Chapter 400

A reunion with the magician.

There was no reason to refuse. Taesan accepted. Without any hesitation, Balbamaba used the administrator’s power.

[Balbamaba has activated #000004.]

Kwadudeuk.

Space twisted and the world on the other side of the labyrinth appeared.

[You’re the first to meet the magician again in such a short time. Go in. Talk with the magician and sort things out.]

Taesan entered the space.

Everything was twisted and countless colors were mixed together.

It was the same as before.

A domain is something built up by its owner. It should have the owner’s unique traits, but in the magician’s domain, nothing was felt.

It was just a chaotic space where countless powers were mixed together.

When he came here before, he couldn’t tell anything. That was because he didn’t yet have enough [strength] and [rank].

But now, he could at least read a little.

[You have activated Essence Identification.]

Taesan focused his mind, and his gaze wavered slightly.

‘…What is this?’

He couldn’t grasp the principles or size of the space, but there was one thing he realized.

This space wasn’t originally a place where powers were mixed like this.

In the past, just like the other transcendent’s domains, it had contained the owner’s traits and what he had built up. The remnants of power throughout the space testified to that.

Someone had turned it into a space mixed with countless indistinguishable powers, like a hodgepodge.

And the only one who could do that was the owner of the domain.

The magician had remodeled his own domain to the point where its original form could not be recognized.

As for the reason, even Taesan did not know. His [rank] was still stuck at immortal. He lacked the power.

“Looks like you have a lot of questions?”

Taesan turned his gaze in the direction of the voice.

A man with an ordinary, forgettable face was looking at Taesan.

“Good to see you again.”

Taesan nodded.

—

The magician snapped his fingers. A chair and table materialized. Before they knew it, refreshments appeared on the table.

“To be honest, I’m surprised, too.”

The magician, sitting down with tea, said. Taesan sat across from him.

“Really. How did you reach here so fast?”

“Weren’t you watching everything?”

“I was watching. But it’s still amazing.”

The magician shrugged.

“I thought it would be after at least the 80th floor. Just having the qualifications isn’t enough to reach this place. I thought your [rank] and [strength] weren’t enough, but I was mistaken. A pleasant misjudgment.”

He sipped his tea.

“Thanks to that, Balbamaba has a headache.”

“What will you do with me?”

The labyrinth is for mortals.

Now, Taesan wasn’t its target.

The magician quietly smiled.

“What should I do?”

Taesan waited in silence. The magician also stayed silent as he drank his tea.

“To be honest, I’m at a loss, too.”

The magician set down the empty cup.

“According to the rules of the labyrinth, I should expel you. Or, make a contract so you can’t take anything more from the labyrinth. But… there are quite a few gods who’d raise hell if I did that.”

Immediately, the demon and Maria came to mind. Beyond those two, the gods of struggle and death, Rakiratas, and the gods of victory would all oppose. The number was by no means small.

“We cooperate and respect each other, so I have to be careful. It’s a headache.”

But the magician looked utterly unconcerned.

“So I won’t expel you.”

The owner of the labyrinth had decided.

“But as things are, it’s a problem for both of us. So I’m going to take care of that part properly.”

Something flowed out from the magician.

It was closer to law and order than mere power or energy.

[The magician has activated the authority of the Architect.]

“I can’t limit your power. You have to get even stronger. Putting on a restriction is out of the question. So I’ll change the labyrinth’s floors to be exclusive for you.”

This was outside the labyrinth.

But he could feel it. Change was happening in the labyrinth beyond this space.

“If a floor is already occupied by a transcendent or is special, it can stay as it is. But the rest will be altered to suit you.”

A labyrinth tailored for the immortal Taesan was being formed. A quiet but powerful ripple spread.

And soon, the trembling ripple settled.

The magician clapped.

“It’s done.”

“That was faster than I thought.”

“I just separated the labyrinth for your use. Of course, Balbamaba will have to work a bit harder from now on, though.”

The magician waved his hand again.

“And the rewards you got this time—they’re useless to you, right? I’ll change them into something valuable.”

[The magician has activated management authority.]

[The title [Indomitable Body and Mind] has changed to [Alone and Whole Body].]

[The special passive skill [Unyielding Mind] has changed to the special passive skill [Immortal Mind].]

The 80th floor’s rewards were useless to Taesan, who had reached immortality. The magician changed them into things that would benefit him.

“And your Absolute Authority. That’s a very troublesome skill. It’s normal to get such a skill because of the labyrinth’s system, but the problem is it’s always active.”

[Absolute Authority] was a skill Taesan could not control.

By its effect, any mortal would lose all will when they saw Taesan and think of nothing but obedience. This was not a good thing for Taesan, either.

“So, as a service, I’ll create a skill that lets you control it, for your future.”

The magician snapped his fingers.

[The magician has activated Skill Creation.]

[You have obtained the special active skill [Authority Seal].]

“If you use that skill, mortals won’t feel anything from you. They’ll just think you’re an ordinary human. Use it as needed.”

“…Thank you.”

Taesan looked at the magician.

He could alter the effect of skills and create new ones with ease.

It was a miracle only the owner of the labyrinth could perform.

This is truly the magician who created the labyrinth.

[Unbelievable. Truly.]

The ghost muttered with a hollow laugh. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the magician could gain any skill he wanted if he wished.

“It’s nothing special. In the end, it was just made by relying on the system and the labyrinth. It’s not that impressive.”

The magician spoke. His face showed neither pride nor regret—just a straightforward expression stating the facts.

Taesan asked the magician,

“What is it you desire?”

The gods’ desire in the labyrinth was for mortals to risk their lives in struggle and battle.

And to find mortals they liked.

The magician said he was a seeker of the unknown, that he created this place to understand things he didn’t know.

But it didn’t seem like that was truly what the magician wanted.

The magician spoke, but it wasn’t an answer to Taesan’s question.

“Why did you become like that?”

Rather, as doubts about himself emerged, Taesan frowned. The magician continued.

“Why were you so weak before you turned back time?”

“Because I was in [Easy Mode].”

In [Easy Mode], his growth was restricted. That’s why he had no choice but to grow strong by obtaining as many [skills] as possible.

“Don’t you find that strange?”

The magician pointed out the question.

“You were strong. Incredibly strong. Even if it was a shortcut, you were evaluated as equal to Lee Taeyeon, who cleared this place. If you actually fought, you’d probably win.”

“That’s because I used the system to get [skills]…”

“No.”

The magician denied Taesan’s words.

He smiled.

“That’s impossible.”

“But I did it.”

Taesan defeated Lee Taeyeon and S-class monsters with meager [stats]. The magician’s words meant nothing to Taesan, who had achieved it himself.

“That’s exactly the problem, Taesan.”

The magician leaned back in his chair.

His face was full of joy.

“I said it was impossible, but honestly, it’s not entirely impossible. If, like you in your past life, you worked tirelessly to gain countless [skills] and actually succeeded, and gained other powers, it could be possible. But Taesan, how much effort did you put in for that?”

“…An immeasurable amount.”

He abandoned all distractions and focused solely on acquiring [skills]. He pursued every possibility.

“It’s an incredible obsession and effort. You defeated two single-digit monsters with those [stats]. Not only that, you even harmed the apostle of the Old gods. That’s truly a feat. Even transcendent beings would be amazed. So let me ask you a question.”

The magician asked with genuine curiosity.

“Why did you, in your previous life, never transcend mortality?”

—

After finishing the conversation with the magician, Taesan returned to the labyrinth.

But his mind was still not settled.

‘It wouldn’t have been strange if you had transcended mortality there. In fact, you should have.’

In reality, Taesan had gained the qualification. With the union of body and mind, he had reached a higher dimension.

But nothing changed.

He was still just a mortal.

‘But the Soul Rank Ascension you gained then stayed with you even after turning back time. And with that, you stole the power of the Old gods and immortals, even transcendent beings.’

The magician leaned back in his chair.

His gaze held pure curiosity.

‘What made you that way? What twisted you? I’m searching for it now… but the answer isn’t coming easily.’

That was the magician’s last remark.

“-QT ”

Normally, he should have transcended mortality in his past life.

He might have even reached a higher place than he did recently.

But he didn’t. What made the difference, he couldn’t know just yet.

After pondering for a moment, Taesan shook his head.

It was something even the magician didn’t know. There was no way he could know now.

Taesan decided to set aside the unanswerable question and solve what he was curious about. He opened the [community].

Many people were talking in the [community]. Taesan looked for Lee Taeyeon, but she didn’t respond.

[Kang Junhyuk [Solo] : Ah. Hyung.]

When Taesan contacted Kang Junhyuk, he responded immediately.

[Kang Taesan [Solo] : How’s Lee Taeyeon doing?]

She had regained her memories. Taesan needed to know how she was descending the labyrinth.

[Kang Junhyuk [Solo] : This is perfect timing. I wanted to ask you something, hyung. What did you say to noona?]

[Kang Taesan [Solo] : Why.]

[Kang Junhyuk [Solo] : She’s already reached the 55th floor, you know?]

Taesan paused.

Last he checked, when they’d returned to Earth, she was in the high 40s. From the 50th floor, the difficulty increases, making it impossible to descend that easily.

Kang Junhyuk asked Taesan with curiosity.

[Kang Junhyuk [Solo] : She’s not struggling like before. She’s just quietly going down. What did you say to noona?]

* * * * * * * *

(T/N: Still not back to a regular upload schedule, but I’ll be uploading at least 5 chapters per series every week, in order based on the most recent series I picked up. No fixed days yet, but I’ll keep the bulk uploads coming as best as I can!)