Chapter 12
[Due to cheating, 10 viewers have been detected.]
[These viewers will be unable to watch videos for the next month.]
[As a penalty, severe damage will be inflicted on parts of their bodies.]
[If caught a second time, the viewer will be permanently expelled.]
They could end up paralyzed. Lose their sense of sight or taste.
Worse, they might permanently lose function in more critical parts.
The penalty for breaking the rules was just as harsh.
“What… what’s going on here?”
Park Hana stuttered, her face slick with cold sweat.
Up until now, she thought she was the one observing and planning meticulously.
It had to be her alone.
But why?
Why were all her carefully prepared trump cards being read so easily?
“What are you, really?”
“What would you do with that information?”
“Because… none of this makes sense! It’s like…”
It’s like he’s reading my mind.
‘As if he’s experienced everything.’
Park Hana couldn’t finish her thought.
Voicing it out loud seemed like it would shatter all the common sense she knew.
And of course.
Jinhyuk had no intention of answering her question.
“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”
Whether it was the nickname I used in [The Tower of Trials].
Or the achievements I made there.
No one would remember.
A veteran of a game that had long since died.
I was the last player adrift in a world everyone else had abandoned.
That’s when it happened.
[Conditions have been met.]
[You have successfully copied the unique ability ‘Empathy (C)’]
[The copied skill is stored in ‘Memory of the World.’]
[Empathy]
[Acquisition Difficulty: C]
[You can give a sense of familiarity to other life forms. This applies even when meeting for the first time. However, if the ability level is low, the effect may diminish.]
A status window appeared in front of him, indicating the completion of the copy.
It was thanks to everyone else disappearing except Park Hana.
‘Good. I finally got it.’
Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction.
A growth-type unique ability.
Though it’s currently grade C, there’s room for growth.
B… A, and even beyond that.
Moreover.
Getting this ability wasn’t just about the empathy itself.
‘The reason I was special.’
‘The reason I could reach the last floor of the tower.’
It wasn’t merely about copying skills.
It was because I could fuse the copied skills into new, higher-dimensional abilities.
“I’ll call upon abilities from ‘Memory of the World.'”
Jinhyuk murmured in a low voice.
The abilities to summon were…
‘Fire Elemental’ and ‘Empathy.’
Two in total.
Whoosh!
Flames surged up his left hand.
Hum!
And a golden light flickered in his right hand.
‘Empathy’, when fused with a water attribute ability, can nearly double the effect of empathy.
‘Not bad.’
It’s more carrot than stick, right?
It enables a natural approach without creating a hostile atmosphere.
On the other hand.
Fusing ‘Empathy’ with a fire attribute ability creates a ‘Brand’.
A brand that forces complete subjugation on a mentally broken target.
Fizz!
When his left and right hands met, a dazzling spark erupted.
[You have successfully fused!]
[You have acquired the skill ‘Soulfire Brand (A)’]
[Soulfire Brand Acquisition]
[Difficulty: A
Description: You brand a target with a ‘Brand’. A branded target must absolutely obey the caster’s commands and cannot commit any act that harms the caster. Violating this will result in terrible pain and the body igniting.]
A cursed flame that can brand the soul.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Jinhyuk’s heart raced.
The exhilaration of gathering new skills.
‘Yes, this is it!’
This excitement and satisfaction were why he chose the ‘Fusion’ unique ability.
While everyone else relied on a single unique ability.
I could encompass all abilities that existed in the world.
‘This is just the beginning.’
There were still a mountain of abilities to gather if I wanted to reach the summit of the tower.
“…Hm?”
That’s when something caught his senses.
Immediately.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A thunderous noise shook the ground.
“ROAR!”
The familiar roar of a beast echoed.
‘Right. That thing was here.’
He had gotten so used to it he had forgotten.
About the other presence he was uncomfortably cohabitating with in this labyrinth.
＊＊＊
“Not, not again! That monster is coming.”
Park Hana stepped back, terror seeping into her bones.
To her, the Minotaur was akin to a disaster.
She had to run.
Right now.
But where?
Jinhyuk, who knew the only way out of the labyrinth, was just standing there, smirking at nothing.
‘What’s so funny about this situation?’
Curses bubbled up to her throat, but escaping this predicament was the immediate priority.
“If you’re going to fight, I’ll step aside, so could you at least tell me which way to go?”
Up until now, Jinhyuk had always directed his companions on where to move during battles to avoid getting caught in the fray.
The reason was unknown.
Perhaps he found it annoying to have them underfoot.
Whatever the case.
The important thing was that she wouldn’t be dragged into this fight.
But then.
“Why should I tell you that?”
Jinhyuk shrugged.
“Because… up until now…”
“Up until now, it was because you had something I needed, so I protected you.”
Not anymore.
The conditions for copying had been met, and his purpose was achieved.
Whether she starved wandering the maze.
Or fell into a trap.
There was no longer any reason to help.
“You’re abandoning me here?”
“Don’t look so betrayed. Our relationship was always about killing each other, wasn’t it?”
Anyone would think they were comrades who had shared hardships, given how she reacted to every opportunity with treachery.
As Jinhyuk coldly drew the line, Park Hana’s face darkened rapidly.
“Just wait! You’ll regret this. When my brother finds out about this…”
“Your brother, huh…”
I wondered when that would come up.
The threat of retaliation from the Black Crow Guild that Park Hana belonged to.
Swoosh!
Jinhyuk drew his dagger.
Tssss.
As magic power coursed through it, a blinding aura emanated from the blade.
“Looks like I’ve been underestimated.”
Until now, he had focused on dodging, raising his evasion stat.
From an observer’s perspective, it might have seemed like he was avoiding a direct confrontation, dodging like an eel at every turn.
So…
“Watch closely. Between your stupid guild and me, see who you should really be afraid of.”
“What do you mean?”
Park Hana asked, but Jinhyuk had already vanished from his spot.
Thud!
He reappeared above the charging Minotaur.
From above.
To below!
The dagger aimed straight for the massive bull’s occiput.
Boom!
“Aargh!”
A painful bellow.
Though said to be impervious to anything less than a sacred artifact, pain wasn’t absent.
With a weapon reinforced to +10 and aiming for a precise point…
It was enough to turn the beast’s insides out.
‘All those days spent raising my evasion paid off.’
The first encounter had been quite precarious.
The Minotaur was incredibly fast, with a wide attack range, and there were physical limitations on his side.
At best, he could only manage about 20 minutes of confrontation.
But now.
After countless real battles and stat enhancements over ten days, the situation had completely changed.
Vroom!
A slight tilt of Jinhyuk’s head was all it took to dodge the axe.
At the same time.
[Lv1 ‘Fire Elemental’ is activated!]
Three strands of fire struck the Minotaur’s face.
Boom!
A deafening explosion and the smell of burning filled the air.
A direct hit.
“ROAR!”
Staggering.
The Minotaur’s frame shook violently.
This wasn’t the end.
Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.
‘Keep attacking so it can’t regain its senses.’
Killing it wasn’t an option.
Then…
Creating a similar state of helplessness was the next best thing.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The dagger sliced through joints, from the ankles to the knees.
Targeting the pillars that supported its body.
“RAAARGH!”
The Minotaur flailed its arms wildly in response to the relentless assault.
Of course, Jinhyuk wasn’t about to be hit by such blind attacks.
After retrieving his dagger, he swiftly created distance.
Vroom!
Once more, the axe cut through nothing but air.
“Don’t get too worked up. Muscles get tough when they’re tense.”
Didn’t it know that marbling was vital for beef?
Jinhyuk taunted.
“ROAR! ROAR!”
It was only natural for the Minotaur to rage.
Just one hit…
If it could land just one hit, it could end this.
But for some reason, that one hit was impossibly hard to achieve.
Watching the Minotaur snort in fury, Jinhyuk’s lips curled up.
‘Just a bit more provocation should do it.’
Almost there.
That moment when the beast would play its last card was near.
And as expected.
Pushed to its limit by the continuous taunting, the Minotaur activated its unique ability.
[The Guardian of the Labyrinth activates Lv10 ‘Berserk’]
[For the next 5 minutes, the Minotaur’s attack power, attack speed, and movement speed increase by 30%.]
[Intelligence temporarily increases.]
[The ability to use language is gained.]
Muscles swelled as if about to burst, and its eyes reddened with fury.
Its size seemed to triple.
The massive axe now appeared no bigger than a hatchet in its hands, the intimidation it presented was indescribable.
“How are we supposed to beat that?”
Park Hana slumped to the ground, her legs giving out from fear.
It was a complete loss of hope.
‘Even he won’t make it this time. There’s just no chance.’
She knew it instinctively.
No matter how much they struggled, it was futile.
＊＊＊
Tingling sensations ran across Jinhyuk’s skin.
Overwhelming magical power.
Well, it was to be expected.
Originally, this monster belonged in the fifth floor or higher of the tower.
Facing its full power, a level 1 player stood no chance.
Even if hundreds of players were here.
Or even dozens of veterans gathered.
“Human! I will tear you to shreds and scatter you at the entrance of the labyrinth. To ensure no one as reckless as you dares to invade this place again!”
The Minotaur growled menacingly.
Clang!
Its axe thrust forward, unleashing tangible magical energy that began to consume the labyrinth.
The ground scorched, and the moisture in the air dried up.
But…
“Hmm. Not bad. Your control over magic seems to have improved. Though, wouldn’t it be more efficient to use earth attributes instead of lightning? From an efficiency standpoint, that would be better.”
Jinhyuk even enjoyed the pressure.
No matter how strong or fast the attacks were, avoiding them was all that mattered.
And Jinhyuk had the experience to make that possible.
“That’s not confidence, human. It’s recklessness and arrogance.”
Recklessness… and arrogance?
Coming from a calf, those were pretty big words.
Australian, perhaps?
“Well, I think the real arrogance here is on your part, not mine.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Berserk. You know you shouldn’t use that, right?”
There was a reason the beast had been conserving its power.
While Berserk granted immense power for five minutes, it came with a 24-hour period of immobility as a penalty.
“…You know more than I expected.”
The Minotaur looked surprisingly taken aback, albeit briefly.
“But do you think you can run around for that long?”
Five minutes is a long time.
Especially in these narrow corridors.
“Who said I was just going to run?”
Flames danced along the blade as he spoke.
Wavering flames.
From its tip…
Whoosh!
Jinhyuk began to amplify his magic power.