Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 301: (Side Story) 100th Floor, Lee Taeyeon

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Excuse me.
[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Is anyone there?
[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Hello-o-o?

No answer came back.

Lee Taeyeon, who had been shouting into the void, sighed deeply.

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: I know there’s someone alive here. Can’t you just answer me?

Still, no response came. She closed the community chat.

From behind her came the sound of faint laughter.

[Do you seek the understanding and comfort of others? Such fragility doesn’t suit an adventurer who has made it this far.]

“Spare me the self-reflection, will you? Just keep quiet for once.”

Lee Taeyeon let out a groan and slumped to the ground.

“Don’t you have anything better to do? Sticking around someone like me for over a decade now? Feels way longer, honestly.”

She didn’t know the owner of the voice. It was simply a being that had been accompanying her, speaking every so often for as long as she could remember.

She guessed it was a divine entity, but the voice never revealed its true identity.

At first, she was unsettled, but now she had grown used to it. Since it did nothing more than talk, she paid it no mind.

[Time is all we have, beings like you and me.]

“Lucky you.”

She muttered under her breath, glancing up at the ceiling of the labyrinth.

The gray labyrinth. A small, confined space.

She knew every corner of this place, every tiny flaw in the walls. She had spent enough time here to memorize it all.

[What will you do now, child?]

“Who knows…”

Lee Taeyeon mumbled absentmindedly.

“What should I do?”

She uttered the words, a phrase now second nature to her, and stared at the ceiling.

An hour passed, then two, then an entire day.

A week later, she stood up.

[What will you do now?]

“It’s boring to just sit here. Guess I’ll give it another shot.”

She took a step forward, her footsteps echoing as the endless maze stretched before her.

She entered the maze, a place so vast that even the most skilled explorers couldn’t fully map it out in centuries—a labyrinth of despair.

Lee Taeyeon walked through it with ease.

Her steps were confident, as if she had walked this path thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of times.

She seemed almost bored.

“Can’t they make this shorter already? Even walking through this is getting annoying.”

A quiet chuckle answered her complaints.

She walked for who knows how long before reaching the end of the maze. Before her stood a dark, ominous door.

A guardian stood watch.

Lee Taeyeon raised her hand with a smile.

“Hey there.”

[…Again?]

The guardian’s voice was tinged with exasperation.

“Don’t be like that. By now, we’re practically friends, aren’t we?”

Lee Taeyeon grinned broadly.

“Balbabamba, aren’t you glad to see an adventurer like me? How about a little enthusiasm?”

[If it were a new face, maybe. But I have no interest in you.]

Balbabamba shifted its brick-like body with a weary tone.

[You’re here to clear this floor, aren’t you?]

Lee Taeyeon nodded. After a moment of silence, Balbabamba asked:

[Do you even remember how many times you’ve tried this?]

“Hmm?”

She tilted her head, gazing at the void.

“How many times has it been? Do you remember?”

[I don’t. I have no intention of remembering meaningless, inflated numbers like that.]

“Then why ask?”

Lee Taeyeon raised an eyebrow. Balbabamba answered calmly.

[It’s a question about your sanity.]

“Oh, is that all?”

She shook her head dismissively.

“I’m fine. A bright future awaits me, so just open the door.”

[Though I doubt that… as you wish.]

‘Boom!’

The door opened.

Lee Taeyeon took a deep breath and stepped inside.

How many times had it been now? Like she told Balbabamba, she didn’t bother counting. It had been far too long.

Yet every attempt brought fear.

Her breath trembled, and cold sweat dripped down her face.

The thought that everything she had achieved might vanish in an instant crushed her like a weight.

Death.

Still, she gritted her teeth and moved forward, pushing through her fear.

The being watching her smiled in satisfaction.

[Do your best.]

With a soft voice, the door closed behind her.

[100th Floor Quest Start]

The lights came on, revealing the interior of the floor.

Weapons filled the ground—spears, swords, shields, halberds, bows.

Thousands, tens of thousands of weapons were embedded in the earth.

“Alright, let’s do this again.”

[You have activated Hidden Rat’s Breath.]

[You have activated the Untold Story.]

[You have activated Invisible Shadow.]

Her presence vanished.

Her breath, her slight movements, the sound of her clothes brushing against the air—everything disappeared.

In this place, Lee Taeyeon had become a ghost.

[You have activated Ten Thousand Possibilities.]

She began moving slowly.

[Quest Failed]

‘Boom…’

The door opened again. Lee Taeyeon emerged, battered and torn.

Balbabamba, now accustomed to this sight, spoke.

[Failed again, huh.]

“Don’t bother asking when you already know…”

[Still, today was your longest attempt yet. A whole two days. Congratulations.]

“Shut up.”

She grumbled, leaving Balbabamba behind as she returned through the maze to her gray room.

Exhausted, she collapsed onto her bed.

She opened the community chat again.

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Hello.
[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Can someone please respond?
[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Please, I’m begging you.

[Lee Changchun [Hard]]: …What the? There’s still someone playing in Solo mode?

A surprised response came back. She lit up at the reply.

[Lee Changchun [Hard]]: Lee Taeyeon, right? Haven’t cleared it yet? Weren’t you always ahead of me?

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Someone’s still alive! What about the others?

[Lee Changchun [Hard]]: There are a few others, but they’re all half out of their minds.

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Really?

[Lee Changchun [Hard]]: By the way, I can’t believe the community is still active. Or is it just you using it? I suppose no one has a reason to use it anymore, right? Most people probably only talk to others in their own mode.

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: That’s why I’m bored. Can’t you talk with me for a bit?

[Lee Changchun [Hard]]: I don’t have the luxury. Damn it, this might take even longer than Solo mode.

Lee Changchun wrote angrily.

[Lee Changchun [Hard]]: I’m heading down as fast as I can. I’m going back to Earth. No more community chats for me.

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: Don’t be like that. Just talk with me for a bit…

But no response came back.

Lee Taeyeon sighed deeply and closed the community chat.

“…How long have I been here?”

[Far longer than the lifespan of you humans.]

An immeasurable, unfathomably long time.

The reason no one responded in the community was simple.

Most players had returned to Earth ages ago.

Those who remained had either been lucky enough to survive the return trips but had given up due to their limits or fear of death, or were the stragglers who couldn’t progress further.

Some gave up entirely, becoming stagnant in the labyrinth, eventually succumbing to the endless passage of time.

The rest were so obsessed with returning to Earth that they ignored everything else, including the community, focusing solely on traversing the labyrinth as safely as possible.

Lee Taeyeon let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

The next day, after waking up, she stretched and got to her feet. Heading towards the maze, she was met with a voice.

[Where are you going?]

“To grind a bit. I’ve still got a few pieces of equipment to upgrade.”

She groaned as she ventured into the maze.

If you followed the exact path, it was possible to avoid encountering any monsters, but if you strayed even slightly, they would appear.

Lee Taeyeon deliberately took alternate routes to summon monsters.

“Kaahhh…”

As the monsters charged at her with roars, she nonchalantly swung her sword.

They were monsters she had defeated tens of thousands of times. She could now handle them with her eyes closed.

‘Crunch.’

After defeating the monsters, she collected her rewards. Then she defeated more monsters and gathered more rewards.

For an entire week, she fought monsters without resting for even an hour.

“Still not enough, huh.”

Even then, it wasn’t sufficient to buy new equipment. In fact, she was far from her goal. She continued swinging her sword at the monsters.

“What if our roles were reversed?”

[Are you talking about that boy again?]

“Yes. Taesan. If it were him, he would have thrived here. The gods would’ve loved him too.”

Kang Taesan.

He had taught Lee Taeyeon many skills. While she couldn’t obtain most of them, she had learned ‘Addition’ and ‘Guaranteed Strike’. Without those two, she might have given up clearing the labyrinth herself.

Even after everything was over and he had the opportunity to return to Earth, Taesan chose to remain in the labyrinth, creating countless skills.

The gods of the labyrinth must have been searching for someone like him.

[…Indeed.]

The voice chuckled.

[If what you say is true, the gods here would have cherished him, perhaps even made him their apostle. Maybe they would’ve granted him even more.]

“Unlike me.”

Lee Taeyeon grumbled. The gods despised her, sighing and groaning whenever she passed by.

She understood why. She wasn’t the kind of person they wanted.

Still, it annoyed her.

“Do you think I chose to end up here?”

She clenched her teeth, driving her sword into the ground.

‘Crack.’

The monster beneath her blade was crushed to pieces.

She often wondered.

What if she had been in Easy mode instead?

And what if Taesan had been in Solo mode?

If that had been the case, everything would have been perfect. She could have offloaded the responsibility onto him, living a normal life while merely striving to survive.

A thought she had entertained hundreds of thousands of times since entering the labyrinth.

But it was a pointless notion. They had already made their choices.

‘Survive and come back.’

It was something Taesan had told her years ago, perhaps decades ago, when he left the labyrinth.

She clenched her teeth.

She hunted monsters for an entire year.

Finally, with the gold she had gathered, she managed to purchase new equipment. Exhausted, she collapsed onto her bed to rest.

She was utterly drained.

If only, when she opened her eyes, she could find herself back on Earth.

She murmured softly.

“…Earth must be so happy by now.”

During their final return, they had sealed the rift in the sky.

All that remained was restoring civilization.

Many had died, but the survivors had gained superhuman powers. Among them were skilled engineers.

If everyone worked together, they could rebuild civilization quickly. It might already have returned to what it once was.

“Everyone’s alive, right?”

No one knew their lifespans anymore. Entering the labyrinth had severed them from the limits of humanity.

But surely, they hadn’t passed away yet. They must still be alive on Earth.

Once she cleared the 100th floor and returned, everyone would welcome her back. They might chide her for taking so long or urge her to come faster.

But in the end, they would all smile and embrace her.

Under a restored civilization, she could live a peaceful life once more.

‘It has to be that way.’

It must be.

The only hope keeping Lee Taeyeon from breaking under the weight of her crumbling sanity was that singular thought.

She curled up like a child, clutching onto her fragile hope.

And the nameless being quietly observed her from a distance.

The next day, she challenged the 100th floor again.

As always, the result was failure.

[Congratulations. This time, you lasted three whole days. At this rate, you might clear it in a few decades.]

“Shut up.”

Grumbling, Lee Taeyeon returned to her bed.

Despite her words, her expression wasn’t bad. She had swapped out a piece of her equipment, which allowed her to last longer than before.

At this pace, she was sure she would eventually clear it.

A faint laugh echoed around her.

[The gods and the magicians despise you. You’re not the kind of challenger they wanted.]

What the gods and magicians desired were grand challenges, battles fought with lives on the line, and steps taken to grow stronger.

But Lee Taeyeon was different.

She sought only safe methods.

[They wish for adventurers who utilize the labyrinth’s system to gain strength beyond calculation. But you… you’re different.]

The laughter grew louder.

[You exploit countless attempts to find loopholes in the quest conditions and uncover the errors within the floors themselves. Child, you are a parasite of the labyrinth’s system.]

A parasite of the system.

If Lee Taeyeon were to be defined in one phrase, it would be that. She accepted the description without protest.

“I won’t deny it. But it’s not fair either, you know? They should’ve made it impossible to exploit if they didn’t want people like me.”

[That’s not incorrect.]

The voice chuckled.

[The gods judge you as a parasite and despise you for it. But I’m different. I like you. In fact, I find them foolish.]

Lee Taeyeon lay on her bed, listening nonchalantly.

[You are extraordinary.]

There was unmistakable admiration in the voice.

[This place was created by gods, magicians, and transcendent beings. Among all the adventurers who have ever come here, none have reached the 100th floor by exploiting the system like you have.]

It wasn’t that no one had ever cleared the labyrinth.

But among them, only Lee Taeyeon had reached the 100th floor using such an abnormal method.

[You are the only one with the potential to clear the labyrinth in this unconventional way. To me, you are far more valuable than any ordinary adventurer.]

“What does it matter? No one recognizes me for it.”

She grumbled, and the voice laughed softly.

She continued repeating the same routine.

She challenged the 100th floor, adjusted her equipment whenever it felt insufficient, and tried again.

Hundreds of attempts turned into thousands. Her equipment became perfect, leaving no room for improvement.

Once she reached that point, she began purchasing countless consumables.

She acquired so many potions and items that even the shopkeeper couldn’t keep track of the numbers.

And so, through endless repetition and determination—

‘Rumble!’

[100th Floor Cleared. Rewards will be granted.]

She reached the end.

[…Unbelievable.]

Balbabamba let out a dry laugh.

[Not a grand adventurer, but someone like you managed to clear the 100th floor? It’s almost admirable.]

“Shut up.”

Lee Taeyeon collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Her entire body was in shambles, and she was too exhausted to speak properly.

But she had won.

She had cleared the labyrinth.

With a wide grin, she spoke.

“I fulfilled the conditions. You know what that means, right?”

[Ha. It pains me that I can’t deny that. Congratulations, mortal adventurer.]

Balbabamba declared:

[You have cleared the labyrinth and earned the right to meet the magician. Wait here. I will summon him.]

With those words, Balbabamba left.

Lying on the ground, recovering her strength, Lee Taeyeon smirked.

“I did it.”

She had done it.

She had cleared this hellish labyrinth.

Now, she could return to Earth.

She could finally live a happy life with everyone—Taesan, Jung-geun, and all the others.

Opening the community chat, she typed:

[Lee Taeyeon [Solo]]: I’m going first.

It had been far too long. She didn’t know if anyone was still around.

After all, she hadn’t used the community chat herself since nearing the 100th floor.

But if anyone remained, perhaps knowing she had cleared it would give them hope.

[Congratulations, child.]

“Thank you.”

She was so overjoyed that she even felt grateful toward the voice.

“Thanks for everything.”

The voice, which had accompanied her through it all, responded.

[Think nothing of it. I had an enjoyable experience too. Now, you’re going back to Earth, aren’t you?]

“Yes.”

She answered with confidence.

A happy life awaited her now.

Hope filled her, but then the voice asked a peculiar question.

[But I wonder, child. Do you wish for death?]

“Of course not.”

Lee Taeyeon shook her head.

She had no desire to die. That was why she had endured countless years, resisting the urge to give up hundreds of times, to make it here.

[Then, child, do you wish to traverse the labyrinth again from the beginning?]

“What kind of question is that?”

Lee Taeyeon grimaced.

“Absolutely not.”

Even now, she had risked her life. Exploiting loopholes and parasitizing the system didn’t make it any less dangerous.

It was only through a combination of luck and coincidence that she had managed to clear it. She had no confidence she could do it again.

The thought of starting over was out of the question.

The voice chuckled softly.

[Then what will you choose?]

“What are you even talking about now?”

[That’s a story for later. Whatever it may be, I will respect your choice.]

She tilted her head, puzzled.

Lee Taeyeon couldn’t understand what the voice meant.

It often spoke in cryptic phrases, and this time was no different. She figured this was just another of its puzzling remarks.

She laughed joyfully.

Soon, the magician would appear and ask about her wish.

What would she say? Her mind filled with delightful possibilities.

She would return to Earth.

She would live with everyone again.

She was brimming with hope.

However, it didn’t take long before Lee Taeyeon understood the true meaning behind the voice’s words.

—