Chapter 690
“Waaaaaaah!”
Pesis desperately herded the monsters, forcing open a path.
No matter what, he had to break through and carve a route to the altar.
“Shhheeeek!”
“Shhheet!”
The snakes hounded Pesis like mad.
[Sacred Relic ‘Pied Piper’ – ‘Sewer Procession’ is activated!]
A stale, pungent stench spread.
It was a special effect that bewitched the targets into following.
Its upside was that it worked even on fairly high-level monsters. Its downside was that any enemy that caught the scent had its ferocity and attack power increased by up to 30%.
A double-edged sword.
Even so, this deadly game of tag held—thanks to Pesis’s exclusive armaments.
Pesis leapt as lightly as a feather.
At a glance, it looked like a leisurely stroll, but each step covered more than five meters.
Whoooosh!
Kaboom! Kaboom!
Volcanic bombs and [Primordial Flame] rained down indiscriminately.
“Kugh!”
Pesis quickly smothered the fire on his arm.
A nasty burn was already visible.
Throb!
A terrible pain.
His nerves screamed.
With every second, new wounds piled onto his body.
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”
1Person2Chickens wasn’t about to waste Pesis’s precious sacrifice, either.
She fought to find a route to the altar, cutting down dozens of apostles.
But—
Their numbers had actually increased since the beginning, and the encirclement had tightened even further.
Yomaganto’s apostles, having grasped Pesis and 1Person2Chickens’ patterns, drove them harder and sharper.
There was no escape now.
A rat cornered in a furnace could only burn to death—slowly.
‘…It’s over.’
From the start, there was no way to win Yomaganto’s hunting game.
Just as he realized that every method was nothing but futile struggling—
an anomaly occurred.
[Immortal Puppeteer ‘Opera of the Created Ones’ is activated!]
[Shadow Killing Art ‘Assault from the Dark’ is activated!]
Screech!
Kaboom!
Two flashes tore in from different directions.
“You’ve suffered to hold on. Yeah.”
“My lord commanded me to help.”
It was Frey and Wolyoung.
⁕⁕⁕
Like that, everyone’s help and sincerity came together and finally bore fruit.
This was the result.
[An urgent parcel package has arrived from Operator ‘1Person2Chickens’.]
[Would you like to open it? Y/N]
The purple status window flickered.
Jinhyuk’s eyes widened.
Finally….
They had completed the mission over there.
“I believed in you.”
Jinhyuk immediately pulled out every Necronomicon clue he had collected so far—trump cards prepared for this exact moment.
‘It’s finally starting.’
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His heart pounded wildly.
Ever since the Tower of Trials appeared, he had lived through countless things.
Joy, rage, sorrow, and ecstasy.
Happy moments, painful moments—everything.
All of it had been for one goal.
The top of the tower.
Beyond the 50th floor, where there was nowhere left to climb—where the stars resided. He wanted to see that lonely, beautiful scenery.
No longer a virtual game, and no longer alone.
He would reach that place with those he cherished.
And the Necronomicon….
…was the greatest means needed to reach the top of the tower.
Vwoooom!
A bright light flared.
Thin threads connected between the clues he already possessed.
[The Sacred Relics react to each other’s existence!]
Crackle…!
Purple threads shone beautifully as they converged on a single point.
Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.
‘…There.’
“Heh, heeheeheek?”
Only now, after everything had already unfolded, did the Gardener realize what this had all been about.
They hadn’t stumbled in here because they were lost.
And it certainly wasn’t to pick up some mediocre Sacred Relic or item.
Necronomicon.
They were using this place to locate the forbidden book on the 50th floor.
“N-no way… that book was here.”
The Gardener sprang up from his seat.
He had thought all he needed to do was deal with some annoying intruders, but now his beautiful garden and his pride were secondary.
Even at this moment, the purple light was still connecting at a terrifying speed.
His mind was a mess, but he didn’t forget his role.
“Ri-rise… ri… se, rise!”
The Gardener slammed the scissors in his hand into the ground.
[The Labyrinth Guardian responds to the call of the Labyrinth Lord.]
A labyrinth always had a guardian deity assigned to it.
Of course.
The Primordial Garden within Horizon’s Boundary had one as well.
[The ‘Judge of Repulsion’ appears!]
Thoooom!
“Kreo-ooo!”
A knight clad head to toe in colossal armor.
A greatsword forged from meteoric iron and Sacred Relics, and an iron shield that looked like a mountain.
A chilling light flared beneath the helmet.
Tingle, tingle!
“…This is.”
“Is the real game starting?”
“He’s strong. That enemy.”
“He’s quite something. For a mere bug.”
Facing the Judge of Repulsion, each of them spoke in turn.
The oppressive aura was obvious at a glance.
The black armament engraved with Primordial script carried the pride of having crushed countless enemies.
[Fear Resistance is activated!]
[Attack power and defense increase by 2,800%.]
[The entire labyrinth moves to protect the guardian.]
As status windows stacked one after another, the energy pouring from the Judge’s body skyrocketed.
“Hee, heehee… h-hek. Eoheok… ki… kill them all.”
The Gardener gasped for breath.
He had awakened this guardian by squeezing out even the nutrients stored in his own body, and this time, he wanted to see the end for sure.
And the Judge of Repulsion was more than capable of meeting that expectation.
[The Labyrinth Guardian activates the special skill ‘Labyrinth Guardian’!]
[Primordial Authority ‘Whispering Garden’ is opened!]
Creak… crack…!
Flowers the size of houses tore free from the plant-walls.
Four pairs of leaves spread wide, revealing thin pistils within.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!
Black water overflowed. Swarms of bizarre insects—things never seen before—filled the air.
Everything in the garden turned hostile toward the invaders.
“Did you find the book’s location?”
Chun Yoosung stepped beside Jinhyuk.
“Yeah. It’s not far.”
Jinhyuk nodded, looking in one direction.
From the place the clues pointed to, an eerie Mana—something that hadn’t been there before—was seeping out.
The Necronomicon was right there.
‘Now there’s only one step left.’
It felt alien, as if it didn’t belong to this world.
Goosebumps raced across his skin.
Old memories writhed, and the sensation of ants crawling through his blood vessels spread through his body.
“I can tell the goal is right in front of you just by looking at that perverted expression.”
“Hey…. Do you have to put it like that?”
“I’m just saying it as it is. Honestly, if you asked anyone, they’d say the same.”
“I’m telling you, you’re not a likable guy.”
“Stop talking nonsense. I’ll handle this, so go retrieve the book.”
Schwing!
The white snowflakes flowing through [White Night] gradually thickened.
‘Oh…. Our Yoosung is reliable? What’s this—stepping up first?’
‘I’m a little touched.’
‘Of course, even if he didn’t step up, I was going to use him in the end, but seeing the slave volunteer still warms one side of my heart.’
But.
He couldn’t leave it to Chun Yoosung or the others right now.
Because the Judge of Repulsion boasted invincibility—at least within this garden.
Then….
Jinhyuk pulled out a book from the library stored in [Memory of the World].
Even the strongest enemies had compatibilities.
In this labyrinth, only one power truly worked.
‘Light.’
Not Divinity, but the pure power of sun and heat.
And among the Tower of Trials, the ones with the greatest control over that power were the Egyptian Divinities of the 42nd floor.
“Let’s see.”
He chose the combination that would create the best synergy in this situation.
[Unique Ability ‘Sanctuary of the Sun’ is activated!]
[Unique Ability ‘System Manipulation’ is activated!]
[Desertification is in progress in ‘Horizon’s Boundary’!]
White dunes and oases spread across the golden sanctuary.
The Primordial Garden collided with the desert, and the landscapes crashed into each other.
“…….”
The Judge of Repulsion bristled at the pouring light.
Jinhyuk spoke toward the Gardener, hidden somewhere far away.
“Don’t just hide—come out. Before I turn this entire place into a desert.”
With [System Manipulation], the field conditions of ‘Sanctuary of the Sun’ and ‘Desert’ were pushed to their maximum.
The moment had come to unleash the one ability that could maximize compatibility with this labyrinth.
[Judgment of Anubis is activated!]
From here on, the questions and answers would be a little different than usual.
⁕⁕⁕
Gurgle, gurgle!
A grotesque being rose from the mud.
Several pincers jutted from its face.
An unknown liquid leaked from its misshapen mouth.
That was the ‘Gardener’, the owner of this labyrinth.
And beside him, there was a familiar face deliberately avoiding eye contact.
‘Foot odor… no, Balseter.’
Wow. He hadn’t expected to see that guy here again.
‘They weren’t kidding—this Tower of Trials is wide, yet narrow.’
“Ah, you really want to die, don’t you? Not only are you coveting their book, you’re even trying to ruin my sanctuary?”
The Gardener screamed, unable to contain his rage.
His garden was slowly turning into a desert.
Watching his beloved place being destroyed made it feel like his heart was tearing apart.
‘N-no way… he doesn’t know, does he?’
Normally, no matter how fiercely the desert wind howled, desertification wouldn’t occur.
But paradoxically, the moment he awakened the Judge of Repulsion and used ‘Labyrinth Guardian’ was when the garden was most vulnerable.
With every function invested into eradicating intruders, this was the only window where defensive loopholes appeared.
“I like watching the stars from the top of the tower, but the old bastards on the 50th floor keeps piling up and piling up, and they don’t seem like they’re giving up their seats. So I’m thinking of buying a book to scrape those heavy butts out. It’s a good plan, right?”
“Poo… poohahaha! Hu—Keep your nonsense in moderation. You’re going to the t-top of the tower?”
“Well, we’ll see whether it’s nonsense or not. By the way, this garden is so terribly decorated that it needs remodeling. Tsk tsk. Your sense is just… I’ll decorate it in my style. How about it?”
“Ga, ga, ga ga—how dare you say a garden someone made isn’t well decorated! If you touch even a single strand here, you’ll learn what your memorial day looks like.”
[The first and second questions have been passed.]
Oh.
It had been a while since he’d used the three questions and answers, so it felt oddly refreshing.
He couldn’t use it much in the middle and upper floors because of restrictions, but now they had practically rolled out the mat for him.
Jinhyuk asked the third question, right as the Gardener boiled over.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. Was I too harsh? As an apology, I’ll give you some ‘Screaming Nutrient Water’. Would that be enough for you to forgive me?”
“…Wh-what? I-is that real?”
The Gardener’s mouth fell open.
The dream spring that provided the best nutrients for countless plants on the 50th floor—of course he couldn’t help being tempted.
If it were a lie, there was no way he would know the exact name.
“Would it be real? Of course it’s a lie.”
“Kkeu… euheuheu….”
The Gardener grabbed the back of his neck, foam bubbling at his lips.
‘This is fun, but the game’s over.’
[The third question has been passed.]
In front of the Judge of Repulsion—
[The ‘Royal Guardians’ appear!]
The desert’s elite, capable of opposing him, were summoned.