Labyrinth of Fate
It could practically be called a historic moment. For an unregistered player whose unread message rate exceeded 90%, getting a reply felt like a vivid confirmation of our "solid alliance" to Baek Moon-seong.
The meaning in the unregistered player's email was pretty straightforward. Even their concise style shone through in the formal text.
But briefing on Holy Relic data via email? That part nagged at him.
"Why not give it a shot and trust him once?"
Kim Chun-gyu, whose bald head looked even more gaunt, cited an example to persuade Baek Moon-seong—the incident where they hacked and ravaged the Chinese Management Bureau.
Plus, what MARK-67 had said before leaving the meeting room: "Technological integration and completion at the highest level. Cyber security skills are extremely threatening."
If even the Mechanical Legion, on par with Baekya's skills, said that, there had to be subtext in the "brief via email" demand. Probably confidence in their security.
But the Management Bureau had its own stance.
They couldn't share everything. They'd provide details only up to the second point: 2. Request filming of internal maze footage.
After reassessing cyber attack vulnerabilities, they'd decide on sending any sensitive secrets later.
"Hunter Cheon Seung-hyuk. From now on, live-stream the maze structure analysis to the Management Bureau's situation room."
- Understood.
Cheon Seung-hyuk carried out the order without question.
.
.
.
Labyrinth of Fate
Destroy the 'Golden Gem' located at the endpoint.
※ Success Reward = Golden Gem
While MARK-67 tanked and protected Yoon So-i, Cheon Seung-hyuk shared real-time footage as he ascended to the top of the maze. That feed was heading straight to the Management Bureau now.
Security must be a headache for them. Is this really okay?
But after Baekya's infiltration attempt, the Bureau had formed a security task force and ramped up measures several times over, so he trusted it was based on that.
The grasped maze structure.
The walls were skyscraper-high. But the ceiling of this space loomed even taller.
"I can see the entire maze from up here. But the walls shift in real-time—it's impossible to navigate even while watching."
The real issue was the maze's scale. Vast enough to rival a whole city. A labyrinth that size writhed grotesquely, like hundreds of earthworms wriggling together, constantly reshaping itself.
MARK-67, sharing the footage simultaneously, analyzed: "Golden Gem location unknown." Even from above, it was meaningless. They'd have to analyze the maze itself.
"Pattern analysis starting. Estimated time: 30 minutes."
But we had MARK-67. He'd already scanned Cheon Seung-hyuk's shared footage of the maze changes from above and reported the good news: pattern analysis would take 30 minutes.
However, defending and killing incoming monsters while processing data meant "5-minute margin of error."
But then,
Remaining Time: 04:59...
"!!!"
A 'Remaining Time' message appeared before Cheon Seung-hyuk, Yoon So-i, and MARK-67—and it didn't stop there.
Challenge Attempts: 1
Players who exit after time expires cannot re-enter.
"This is trouble."
Should I use Air Step to scout the whole damn maze in one go? In 5 minutes?
If these three got booted without finding the Golden Gem, it'd be a massive disaster.
***
"I can handle this, yo!"
Ollie, receiving the live feed, clustered the ops room computers and activated their functions.
"Deep learning model with reinforcement learning—2 minutes to adapt to real-time changes, quantum algorithms for conversion..."
"Do it, Ollie!"
"Yep!"
Ollie couldn't solve it instantly either. But fortunately, it was doable within the '5-minute' limit now floating before Cheon Seung-hyuk.
Jenny was cross-referencing footage and coordinates for imaging, striving for maximum precision.
"What kind of bullshit mission is this?"
At that level, even Necrophilia executives would steer clear.
Classified docs said Anubis's incarnation was impossible right now, so they'd twisted it like this to amp the difficulty instead.
I pre-loaded Massacre with Cause of Death Unknown for immediate action, safety off, ready to fire.
"Here it comes! Golden Gem!"
Three minutes left. Using MARK-67's shared real-time maze analysis and Cheon Seung-hyuk's on-site scans from all directions, Ollie pinpointed the 'endpoint' from the ops room.
"Endpoint keeps shifting too, yo! Especially flees when Cheon Seung-hyuk moves!"
"Ridiculous."
I fired off an email to the Bureau. One line only.
About 10 seconds later, Cheon Seung-hyuk froze mid-air over the maze with a subtle "......!" expression. Ollie chimed in: "That's it, yo! Stopping reduces complexity!" The maze's writhing slowed, and the Gem's position stabilized.
"Got a rough spot. But if we get close, it bolts—so need a distant sniper perch, yo!"
"Good work, Ollie. Let's smash it and go. Jenny!"
Jenny, deep in imaging, dropped to her knees and focused. This warp magic seemed high-difficulty—underground, no less.
- Whiiiiiir...
But the result was flawless. Jenny's best effort.
"Ollie, hold the fort. Send that email I mentioned."
"ROGER!"
I activated Stealth, donned the HUD, and headed for the sniper spot.
The stench hit instantly upon entry. Even peeking through the scope warped the stink back to the ops room.
- Rumble. Rumble.
Ops room analysis pinpoints 'Golden Gem' location ahead (green dot ●).
Wall height blocks direct view.
Remaining Time: 01:01...
This won't be easy.
Seeing it live was even more absurd. Walls writhed in real-time chaos. The green dot ● for the Gem kept shifting too.
What a ridiculous setup.
Constellation-level bullshit now?
But dismissing S(EX)-rank power would be foolish.
Piercing Applied (00:59...)
Indoors—underground, really—no wind, just wall-shift gusts. No misses beyond my aim.
Cheon Seung-hyuk hovered far off, looking baffled but obeying.
"I'll show you why I said hold."
Trigger.
- Phut.
- BOOOOM!
Fired Cause of Death Unknown - Piercing at the presumed spot. Reports said walls shrugged off normal DPS, but
No chance.
Three layers pierced instantly.
There!
The Golden Gem peeked out, encased in what looked like tough shell.
But the walls recoiled like damaged organs, shrinking to shield it.
Chain Applied (00:59...)
Level the area—shrinking won't help.
Trigger Chain Piercing - Cause of Death Unknown.
- BOOOOM!
All nearby walls vaporized.
Golden Gem exposed.
Cheon Seung-hyuk lunged instinctively but halted, looking uneasy—Bureau orders, probably.
This is my job.
Walls shrinking fast again. The Gem's pedestal slid along the ground toward them.
Can't outrun a bullet. HUD + two shots honed my precision.
- Phut...
- CRASH!
Direct hit on the Gem.
Chain and Piercing nuked the recoiling walls too. Maze section went still, a barren clearing.
'Labyrinth of Fate' cleared.
Constellation 'Anubis' and his kin designate Player 'Unregistered' as extermination target.
Two main alerts popped up, and an item entered my inventory.
Extermination target? Whatever—I'm a sniper living a plot-armored life today. Nothing to fear.
One way forward: risk it all, push nonstop. This item proves it.
- Thud. Thud.
Tossed and caught the Gem. Surprisingly light.
"Slot this into the altar, right?"
No way I'm going myself. Too valuable to hand off even as sponsorship.
"Jenny... ah."
Jenny, back in her Horn Robe, pumped her fists: "I-I did really well this time, Captain!" Bouncing excitedly.
***
"......"
Had he ever felt this flustered in his life?
Cheon Seung-hyuk's mind was a storm.
His plan: Air Step + Lion's Verdict for hyper-speed scouting of every corner in 5 minutes.
He figured he could pull it off. That's how he'd always turned impossibles into reality.
But then the Bureau's message—direct from Director Baek Moon-seong:
Hunter Cheon Seung-hyuk. Hold position.
Time ticking madly down—from 5 minutes to start, too short for a city-sized maze, now "hold"?
But the Director's calls were always evidence-based, so he obeyed the chain of command. Soon, he understood why.
- BOOOOM!
"!!!"
A maze section crumbled wall-first. Roughly three layers demolished over a wide area—that attack style, he knew well.
"Unregistered's here."
A faint golden glint peeked. There.
Dangerous. Leave this maze to him.
- Flinch!
He'd lunged unconsciously. Then MARK-67 commed:
"Maze complexity increases with player movement. Director or Unregistered anticipated this."
"......"
That's why the footage request? Meaning Unregistered could analyze this mess.
Another overwhelming roar followed.
- BOOOOM!
"......"
This one erased the Gem's surroundings. Instant clearing.
The Gem slithered along the ground but got obliterated amid the devastation.
'Labyrinth of Fate' cleared.
No Gem for him—Unregistered's, surely.
"......"
System-ejected from the maze, they respawned before the Jackal Mask altar: Cheon Seung-hyuk, Yoon So-i, MARK-67.
This overwhelming?
Yoon So-i and MARK-67 looked drained too. At least they'd cleared the maze quest to drop the altar's barrier.
Then,
"The agent delivers the results."
Jenny Gorwell arrived, clutching the Golden Gem.
"!!!"
Cheon Seung-hyuk glared at Unregistered's agent with his fierce eyes.
Yoon So-i, seeing her first: robe hid her face, but the tiny girl stature stood out. She knelt to eye level.
"Thank you. You helped us tremendously. Unregistered."
Post-Cartibes, Yoon So-i shifted from indifference to building friendly ties for teamwork.
- Flinch!
The agent's small frame reacted. Yoon So-i backed off warily.
Doesn't want chit-chat? Tricky one.
Stepping closer again, she took the Gem.
"When deployed for national defense like this, please cooperate fully with Unregistered's judgment. Including Power Fragments..."
- Whoosh...
The agent vanished.
"Here. Good outcome, thankfully."
Yoon So-i passed the Gem to Cheon Seung-hyuk, who took it with growing frustration.
"......"
"I know. We could've handled it. Just think of it as backup."
He advanced to slot the Gem; MARK-67 followed with mechanical beeps, defense mode active.
***
"This time there was a super pretty lady! She seemed nice—looked at me kindly!"
Probably Yoon So-i. Famous, so I knew her.
"You're getting better. Jenny, great job!"
"...Y-Yes!"
Praising her every success thawed her fear a bit—no more freezing up. Still flinched, though.
Jenny's ace move this time:
Hidden far from altar pre-return.
"Perfect angle, yo! Wide shot just right!"
Camera framing spot-on.
Slotting the Gem would trigger 'something big.' Ollie's analysis:
"That altar's like a 'summoning stone,' yo. Not exact—system stuff beyond me!"
But something would pop the moment it clicked in.
Watch the moment the Golden Gem is slotted.
Cheon Seung-hyuk paused thoughtfully, then approached the socket—no choice.
Yoon So-i deployed Sanctuary to block threats; MARK-67 activated defense prep.
"......"
The instant he slotted it,
"!!!"
I gripped Massacre again.