Chapter 555

“Möbius Lizard?”

[So that bastard has taken root in the Labyrinth?]

Arilnan seemed to know what it was. The Magician nodded.

“Yes. He said he wanted to see what the end of the Labyrinth would be. He readily accepted a contract with me.”

[He’s a guy with nothing to do until the end draws near anyway, but he’s still as self-willed as ever.]

“I did get quite a bit of help thanks to him. This time, though, he’s a hindrance.”

“What kind of guy is he?”

“Taesan. I told you, didn’t I? I didn’t make the Labyrinth alone.”

Taesan nodded. It wasn’t exactly news.

The Labyrinth’s System, and the structure that supported it, were too much for the Magician to create by himself.

So he met countless Transcenders and made them an offer.

Didn’t they want to watch mortals stake their lives on challenges?

The Labyrinth as it existed now was built together with the Transcenders who accepted that proposal.

“The Möbius Lizard. Leviathan. He’s also a transcendent existence who helped build the Labyrinth. Unlike other gods, though, he’s a mechanism-like existence.”

A mechanism—meaning something similar to Ouroboros.

“A mechanism for what?”

“The end of everything.”

The Magician answered calmly.

“The end of the universe. The conclusion of the world. He is the one who presides over that. When all things reach their end, he reveals his true form and pronounces the end. That kind of mechanism.”

“…That’s one hell of a scale.”

[But if you put it the other way around, he’s also a being with no role until the end arrives. And he’s waiting for that?]

“He says it irritates him. The fact that there’s a twisted, warped existence—born of the universe, yet deviating from his concept.”

Taesan frowned.

“Over something like that? At this timing?”

The barrier that sealed the Old Gods had broken.

Countless Transcenders had to risk their lives to hold them back.

And in that situation, the mechanism of the end wanted to test Taesan and hold him up.

It was no different from tying down two forces that were needed to hold the line.

Arilnan wasn’t particularly surprised.

[Leviathan has always been that kind of bastard. He’s the one who governs the end, after all. Even if the world is destroyed by the Old Gods, that would be one ending too, wouldn’t it?]

“But since he helped build the Labyrinth a lot, I can’t just ignore him. I wanted to push it back, but he insisted. Said he had to fight you as you are now.”

“Killing him is difficult?”

[I’d like you to refrain from that. For all that he is, he’s a mechanism tied to balance. If he ceases to exist, problems could arise.]

“Annoying.”

Taesan muttered.

He’d accept the quest, but it was a fight with no meaning.

“If you clear it, you’ll get a decent reward. And sorry, but there’s one more condition.”

“Condition?”

“All the equipment you’re wearing.”

Akasha. Bardray. And the many other pieces of Labyrinth equipment.

“You have to unequip all of it, and fight with the gear you had when you first set foot in the Labyrinth. That way, you’ll be a decent opponent for him.”

“Annoying.”

Taesan muttered again.

“But fine. I accept.”

It was a floor quest anyway. There was no need to refuse.

So he’d wrap it up quickly and move on.

“You can just get it over with and move on. We’re busy here too, so I can’t spare attention for it.”

[I’ll watch with pleasure. I have that much leeway.]

“What happens from here?”

“Who knows.”

The Magician looked straight ahead. The Old Gods’ aura was seeping through the entire universe.

They could suppress it temporarily, but stopping it was impossible.

“The Old Gods will cross over one by one. They’ll contaminate the universe and ruin it. We’ll reject that contamination and seal the Old Gods again.”

The Magician looked at Arilnan.

“Just like back then, I ask for your help, Arilnan-nim.”

[You needn’t say it. I will do what I must in my own way.]

“And… I’m asking you too. Taesan.”

Taesan nodded.

“I’m going down the Labyrinth.”

No matter what appeared as a quest, he would accept it.

At that answer, the Magician smiled in satisfaction.

“That’s enough. I’m counting on you.”

The Magician waved his hand. Space opened, and Taesan returned to the Labyrinth.

Taesan leaned his back against the wall.

—

[Well, this is something. I can’t believe I’m sitting in on a meeting about whether the universe lives or dies. You’ve made it big.]

“Don’t act like it’s new. Anyway, Akasha. Did you get all your memories back?”

[…Yes.]

Akasha answered quietly.

[What I was. What relationship I had with Arilnan-nim, and what she thought of me… I remembered it all. I was more cruel than I thought.]

“It was an age when you collided directly with the Old Gods. It was probably more barbaric than now. Are you really okay? If you want, I can let you go.”

Akasha had been Arilnan’s apostle.

Judging by their attitudes, it wasn’t a simple tool relationship. It must have been closer—more intimate.

Like family.

Taesan had no intention of forcing her to stay. But Akasha rejected his offer.

[Thank you, but… my current master is Taesan-nim. And both Arilnan-nim and I received a debt of gratitude we can’t repay from Taesan-nim. Until I repay all of that, I have no intention of leaving.]

“If that’s what you want.”

[As I remembered myself, I also regained my original power. I can be even more of a help to you, Master-nim.]

Akasha said firmly.

“That’s good.”

The power and rank Taesan felt from Akasha were stronger than before.

Strong enough that she could call herself an apostle even now. Having someone like that supporting him mattered.

The conversation was truly over.

Only now could Taesan check what he had gained.

The authorities Taesan obtained by defeating the Usurper’s fragment were three.

Concept Usurpation, Broken Wish, and Treasure Chest.

[Transcendence: Spiritual Rank Usurpation]

[Proficiency: 100%]

[Your soul has reached a world one step higher. A higher-dimensional soul steals the opponent’s power with each victory. You can usurp a portion of the spiritual rank and concepts of those who oppose you, and handle them as your own, even if only temporarily.]

Concept Usurpation had become part of Spiritual Rank Usurpation.

Meaning the Usurper’s authority was a completely inferior version of Taesan’s authority.

Only one thing had changed. Before, it only involved spiritual rank, but now it included concepts as well.

“So I can just think of it as a slight upgrade.”

It didn’t look like a major change.

Taesan found himself laughing.

Concept Usurpation was a power only the Usurper possessed—a power to usurp the world’s concepts.

No one else could have that kind of power.

And yet, that authority had been completely swallowed by Spiritual Rank Usurpation and rendered meaningless.

“What did I even gain?”

Taesan muttered as he continued checking. Concept Usurpation wasn’t that impressive.

But the other authorities were different.

[Transcendence: Broken Wish]

[Proficiency: 6%]

[A being who desires, dreams, and wishes. Yet what a twisted existence can reach is only a broken point of arrival. You can fulfill your wish. However, the result manifests in a twisted form.]

“What is this supposed to be?”

It was an authority whose effect couldn’t be grasped at a glance.

After reading the description carefully, Taesan understood.

The Usurper usurps the world’s concepts.

Its wish is to wield the universe’s power.

But it’s impossible. What it does is ultimately only an imitation. It cannot fulfill its wish.

That seemed to have manifested as the authority called Broken Wish.

It can fulfill a wish, but the direction and concept twist.

“Hm.”

Taesan rubbed his chin.

Could this authority be put to use?

It was possible. Even if twisted, being able to fulfill a wish was essentially the same as self-alteration.

But how it could be used was unknown. Even Taesan, who had obtained the authority, didn’t know how to use it.

It had value.

But he didn’t know how to handle it.

He could verify it slowly.

For now, there wasn’t much that was immediately helpful. For an authority belonging to the Usurper, it was a bit disappointing.

And then the next authority resolved that thought completely.

[Transcendence: Treasure Chest]

[Proficiency: 14%]

[You can store what you have usurped inside the Treasure Chest. If you desire, you may take out what has been stored and use it.]

“Oho.”

Taesan let out a sound as he read. The corners of his mouth rose.

He already recognized it from the name, but the description made it even clearer.

This was the Usurper’s Treasure Chest itself.

He could store what he usurped.

“I get the general idea.”

The Usurper, through Concept Usurpation, steals the concepts of Transcenders it defeats.

But unlike Taesan, it cannot usurp permanently.

So it stores the concepts in the Treasure Chest.

And it draws out those stored concepts and wields them through Broken Wish.

The three authorities seemed to function like that.

If you looked at it simply, Taesan didn’t really need the Treasure Chest. Unlike the Usurper, he could usurp permanently.

But with Spiritual Rank Usurpation, the story changed.

Spiritual Rank Usurpation could usurp an opponent’s spiritual rank and concepts mid-battle.

But it was only temporary usurpation. Before long, it would vanish, meaning he had to draw it out and use it immediately.

With the Treasure Chest, he no longer needed to do that.

What he usurped could be stored permanently inside the Treasure Chest.

“Nice.”

Its value was overflowing. The more skilled Taesan became with Spiritual Rank Usurpation, the more valuable this authority would become.

That was everything he gained from the Usurper.

And what remained was the authority Arilnan had bestowed upon him.

[Transcendence: Cycle]

[Proficiency: 42%]

[An independent concept: Cycle itself. You can interfere with Cycle. Due to a missing part, it cannot be handled as a complete authority.]

“Already 40%.”

Arilnan had given him a truly large portion.

The immense authority of Cycle could be felt inside him.

Taesan raised his hand.

“Bloom.”

At those words, a crimson flower bloomed.

It was smaller and more unstable than what Arilnan wielded, but it was unmistakably a flower of Cycle.

And it wasn’t limited to manifesting it as a flower.

Taesan could now interfere with Cycle itself.

What could he do with this?

There was so much he could do that it was hard to grasp.

The cycle of an object. He could intervene in every turning process.

Perhaps he could even replace what he had lost.

“Hmm.”

For now, something simple—something he had actually done before.

Taesan focused his mind.

The crimson gradually began to turn ash-gray.

An ash-gray flower manifested in the world.

He could mix Boundary Line and Cycle.

If so…

Taesan recalled the beast that had taken root within him.

“…Is it possible?”

Taesan extinguished the ash-gray. That rough check was enough.

He headed for the stairs.

A massive presence could be felt below.

It was the lizard of the end that heralded the conclusion of all things.

“Annoying.”

But Taesan felt nothing in particular.

With nothing more than an annoyed expression, he went down the stairs.

“Get in.”

[This is my first time watching from this far away. Good luck.]

[Master-nim. I pray for your victory.]

Taesan put all of his equipment away.

And for the first time in a long while, he equipped the Labyrinth’s early gear.

Step. Step.

He went down the stairs, and Taesan arrived on the 97th Floor.

There was a room the size of a stadium.

And filling half of it, there was a single red dragon.

[Möbius Lizard, Leviathan, has appeared.]

Taesan stared blankly at the enemy before him.

“Kaaaah.”

Brilliantly gleaming red scales.

Reptilian eyes that seemed to gather all the killing intent in the world.

In the breath it exhaled, white flames flickered here and there.

The red dragon let out a low growl.

The king of dragons. The Möbius Lizard that heralded the end of all things. The guardian of the deep layers.

A kind of divine being that even gods couldn’t treat carelessly.

And against that existence, all Taesan had was shabby equipment.

The most basic armor provided at the start.

And a rusted sword.

That was all.

“To face a dragon alone with this kind of gear. The difficulty lives up to its name.”

He wasn’t perfectly alone.

From above, he could feel eyes fixed on him.

The light in those gazes was simple.

Infinite expectation toward him.

And awe for the miracle he was about to show.

They wouldn’t interfere when a feast was set before them.

As always, they would only watch from afar.

He was used to it now. Without wavering, he raised his sword.

“Grrr…”

The dragon moved its forefoot.

As it watched Taesan, it tried to cautiously retreat.

In its killing eyes, a flicker of fear could be seen.

Taesan sneered.

“You’re the one who wanted to see this, so why are you the one scared?”

“Kaaaah!”

As if it had made up its mind, the dragon roared and moved.

With booming footsteps, the massive body surged forward.

Taesan glanced back.

The door he’d entered through had vanished long ago.

There was no way to run.

The battlefield was about the size of a stadium.

“Same as always.”

Either die, or kill.

“No. I can’t kill it, can I. Annoying.”

As he took a step forward, the dragon bared its teeth and roared.

[Kaaaah!]

[The dragon’s roar engulfs you!]

[Judgment Start.]

[Judging all stats decrease…]

[Judging action restriction…]

“Get out of the way.”

He brushed aside the noisy System window and thrust his sword forward.

“I’m going to pass through fast, so come at me.”

“Kaaaah!”

The dragon charged at Taesan.

Chapter 555: 97th Floor, Möbius Lizard (2)