Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: The Great Labyrinth is Dangerous - 3
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"What a weird-looking bird."
"Did it die?"
"No, it seems alive."
The chick cracked its eyes open with difficulty, as if it had heard us.
Kiiiaak―
That one cry was enough to shoot down Seok-hyun's suggestion to eat it.
"It's so cute. How could you eat it?"
"Aww, so cute..."
"Where's its mom?"
Ji-man cradled the broken egg carefully and wrapped a cloth around the shattered shell.
"I'll raise it."
"You ate the wild boar piglets, but now you wanna raise a bird?"
Seok-hyun grumbled.
I agreed with him on that point.
Even though we were raising wild boars these days, they were still food in the end.
In other words, to us, a boar or a bird was just livestock.
But Ji-man saw it differently.
"If we raise it right, it could help us out. More than just as food."
"That's what he says. What do you think, Sung-ho?"
"Me? Hmm..."
Everyone was looking at me, clearly leaving the decision to me.
If I said to eat it here, they'd treat me like trash.
We weren't short on food right now anyway...
More than that, Ji-man's sparkling eyes tugged at me.
The kid had followed us without complaint this whole time. Telling him no would crush him.
"Let's raise it."
"Ah, thanks, hyung!"
Ji-man's obvious joy lifted my spirits too.
Da-jeong stroked the egg.
"But if we're raising it, it needs a name. What should we call it?"
"It's a bird with horns... Horn Bird?"
Why were they all looking at me like that?
Seok-hyun sighed.
"So that's why you named the wolf Dingo."
I didn't want to hear that from you.
Anyway, we hunted animals and gathered what we could in the jungle before heading back to the shelter.
The stag beetles were hard at work in the fields and orchard, as always.
Those guys really hustle.
Ji-man showed them the egg, and they showed great interest.
"We decided to call it Horn Bird. Cute, right?"
Why were they looking at me like that?
Anyway, the arrival of the Horn Bird egg was hot news for the beetles too.
The two insect groups, who usually bickered whenever they met, were busy checking out the egg for once.
The lead dung beetle tapped my shoe, then started drawing on the ground with a stick.
"Hmm, oh..."
It drew a bird bigger than an ostrich.
Big enough for two people to ride.
"Is that the adult size?"
Nod nod.
These guys definitely knew something.
"Looks like it'd yield a lot of meat."
The stag beetles stroking the egg suddenly shot me contemptuous looks.
The dung beetles didn't glare, but they all shook their heads vigorously.
"Huh? Not tasty?"
Apparently, it was disgustingly bad.
The kind of taste where two eat and three die.
Dung beetles have a sense of humor.
According to them, this Horn Bird grew fast, was strong, could carry two humans, and was super useful.
It foraged on its own and, crucially, had a huge affinity for humans.
Even in the wild, it approached without fear and let people pet it.
"If it likes humans that much, isn't it dangerous? What if it tries to eat us?"
Shake shake.
The dung beetles even drew a skull next to a human eating its meat.
Yeah, really nasty taste.
Anyway, Ji-man cleared a spot next to the firebird coop and built it a custom nest.
He made the nest from collected feathers and placed the egg on top, covering it with a blanket.
What dedication.
I watched him work, then glanced at the firebird coop.
The numbers had exploded since we'd eaten a bunch.
Looked like nearly 50 now, all thanks to Ji-man's trait.
The fields and orchard next to it were overflowing too.
As long as we had Ji-man, hunger wasn't an issue.
"Doing well?"
Lately, Dingo and Dingo-soon had been tending their pups.
Six in total, waddling around the nest cutely.
But mother care came first, so no one touched them.
They needed to at least open their eyes and toddle around first.
The shelter buzzed with all sorts of lifeforms and people.
Peaceful, but one monster raid away from combat mode.
We saved bullets and mostly used arrows and bolts.
I sat on a bench, watching the shelter hum along.
Everyone handled their duties.
Fixing fences and barbed wire, loading ballista bolts.
Geom-in got up late and turned on the faucet for water.
Motor in the valley pumping it in.
Thanks to Yu-hyun's smarts, it was convenient.
Everything perfect except the toilet situation.
"Living alone's nice, but..."
This communal life wasn't bad either.
Maybe what I hoped for when opening the dimension gate.
Everyone so kind and docile, no fights.
Just keep it this way.
I lay on the bench, watching the forest glow red.
From dungeon crawling to this luxury moments ago.
Nice.
The Great Labyrinth's first floor was still packed with people.
Where there were people, monsters inevitably appeared.
And the occasional Killer event chilled spines.
It wasn't just empty cursing.
The Chinese players in the Great Labyrinth all looked ragged and half-mad.
Rumors of brainwashing traits too.
Anyway, it was clear their leaders used kin as meat shields.
Koreans knew but fretted over Killer events anyway.
News spread: Hannam-dong Clan lost five guns and an ammo box to mystery group.
Auction house exploded.
Auction house fight as usual.
But this time, Chinese players jumped into comments to mock.
Initially suspected trolls, but detailed history proved they were Chinese.
Comments devolved into Korean-Chinese flame war.
The extreme situation of Great Labyrinth and apocalypse pushing people over the edge.
Chinese side held strong until...
Someone from floor 2 bragged about a find.
Short comment, but shelter folks spotted it, noted it.
Sung-ho's eyes lit up.
"Night Berries on floor 2."
"Normally what floor?"
"5."
Da-jeong frowned.
Mental res needed on 5, but fruit on 2? Pointless.
"What kinda bullshit is that?"
"Shit game gonna shit game. Anyway, I want it... What to do?"
"You have a talent for that."
"Steal it."
Floor 2 too vast to search fully.
Stealing easier.
Sung-ho entered the Chinese comments as Kimbap Lover.
No more from Kimbap Lover.
What a guy.
Zhou Sheng-shu in Zhonghua Room gnashed teeth, ordering minions.
"Shoot on sight, no talk. Got it?"
"Yes."
Their eyes were empty.
Koreans in Great Labyrinth stuck together.
Odd, given auction house snarls.
Mention it, they sheepishly said:
Aliens = Chinese entrants.
Separate entrances, couldn't block. Numbers overwhelmed bases.
Post Hannam-dong gun loss, morale tanked.
Clan sold everything they had.
People waited for a leader. None stepped up.
Great Labyrinth? Just dark and deadly.
Chinese swept via numbers.
Died a lot too, corpses everywhere birthed Bone Creepers.
Darkness perfect for them.
Screams never stopped on floor 1.
All took Sung-ho's "90% die" lightly at first. Now seriously.
Then Korean shelter dispatched five: Oh Hyung-jun, Yoo Ji-hye, Lee Sang-shin, Moon Dae-ho, Moon So-yun.
Teamed up, no special orders.
Just Jang Won-taek scraping together force amid info chaos.
"Bring back real intel."
"We made it, but..."
Hyung-jun tightened his leather glove bands, scanning around.
Darker than expected. All flustered.
"Can't see shit. How do you fight?"
"Eyes adjust after hours, they say."
"I'll pull glowstones."
Ji-hye's glowstones lit nearby.
But meters ahead still black.
Sang-shin covered ears.
"Not eyes. Ears."
"What?"
"Hear everything. Skeletons charging, bones rattling, rusty sword-shield clashes..."
"You hear that?"
So-yun baffled.
Labyrinth seemed quiet but noisy: low screams, wind mixing now.
Hyung-jun said,
"Anyway, stay sharp and explore. Need intel."
They crept along when someone appeared suddenly.
Ji-hye yelped short, but Hyung-jun brightened.
Sung-ho.
The Great Labyrinth is Dangerous - 3 End