Chapter 119
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: The Last Penancer
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Kang Seol's gaze turned icy for a moment.
"Do you know me?"
Park Chang-sik turned to the man beside him who had rushed here alongside.
"As expected! You handled it perfectly!"
"Hyung! I told you. We were stationed at the north gate the whole time, and he passed by right on cue, so I bolted straight to you!"
"Good job, good job!"
Kang Seol addressed the group exchanging words that meant nothing to him.
"I'll ask again. Do you know me?"
"Ah, sorry. With you right here... Have you ever stopped by Audenin before, sir?"
"Yes. I have."
"Phew... You're the one we missed back then. We've been waiting ever since."
Kang Seol had only one thought worth entertaining right now.
'Waiting for me? Why?'
He wanted no part in guild rivalries or pleas to intervene in their squabbles.
Any lesser request would get a flat refusal, of course.
"The reason you waited for me..."
"I'll explain everything step by step. You haven't secured lodging yet, have you? No need to crash somewhere uncomfortable—come to the place we've prepared ahead of time."
"Prepared... ahead? You mean my sleeping arrangements?"
In Kang Seol's mind, Park Chang-sik's image lingered as a man whose meticulousness bordered on unsettling.
"Yes. It's been vacant for ages, but we kept it maintained just in case. Let's head there first."
This was the sort of offer one ought to refuse outright. Sleeping under a stranger's roof, intentions unknown.
"We'll ensure nothing goes wrong. If trouble arose now that we've finally met again, it'd pain us far more."
"Fine. For now."
"Thank you. Jong-seo, take the others and check the lodging's condition ahead."
"Got it, hyung."
"Yeah, good work."
The group shuffled out en masse, leaving Park Chang-sik alone.
"Ah, and the lady beside you..."
"She's with me."
"Plenty of rooms at the lodging, so rest easy."
Kang Seol hadn't even considered the issue, yet Park Chang-sik beamed as if he'd resolved a major concern.
"Not cold?"
Park Chang-sik's outfit looked a touch too light. He nodded vigorously at the question.
"Yeah, brutally cold. So let's get moving. Night air bites hard."
Kang Seol sensed the man had lingered alone for a reason.
A simple escort to lodging could've been delegated.
Volunteering personally meant a purpose to match.
"Something to say?"
"Yes. Need to ease that wariness toward me first. The walk to lodging should do it..."
"We'll see."
"Haha, can't force it."
Park Chang-sik proved bolder than expected.
He blew on his cupped hands as he spoke.
"Straight to business: we need your help right now."
"I steer clear of hassles."
"No worries there. You won't see this as one."
"Let's hear it."
"Not long ago—before your first visit to Audenin, even—an item turned up. That's why I waited for you."
Kang Seol caught a whiff of something sinister in Park Chang-sik's words.
Not from the man himself, but the item he described.
Park Chang-sik drew something from his breast pocket and showed Kang Seol. A small pebble etched with bizarre patterns.
"Hmm..."
[Token of Qualification (Penance)]
Rank: Rare
Appropriate Level: None
Weight: 0.1kg
Token required to enter the Labyrinth of Penance.
One token allows entry for a total of 5 people.
Special: Grants entry to the Labyrinth of Penance.
"This is..."
Kang Seol stared at the pebble, a faint familiarity nagging at him.
Especially the pattern carved into its surface.
'A labyrinth token!'
Labyrinths.
A type of ruin dotting the Pandea continent.
They differed from standard ruins for various reasons, but if pressed to name one, it was survival rate.
Unlike ordinary ruins, you couldn't just stroll out of a labyrinth.
The beasts and traps inside posed problems, but the true venom was the killing intent.
'Labyrinths thirst for intruders' blood.'
Labyrinths brimmed with will infused into their very space.
If ruins were delving a dead whale's corpse, labyrinths were plunging into a living whale's maw.
Yet countless adventurers and mercenaries swarmed any newly found labyrinth.
For the treasures slumbering within.
Unlike commonplace ruin loot, labyrinths yielded singular rewards.
Like moths to hellfire, they were drawn in.
Not everyone could enter a discovered labyrinth, though.
You needed a token—the bare minimum qualifier.
Tokens dropped from mighty magic beasts near the site.
In essence, they symbolized worthiness to even attempt entry.
'They got this... so a labyrinth surfaced?'
Kang Seol had conquered labyrinths across Pandea—most of them, even.
Labyrinths shifted locales once breached, letting you encounter a southern one up north later.
Rare, but possible.
"A labyrinth was discovered?"
"Yes. The Labyrinth of Penance, to the letter."
Question marks hovered over Park Chang-sik's nonchalant reply.
"Doesn't make sense. Why tell an outsider like me?"
"Haha... outsider? Bit distant now that you're in the know, no?"
Park scratched his nape, chuckling sheepishly.
His stab at levity fell flat; Kang Seol's face stayed frosted.
"...You've entered once already."
"Ugh... perceptive. Know labyrinths well?"
"Hard to claim ignorance."
"Figures. Scores nearly triple mine? Any tips sometime...?"
"The labyrinth. Talk."
"Right. Labyrinth first. So... uh... Non-Public? What to call you?"
"Snowman."
"Snowman. Apt—inhuman scores..."
Park Chang-sik clenched the token.
"Truth is, we didn't start with just one."
He splayed three fingers.
"Three."
"One left means..."
"Yeah. Entered twice. Once myself."
Kang Seol pieced events together, a buried memory surfacing abruptly.
Memories resurfaced piecemeal—full recall pending.
'Labyrinth of Penance... right. That's what happened.'
It unfolded uniquely.
Kang Seol knew, but let him speak.
"Labyrinth of Penance runs peculiarly."
"How?"
"Confirmed so far: exactly five entrants max. Fewer? No dice."
Labyrinth veterans knew this much.
Now the Penance twist.
"Entry drops you in pitch black. Visibility? Barely your feet."
Doors await.
"Five doors there."
One stands apart.
"Not all alike. Four plain, crude. One? Grotesque runes—like a devil's gate."
Standard so far.
Wonder if the rest matched.
"True to name, each door unique penance. Mine? Endless dark wandering."
He knew. Senses blur, time dissolves, direction lost.
"Anyway—not mine. The last, sealed till end."
"How'd it open?"
"Four took doors; announcement: last unsealed. Final entrant headed in."
"I see."
"Party escaped soon after."
Kang Seol knew precisely why.
"Last entrant... died."
"Hm..."
"First run intel. More from second."
"You sat second out?"
"Judged uncrackable. Others? Politics disagreed."
"Guild drama?"
"Close. Audenin's five megaguilds helm the proxies. My flop's mine—not theirs."
"Foolish."
"They've not braved it."
Kang Seol itched for the sequel.
Outcome guessed, but details beckoned.
"Second dive yielded facts."
"Like?"
"Labyrinth taints the mind nonstop. Turns numeric after buildup. Missed first run."
"Full taint?"
"Unknown. Last died first."
"Hm..."
"This entrant? Union elite. Lasted ages."
"Learned?"
"Last door's crux. Its penancer succeeds; one ordeal victim freed."
Kang Seol summed up.
"Last penancer holds the party's lives."
"Fails myriad ways: penances overwhelm, all croak or minds shatter beyond repair. Success? Singular."
Park Chang-sik eyed Kang Seol.
"Last penancer clears every gate. Nothing else."
"Solid intel. Now your ask."
Smooth.
Park bowed solemnly, earnest.
"Please—be our final penancer for the conquest."
"Bear the danger in their stead."
"I'll reenter. But last? Unsure. Edge on others, sure—but clutching four lives? Nah."
His gaze blazed into Kang Seol.
"Not scared of death?"
"Terrified. First exit? Vowed never again—in shame. Horrifying."
He'd tasted the labyrinth's malice.
'Fear's natural.'
Kang Seol knew it inside out.
Two—no, two of his pieces had passed through.
One devoured.
Dead or alive? Unknown. Mind fouled, control lost.
"Scarier? Yielding, crumbling here. Not me. Got more to do. This labyrinth kicks it off."
"Hence, my aid."
"Seen proxies galore—you top adventurer scores, Snowman. Life-bet worthy. People lie; scores don't. Beats flimsy trust. Embarrassing, but..."
"Fine."
"...Pardon?"
And Kang Seol's other piece.
"Details tomorrow. Lodging's here."
That piece had conquered the Labyrinth of Penance.
One of his mightiest: the Blood Saint.