Chapter 7: Labyrinth Libarintos (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 7: Labyrinth Libarintos (1)
Jinhyuk stood in front of the massive structure.
A mystery that shattered all existing common sense and laws.
A gateway upon which the future of humanity rested.
The Tower of Trials.
This was the place that would be both the beginning and the end of this entire story.
Although the gate leading inside had not yet been activated.
'Quite a crowd has gathered.'
The area around the Tower was already packed with a sea of thousands of people.
"We have to go to the 1st floor's 'Goblin Cave' first. Setting up camp and hunting there is the best."
"I know. We have to level up as fast as possible, no matter what."
"Let's make sure we climb all the way to the top this time."
Whether in teams or playing solo, everyone's eyes were bloodshot with the desperate desire to get inside faster than anyone else.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart beat rapidly.
And at that very moment.
[19:00]
[The 'Tower of Trials' is now open.]
The Towers that had appeared all over the world opened simultaneously.
"It's open!"
"H-Hurry, get in!"
"Move it!"
The waiting crowd surged forward like a tidal wave toward the gate's entrance.
Jinhyuk also prepared to move.
Then, he walked into the pouring light.
* * *
Hummmm!
As he stepped inside the Tower, a landscape completely different from Seoul unfolded before him.
A vast grassland and a blue sky.
And a lush green forest stretching out to meet the horizon came into view.
This was the 1st floor of the Tower of Trials, the starting point where players from South Korea gathered.
"Ohhh!"
"We're finally here!"
"It's exactly the same as when we played it before!"
People erupted into cheers.
Looking around with faces mixed with excitement and curiosity...
How should he put it?
They looked just like newbies starting a game for the very first time.
Of course, he could fully understand how they felt.
His own heart was pounding just as hard.
'This really brings back memories.'
Jinhyuk brushed his fingertips against the waist-high grass.
The fragrant scent of grass, the touch of the gentle breeze, and even the warmth of the sunlight.
It felt familiar yet nostalgic.
But.
This wasn't a game.
This was reality.
'If you die... that's the end.'
There was no such thing as respawning and starting over.
Jinhyuk looked up at the empty air with calm, steady eyes.
'It should be appearing right about now...'
The moment that thought crossed his mind,
Ding!
[Welcome to the Tower of Trials.]
A blue status window appeared before his eyes.
'Here it begins.'
Jinhyuk waited for the text that followed.
[100 Coins have been distributed to celebrate your entry into the Tower.]
[Coins are the currency used within the Tower.]
[Players can record and upload videos of their achievements. 100 Coins will be rewarded for every 10,000 views.]
[However, platform fees will vary depending on the player's rank.]
[Views from residents outside the Tower will only be counted once per viewer. Please choose carefully before watching.]
[Live broadcasts can only be turned on when facing a boss monster to advance to the next floor.]
[Appropriate measures will be taken if view manipulation or other fraudulent activities are detected.]
Yes.
This was it.
The bridge connecting those who climbed the Tower with those who lived outside of it.
Players would capture the attention of viewers with videos that were as diverse and novel as possible, while viewers would boost the view counts of players who seemed most likely to reach the end of the Tower.
Of all the settings in the Tower of Trials, this system was the most intriguing.
'Because it meant the more famous of a streamer you became, the more you could monopolize the Coins.'
From now on, countless players would upload videos with various concepts to promote themselves.
But Jinhyuk had no intention of uploading videos for the time being.
'Revealing the information I know would be a far greater loss than any amount of Coins.'
Even if he only edited and uploaded outdated information that had already been squeezed dry later on, the reaction would still be explosive.
There was no reason to worry about broadcasting just yet.
Similarly, he had no intention of using live broadcasts, which could leave him at the mercy of viewers, unless it was a truly special occasion.
'Well, shall we get going?'
Jinhyuk looked toward one side of the forest.
He had already decided on his very first task.
A path different from everyone else's.
A slightly special path.
* * *
Hunting grounds in the Tower of Trials were divided into three categories: Dungeons, Labyrinths, and Ruins.
Dungeons were small-scale hunting grounds consisting of a boss monster and mass-produced mobs. Since they were the most standard and common, most players frequented them.
Labyrinths, on the other hand, boasted massive scales, and clearing them often took a long time rather than requiring raw strength to defeat powerful monsters. At the very least, they took over a month. Some Labyrinths on the higher floors even required more than six months of raiding.
Finally, Ruins varied in size, but their difficulty was notoriously brutal. This was because apex species like dragons, giants, spirit beasts, or divine creatures usually served as the bosses, and they were filled with tricky traps and barriers.
And.
Out of all those options, the place Jinhyuk sought was the Labyrinth located right in the center of the 1st floor: 'Labyrintos'.
[Name: Labyrintos
Type: Labyrinth
Difficulty: B
Description: The Cretan Labyrinth designed by Daedalus. It features an incredibly complex maze and a wide variety of traps.]
Considering that a normal Goblin Dungeon was F-rank, a B-rank Labyrinth was hell itself.
A beginner who had just entered the Tower of Trials going into a Labyrinth?
It was practically synonymous with wanting to commit suicide.
However, Jinhyuk had a very good reason for choosing this place.
Was it six years ago?
Back when he was raiding the early 30s floors of the Tower, Jinhyuk had realized one thing.
That it was impossible to climb any higher.
From then on, he had searched frantically for a solution. He scoured the lower floors to gather hidden pieces and meticulously retraced every step of his journey.
But it was all in vain.
It had to be in vain.
Because his foundation had been flawed from the very beginning.
When he realized the problem, he had panicked. When he had to swallow his tears, delete the account he had poured his soul into, and start over from scratch, he had seriously contemplated quitting.
But because he gritted his teeth and pushed through, he eventually discovered an ancient book in a Ruin on the 10th floor. A book that detailed what one had to do on the 1st floor to clear the Tower.
-The way to conquer the 1st-floor Ruin, 'Corridor of the Fallen', is to be recognized by the master of the Ruin in the exact state you were in when you first entered the Tower.
In the exact state he first arrived.
In other words, he had to reach the boss while remaining at Level 1.
Could the Labyrinth before Jinhyuk's eyes right now be called a training ground to make that possible?
Hmm...
Calling it mere "training" was a bit of a misnomer. Since the monsters roaming inside this Labyrinth didn't have "going easy" in their vocabulary.
'Still, to think I'd actually be doing this again.'
Jinhyuk smacked his lips bitterly as he stared at the Labyrinth.
Memories of spitting on the ground and swearing he would rather die than ever set foot here again came rushing back.
It was like finishing military service, thinking, 'Well, it was worth experiencing once,' only to wake up the next morning back at the recruit training center.
That was exactly how he felt right now.
Still.
'I won't be going in alone, so at least I won't be bored.'
Jinhyuk's gaze flicked backward.
There were people who had been tailing him ever since he first entered the Tower of Trials.
They seemed to think they were pulling off a flawless tail by hiding behind trees, but...
It was pathetic.
Just like typical newbies.
'How cute.'
He had a pretty good idea of what they were thinking.
'But well... will things really go the way they want?'
* * *
A group of five or six men and women tailing Jinhyuk from a distance clicked their tongues.
"We followed him thinking there was something special, but it's just a Labyrinth?"
"Hmm. I didn't know there was a Labyrinth here."
"Damn it. That's why I told you we should just hunt goblins and power-level!"
"Did I do it on purpose? He was practically radiating veteran vibes, so I thought he was going to grab a hidden piece."
"Stop fighting and let's just go back. If we leave now, there might still be some open spots left."
Several voices chimed in. Most of them complained about wasting their time.
Just then.
"Shh! Wait. Let's see what that guy does."
The woman at the very front pressed her index finger to her lips.
"Why?"
"Look closely. That man is drawing characters on the Labyrinth entrance."
At her words, everyone's eyes focused in one direction.
It was true.
Unfamiliar characters glowed with a blue light, and then...
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Soon, the ground began to shake violently.
The Labyrinth was opening.
"Holy crap!"
"Is this for real?"
"He opened a Labyrinth without even a key?"
The pupils of the onlookers dilated rapidly.
Entering a Labyrinth should require a key or specific materials. Yet, he had opened the entrance without any of those.
In a situation that completely shattered their common sense, everyone stood slack-jawed, utterly speechless.
"...Let's go. We have to go in before that man disappears."
The woman at the front was the first to break the silence.
"What?"
"Go in? We don't even know what kind of Labyrinth it is or how big it is!"
"Park Ha-na. Are you out of your mind?"
"Shut up and think about it."
The woman called Park Ha-na frowned in frustration.
"You guys know that the early stage is the most important part of the Tower of Trials, right?"
"Well, yeah..."
"We know that."
It was common sense that the more brutal the difficulty, the more crucial early growth became. Especially for those who had played the [Tower of Trials] even once.
Park Ha-na continued.
"The Labyrinth opened without even needing a key. Do you think an opportunity like this will ever come again?"
Experience points, items, and so on. The potential rewards were endless.
"Besides, if a Level 1 player is going in, the difficulty can't be that high."
This was what she was banking on.
A player without a single decent item entering a Labyrinth alone? It was proof that the Labyrinth's difficulty wasn't high.
"Well, it is a Labyrinth on the 1st floor..."
"Seeing how he's going in alone, you're definitely right."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Now, only one final problem remained.
"But will that guy willingly share the items?"
It was the issue of distributing the rewards obtained from the Labyrinth.
"Of course he won't."
But it didn't matter. Since they had no intention of sharing either.
"He seems to like Labyrinths quite a bit, so let's make sure he stays inside one forever."
Park Ha-na pulled a sharp-looking iron needle from her bosom.
The 'Giant Squash Bee Stinger'.
An item laced with a deadly poison that could kill within a minute if even 1 mg was injected.
"I-Is that the one you mentioned earlier...?"
"Yeah. My brother got this from the National Museum of Korea yesterday."
Everyone swallowed hard at Park Ha-na's words.
"I heard it was a complete bloodbath over there..."
"That's amazing. He actually managed to bring back an item from that hell?"
"Ha-na's brother played this game for a long time, so he really must be a veteran."
Park Ha-na's older brother, Park Ha-jin, had belonged to the 'Black Crow' Guild back when he played the [Tower of Trials]. It was a moderately well-known mid-sized guild, and its former members had gathered together to form a faction here on the 1st floor.
"Just trust me and follow my lead."
Park Ha-na stared at Jinhyuk in front of the Labyrinth with a sinister smile.
In this changed world, even murder had to be justified to survive.
It was only natural. The strong preying on the weak was the law of nature.
Park Ha-na had already made up her mind to conform to that law.
* * *
Rustle!
Six men and women emerged from the bushes.
'Finally showing yourselves.'
Their attempts to hide their presence were so clumsy it almost made him yawn, but...
It was only polite to pretend he hadn't noticed.
"Who are you?"
Jinhyuk put on a wary expression.
His facial muscles ached from acting out of character.
Ugh, my jaw.
"Ah! We're not bad people."
Park Ha-na, who was at the front, quickly raised both hands. She wore a faint smile, as if to show she had no intention of harming him.
"We... well, we came to this forest to find a suitable hunting ground. And then we happened to run into you by chance."
By chance, my foot.
At least wet your lips before you lie.
And what kind of introduction is "we're not bad people"? Even brainless villains from 80s cartoons wouldn't use a line like that.
[Lv1 'Eye of Truth' has been activated.]
[Park Ha-na's statement is a 'Lie'.]
The boundary between truth and falsehood was already visible to Jinhyuk's eyes.
Yet, there was only one reason he played along with this obvious theater.
'Park Ha-na...'
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
'This woman. She has a rather interesting ability.'
A unique ability that was well worth copying.