Chapter 137: 70th Floor, Guide of Sin: The Leadership (Part 1)

“What’s the occasion, Ambresia?” asked a woman with flaming hair, her tone relaxed.

“Why have you gathered us all here?”

“Wait until everyone arrives. Then I’ll explain,” Ambresia replied. The woman with the flaming hair sat down and waited.

Soon, people began to trickle in, each taking a seat.

“Is this everyone?”

“All twenty-one of us,” grunted a muscular man with a mane-like hair. Ambresia clicked his tongue.

“It looks like our numbers have really dwindled.”

Originally, their number was double what it was now, but duels among themselves and sacrifices during labyrinth explorations over the years had halved their ranks.

“So, tell us. Why have you called us here?” asked a middle-aged man, his face showing annoyance. The woman with flaming hair answered.

“There’s only one reason. The ghost-attached adventurer you went up to deal with. This is about handling him, isn’t it?”

“Yes, exactly. You see, he’s here now.”

“What?!”

A moment of silence followed. The lion-maned man scowled.

“Did you use the secret key?”

“Yes,” confirmed Ambresia, and the man’s face twisted in anger.

“You wasted a precious key on this? I clearly told you to talk first, not kill.”

“Calm down, Lion King. There’s a reason for it.”

Ambresia raised his hands as if to pacify him. The Lion King leaned back in his chair, simmering down.

“Explain, Ambresia. Considering our goals, every key is precious. There must be a reason you used it?”

“I was getting to that, so calm down,” Ambresia said, touching his chin thoughtfully.

He explained how Taesan had become an apostle of Rakiratas and was using dark magic from the Demon God.

The flaming-haired woman, the Queen of Fire Elementals, groaned.

“A human receiving favor from the Demon God?”

“And he’s become an apostle of Rakiratas, that finicky and self-centered one?”

Ambresia’s revelation had them all bewildered.

“Why would a demon god bestow dark magic on a human?”

“Do I look like I know? The whims of gods aren’t new,” shrugged Ambresia.

The Lion King finally spoke up.

“Blinded by the Black Curtain…?”

“That’s impossible. That equipment, only available beyond the 50th floor—how could a mere 30th-floor rookie obtain it?”

The Lion King fell silent.

“Now you see why I brought him here with the key? You all didn’t want to come up, so I had to go, and I’d appreciate no further complaints.”

“That makes sense. My apologies,” conceded the Lion King. They were all equals here; there was no leader or hierarchy among them. Ambresia waved his hand dismissively.

“Good that you understand. Now, let’s get to the matter at hand.”

An adventurer favored by two gods.

“It must be because of the ghost.”

“Probably,” agreed the Queen of Fire Elementals.

“The ghost is also a skilled practitioner whom the gods have repeatedly urged to enter into apostle contracts. With his help, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to rise beyond his natural talents.”

“How admirable. Clinging to a weak adventurer to kill us, is it?”

“Wouldn’t you do the same? You faced betrayal in an alliance when vengeance was within reach. It’s a valid grudge by any standard.”

The leadership concluded that Taesan had acquired his current strength with the ghost’s assistance. It was clear where their focus should be—not on the unmet newcomer adventurer, but on the ghost, whose strength and talents they had directly witnessed.

“Is that really the case?” Ambresia cocked his head.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not so sure it’s just that.”

The Taesan he saw was different. He seemed more self-reliant than dependent on the ghost.

“But alone, that’s impossible. Even we couldn’t do it.”

“…Maybe so?”

Ambresia reconsidered his stance. Even the Guides of Sin, and even heroes stronger than them, couldn’t have achieved it alone.

“So, what are we going to do?”

The topic returned to the forefront, but they remained silent for a long while.

Meanwhile, Taesan was examining each brick on the 70th floor’s wall.

“What are you doing?”

Unable to hold back, the ghost asked. Taesan, touching a brick, replied, “Looking for a hidden room.”

“A hidden room here on the 70th floor? You think there’s one that these guys haven’t completely searched already? Simple hidden rooms might appear, but not here.”

The Guides of Sin had been stuck on the 74th floor for a long time, surely uncovering all that could be found.

“And you have Scouting, don’t you? Use it.”

“It won’t show up.”

[You have activated Scouting.]

Scouting was a skill that allowed one to grasp things within sight, including hidden rooms. However, nothing unusual appeared.

“See? There’s nothing more here.”

The ghost insisted there was nothing left to find, but Taesan didn’t stop checking the bricks.

“There is one thing. Just one.”

A piece of information unknown to both the ghost and the Guides of Sin.

Only Lee Taeyeon had discovered it.

“It should be somewhere around here…”

Taesan felt each crevice in the wall on the right side of the room.

Then, his fingertips caught on something. It was something akin to a small rod tucked within the crevice.

Taesan pressed down hard.

Click.

The brick floor opened up.

Without any noise or mechanical sound, a small passage was revealed.

“What the?”

The ghost, unable to hide his astonishment, raised his voice.

“What is this?”

Taesan calmly descended the stairs. The ghost, barely managing to compose himself, questioned again.

“A secret room? But how do you know about it if you’ve just arrived here?”

The ghost was clueless. Taesan’s actions were filled with certainty.

“I heard from someone.”

“Who?”

“Someone who’s no longer here.”

Taesan chuckled lightly.

Lee Taeyeon’s discovery of this room wasn’t particularly dramatic.

In her previous life, she had faced numerous trials and tribulations to reach the 70th floor, feeling pride, joy, and fear simultaneously.

She had barely made it here through numerous brushes with death. If not for a bit of luck, she might have been dead long ago.

The challenges ahead would only be tougher. This fear had paralyzed her steps.

As a result, she had stayed on the 70th floor for over a month, which Taesan knew from real-time community monitoring.

With nothing else to do, she eventually began scouring every corner. This place was discovered as a way to kill time.

Later, back on Earth, she mentioned her labyrinth breakthroughs. She had found this secret room by chance in the right wall crevice.

He hadn’t paid much attention then, not expecting to use this information like this.

“Wow. But I’ve never seen a secret room like this before. A secret room that even Scouting can’t find? There must be a reason it’s been undiscovered.”

Scouting revealed information within sight, including hidden rooms.

From the moment he learned Scouting, there was no struggle to find hidden rooms. Just a quick activation of Scouting in a room would reveal everything.

But this secret room was undetectable by Scouting.

The leaders probably concluded there was nothing here because it didn’t show up on Scouting.

“Lucky lady.”

Without luck, she wouldn’t have cleared Solo Mode.

Taesan smiled and continued down the stairs. Soon, a small room appeared.

[You have discovered the statue of a forgotten goddess.]

In the room was a small statue, small enough to be lifted with one hand.

The statue, carved with the image of a goddess, was so eroded that it would turn to sand if touched.

Taesan knelt before the statue and clasped his hands.

As he prayed, the statue crumbled into dust, and the power it contained merged with him.

[You have prayed to a goddess everyone has forgotten. You have received the goddess’s blessing [Regeneration Blessing of the Nameless Goddess].]

[Special Quest: The Forgotten Goddess]

[You have found the statue of a goddess forgotten by the creators of the labyrinth, the gods, and even her followers, and prayed to her. The goddess, forgotten and vanished, has awakened at your prayer. She wishes you to save her.]

[Those blessed by the goddess can feel the energy of the hidden goddess statues in the labyrinth.]

[Find them and pray to her.]

[Reward: Goddess’s Grace]

The ghost watching this sequence erupted in astonishment.

“Was there even such a quest?”

Neither the ghost who had conquered the labyrinth, nor the Guides of Sin, nor anyone else knew of this quest.

“Good.”

Taesan clenched his fist and checked the skill.

[God’s Blessing: Regeneration Blessing of the Nameless Goddess]

[It’s a goddess’s blessing. All types of your regeneration will significantly increase. Although it’s still very weak to be called a god’s blessing.]

Instead of proficiency, it was marked in stages. That meant one thing: the blessing would grow as he found more goddess statues and prayed.

Recalling what Lee Taeyeon had said, it was indeed a valuable skill. Health and mana regenerated very slowly, making natural recovery during battle nearly impossible.

But with the Regeneration Blessing of the Nameless Goddess, that changed.

Recovery speed was nearly ten times faster. While it might not significantly affect health, it made a big difference with mana.

Normally, only about 10 or 20 mana would regenerate in an hour, but with this blessing, that number would multiply by ten.

Moreover, Taesan had additional costs like shields and magi. Simple calculations showed his efficiency was about twice that of Lee Taeyeon.

“Wait, but if it’s by stages, doesn’t that mean I have to find each one? If it’s discovered late, it’s a quest that can’t be properly completed.”

“Exactly.”

Once Taesan descended to another floor of the labyrinth, the rewards from previous floors almost ceased to exist.

That was true for quest rewards as well.

That’s why Lee Taeyeon only managed to obtain the Regeneration and Life Blessings from the 70th floor and below. There were surely other statues of the Nameless Goddess on lower floors.

“Fortunate indeed.”

Taesan now had the opportunity to gain most of the goddess’s blessings.

After setting the room in order, Taesan returned outside.

Despite the passage of time, no one was in sight.

“They still haven’t arrived? Taking their time.”

[Must be a headache for them.]

The ghost chuckled.

Another hour passed before they finally appeared.

“Is this everyone?”

“I wanted to bring everyone, but some didn’t want to come. So I only brought those who agreed,” Ambresia explained. Taesan scanned their faces. There were three of them.

One was Ambresia, the guide he had been talking to all this time; nothing special there. Taesan then examined the others.

A man with golden mane-like hair and a muscular build.

His eyes, matching his hair, stared intensely at Taesan.

“That’s intimidating.”

Taesan muttered, casually shifting his energy. He managed to deflect the man’s intense gaze quite calmly, causing a flicker of surprise in the man’s eyes.

“Strong.”

It wasn’t a full display of power, but it was enough to stop a normal third-tier from breathing or controlling their body. And he had managed it without any strain—a testament to the rumored power.

“Not as much as you guys,” Taesan replied, looking away.

First, he saw the flaming hair. It wasn’t just an expression; it truly burned like fire.

A woman enveloped in flames herself.

“An Elemental Queen?”

“Do you know me, young one?”

“To some extent.”

At the same time, his sword vibrated. The power within it stirred, making a statement.

‘Quiet.’

Taesan tightened his grip on the sword.

Not now.

Not yet.

The Elemental Queen’s eyes wavered.

“Why do I feel my power in you?”

“This child feels the power of my children in him. I have cherished and created a domain for a child whose power resides within you.”

“I’ve been making good use of it.”

[You have activated a small spark.]

Taesan flicked his fingertip, and a flame burst forth.

“Did you kill them?”

The Elemental Queen’s eyes darkened.

“They all came to the labyrinth fully aware that they might be killed someday.”

Flames flickered in the Elemental Queen’s eyes.

“But I am enraged.”

Suddenly, the room’s temperature soared.

The heat was so intense that it became hard to breathe, and Taesan’s skin began to sear, quickly depleting his attack nullification.

[You have taken 3069 damage.]

It wasn’t a direct attack, just a change in emotion. The presence before him could bring Taesan to death just by being angry.

But Taesan laughed.

“Trying to kill your invited guest? That’s quite something.”

Amidst the searing pain of being engulfed in flames, Taesan taunted the Elemental Queen.

“Going to try to kill me? Do as you please if you can handle it.”

“Stop.”

The Lion King grabbed the Elemental Queen’s arm, and the heat subsided.

“Control yourself. If he dies, it’s irreversible.”

“Good point. It’s too hot to handle.”

Taesan dusted off his robe, his demeanor exceedingly calm. The Lion King’s eyebrows twitched.

“Let’s end this charade here.”

Clearly, they were powerful.

With a mere flick of their fingers, they could kill Taesan.

But at the same time, they absolutely could not kill him.

“Let’s not waste time and get to the point.”