The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Chapter 354

Episode 354:

The Jet Black Labyrinth, which has been placed under special management by major guilds in the Federation and the North.

Perhaps thanks to their efforts to retrieve the tokens scattered nearby, large demonic beasts nearby fell one after another.

When a labyrinth appears, many people will inevitably come, just as insects flock to the light.

Some do it to make a quick fortune, some do it for deep practice, and some do it out of a desire to test their limits.

Whatever the purpose, the labyrinth was quite an appropriate visit to come up with a satisfactory answer.

It was the same for any force to unleash a non-magical beast into such a labyrinth.

The same was true in the current situation.

The Federation dispatched troops and related guilds to tightly block the entrance to the pitch-black labyrinth.

“Is everything okay?”

“What’s the big deal? How many people are gathered here? “Are you here for your shift?”

“Oh, but isn’t this kind of event too much of a show-off?”

“It’s not wrong. Who would interfere with what the Federation is doing? “Unless they have multiple lives.”

The guard who was relaying special information for the shift said.

“But who are these crazy people who want to enter this black labyrinth?”

“They’re moths. The majority are transferees. “Shouldn’t we say that they are all anxious to die?”

While they were changing shifts, their superior approached the main gate of the labyrinth.

“Look at how quickly he comes just because he made a little fuss.”

“Tsk…”

The purpose of the superior’s visit was different from what they expected.

“The owner of the token has just been decided.”

“yes? “Are you serious?”

If what the superior said is true, all of the labyrinth’s tokens were recovered in less than 15 days after the labyrinth’s appearance.

It was evidence that gave us some idea of the power of the Federation.

“Who… or rather, which one has the token?”

The superior bluntly told me the results.

“There is one from the federal monitor, one from the testimony meeting, one from the implosion attack, and two reserve members from the new human race.”

“New humans have taken up three seats. “Are you sure there is something there?”

“There is a rumor that something was involved, but that is not accurate. First of all, all the characters presented exceed expectations. And the other side also put forward some pretty good characters.”

“Is it all transfer interest?”

“It seem to be like that. “The only people who will enter that black lair become strong are transferors who cannot use their limbs.”

“I really agree with that.”

Just then there was a commotion nearby.

“How did you get here?”

“Why didn’t you stop it?”

“Stop it! “Don’t let them get close!”

The superior heard the commotion and stuck his head out to inspect the scene.

Look… look…

Someone wearing a robe was slowly approaching the entrance to the labyrinth they were guarding, but for some reason, there was no stopping them.

“Stop it!”

“Can’t you hear me telling you to stop right there?”

All they did was talk and didn’t block the way.

Just as the superior became very angry and was about to scold the guards, the eyes of the man in the robe sparkled.

When golden eyes looked at him, his body stiffened.

“Uh…”

A low voice came out.

“I’ll pass.”

Whiiiiiii…

A black energy swirled from the man.

Feeling overwhelmed.

“You can’t do anything without the Zhi token!”

“….”

“I don’t know what you’re looking for, but let’s not cause meaningless conflict with each other. There is nothing you can gain from this…”

At that moment, the man took off his gloves and held out one hand.

A ring with a strange emblem engraved on it resonated with the door.

Whioooooooo…

Pajijijik…

[The Ascetic’s Seal is activated.]

[Enter the jet-black labyrinth.]

“….”

“Huh?”

A man who disappeared in an instant.

The people gathered at the entrance to the labyrinth could only roll their eyes at each other, unable to keep their mouths shut.

Unfortunately, their disaster is not over yet.

Someone’s voice came from behind.

“This is a big problem! Puhihi… I’ll come catch you!”

Puhihi…

‘Puhihi?’

The superior turned his head after remembering that none of the people here were smiling as frivolously as me.

“You… no, you…”

An expressionless face and a body like a steel tower.

Next to the handsome white man stood a Latina woman with a bayonet on her back.

The man recognized the woman among them.

The woman smiled and put her hands together and pretended to rain.

“I was wondering how I was going to get by! Wouldn’t it be so convenient for us if you let us start like this? “This… there was someone worse than us!”

They held out their hands.

Whioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

!

Black lightning engulfs them both at the same time.

The situation was at a critical point.

Pot-!

Pot-!

Suddenly, two masked people protruding from both sides held out their hands, just like the ones who had just disappeared.

As expected, there was a seal.

It’s a joke!

It all happened in an instant.

Even before those who got the certificate started exploring, as many as five people entered.

Even without any conflict occurring.

“Uh… So, over there…”

The guard noticed and tried to comfort the man who was the most senior person here.

“Phew… Fortunately, there was no collision.”

But the man’s reaction was a bit strange.

“Are you… are you okay?”

“There was no loss here, except that troublesome guys showed up every time everything was okay.”

“Hey… Isn’t this a big problem? The higher-ups clearly told us to guard this place tightly…”

“I guess what you heard was enough. “They are the exception.”

“yes? Why… who are they?”

“It’s obvious that those who can enter the labyrinth without a certificate…”

The man said bitterly as he looked at the entrance to the labyrinth that those who had just disappeared passed through.

“The only ones who have already conquered the labyrinth once. Those at the top are called conquerors. If I tried to stop them, something big would have happened. “I even told them from above to let them go gracefully if they show up.”

“So…”

How many words and calculations were exchanged behind the scenes? The superior spoke more than usual in order to resolve the doubts of the guard.

“Did you see the ring on their hand?”

“You mean that unusual-looking ring? “They all have different shapes, right?”

“That is the seal of the labyrinth. The conqueror’s mark. “It is a medal for those who have overcome the danger of death.”

The guard tilted his head and then described a characteristic he had only noticed in one of those who had just passed by.

“… But the pattern on the ring of the second woman who entered seems to have something overlapping…”

“What, you don’t know Lucia?”

“yes? Lucia? “If it’s Lucia… Ugh… That Lucia?”

“So, you know why I told you not to stop, right?”

Lucia.

The facial features and skin color suggest that he is of Latin origin.

In addition, he had many enemies due to his eccentric personality disguised as cheerfulness.

The problem is that she is so far ahead that her enemies just suck their fingers.

“Is it true that Lucia conquered two labyrinths?”

“Yeah, if we touched it wrong, our heads would have been blown off. You handle that great sword like you would a kitchen knife. Yeon-Yeon is not a woman who can be easily touched. Rather, we should consider ourselves fortunate that it passed so quietly.”

“Then she must be the most dangerous of all conquerors.”

“….”

“Why are you doing that?”

The superior hesitated to answer for a moment.

He had the same thoughts as Suha until the incident just happened. However, when I encountered their reality in person, doubts arose.

‘Is Lucia really the most dangerous person?’

Somehow it was difficult to agree.

Because…

“That man who first appeared was a bit…”

“Huh? ah! “…”

“… No. Let’s start by reporting. Damn… what I was worried about happened. Problems may arise within the labyrinth.”

* * *

Kangseol was able to enter the labyrinth surprisingly easily. The labyrinth is a place where you can pass through it much more easily if you have a friend, but unfortunately, the pitch-black labyrinth was not one of them.

‘…is this the right choice?’

The action of throwing oneself into the labyrinth before heading to the East to meet Seolhong to retrieve Yuhwa’s oil.

I just hoped this was the right choice.

In the midst of passing time and disaster, the powerful action that snowfall could do was a choice.

‘If this is the place… there’s a possibility.’

There were many ways to become stronger, the representative one being the ability tree.

And there was an epiphany during the battle.

Usually, if you use both methods in harmony, you can become as strong as you want.

But what Snowfall is aiming for is higher than that. It’s about breaking down the wall and moving on to the next step.

Hanging on to ability trees that only increase efficiency or to enlightenment that may come at any moment was not the way Kang Seol thought to grow.

Because there are more than just two ways to grow.

‘You did well to save up your ability points without using them.’

Snowfall hasn’t used the ability tree for a while and has accumulated a large amount of ability points.

There was no intention to use this as an ability tree.

So where else can ability scores be used?

It is about sacrificing ability points to gain new enlightenment.

This had a slightly different meaning from the ability tree.

By using the method of reinforcing the power gained through enlightenment through ability points, it was a method of achieving a noticeable increase in skill.

Of course it won’t be easy.

In addition to the environment in which one could gain enlightenment, the new power one would gain had to be related to one’s own power, and one had to have a lot of ability points.

And now, Snowfall has thrown herself into a place where all the conditions are met.

He stood at the entrance to the pitch-black labyrinth.

‘Five doors.’

There were a total of 5 doors.

Each door had a pattern engraved on it, but what was unusual was that the pattern was not just one.

All five doors had a square engraved next to the pattern.

‘Hidden properties….’

Since Kang Seol knew quite a bit about the jet-black labyrinth, he was also roughly aware of its hidden properties.

Pajijijik…

When Kangseol was lost in thought, two figures appeared from behind.

“Puhihi… we met right away! hi? “Where are you from?”

“….”

Kang Seol looked back at them for a moment and then twitched his eyebrows.

‘Exploration team? No, it’s a seal.’

It’s been a while since Kangseol conquered the Labyrinth of Asceticism, so there must be quite a few people who have conquered other labyrinths.

I couldn’t guess what level the transferees had risen to, but I thought they would at least be stronger than I was when I overcame the labyrinth of asceticism.

‘Well, maybe not. But… the patterns are overlapping.’

Snowfall was a little surprised when she checked Lucia’s seal, but was convinced when she realized the true nature of the pattern.

Lucia was praised by the world as an absolutely talented person who had broken through the labyrinth twice, but Kang Seol, who knew the truth, evaluated her a little differently.

‘The Labyrinth of Blood and the Labyrinth of Plague… I was lucky. Did you encounter only the lowest level of labyrinth?’

The Labyrinth of Blood and the Labyrinth of Plague were so short that it was embarrassing to compare them to the Labyrinth of Penance, which I had overcome relatively early on, and the level of difficulty was not that high.

Of course, the compensation was poor, except for the seal.

No, it would be correct to say that there is almost nothing that can be obtained there except for seals.

This was a fact that only Kangseol, who had explored the labyrinth many times, knew. There was no way they would know that.

“hmm? Are you a bit quiet? Why don’t we join forces? I’m Lucia! If an exploration team or something comes in, they could target us, right? It’s called a temporary alliance. There are two of us here, but there will be no territoriality. yes?”

Nod…

The man in the iron tower kept a blank expression and did not participate in the conversation.

Kang Seol looked at the two for a moment and then shook his head.

“I decline.”

“Um… really? why? No… what’s your name?”

“… It’s snowing.”

“Snowfall… Um… I can’t help it. Can’t you just step behind me instead? And… what about you guys?”

flinch…

those wearing masks who have been quietly observing the situation ever since they were transferred.

They waved their hands at Lucia’s question.

“What happened? “I got it too!”

Lucia spoke arbitrarily, crossed one arm and flicked the other, and chose the door.

“Where… which door should I go through…”

Although he looked calm and weak, Kang Seol did not rate it highly.

‘It’s an important choice. Especially in the pitch-black labyrinth.’

If I roughly decided something like that, it could have been four months later.

Kang Seol gave a hint to relieve some of the guilt.

“It would be best not to take it lightly here…”

“Are you worried? Puhehe… It’s cute, but this is already my third time in the labyrinth? So…”

the man in the iron tower spoke softly while looking at the snowfall.

“It’s presumptuous.”

Kang Seol ended the conversation by shrugging his shoulders.

“Then… I’m here!”

Each pattern had a certain shape and had different meanings.

Patterns symbolizing blood, light, darkness, storm, and dreams.

“Hmm… since there is no sword symbol, this would be best. I’ll go here! “Don’t follow me, everyone.”

“….”

“Then Lucia, sortie!”

Snowfall watched her and the man in the pylon disappear beyond the Gate of Blood and Storm.

Those wearing masks stretched out their arms and pretended that Kang Seol should choose first.

Kang Seol knew very well what the symbol hidden in the square next to the pattern symbolized, so she chose where she would go without hesitation.

Whoa…

Snowfall stood in front of the dark door, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Jiiiiiiing…

A strange reaction flowed from my belongings.

?The yaksha cries.?

“….”

The yaksha, whose grief had not yet been absorbed, trembled as it stood in front of the door of darkness.

Snowfall nodded slightly and disappeared there.

Kkeeeeeek…

Before the door closed, Kangseol said quietly.

“There’s one thing I didn’t tell you. Jamard.”

– what?

“From here….”

[Enter through the door of darkness.]

[Visibility is limited.]

“I can only go there by myself.”

[Responsiveness with all shadow summons is lost.]

[Strong darkness arrives.]

Whioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much…

It feels cold.

That was my first impression of the darkness.

Snowfall felt a sense of loss.

His summons were the most important part of his value, so when he lost touch with them, a serious feeling of emptiness came over him.

Because they are connected by blood, their existence can be recognized, but where there is no light, there are no shadows.

Snowfall made a promise in a place where nothing could be seen.

I will conquer this place with my own strength no matter how long it takes.

“Okay… I have to walk alone from here on out.”

Kang Seol’s self-mocking words were answered by those around him.

A small creature got entangled in Kang Seol’s arm.

?There is also grief…?