Chapter 47
Chapter 47
47.Arachne's Labyrinth (1)
'The possibility of Ubermensh targeting us...'
It was indeed high.
A Spatialist with an S+ grade Skill and a Dragon Knight. Our performance was broadcast to the world through video.
We even have Yong-yong.
Even in the worst-case scenario, kidnapping and raising Yong-yong would secure a Dragon.
'Since South Korea has good public safety, they might approach us in a friendly manner.'
While Seo Seung-yeon, as a bodyguard, can protect me from direct attacks, it's difficult to discern people's approaches.
I suspect that's why they even called to warn me.
Hmm. I usually limit my Spatial Sense, but I should keep it open. Ubermensh is a more insane group than I thought.
There was even a kidnapping attempt in the US capital. It failed, but they can attack at any time.
'There isn't much more I can prepare for...'
Seo Seung-yeon is with me as a bodyguard, and I only go between home and the training center, so I don't have many opportunities to meet people.
If an enemy ambushes me when I'm alone, the best thing to do is to escape into Subspace.
Since they're targeting me with determination, someone I can't easily defeat will come.
I need to run as soon as I sense them.
"Guild Leader, here's the list of supplies to purchase this time."
Regardless of Ubermensh targeting us, preparations for entering the next Gate were progressing steadily.
Unlike before, there wasn't much I needed to worry about.
The employee Lee Shin-hee's grandfather found was someone who used to work for a top 10 large Guild.
I thought they were one of the people who had become freelancers due to the recent situation...
-He said it would be better to have someone skilled.
Through the Chairman's connections, they brought in a good employee.
"Oh, why is the list divided into three?"
"I divided it according to the subjugation method. Each Hunter has a different preferred style."
Indeed. Some Hunters avoid battles whenever possible and move as safely as possible, while others rush into battles even if they can be avoided.
Their thoughts and directions regarding growth are all different.
"The first is a battle-avoidance style that mainly uses traps like oil, fire, and insecticides. The second is focused on direct combat, and the third is a mix of both."
Indeed, the first had a lot of oil, toxic insecticides for insect-type Monsters, gas masks, and air tanks, while the second was mainly detoxifiers and healing potions.
The third had a good balance of both methods.
'Top-tier Guilds handle things this way.'
I had never entered a high-level Gate even during my porter days, so this was the first time I learned this. It's more systematic than I thought.
However, they didn't seem to know me very well yet.
"Order everything."
"Excuse me?"
"Do both the first and second options. If there's not enough space, take out what we have and put it in."
Unlike other Hunters, our team doesn't have to worry much about the volume of luggage.
It meant we could prepare for any situation.
"Ah... I'll prepare it that way. From now on, too."
Perhaps because they were good at their job, they immediately understood what I meant.
Of course, after the supplies were prepared, there was a task of temporarily moving the luggage in Subspace.
'There's so much stuff piled up since the Night of Despair.'
I had divided the interior of Subspace according to purpose, but space was gradually becoming scarce.
There was space for Yong-yong, and the newly opened space was all farmland.
Well, since the Guild House is an entire building, there were too many places to use as storage, so it wasn't a problem.
We just need to put in and take out luggage according to the Gate we're entering.
'I wish my Subspace Skill would level up again.'
The newly acquired place was impossible to put things in because of the Elixir farm. Well, I didn't have high expectations.
It was too greedy to expect the Skill to level up again when it hadn't been long since it last leveled up.
"Everyone, you've worked hard."
As time passed, the final training session before entering the Gate the next day came to an end.
We would usually part ways like this, but not today.
"Everyone, let's go to the Guild House."
Like other top-tier Guilds, we decided to spend time at the Guild House the day before entering the Gate.
We would have dinner together from the evening, rest, and then enter the Gate.
"Hyung, sit here."
After taking a quick shower, we gathered in the Guild House's dining hall for the Guild House meal.
And soon, the dishes started coming out, and I was amazed.
"Amuse-bouche made by wrapping fried rice paper around Yukhoe..."
I had gone to fine dining with Uncle right after signing the Hunter contract, and it was proceeding in the same way.
"Wow, this is really delicious?"
Seo Min-jae, who was familiar with the situation, was also impressed, and Lee Shin-hee, who came from a chaebol family, even nodded.
I agreed. It was really delicious.
And what I liked was that the portions were large considering we were Hunters, and the food came out quickly.
"Red tilefish caught in Jeju Island and barley harvested in Gochang-gun with anchovy broth.".."
The dish descriptions were still difficult for me to understand due to my lack of knowledge, but it was definitely delicious.
"And in case the portions are not enough or it doesn't suit your taste, we have prepared other meals."
Perhaps because it was the chef the Chairman sent, their sense was extraordinary.
"This is a tea blended with various tea leaves from Earth and inside the Gate, which helps with sleep."
I finished with a tea that had a good scent, and I felt warmth spreading through my body, making me feel comfortable.
"It's the first day, so I prepared the dishes I'm most confident in. How was it, did it suit your taste?"
"Yes!"
Seo Min-jae answered energetically, and the chef smiled faintly.
"From next time, if you tell me what food you want, I'll prepare it."
After the meal, we rested in a 5-star hotel-level accommodation, and I thought this was heaven.
Then, suddenly, I thought about how much had happened.
Just a few months ago, this was something I couldn't even dream of.
During my porter days, I slept in a one-room apartment before entering the Gate and headed to the Gate in an old used car.
'I've grown a lot.'
Anyway, I could definitely see why Hunters do this before entering the Gate.
It was impossible to be in bad condition.
* * *
[Arachne's Labyrinth]
-Recommended Level: 21~25
-Entry Limit: 10 people
-Reach the end of the Labyrinth. Time remaining: 95 hours 59 minutes.
As we entered the Gate, a blue-tinged Labyrinth greeted us. I also felt a slight chill and humidity.
Uncle looked around warily.
"The passage is quite large."
That's right. Compared to the Labyrinth's Dead End we went to last time, the Labyrinth itself was larger overall.
As a result, I could somewhat guess the size of the spiders that would appear here.
Sparse spiderwebs were visible in the wide passage. Some strands were attached to the walls, or they rolled around on the floor in clumps.
Since it was the entrance to the Labyrinth, most of them were faded. There weren't many either.
'Hmm...'
While Uncle was examining the passage, I narrowed my eyes and focused on my Spatial Sense. I had felt a slight sense of incongruity since entering the Labyrinth.
It was hard to express exactly what it was. It was like I felt something.
"Reaching the end of the Labyrinth... Giving us 4 days means it will take quite a while."
Uncle clicked his tongue. In the case of complex Labyrinths, finding the way can be more of a problem than fighting.
"Since we have Spatial Sense anyway, let's think of it as checking for hidden areas while we go?"
"I guess."
It wasn't for nothing that we entered the Labyrinth Gate. Labyrinth Gates have a high probability of having hidden areas, but there are also many cases where they can't be found.
Labyrinths are dangerous and complex, and hidden areas are usually located in hidden spaces. But our team is different.
No matter where the hidden area is, if we pass within 30m of it, we can definitely find it.
However, I didn't plan to start by looking for hidden areas. We might not be able to clear the Gate if we just look for hidden areas.
"First, the goal is to reach the end of the Labyrinth. Let's search for hidden areas depending on the situation and time."
Even when focusing on my Spatial Sense, it was difficult to find the cause of the incongruity. I decided to focus on the immediate situation for now.
"Yeah. It would be nice if we found it on the way."
When entering such a Labyrinth Gate, the first thing to check is the rear.
Sometimes there's a path in the back, but this time it was blocked by a wall.
"I don't feel anything special in the back, even with Spatial Sense. Let's go forward."
After confirming that the party members were ready, I opened Subspace. What I took out was a Trap Detector.
It was invented by the magicians who entered the research lab and helps in discovering traps within the Gate.
'The performance varies depending on the grade.'
Of course, I bought the highest grade. Of course, I can detect most traps because I have Spatial Sense.
After all, I had detected the trap and caught the Black magician in the Ruin Gate last time.
But in this kind of Labyrinth Gate, cross-verification is essential. Magical Traps aren't caught by Spatial Sense.
I don't know if there will be any in a Labyrinth with spiders, but you never know.
"Let's try to avoid touching the spiderwebs as much as possible."
"Yes!"
Spiders sense prey through the vibrations of the web. Well, it's better to avoid them if we can.
We didn't even have much information about the Labyrinth yet.
"The spiderwebs are gradually increasing."
However, it wasn't long after we started walking that spiderwebs began to appear on the walls.
They were still weak like before, but they looked a little more elastic.
Accordingly, the incongruity caught by my Spatial Sense also became slightly stronger. It felt like something was wriggling inside the wall.
Then, a fork in the road appeared.
"It seems like we have to choose either the left-hand rule or the right-hand rule."
Uncle looked at the group. Everyone seemed to be contemplating. There's no right answer here.
The Hunter Net survey results on preferred methods were also close, with the left-hand rule at 52% and the right-hand rule at 48%.
"Where should we go?"
Uncle asked, but no one opened their mouth easily.
It's nothing much, but Hunters are surprisingly sensitive to this kind of thing.
They tend to be very superstitious, like athletes. After all, their lives are at stake.
Some Hunters even perform rituals before entering the Gate.
"Hmm..."
Uncle hummed and looked at Yong-yong in his hand.
"Shall we go in the direction Yong-yong wants?"
"Yong-yong?"
"It's just luck for now, right? Since it's a Dragon, it might have some intuition?"
Everyone nodded, saying that could be the case. Uncle held Yong-yong forward.
"Yong-yong, where do you want to go?"
As if understanding the words, Yong-yong looked left and right before pointing to the right.
-Kreu!
"It says right?"
There's no right answer, but I felt a sense of trust in the Dragon's intuition.
As a spiritual being several times more sensitive than humans, the party members all followed Yong-yong's choice.
"I'll leave a mark just in case."
We left a mark on the passage and entered the fork, and at that moment, the incongruity became more severe than before.
And then I realized something.
'Something wriggles inside the wall every time we move.'
The moment I recognized it, I stopped walking and raised my hand.
"What's wrong?"
"Just a moment."
While the team members were looking at me with puzzled faces, I jumped high and landed back on the floor. It was the moment when my guess became a certainty.
Because something moving inside the wall was bigger than before.
'Could there be spiders inside the wall? Babies?'
While the team members were looking at me with bewildered faces, I quickly racked my brain.
'Or... could we be inside the spider's body?'
Arachne's Labyrinth.
It made sense if I thought of it as a Labyrinth inside the body of a giant spider named Arachne.
The floor I was stepping on looked and felt like stone, but you never know.
There were Monsters with skin like rock.
-That's definitely possible.
When I asked Chunbae, he said there were similar cases.
"Please step back for a moment."
"What's wrong?"
"I think the main body of this Labyrinth might be a spider."
When I told them that I felt something inside the floor and walls with my Spatial Sense, the group members stepped back with tense faces.
I took out the Elegant Sword. If my guess was correct, this floor would be cut by a sword infused with Mana.
'I'm thinking of taking out a Rock Drill and digging even if it doesn't cut.'
The Mana-powered Rock Drill used at construction sites was also in Subspace.
First, I infused the sword with Mana and stabbed it straight down.
The outside looked like a stone floor, and the texture was the same, so I thought I might feel pain in my hand...
But without that, the sword went straight into the floor.
Swish-.
I was nervous that baby spiders might come out, so I cut about 50cm as it was.
"Huh?"
But what popped out from the cracked floor wasn't baby spiders or spider blood.
"Spiderwebs? Silk?"
I saw a bundle of spiderwebs that easily numbered in the thousands, no, tens of thousands.