Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Labyrinth
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The candidates' training had settled into a solid routine before they knew it.
As if their initial resistance to monster hunting had been a lie.
"Ah, I want to hunt something else for a change."
The candidates had developed the mindset of proper players.
Meanwhile, Sein hadn't just been slacking off.
Tatat.
Sein raced across the ground at tremendous speed.
All he held were his two fists.
No weapons in sight.
Ta-at!
He kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.
What faced him was the hideous head of a monster.
A troll's head.
Kwaang!
Sein's fist met the troll's cheek with a sound like a drum exploding.
Trolls, with their incredible regeneration, were tough opponents unless hit with special attacks or magic.
Pushuuuk!
But Sein's punch sent its head flying clean off.
Taat.
Sein landed with a refreshed expression.
Monster hunting was truly the perfect training for the candidates.
For several reasons.
'Even in Sanctuary, the NPCs could level up.'
That fact had already been proven in multiple ways.
But no matter what anyone said, players gained the most from monster hunting.
"Now we're talking hand-feel."
Sein himself.
He had already experienced two life flashes.
"Thrilling."
The perks awakened from them went beyond mere growth for Sein.
Even by level alone, he was over 10.
When you added everything together...
Kwaaaang!
It couldn't be expressed by something as trivial as levels.
Tuk, tuk.
Sein cracked his neck to loosen his joints.
His hunt...
Taat!
Was just beginning.
A black wave seemed to crash toward Sein.
"Kuoooooo-!"
A massive roar shook the earth—the frenzied cries of monsters.
Their numbers were at least five times the hordes the candidates were facing.
But a smile curled on Sein's lips as he confronted them.
"This is it."
It came flooding back.
"This is what I'm talking about."
The past glory. The memories of those purely joyful times.
-No way! This is a game?
The game he'd played without meals or sleep, devoting his life to it.
The true joy of Sanctuary...
"Was exactly this."
"Bastion."
At Sein's call, the holy sword began to glow.
It sucked in Sein's holy power and life force like a vacuum.
But...
Kwaak-!
Sein didn't yield to it like before.
His clenched fist brimmed with immense power.
And slowly...
"Kroooo!"
He swung horizontally toward the oncoming monsters.
In that instant...
Kwajik-!
A pure white line slashed across the horizon.
"This is why I went insane."
Sein opened his eyes in a dark space.
It was the life flash.
The level-up phase that Sanctuary players of old had called it.
He'd thought it might be impossible in this world.
But no.
Thanks to Rasiel's help, he could hunt even more monsters than in his prime.
Lowok.
Sein approached the stone of life.
It glowed even redder than before, as if symbolizing his shining past life.
"Dante and all that crap..."
Sssk.
Sein placed his hand on the stone of life.
The red light blazed brighter.
He felt another perk settle into his body.
"They can all go fuck themselves!"
He couldn't contain his boiling excitement.
*
*
*
It wasn't even a crisis.
"Wasn't that guy actually a monster hunter?"
"The Mad Dog of Chichiron must've eaten monsters for breakfast."
Sein was perfect. Precise.
He knew exactly what monsters the candidates could handle with their strength and stepped in personally when crises arose.
"Vicious bastard."
So it was literal hell.
No rest.
Sein's control of intensity was flawless, granting only the minimal breaks needed.
"Potions are precious."
He even withheld potions for injuries that wouldn't hinder combat.
Of course, it seemed like he pocketed the spares.
"You won't die. Come on, guys."
Literal hell.
They had to fight monsters nonstop.
"Alright, starting today, we're changing things up."
"What now..."
"No bedtime."
"...Fuck!"
The candidates rebelled against Sein's words.
Sure, they had superhuman strength, but their shells were still human.
Humans without sleep...
"You won't die. And who said you can't sleep? I'm just not giving designated bedtime anymore."
Sys was the first to catch on.
"...We're hunting in shifts starting today. Split into teams and get used to it."
One team sleeps while the other protects them and hunts monsters.
It sounded impossible.
But...
"This works?"
Somehow, it started working.
The first time was hard, but after that, it was easy.
"Hey, food's ready. Eat up later."
Eventually, he split teams even further, assigned meal duty, and allowed rest periods.
Of course...
"This fucker. I knew he wouldn't let it slide."
Puuuung-!
An even bigger firework exploded.
Sein didn't let it go unchecked.
Even so, the reason the candidates endured wasn't just the contract with Sein.
"How strong do you think we've gotten?"
"No idea."
Feeling their growth in their bodies.
Trolls that were tough yesterday became easy today.
A few days later, monsters they couldn't solo before, they could now.
Sein had recreated the addictive sense of achievement that drove so many mad in the old game.
A few more days passed like that.
"......"
For the first time, the fighting completely stopped.
"What the hell is this?"
Sein spoke up first.
"...A labyrinth."
Sys's answer.
"A labyrinth?"
He'd heard of it.
When the saturation of darkness reached extreme highs or lows.
The encroaching darkness spat out labyrinths to defend itself.
"This isn't something we handle alone."
Labyrinth enemies were all darkness spawn, and if not cleared within a timeframe...
"We need to report to Rasiel."
The labyrinth would spew countless darkness spawn, devastating the area.
That's why the continent had zones.
"Labyrinths aren't something to take lightly..."
Just how many monsters had they massacred?
The candidates seemed more stunned by their journey than the labyrinth itself.
Labyrinths were for massive organizations like Rasiel.
"Wow, first time seeing one."
"Yeah."
"But..."
Still, the candidates noticed belatedly.
"No way, right?"
Someone was interested in the labyrinth.
"Full of darkness spawn—or monsters—inside, yeah?"
Sein.
"Y-Yeah...?"
"Any treasure?"
"I hear there are special artifacts unique to labyrinths. High-grade mana stones that are rare..."
Sys answered Sein's questions mechanically, as always.
Then he sensed something off.
"No way, right?"
"Nope."
Sein headed toward the labyrinth entrance.
A few candidates stood there, gawking at it.
"How can I just pass this up?"
"Sein! This is..."
"Dis..."
Sein's eyes met the candidate closest to the entrance.
The moment he sensed something wrong and turned...
"This is Sparta!"
Sein's kick slammed into the candidate's gut.
The power that could burst a troll's head.
No matter how strong they'd gotten, even with power control, it was futile against Sein's kick.
"Kwaaaak! You crazy fuck!"
The candidate tumbled straight into the labyrinth entrance.
"Once you're in, you can't come out till it closes."
Sssk.
Everyone got it.
"We're screwed. Fuck."
They were heading into that hell.
*
*
*
"Has time passed this quickly already?"
The biting cold had given way to spring.
Rasiel's guild master, Alman, gazed out the window and suddenly scowled.
The letter in his hand.
It was worn to shreds from countless readings.
"I'll come back when the time's right, so wait."
A letter from one of the candidates.
"Heh heh."
Alman let out a hollow laugh.
Kkuk!
The paper crumpled weakly under his grip.
Barely a month had passed, but that's why it was in tatters.
Rage. Futility.
"They say humans go through stages accepting death."
Alman muttered to himself.
"Sein, looks like you're my death."
The promised deadline approached.
Sein hadn't promised a specific date.
"Tomorrow, huh."
The day of the exchange match with Dante, another of Demorus's three great organizations.
"If he ran away scared..."
Alman shook his head mid-sentence.
That guy would never run.
Besides.
'A labyrinth reaction at their last known location.'
But when Rasiel investigated late, the entrance was gone.
Two possibilities.
The reaction was a false positive.
"They're not idiots, so no way they went in."
Or someone had entered, sealing the entrance.
He knew Sein was pretty insane, but not that much.
No.
"......"
He wanted to think that.
If they'd entered a labyrinth, the unripe candidates would face worse than the exchange match—a frozen death in hell.
That's when it happened.
"......?"
In the distance beyond the window, people entered Rasiel's gates.
"The free handout period's over."
Rasiel offered various services, including occasional aid distributions to the poor.
Alman thought that because the entrants looked like beggars.
But.
"You crazy sons of bitches."
Their numbers, faces, auras—they were familiar.
Alman realized it.