Chapter 358
Chapter 358
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 358
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Splashhhh…
Rain soaked the world outside the annex.
Fortunately, it started raining while Kang Seol was indoors, so he didn’t get wet.
The labyrinth truly was a mystical place.
The mere existence of weather eased his stifling feelings.
Splashhhh…
Raindrops splattered against the ground, sending up sprays of water droplets.
His eyes felt refreshed.
Kang Seol newly realized that even his eyes had sensations.
When a gentle breeze stirred, it caressed his eyes, and on rainy days like today, they grew moist.
Sometimes dust would get in, leading to a brief struggle to clear it out, but even that was fine.
Though his eyes had lost their purpose, it felt like they were shouting that they were still here.
It had been two months since he entered the annex.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“Don’t! Don’t do it! You’ll get hurt! You’ll get hurt!”
“I want to stop… stop… just stop already….”
Just as a wheel lost its value when it stopped turning, a human who failed to progress drowned in self-loathing.
That was Kang Seol’s case.
He had lost his drive.
“Haa… haaa…”
His fist, crushed from punching rocks, quickly returned to normal.
Even self-harm was difficult for a superhuman.
“Despair…”
【……】
“Can you see ahead, Despair?”
【…Yeah.】
It was something he’d always wondered. In this place where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, Despair had guided him flawlessly.
For quite a long time, too.
“Why?”
【I don’t know. Maybe because I’m not human?】
Despair was a demon spirit.
Comparing such a being to a human didn’t make sense from the start.
“How does it feel watching over me…?”
【…Huh?】
“Is it weird… pathetic?”
Despair scrunched up her face fiercely, though Kang Seol couldn’t see it.
【Don’t say that! I’ve never thought that!】
“…Really?”
Despair had become unable to lie.
【Well… that time you tripped was kinda funny. But no one saw, so it’s fine! Right?】
“……”
It had already been two months without sight.
No achievements, no signs of change.
“I’m jealous of you, Despair.”
【Huh? Why?】
“That you can see. That it’s natural for you.”
【You can see too, Master! Just… hold on a little longer…】
Temptation came.
“Just… for a little while, use your power…”
Thwack-!
Despair bonked Kang Seol on the head with her tiny arm.
Of course, her strength was still formidable enough to knock out an ordinary person, but to Kang Seol, who forcibly maintained his Night Raven state, it felt truly light.
Despair came right up to his nose and said,
【No.】
“…Why?”
【Everything you’ve done so far would go to waste. That’s… that’s not right!】
“Not right? To whom?”
【To you! To the time you’ve spent trying!】
In that moment, life returned to Kang Seol’s eyes.
The labyrinth eyed him every second, but Despair was by his side.
“…You’re right.”
【Yeah! So you have to endure! I live a long time, so I can wait. And if you fall three times, I’ll laugh once! That’s fine for me.】
“…Despair.”
【Yeah? Laughing’s a bit much, huh?】
“Why do you help me?”
【Because you’re weak?】
“Besides that.”
【Um… what was it…】
Despair propped her chin, thought for a moment, and then said,
【You’re my teacher, Master.】
“…Teacher?”
【You taught me all sorts of things. You waited for me. So this time, I want to be your teacher too!】
Kang Seol chuckled. Despair grinned broadly.
【I like it when you smile!】
* * *
Even after three months, there were no noticeable achievements.
He suppressed and repressed it, but Kang Seol realized.
No, “despaired” was more accurate.
He despaired at his own incompetence.
Rumble…
Flinch!
The sudden thunderclap froze Kang Seol in place. With sight gone, his heightened other senses amplified the terror of the unexpected thunder.
Kang Seol, who had stayed calm surrounded by monsters, now buried his head and trembled at mere thunder.
Splashhhh…
He had no choice but to stay in the rain.
He was already soaked, so rushing back to the annex wouldn’t help.
If he could see the sky, if he could see ahead, he’d have known rain was coming and avoided the ridiculous tumble from the thunder.
“Master…”
“Ha… haha…”
“Despair, I have a question.”
“Yeah! Teacher will tell you.”
“Why do people try to get stronger?”
“Yeah? I don’t know about that.”
Despair, who’d seemed ready to explain everything, immediately admitted ignorance. Honesty was her strong suit as a demon spirit.
“You wanted to get stronger once too, didn’t you? A long, long time ago.”
Kang Seol plopped down fully into the rain.
“Ah! Back then… I don’t know. I thought getting strong would bring tons of fun things. I thought doing weird stuff was fun. Doing whatever I wanted!”
Despair quickly grew sullen.
“But that was… bad. I realized too late.”
“So you think differently now?”
“Um… yeah. Getting strong didn’t bring tons of fun things. Instead…”
Despair climbed onto Kang Seol’s knee.
“Sad things decreased.”
“……”
“I need to get even stronger! So I can protect the weak ones. Then there’ll be no sad things! It’s sad when weak ones leave.”
“Am I one of those weak ones?”
Despair nodded at Kang Seol’s question.
“Yeah, weak! If we fought now, I’d win.”
“…Then will you protect me? Because I’m weak?”
“Of course! Hm… not because you’re weak, but because you’re Master.”
Despair rubbed against Kang Seol.
“If Master disappeared, I’d be sad. The saddest in the world!”
“…I won’t disappear.”
“You’re trying to get strong so you won’t be sad too, right? To protect the weak ones.”
Kang Seol bowed his head at Despair’s words.
The weakest one was no one else but himself.
The pitch-black labyrinth effortlessly ravaged intruders’ minds just by taking their sight.
Kang Seol’s mind was in a very weakened state right now.
Splashhhh…
Raindrops trailed down Kang Seol’s face to his chin.
“…Crying?”
“…I’m crying?”
Kang Seol tilted his head at Despair’s words.
“Me, crying?”
“Yeah! I’m always watching. I can feel it.”
“It’s rainwater.”
“No, this is warm!”
“……”
“Rain isn’t warm.”
She wasn’t literally talking about the water’s temperature. Despair had just phrased it that way.
Despair nodded confidently.
“I know. I just do!”
“……”
Kang Seol mulled over her words.
Perception.
Despair’s single word shattered the concepts he held.
‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
He’d fixated only on needing to see, trying to confirm things and phenomena with his eyes alone. Naturally, blocked by darkness, he achieved nothing.
Why could the power of the mind perceive what eyes couldn’t?
To be precise, it wasn’t “seeing” at all—it was perceiving.
Kang Seol didn’t limit the eyes’ potential to vision.
He expanded the scope of vision to the realm of perception.
Then, a long-dormant sensation began to stir.
‘…Huh?’
Something on his knee.
But he couldn’t see it.
A very, very faint shape rippled in the darkness.
Like a single flow.
Yet it clearly had texture.
Kang Seol was now perceiving that texture.
“Despair.”
“Yeah?”
“I think I get it. Something…”
“Really? For real?”
“Yeah, for real.”
Kang Seol looked at Despair.
[One Mind activates.]
[Consistent actions lead to new enlightenment.]
[While One Mind is maintained, enlightenment will continue to arrive.]
* * *
Another month passed since the rainy day.
Shinlip and Shinhyeon had been cold to Kang Seol but watched him from afar.
“No news?”
“Not really, but he seems fine living-wise. Oh! Listen to this, they’re doing something hilarious.”
“Something hilarious?”
“Yeah, the little one strikes a weird pose in front, and the big one guesses what pose it is. Some bizarre game.”
“…And does he guess right?”
Shinhyeon shook his head.
“Hehehe… no. It’s been over a month already.”
“…Hm.”
“But he’s got outstanding talent. You felt it too, right, brother?”
“His potential overflows excessively, to the point it hinders finding a path. He could become anything, yet nothing at all.”
“Right! That’s what I meant! Too exceptional, and even simple paths elude them. Sometimes you gotta stubbornly shove your head in.”
Shinlip paused, stroking his beard.
“I even thought of teaching him the sword.”
“To a guy with no calluses? His mana’s totally different too, would be tough.”
“Still.”
“Mm…”
“Seeing him… reminds me of that one.”
“Singang? The third was a bit…”
“…No.”
Shinhyeon flinched at Shinlip’s words.
If not the most outstanding third, Singang…
“Then the fourth… similar vibe to Sinyu. That’s why you feel attached?”
“What can you do? It’s long past, regret is a luxury. If Sinyu had been with us… we brothers might’ve all escaped the labyrinth.”
“Hehehe… anyway, can that kid escape the labyrinth?”
“The living must breathe in the living’s embrace. Mingling with the dead yields only rotten breath. Even if long… he mustn’t give up.”
Shinhyeon scratched himself and asked,
“Then, how long?”
“What do you mean?”
“Piercing the labyrinth’s darkness. He’s still a newborn babe, eyes not even open.”
Shinlip snorted lightly and asked Shinhyeon,
“How long did it take you?”
“After awakening?”
“After awakening.”
“Three years.”
“Two for me.”
Shinlip concluded.
It might also be the deadline left for Kang Seol.
“If he utilizes his talent, two years should suffice.”
“We’re dead, so we can be leisurely, but he…”
“If his mind isn’t strong, even that will be hard. Go on, it’s about time.”
“Already? Mm… but not giving up despite no progress is commendable.”
Shinhyeon brought food to Kang Seol’s annex.
A dead one preparing food for the living—strange fate, but amusing enough to bear.
Shinlip suddenly looked up at the sky.
“Hm… rain’s coming.”
Dark clouds blanketed the sky. This place’s rain arrived without warning.
Cloudy days were frequent here.
He’d gotten sick from rain multiple times, so this was a warning.
Shinhyeon resembled the labyrinth’s weather.
In the lack of presence, that is.
Swordsmen who reached a certain realm had no footsteps. Without presence, you couldn’t detect Shinhyeon’s approach without seeing.
Shinhyeon had silent movement ingrained.
And approaching unnoticed was easier than anything.
“You’ve arrived.”
“……”
His heart sank.
‘…What?’
Turning toward the voice, he saw Kang Seol looking down from the rocky hill.
‘How’d he know?’
Kang Seol wasn’t even facing him. Could that ridiculous training have caused a change?
‘The kid… something’s…’
Something was different.
He visited daily, but today’s feeling was new.
“…You.”
“Let’s go inside to talk.”
Kang Seol turned his back, pointed at the sky, and smiled.
“Rain’s coming.”