor 4 secret, but probably tauruns + boss minotaur.
“Hmm.”
“You’re not thinking of going, right?”
“Just considering.”
“Crazy. Why risk it?”
“Uh… not your line, sis.”
“Eek!”
All-Kill Guild fiasco flushed her face.
“Anyway! Labyrinth’s a no. Monsters aside, lost? Dead.”
“Not rushing in. But worried. Black Bears fail boss? 4-star wave hits locals hard…”
He’d investigate to prevent that.
Labyrinth details, boss strength, their odds.
‘First, find location.’
Otherworld route again. Faster levels, less eyes.
‘Plus, succubi due back.’
As he eyed the path, a prickly-yet-warm grip enveloped his hand.
“Huh?”
“Won’t stop you. Just… be careful.”
Shorter Hye-rin sis gazed up, eyes full of worry.
“Uh… yeah.”
Heart first.
* * *
Days later, succubi trickled back.
Some lost to foes, but over-sent for that. Rough map done.
“So, north river leads to forest, right mountains to sea?”
West forest: dead black wasteland. South plains: blazing desert.
Monsters mostly 1-2 stars. Fewer 3-stars than expected.
“Weird. Labyrinth’s gotta be nearby…”
Stared southwest from Demon King’s Castle, west plains. Earth equivalent: Odae Mountain National Park vibes.
“Any odd spots or markers?”
Shakes of heads. Succubi shot Moemoe Kyun SOS looks.
“Succubi are spirits—terrain checks limited, Master.”
Moemoe Kyun scratched cheek, covering for them.
“Guess I gotta scout myself.”
Labyrinth nearby. Hidden entrance, secret path maybe.
“Problem: centaur plains to cross. How to handle them?”
No ideas. Too fast, open fields—no hit-and-run.
“Any way? Something good…”
Black Bears’ 2-star gate tour popped up.
“Right! Why headbutt bare ground? Watch how they hunt centaurs, copy it!”
Tour in a week.
“Heh heh heh! Black Bears, you’re mine. I’ll squeeze every trick!”