Lost in the Endless Maze
It was a truly perplexing situation.
He had entered 1-4 through 1-5, yet there was no passage starting with 1. That meant some complex rule was at play.
But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't figure it out.
"Gerard."
Yes, Master.
"You've got all the numbers we've seen from the start memorized, right?"
Yes.
"Isn't there something we can plug them into? Like a math formula or some kind of pattern."
There isn't enough data yet for that.
"Guess that means we need to explore more. Alright, from now on, let's just go straight until we find a clue."
That was when it started. Taejeong charging down a single path without deviation.
As he predicted, every time the space expanded, two more passages appeared.
From 10 to 12. 12 to 14. 14 to 16.
The numbers were still jumbled, and after hours of running, the passages had ballooned to over 20 in an instant.
Still no rule or formula in sight. Anxiety began to creep in.
The added 999s and the endlessly multiplying maze. A hopelessness unlike anything he'd felt before washed over him.
He pushed straight ahead again for a bit longer.
"Dead end."
The first blocked path appeared.
It wasn't anything special. But since it was the first, it felt like it might hold a clue.
Scanning the wall for hints, Taejeong soon turned away in disappointment.
It was just a plain, empty wall.
He backtracked, picked another passage, and kept moving blindly.
Already 18 hours in. Without a bite to eat, solely focused on finding the exit, he finally parked the mech in a corner after hitting 20 hours.
Now there were 30 passages total. He'd hit three dead ends along the way.
"Gotta call it here for today."
He could keep going, but he needed to clear his head.
Blundering on like this didn't seem like it'd lead to the exit anyway.
Filling his stomach with biscuits and drinks he'd brought from home, Taejeong handed watch duty to Gerard and drifted off to sleep.
How much time passed?
"Nngh."
Taejeong's eyes snapped open, instinctively scanning left and right. Realizing he was safe inside the mech, he sighed in relief and took a sip from the water nearby.
You're awake already?
"How long was I out?"
3 hours and 30 minutes.
"Anything unusual?"
Nothing.
It had only been a day since entering, but Taejeong had realized one thing.
"No monsters here, huh. You haven't sensed any, the radar's outdated but hasn't pinged anything here either. And I haven't seen so much as an ant since we came in."
It was the quietest dungeon he'd ever hunted in. The atmosphere screamed big threats, but reality was anything but—this bizarre place.
That didn't change on day two.
"Up to 56 now. This thing's gonna go infinite at this rate, isn't it?"
It was a real problem. The space grew with every passage, entrances multiplying.
He'd backtracked just in case, but it meant little.
"Two dead ends today. Normally, they'd all be blocked with just one open exit, right? Isn't that how mazes work, Gerard?"
Standard mazes are designed that way.
"Exactly. It's weird, right? Fine, the ones that exist are what they are. But how can the number of open passages outpace dead ends so much? Go into one, and two more pop up. Everywhere you go, same deal. How the hell are we supposed to find it?"
He'd backtracked eight times here. Two dead ends, six opens. Those six each added two more, hitting 58.
No end in sight.
Three full days in the dungeon. Taejeong was still wandering the maze.
No clues or hints yet. Passages too numerous to count.
The space had grown incomparably vast, distances unmeasurable end to end.
Then he understood why people never returned.
Not even a near-high-level Paladin could escape.
Not because of powerful monsters.
"They starved. Wandering like this."
His hunch was spot on. Seeing it firsthand confirmed it.
At this rate, even a 100-man party might not make it out.
So how had the other nine escaped?
Another thick mystery.
"Supplies are running low..."
The quest timer was three days, so he hadn't packed much food.
Rationing, he might last a week at best.
With urgency mounting, Taejeong cranked his speed double using the Blaster.
All he had left was speed.
Racing around, he hit another dead end.
"Damn it. This is endless. Gerard, still nothing? Physics formula, math, anything..."
Apologies. No anomalies in the data so far.
"We'll starve at this rate."
Regrettable, but unavoidable.
"What? Never mind. Forget it. No time for talk—let's check one more..."
Turning to mutter, something struck Taejeong. He spun back to the dead end.
"How thick is this thing, anyway?"
Unknown...
"Of course. But looking at how it's stacked, it doesn't seem that sturdy."
Muttering, Taejeong suddenly summoned the mech. Stepping back, he pulled out the multiple rocket launcher.
What are you planning?
"You'll see. Gonna try blasting through. We've got data on the structures here, right? Think this'll collapse it?"
Very unlikely. To bring this down, you'd need at least a grade-5 bunker buster or a small nuke. Even then, concentrated fire.
"Yeah? No chance with this launcher, then."
Correct.
"Good. Let's smash it anyway."
With that, Taejeong backed up further for a safe distance, aimed the launcher forward, and hit fire.
Shwoooosh! Shwoosh!
The rockets slammed into the wall one after another.
BOOM! KABOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the air, dust filling the passage.
"Did it work?"
He stepped into the haze to check. No ventilation—zero visibility.
Advancing slowly, something tripped his foot. Debris, probably.
Mech couldn't pass, so he switched to close-combat mode, clambered over, and kept going.
Soon the smoke cleared, revealing a long passage stretching ahead.
Looking back, the wall was completely gone.
"It actually broke through."
A survival game hunch that paid off— the wall was gone, passage continuing beyond.
Taejeong's instinct nailed it.
"Knew it felt right."
How did you know?
"Just did. Remember our wall-phasing trick? Worked great before."
Intriguing. Applying that here.
"Not intriguing—basic human instinct. Should've done it sooner. Wasted time chasing rules. Anyway, nothing blocking us now. Straight line all the way. We'll hit the exit eventually."
Lighter-hearted, Taejeong resumed, sticking to one path.
No room for second thoughts.
Shwoooosh! BOOM! KABOOM!
Another wall down, path opened. Eleventh one.
Passages probably over 300 now. He hadn't bothered counting—time was precious.
Only the straight path mattered.
Another day passed. Catnapping in a passage, he eyed the last chocolate bars and water in inventory.
"Rationed, about five days. Gotta reach the exit by then."
Stretching, he slapped his cheeks to rally, then set off with clearer eyes.
Unlike the start, anxiety grew with time. Doubt in his judgment, fear the maze dwarfed his supplies.
But he thought of his sister and guildmates.
I'll get out. No matter what.
Four days of wall-smashing straight ahead. Only three chocolate bars left.
Rubbing his growling stomach, he nibbled half a bar, wrapped the rest.
It barely registered anymore, but he had to stretch it.
Lucky he was a Mechanic with the mech—no stamina drain.
"Man, I want kimchi stew. She nailed that. Hell, all her cooking."
A week of near-starvation made Park Se-ah's home meals ache in memory.
Wonder what she's doing now. The thought flickered, lost to hunger.
"Onward."
His weary voice spurred the mech.
The Protector Armor, first-gen, couldn't auto-pilot—that was its big flaw.
If it could, he'd sleep and rest on the move. Made him appreciate the navigator's cruise mode.
Dazed, he pressed on for ages.
Finally, something new ahead: a sunken floor at the passage's end.
Eyes flashing, he rushed over.
Stairs leading somewhere.
"Look! Stairs!"
His heart raced with excitement. Ten days of looping sameness, no monsters—loneliness and despair beyond words.
This new structure was a godsend.
Stairs too narrow for mech, so Taejeong stowed it and descended.
The stairs ended. Stepping onto solid ground, he beheld a staggering sight.
A massive, pitch-black beast, dwarfing any monster he'd seen.
Overwhelmed by its presence, he reached for gear—
A strange voice echoed from nowhere.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The ground shook violently.