The Blood Demon Inn Opens
Association Awakener Headquarters, Chairman's Office.
"Haaah… What am I supposed to do about Choi Kang-hyuk…"
Kim Min-woo rubbed his throbbing temples.
Just days ago, Choi Kang-hyuk had stirred up chaos and publicly declared he was cutting ties with the Association. Of course, Kim hadn't deliberately neglected him. But national policy had left him no choice, hadn't it?
Korea possessed a low number of Ether holdings. The decision to supply Ether to the Shut-in Blood Demon had been driven partly by America's meddling, but the presidential office had concluded that handing over a hundred units now would yield far greater returns later.
"Still, aside from the Ether, we gave him everything we could."
Tax benefits, housing, even a vehicle—every convenience short of Ether or mana stones had been arranged. Combined, the national perks Choi Kang-hyuk received exceeded those of the President himself.
The real problem was that Choi Kang-hyuk's eyes only lit up for one thing: Ether.
"Haaah… This is giving me a headache to death."
No matter how far his ranking had slipped, he was still number two. How was Kim supposed to handle this?
While he was still mulling it over—
Crash!
"…?"
A loud commotion erupted outside, and the door flew open.
"Kim, the director…? What's wrong?! What happened?!"
Kim Hyun-ah burst into the chairman's office in a fluster, her usual composure nowhere to be seen. She thrust her phone toward him.
"L-look at this, Chairman! The video… No, Hyeolma TV! Check Hyeolma TV right now!!!"
"What? Why Hyeolma TV?"
Kim Min-woo calmly opened YouTube and navigated to the channel that had been created to showcase the Shut-in Blood Demon. While Kim Hyun-ah hurried to his side, he entered the channel.
A single unfamiliar video had been uploaded.
"…Welcome! To the Black Forest Inn?"
"Hurry, play it! Quickly!!"
At her urging, Kim Min-woo pressed play.
The video opened on the familiar, pitch-black scenery of the Black Forest. After passing through the trees, a strange new location appeared bathed in light.
— Labyrinth exploration… Isn't it exhausting? No proper sleep, no decent meals. So we've prepared something for you.
A wooden building appeared on screen. The camera entered, revealing a first-floor hall reminiscent of a medieval inn. It then climbed the stairs to the second floor, where numbered doors lined the hallway. Opening room 201 revealed a modest single room with a bed and bathroom.
— A comfortable bed and a simple bathroom for quick washes.
The scene shifted to a kitchen where countless goblins wearing chef hats chopped ingredients and stir-fried in pots.
— A warm meal you can enjoy in a hurry.
— Rest comfortably in a safe room instead of the dangerous outside.
"Kim, the director? This is just an inn advertisement, isn't it? Why show me this? And why would the Shut-in Blood Demon upload something like this? Did he get sponsored?"
"N-no! Keep watching till the end!!"
— Located at the center of the boundary line on the second floor of the Labyrinth, the Black Forest. The Hyeolma Inn will be waiting to ensure your comfortable Labyrinth exploration.
Once the video ended, the pinned comment from the Shut-in Blood Demon appeared below.
1) Follow the smoke in the Black Forest to find us.
2) All services at the Hyeolma Inn are provided in exchange for mana stones.
3) The Hyeolma Inn is perfectly protected from monster invasions.
After reading the comments, Kim Min-woo's mind went blank.
"So… this video… what it's saying is…"
"Yes, Chairman."
Something no country in the world had ever succeeded at, despite countless attempts.
"He… he created a safe zone inside the Labyrinth?!!"
And the Shut-in Blood Demon had done it all by himself.
***
Members who had been reading the Hyeolma Guard's business announcement message were met with unexpected content.
— From now on, the Hyeolma Guard will only operate in fields other than the Black Forest.
— If you wish to visit the Black Forest, please use the Hyeolma Inn and rental services.
— This week's designated field for the Hyeolma Guard is the Abandoned Amusement Park.
The sudden announcement excluding the Black Forest from the Hyeolma Guard's designated fields—and talk of some unknown Hyeolma Inn—sparked a flood of comments.
Anyone see the notice?
└ Why exclude the Black Forest? It's profitable there.
└ Yeah, the armor sets there are popular.
└ I don't care where, but what's this Hyeolma Inn?
Did the Shut-in Blood Demon open an inn now? He really does everything. But where is it?
└ Apparently in the Black Forest?
└ What kind of nonsense is that?
└ They say the Hyeolma Inn is in the Black Forest.
└ So what kind of nonsense is that?
└ lololololol
A video just dropped on Hyeolma TV saying he opened an inn in the Black Forest.
└ Is that even possible?
└ Probably not?
└ But what is it?
└ How would I know? They just did it.
The entire world refused to believe in the Hyeolma Inn. But for Hyeolma Guard members, it didn't really matter either way. The Black Forest? Why go there? They could just head to the amusement park the Guard designated, farm plenty with the goblins, and come back.
The ones truly hooked by the advertisement were those who hadn't been able to join the Hyeolma Guard. Choi Jae-hoon was one of them.
"So there's actually something here?"
On the outskirts of the second-floor Black Forest, Awakener Choi Jae-hoon looked around. He wore a full set of Hyeolma iron armor and carried an Hyeolma iron sword. The only thing he lacked was an Hyeolma Guard membership card.
"Sigh… That damn member-first policy! How am I supposed to join when I'm this slow on trends?"
He had tried to sign up every time, only to be cut off by the first-come-first-served limit. Left with no choice, he wandered the Labyrinth alone.
"Smoke? What does it mean by smoke?"
The Black Forest's canopy was so dense that even the sky was barely visible. Choi Jae-hoon climbed a tree on a whim and pushed his head above the leaves.
Poof!
"…Huh?"
Beyond the blue sky, something gray loomed in the distance—like the signal fires their ancestors once lit to send messages across vast distances.
"Is that it? It's the only smoke around."
Even at this scale, it didn't look like some Awakener's campfire. The plume was enormous.
"Alright, let's head there first."
Choi Jae-hoon set off toward the smoke. The distance wasn't close. An ordinary person would have needed twenty hours to reach it. But Awakeners in the Labyrinth became superhuman. Avoiding monsters and forgoing farming, he sprinted in a straight line and arrived at the mysterious location in about seven hours.
After pushing through the trees, he found a wide clearing and large buildings—completely unlike the usual farming villages in the Black Forest. Numerous goblins wandered about while several Awakeners who had arrived earlier looked around in bewilderment.
"…It's real?"
While he stood dazed near the trees, a voice spoke up.
"It's real, kerk."
"Aah! You startled me."
A goblin had appeared beside him.
"Are you a guest, kerk?"
"Uh… I guess? You're with the Hyeolma Guard, right?"
"That's right, kerk. It's safe, so come this way, kerk!"
Following the goblin's guidance, Choi Jae-hoon entered the building.
"Receive the guest, kerk!!"
"Welcome!! Would you like to stay the night? Keruk?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
"Open event special! Unlimited stays until you escape with just one regular mana stone, kerk!!"
Expensive? A regular mana stone was worth a million won. But until escape? That was cheaper than a real-world inn, wasn't it?
"H-here."
In a daze, Choi Jae-hoon spent community points to obtain one mana stone.
"Received the mana stone! Kerk!"
"This way!!"
Once again grabbed by the hand, he was led up the stairs to the third floor. In front of room 311, the goblin handed him a key.
"Have a good time!! Keruk!"
The door opened, and he was ushered inside. A single bed and a small bathroom greeted him. Before he knew it, he was alone in the room.
"…What is this?"
Unable to believe his eyes, Choi Jae-hoon stepped back out to the first floor.
"Have a nice day, keruk!"
Outside was the Labyrinth.
"Welcome, keruk!"
Upstairs was the inn.
"…What the hell is this?"
The Labyrinth he knew no longer existed.
***
"Mongmo, how's operations going?"
"Smoothly, Master! The first batch of trained goblins are handling reception, and the next shift has already begun training!"
I had suddenly started an inn business inside the Labyrinth. Training the goblins had seemed daunting, but the special education unlocked as my level rose made everything easier. I obtained employee training manuals from a nearby hotel and used them as teaching materials. The result? A group of extremely polite and efficient goblin staff.
— Welcome! Keruruk!
— You asked for the dining hall, kerk! This way, keruruk!
— Mana stone received! Room 417, kerk!
The goblins handled guests nonstop.
"Master, this is a huge hit! Mana stones are basically duplicating themselves! Chairman Kim Min-woo is going to love this!!"
"True. Selling those will bring in quite a bit of money."
"Quite a bit? This might even surpass the Hyeolma Guard's revenue!!!"
I had spent extra Ether to implement the room-key system, but it was already paying for itself. The Hyeolma Guard required membership, while the Hyeolma Inn targeted the floating population. It could accommodate seven thousand guests at once—perhaps even more. With both businesses running in tandem, money was pouring in.
But this wasn't the end. The real jackpot lay elsewhere.
"How are the kobolds reacting?"
At my question, Mongmo grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
"Jackpot, Master."
Our SS-rank trait-awakened kobolds had also found employment.
***
"Whoa, I slept great. …Wait, I slept great? We're in the Labyrinth?"
Choi Jae-hoon lay blankly on the bed for a long while after waking. He had definitely entered the Labyrinth. What was this?
He got up from the fluffy bed, visited the bathroom, packed his things, and stepped outside.
"Did you sleep well! Kerk!"
"Good morning!! Kerk!"
"…Yeah."
The goblins greeted him energetically from the morning, every bit as courteous as human hotel staff.
"Guest! Breakfast is free! Keruruk! Eat well before you go!"
Led by a goblin, Choi Jae-hoon left the inn building and entered the adjacent restaurant. Several other Awakeners sat inside with the same dazed expressions, eating. He wolfed down the single-menu fried rice and finished off a hearty egg soup.
Honestly, it wasn't the most delicious meal… but he kept forgetting one crucial fact.
This was the Labyrinth?
After clearing his dishes, he stepped outside. Choi Jae-hoon slapped both cheeks with his hands.
"Get it together. This is the Labyrinth. If I'm here, I should be farming."
Just as he steeled his resolve and tried to head into the Black Forest—
"There, customer! Kerk."
"…Me?"
"That's right! Are you just leaving like that, kerk?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
"How about one kobold, kerk!"
The goblin pointed with its thumb toward a pen filled with kobolds.
"…What are those?"
"They're item-detection dogs, kerk."
"?"
"If you take one now, it's part of the open event—one regular mana stone, kerk."
"Item-detection dogs?"
"I don't know if they're dogs or cats, but they look like dogs, so I called them that. Kerk!"
"Similar to the Hyeolma Guard?"
"Not much difference! How about it! One temporary companion kobold!!"
In a daze, Choi Jae-hoon handed over another million-won mana stone. Now a kobold's leash rested in his hand.
"Uh… So I just walk around like this?"
The kobold glanced at him once, then—
"Woof!"
—took off at full speed.
"Hey! Wait! Hey!!"
Choi Jae-hoon was practically dragged along by the leash. By the time he was out of breath, the kobold stopped in front of a box, tail wagging.
"Woof!!"
"Haa… haa… What?"
Prompted by the kobold, he opened the box to find a Magic-grade dagger inside.
"Item-detection dog…? Really?"
After stuffing the dagger into his bag—
"Woof!"
"W-wait!!"
The kobold took off again, dragging Choi Jae-hoon behind it.
"Woof!"
"H-hold on."
"Woof! Bark bark!"
"Slower…"
Rattle rattle!
"Woof!"
"Just a second…"
The kobold kept finding items one after another and stuffing them into Choi Jae-hoon's bag.
"Woof?"
"Hey, let's rest a bit! I'm dying!"
Never mind the now-bulging bag—Choi Jae-hoon's stamina was completely spent. He collapsed onto the ground. Only then did the kobold sit beside him, tail wagging.
"What… The Hyeolma Guard finds items too? I never heard about that."
While he leaned against a tree catching his breath, three wild kobolds appeared, growling.
"Th-those aren't Hyeolma Guard, right?"
They looked like kobolds, but clearly bore hostility. Just as Choi Jae-hoon raised his weapon, the Hyeolma Guard kobold—
Pop!
"…?"
—suddenly removed its own collar with its paw.
Was it going to betray him? Had the Hyeolma Guard been a scam all along?
Too shocked to react, the Hyeolma Guard kobold calmly walked toward the wild kobolds. The moment it got close—
"Grrrrr!"
Crunch! Thud! Crack!!
"Yip!"
"Yelp!"
In an instant, it reduced the three wild kobolds to dust and returned. It picked up the fallen collar from the ground.
Click!
—and calmly put it back on its own neck before sitting down with an innocent expression, tail wagging as it looked up at him.
Choi Jae-hoon grabbed the leash in shock.
"…What is this."
His bag was already full, the wild monsters reduced to dust, and the kobold was tugging the leash as if urging him to keep going.
"Am I here to explore the Labyrinth… or take a dog for a walk…?"
In that moment, the second-floor Black Forest of the Labyrinth had been reduced to a treasure-hunting dog-walking course.
The End