Moon's Labyrinths

-Kyahhhhhng!

-Koo-roong! Koohng koohng!

He heard the roar of monsters, and it grated against his ears . There were two of them . He had been burned really badly when monsters had teamed-up against him in the Beginner’s Labyrinth . That was why he reflexively raised his shield and looked towards the source of the sounds .

He saw a Fang Boar and a Slash Cat a distance away . The Fang Boar was tough and durable, and also capable of executing a ferocious charge . The Slash Cat was agile, and it could execute a powerful blow with its paw . It was a combination of monsters that made Sungyoon wary .

However, he had been worried for nothing .

-Kyahhhhk!

The Slash Cat swung its claws, which were sharp like knives . The attack struck the target as it let out a terrifying sound . However, the Slash Cat’s target wasn’t Sungyoon .

Its target was the Fang Boar .

-Gweeeeeek!

The Fang Boar had thick leather, but the Slash Cat’s claws were very sharp . It made a long gash in the Fang Boar’s leather . Blood flew into the air . However, the Fang Boar didn’t take the attack lying down, and it blindly charged towards the Slash Cat with its tusks raised .

-Kyaaaang!

The Slash Cat jumped high into the air to dodge its enemy’s charge . As it dodged, it once again slashed the Fang Boar’s back .

Afterward, it used its agility to dodge the Fang Boar’s attacks and continued to attack various locations on the Fang Boar’s body .

In a flash, the Fang Boar had become covered in blood .

It was obvious that the Slash Cat was sitting pretty, but the result of the fight was still up in the air . Although the Slash Cat was able to inflict deep cuts, the Fang Boar hadn’t suffered any critical wounds . Above all else, the Slash Cat was less durable than the Fang Boar . If the Slash Cat was hit even once, there was a high chance it would die .

Sungyoon’s prediction came true .

-Gwehhhhhhhhhk!

The Fang Boar had become enraged from being continuously attacked . It let out an angry roar as it charged again . Once again, the Slash Cat tried to jump into the air to dodge the attack . However, the Fang Boar had slightly modified its attack from before .

Tah-aht!

Its massive body flew into the air . The Fang Boar dived head-first into the air to reach the Slash Cat . The Slash Cat made quick adjustments to dodge the attack . The Fang Boar could throw its body all around, but it wouldn’t be able to catch the agile Slash Cat . However, this Fang Boar was persistent .

-Ggweeek!

The Fang Boar swung its head towards the direction where the Slash Cat had dodged . Its head couldn’t touch the Slash Cat, but it was a different story for its tusks . It was a close call, but the Fang Boar’s tusks had managed to graze the back legs of the Slash Cat .

-Kyaaaaaaahk!

The Slash Cat let out a scream . Blood poured out from its back legs like a waterfall .

Boom!

Puhk!

The sound of two bodies crashing to the ground could be heard . The heavy body of the Fang Boar and the light body of the Slash Cat rolled across the floor . The Fang Boar’s body was full of bloody wounds, but it was still lively . In fact, its anger was fueling its movement . Contrastly, the Slash Cat had lost most of its mobility when its legs became injured .

The situation had been reversed .

The Fang Boar immediately got up and charged towards the Slash Cat . The Slash Cat limped as it tried to dodge the attack, but the loss of mobility was devastating for the Slash Cat .

-Kyahhhhhhhk!

The Slash Cat let out a despairing yowl . It was being ruthlessly attacked by the Fang Boar as if the latter wanted to pay back for all it had suffered until that moment . It stabbed with its tusks, and then, stomped the Slash Cat with its feet . It also took a big bite out of the Slash Cat with its teeth . The Slash Cat was tortured for a long time by the Fang Boar . Finally, the Slash Cat’s scream came to an end .

-Gweeeeeeek!

Was it a roar of victory? The Fang Boar let out a long roar in front of the dead Slash Cat .

‘Is it a territorial fight?’

This was the first time he had witnessed monsters fighting each other to death .

Most of the Beginner’s Labyrinth had been cleared of monsters, so their population density was very low . This was why the monsters only attacked the Connectors . The monsters were indifferent to each other . In some cases, monsters even teamed-up with each other to attack Connectors . He had experienced it before . However, this was a Personal Labyrinth . Moreover, it was one that had never been touched before . An incredible number of monsters were residing within this labyrinth . Of course, the infighting would be fierce .

The Slash Cat’s body was swept up in light, and the only thing left behind was a moonstone . The Fang Boar sniffed at the moonstone . In the next moment, it put its mouth close to the moonstone .

Boom!

Just then, Sungyoon hit the wall of the labyrinth with his shield . He had put all his strength behind it, yet he couldn’t even scratch the wall . But his intent wasn’t to damage the wall .

-Gweeek?

The Fang Boar, who had been about to swallow the moonstone, turned its head . Sungyoon intentionally stomped his feet to get its attention .

‘That’s a waste . ’

A monster would not become stronger by eating moonstones from other monsters . It could heal wounds to a certain extent, and it might provide a small boost in its energy . However, that was it . But still, the moonstone disappeared once the monster ate it . It meant Sungyoon would make less money .

-Gwehhhhhhhk!

Fortunately, the monster in front of him gave up on eating the moonstone . It charged towards Sungyoon, and red blood flew into the alongside his charge . It was a scary sight .

However, Sungyoon’s expression didn’t change . When the Fang Boar arrived in front of him, he took a quick step to the side .

The Slash Cat had used this tactic . When the Fang Boar would charge, its lateral movement to either side became challenged . The only thing Sungyoon had to be careful about was its long tusks . They were one-meter long, and it could attack with the tusks even if the connector had dodged the charge . He just had to be mindful of that .

Kwah-jeek!

-Gwehhhhhhhhk!

The mace impacted its back and left a deep crater . The Fang Boar was frothing at the mouth with blood, and it struggled in a violent manner . Sungyoon calmly swung his mace once again . This time, he was aiming for the head .

Kwah-doo-doohk!

The Fang Boar’s head completely exploded . Its eyes and tongue shot out, and brain matter scattered into the surrounding .

Tul-suhk!

Its enormous body fell to the ground . Sungyoon coldly stared at the dead body, and he collected the moonstone when it appeared . Then, he moved a distance away and picked up the Slash Cat’s moonstone . He looked at his watch .

‘I should start heading back now . ’

If he didn’t start his return-journey now, he probably would spend the whole night here . However, he hadn’t brought any camping gear . Above all else, he didn’t have any party members . He didn’t want to spend the night here .

‘I have to think about the eventuality of me sleeping within the labyrinth . ’

Sungyoon didn’t hesitate as he turned around . He didn’t mind staying up for a couple of days, but he didn’t want to do that when he had to fight life and death battles with the monsters .

He always took a left when he arrived at a fork, so he just needed to do the exact opposite . He only had to take a right when heading back . Sungyoon had already cleared all the monsters, so he didn’t encounter any monsters on his way back .

‘Did this labyrinth experience a rise in its population already?’

An abnormal occurrence had occurred with the monsters . He remembered the conversation he had with Emily in the past . Almost all the labyrinths were showing signs of anomalous activity, and the H-023 labyrinth probably wasn’t an exception either .

‘I guess it doesn’t matter if there is an increase in the monster’s population here . ’

Basically, this situation would only be a problem for the labyrinths that were frequented by Connectors . The monster population within these labyrinths were kept down by Connectors . Unlike those labyrinths, this labyrinth had been assigned for the first time to Sungyoon . The number of monsters within this labyrinth probably kept increasing every Mana Stream until a limit would be reached . If more monsters were added beyond this limit, the monsters would fight each other to stake out their territory, and the population would go back down to normal .

‘It’s fine . Even if more monsters do come out, I have no baseline to make any comparison . ’

Even if he wanted to make a comparison, he didn’t know what Personal Labyrinths were like before the anomalous monster activities . He had no idea how much more dangerous his labyrinth was . This was why he just made a resolve to be a bit more careful .

He slowly walked towards the entrance of the labyrinth . This was how his first raid within his Personal Labyrinth ended .

* * *

Time passed like that . Sungyoon’s daily routine didn’t differ much from his routine for the Beginner’s Labyrinth . The only things changed were where he slept, and that he was in a different labyrinth . When he woke up, he ate the vitamin pack as a meal . After his hunt within the labyrinth, he returned to the Moon Surface Vehicle to sleep . Every day, he worked like a machine .

On the first floor of this labyrinth, he had only encountered the stronger version of monsters he had seen in the Beginner’s Labyrinth . It was an encouraging sign that this labyrinth was higher in rank than the Beginner’s Labyrinth . Still, it was still impossible for him to clear this labyrinth in earnest . He was barely able to explore the region near the entrance .

He was worried about getting lost, so he never went deep within the labyrinth .

Despite this fact, the storage compartment had become filled with moonstones . The labyrinth was stuffed with monsters, so he just needed to fight the ones near the entrance . When the region near the entrance would become empty, it would create a vacuum . Monsters, who were deeper within, would start to slowly crawl out into the empty region .

Anyway, he was able to acquire a good amount of moonstones within the past three weeks .

Finally, the Mana Stream was about to hit this labyrinth .

However, Sungyoon didn’t immediately leave . He had to check something .

He slowly approached the entrance of the labyrinth . He felt a different sensation, unlike the previous day .

The magical energy within the labyrinth was going crazy .

Until now, the magical energy had been like the calm water within a lake . But currently, the magical energy was like fierce waves underneath a typhoon .

‘If I have enough magical energy to activate a Jewel rank Gem, I can withstand the Mana Stream . ’

He wanted to use this opportunity to experience the Mana Stream . Sungyoon’s goal was to reach the Great Labyrinth, and it was said that there was a constant Mana Stream going on within the Great Labyrinth .

Sungyoon gulped as he took a step into the entrance of the labyrinth .

Flinch!

He felt an electric sensation rise from the end of his foot . The fierce magical energy within the labyrinth ruthlessly battered against his foot . The man immediately felt it . If he were a low-level Connector, his foot would have been instantly pulverized . He would have died as blood poured out of his wound . What would happen if the head or the body of a low-rank Connector went into a Mana Stream? He could easily imagine the consequences .

Fortunately, nothing unusual happened to Sungyoon .

He moved his other foot, and then, put his entire body into the Mana Stream .

‘It doesn’t have much influence on my movement . ’

However, he continued to feel the magical energy batter against his body .

He activated his Gems . The magical energy of the Gems activated within the fierce current of Mana Stream . His equipment appeared around his body, and his physical abilities were enhanced .

Hoohng!

He swung his mace, struck out with his shield, and then punched and kicked the air .

He felt a minimal difference .

‘I feel fine . I think I can hunt within the Mana Stream . ’

His magical energy could withstand the violent current of the Mana Stream . It wasn’t as if his movement had slowed down .

However, Sungyoon gave up on that idea .

‘There is a chance I might meet a monster that I can’t handle at my current level . ’

Sungyoon turned back without regret . He planned on going back to Armstrong, and he would return to Earth on a spaceship .

It happened at that moment .

A light appeared within the labyrinth . It was bright enough to chase away the faint sunlight that came in from the outside . He turned his body back in surprise .

A small but very bright ball of light was floating in the air . It rippled like a living organism, and in a flash, the ball of light grew bigger . The magical energy in its surrounding went crazy, swirling around the ball of light . Sungyoon’s mouth had fallen open as he blankly stared at the majestic and mysterious light .

Unlike its impact on Sungyoon, the light didn’t last for long .

Hoohk!

The light went out . It was as if the labyrinth had never been illuminated . The labyrinth was once again filled with absolute darkness . However, Sungyoon was capable of receiving external information through magical energy, so he clearly saw what had happened .

Something had appeared where the light had emerged .