Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Separate to Survive - 3
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The Great Labyrinth was different from other one-shot dungeons.
First off, once the dimension gate appeared, it didn't close.
Since it stayed open until I cleared it, that meant it would remain open indefinitely.
There were no entry restrictions either.
Anyone could enter at any time.
"But that doesn't make it easy..."
True to its status as endgame content, it boasted an enormous scale and murderous difficulty.
Even we veterans had died countless times before getting used to it.
That said, it was because we dove in too deep too early at the start. If you prepared step by step, it wasn't an unconquerable structure.
The second underground floor of the Great Labyrinth is tough?
Then farm enough on the first floor before challenging it, and you could clear it.
The dark, damp underground setting made攻略 tricky, sure.
But starting from the fifth floor, things changed a bit.
That was when monsters with mental attacks started appearing.
They were types you'd never seen on the surface, so it was easy to get caught off guard.
If you had mental resistance or immunity, you could brush it off, but those items only dropped from the fifth floor onward.
In other words, to clear the fifth floor, you needed items from the fifth floor.
"Even thinking about it now pisses me off."
It was designed to kill you until you cleared it, but luckily, I had my mental resistance ring.
Of course, those weren't the only things that made the Great Labyrinth a nightmare.
It was littered with traps and bizarre status ailments from dangerous obstacles.
From experience, the doppelgangers around the sixth and seventh floors were the worst in the early stages.
Monsters that perfectly copied a user's abilities and appearance—they were seriously dangerous.
"Killing a copy of yourself is scary too..."
Once you pushed through those obstacles and went deeper, the dangers only escalated.
The deeper you went, the harder it was to find the entrance back, too.
In any case, the Great Labyrinth more than lived up to its name as top-tier endgame content.
I'd never seen the bottom myself.
"There were rumors of a real monster at the deepest part."
I remembered Bunny Duo mentioning hearing a monster's roar back then.
I wasn't heading down right away, so it didn't matter for now.
I looked around and poked my head into the dimension gate.
As expected, an endless black void greeted me.
This bottomless dark maze wore down even the most determined explorer's spirit.
Of course, it wasn't completely barren—there were surprisingly restful spots once you descended.
"Finding them is the hard part, though..."
I was the only one with a systematic strategy for the Great Labyrinth.
The deepest parts might be out of reach, but with my current power, I could conquer up to the mid-layers no problem.
"Not right now, though."
I pulled my face out and stuck my hand in—it slid in smoothly.
No need to rush.
There was more than one entrance, and they'd popped up all across the country by now.
Battle Royale event or not, I could攻略 it slowly afterward.
I marked the dimension gate's location on my map and climbed the tallest nearby building.
I'd taken first place, but I still had work to do.
Like dealing with the Chinese swarming in from the west.
For some reason, they were pushing forward recklessly.
Zombie raids and Battle Royale seemed irrelevant to them.
"Only one life each, and these weirdos..."
I couldn't understand why they'd throw away their lives to invade here.
They'd driven out the Koreans and seized Incheon and Bucheon—why not just settle there?
I checked the auction house to see what they were thinking, and the Koreans were furious.
Even in our usual scraps, fights with Koreans felt different from those with Chinese.
The former allowed for some compromise; the latter, zero negotiation.
They banded together, shouting about killing Koreans and claiming the land—it was infuriating everyone.
Even I, with no preconceptions about foreigners, was starting to form one.
Then someone shouted about spotting an auction item posted by a Chinese user.
Seems some Chinese were finally dipping into the auction house.
I jumped into the item and skimmed the comments.
Well, well.
Acting like big shots, huh?
Looking at the comments, this Joo Seung-su guy seemed high up—leader of the Zhonghua Gang or something. Felt like reading a wuxia novel.
Truth-Seeing Eye confirmed it: Joo Seung-su dominated the comment section.
The comments erupted briefly, but Joo Seung-su stayed cool.
What trick did this guy pull to talk so boldly?
Chinese weren't suicidal idiots en masse.
I typed a comment.
The noisy comments actually hushed.
Chinese comments flooded in, but Joo Seung-su silenced them with one word.
I thought brainwashing ability user for a sec, but no.
Impossible for that many people.
Wait, no way?
True enough.
Calling out a tight-knit Chinese group would just get me labeled a moron.
His inner circle here wouldn't care if they knew, and deleting the auction wipes evidence.
Smart and thorough bastard.
Yeouido Korean Shelter, huh.
It was so out in the open now, not much of a secret anymore.
This was a headache.
As he said, even Hyun-woo couldn't hold off enemies swarming from all sides alone.
His abilities were restricted—killing lifted seals, but gaps were inevitable.
...Just let it be?
I came from that Korean Shelter.
Helping now wouldn't earn brownie points with Hyun-woo.
But Joo Seung-su's reaction was odd.
Like he was baiting me.
Joo Seung-su ignored me, monologuing away.
Come to think of it, most Chinese were low-level.
Stat drops and skill seals barely changed their status quo.
Lucky beneficiaries of Battle Royale.
But end the battlefield unfinished, and no gains.
New monsters or items wouldn't apply.
Sarcasm made him drop a shocker.
Auction closed after that.
This guy knew more than I thought.
Furious Koreans vented in other auctions.
I calmly sorted my thoughts.
We were on parallel tracks—no convergence.
No reason for me to bridge it.
So, one thing left.
"I'll kill you all."
.
.
.
Battle Royale didn't make monsters vanish.
Survivors fought each other and monsters.
"Tough times."
I pulled my motorcycle from the dimension gate.
Riding to another zone like this risked dragging Battle Royale there.
A bolt from the blue for others.
One way to dodge: become a murderer, immune to battlefields.
Battle Royale fields ignore murder judgments.
Kill all you want—no murderer status.
Post-event fields revert to normal.
Kill near the airport, become murderer, move freely without affecting other fields.
"Not guaranteed, but worth a shot."
Kind of a bug—I'd only tried once.
Learned it fighting that natural monument murderer. Might work.
"Where are the Chinese..."
Stuffing paper into the gate shot out two paper airplanes.
Yoo Hyun-i must be at the shelter.
She pinpointed the Chinese fast.
"Thanks."
I reopened auction, found Seok Hyun-i and Da-jeong-i.
They were totally shut down.
Finally convinced them.
Fighting for murder felt weird, but we'd long been tamed by the apocalypse.
Throttling up, the bike roared forward.
Vroom!
Racing down the runway in the spring breeze, I spotted Chinese pointing at me.
Memorable: rocks flying my way.
I braked, drew my rifle, aimed.
Bang!
Point gained—instant murderer status. Vision tinted red.
Thud!
Deathmatch started; Chinese panicked, scattered.
Useless.
No need for zombie walls.
I chased on bike, picking them off one by one.
Gained murderer's tracking skill; stats boosted stronger.
Laughable compared to my real power, but leagues above others.
Zombie walls didn't even form—I wiped all ten.
Shockingly, affinity skill unlocked on the tenth.
"Huff..."
Panting, I barely suppressed surging bloodlust.
Cool murderer skills, but lost Truth-Seeing Eye and Death Mark.
Everyone knew me now anyway—not super useful.
Death Mark replaceable with stealth tracking.
Last, I hit auction's noisiest item with comments.
One caveat.
Confirm and share ended battlefields.
Blind steps trap you; others entering starts Royale.
Caution ahead.
Some still said that.
Before I could reply, others carpet-bombed him.
Some half-joking, half-serious.
Sorry, no Truth-Seeing Eye—can't see names.
Nothing more from me.
Closed auction, rode off.
Destination: Sinchon.
[Separate to Survive - 3] End