Chapter 58
Meanwhile, inside a circular arena-like space, monsters kept pouring endlessly out of the surrounding darkness.
Thunk.
Kieeek!
A frog-like monster collapsed after a spear pierced through its chest.
A man breathing heavily yanked the spear back out.
"Haa... haa...!"
His name was Seong Hosu.
He was a talented Player skilled enough to receive recruitment offers from all three guilds at once.
Right now, he was clearing the Hard difficulty of the 24th floor.
[Monsters Defeated: 742]
"Just hold on a little longer! We're almost at 1,000...! Anyone who can't keep going, switch with the people behind you!!"
Seong Hosu wasn't alone.
Several Players on Hard difficulty had gathered together.
At the center of the formation were Bong Taesu, Lee Yumi, and Kim Hyuna.
Seong Hosu stepped back for a moment to catch his breath and stared at the backs of the three fighting ahead.
Gulp.
...Amazing.
How can they keep going like that?
From the 22nd floor until now, the three of them had fought almost without rest.
While the exhausted Players rotated out behind them, they continued killing monster after monster.
Then, at last, the final monster fell.
Thrust.
[Monsters Defeated: 1,000]
[You have cleared this floor.]
"Hoo... as expected, one thousand was quite difficult. If Lady Yumi and Hyuna hadn't been here, it would've been too much."
"It definitely gets harder the higher we go. I almost let one through after making a single mistake near the end."
"Yeah. One thousand is a little rough. My hand's still shaking from gripping the dagger."
They were talking as though they had just finished a light workout.
Meanwhile, Park Seunghyeok of the Haegwang Guild was completely exhausted.
"Brother, are you all right? Sorry I couldn't keep an eye on you. Hurry over to the Healing Spring."
"Haa... haa... th-thank you... cough...!"
Even though he was one of Haegwang Guild's elites, seeing him fall behind was almost disappointing.
Still, he wasn't the one Seong Hosu was most concerned about.
It was Lee Suhyeok.
The man currently alone on Hell difficulty.
[The Player currently ranked 1st in the Labyrinth is ‘Lee Suhyeok’ of Hell difficulty.]
[Current Location: 28th Floor]
"What? H-He's already on the 28th floor...?!"
"How is that even possible...? We're barely on the 24th floor, and he's doing that alone?"
Hard difficulty was already brutal even with more than twenty Players working together.
It had become even worse after several people had run off on their own to save themselves.
And what about the lower difficulties?
Hundreds were already dead.
Most had probably died from fear and confusion.
Yet Suhyeok alone was climbing the Hell difficulty.
Seong Hosu's pupils trembled in disbelief.
Is he really... h-human?
Everyone looked equally unable to believe it.
But Bong Taesu and the two women reacted as though it were perfectly natural.
"As expected of Hyungnim. How far ahead is he going to get? Honestly, he has quite the talent for making the people following him work themselves to the bone."
"We'll have to work harder too. At this rate, we might fall even farther behind."
"Still, everyone needs to catch their breath, so let's rest for a little while and then move on."
They're actually getting motivated by this?
They're monsters too...!
Just how strong is Lee Suhyeok if he's traveling with people like these?
When Seong Hosu had first seen Suhyeok from afar, he'd been skeptical.
He looked strong enough.
But at a glance, he hadn't seemed all that different from Seong Hosu himself.
Even on the 21st-floor maze, Seong Hosu hadn't thought Suhyeok was especially impressive.
He didn't even know what Suhyeok had done there.
If anything, the three standing before him now had looked more dazzling.
But that thought had shattered the moment they reached the 22nd floor.
"Haa... haa...! A-Am I alive? I-I really survived, right?"
Ten people had died almost immediately.
By the time they barely reached the portal, everyone except Seong Hosu and a few others had thrown themselves into the Healing Spring, trembling with fear.
But the most shocking thing had been the message floating before them.
[Healing Springs do not function on Hell difficulty.]
"...!"
Even now, they were barely surviving thanks to the three ahead of them and the Healing Spring.
But Hell difficulty didn't even have that.
Surviving in a place like that is already incredible.
And he's four whole floors above us...?
That's impossible....
Seong Hosu wasn't the only one thinking it.
Everyone wanted to know.
Just how strong was Lee Suhyeok?
At that same time...
[You have cleared the 28th floor.]
[You will be moved to the 29th floor shortly.]
He was already heading to the next floor.
Suhyeok didn't even look tired.
Since he already knew every trap and rule on these floors, clearing them was easy.
Seriously lol. This is the first time Hell difficulty hasn't looked dangerous at all.
The guys on the lower difficulties look like they're fighting for their lives. What the hell is this guy?
More than 200 people already died on Easy. Weak bastards.
Quite a few died on Hard too, right? Looks like those three are carrying them.
The atmosphere had calmed down again because of Leon's sponsorship event.
Normally, the Constellations would've been causing far more chaos.
Wow, this is seriously evil. I keep sponsoring because of the event ;;
Damn it....
Smart move. He's obviously going to finish in first place anyway, so I might as well raise my sponsorship total lol
(showing an empty wallet) M-My Coins are disappearing...!! My Coins!!
There was only one reason they were behaving so well.
The condition the Highest-Level Administrator had announced.
The victorious Constellation will be given a stage upon which to unfold their own Myth.
For them, causing trouble now and making Suhyeok dislike them would be pointless.
If anything, the sponsorship event gave them a perfect chance to increase their ranking.
[ Haaah... what a relief, nya. ]
Leon sighed in relief.
Then he rummaged around, pulled out a Churu, and began opening the package.
[ Nyahaha. This is all thanks to you, nya. Humans really do need to use their heads, nya. I need some Churu to calm down. I can't take this anymore, nya. Slurp. ]
He acted completely unfazed now despite learning that Suhyeok had regressed.
But throughout the climb, Leon had actually been the one worrying the most.
Even just earlier, he'd been chattering nonstop about following Suhyeok to the very end.
[ Kyaa! Churu really is always delicious, nya! It's the joy of life, nya~! ]
That same carefree personality as always.
Without realizing it, Suhyeok smiled.
It seemed he'd grown attached to Leon over time.
Flash.
[You have arrived on the 29th floor.]
[You are currently the 1st-ranked Player.]
Suhyeok passed through the portal.
The next chamber was incomparably larger than the ones before it.
The walls were so lavish that they were practically covered in gold.
Sark appeared in midair.
He was much smaller than before.
Almost the same size as Leon.
"Grrr. You've somehow made it this far."
Sark glared at him.
