Moon’s Labyrinths - Chapter 110

Chapter 110

Chapter 110

“You bastard!”

Soochan swung his hammer . However, like its namesake, the Blue Mane Lion moved with feline grace, using the unique agility of an animal to dodge the hammer . However, Sungyoon had been aiming for this .

Too-hwahk!

Even though the Blue Mane Lion was agile, when it landed, for a split second, it became vulnerable . Sungyoon used his long reach to stab with his spear .

Poo-oo-oohk!

Even if its rank had gone up, the spear was only from an Indigo rank Gem . The Blue Mane Lion was one of the most difficult monsters to fight in the Beginner’s Labyrinth . Of course, the spear wouldn’t work well against it . However, Sungyoon had activated the Gem that enhanced his strength by three-fold . He half-forced the spear to pierce through the monster's leather .

-Kyahhh!

A deep puncture wound appeared in its front right leg, and Sungyoon immediately retreated after extracting his spear .

Hoo-oong!

Sharp claws swiped at where Sungyoon used to be . If the claws had met his flesh, his muscles and blood vessels would have been sliced . His body would have become a ragged mess .

However, Sungyoon wasn’t afraid . In fact, he was like a starved predator . He only thought about hunting down the injured Blue Mane Lion .

“Ha-ahp!”

“Oryahhh!”

The other party members saw the injured monster approach them once again, so they swung their weapons . But they didn’t break their formation at all cost . The sword and hammer came out from behind the shields at opportunistic moments . It kept the monster occupied . The spears stabbed either from the back or at an angle, and inflicted small wounds .

“Please get out of the way!”

They heard a shout from the back . It was like the miracle where Moses parted the red sea . The four Connectors jumped to either side, and a red fireball flew through the opened path .

Puh-uhng!

The head-sized fireball hit the Blue Mane Lion .

-Koo-ahhhhng!

Its scream rang out . Its proud blue mane was engulfed in fire . The high heat had damaged its fur and leather . The damage extended below its epidermis .

Tah-tah-taht!

Hweeyae ran forward . She held her large battle-ax, and in a flash, she was in front of the Blue Mane Lion .

“Ha-ahhhhhhht!”

Kwah-jeek!

It was a Yellow rank battle-ax . Amongst the Gems in the party, it was one of the higher-ranked ones . She split open the Blue Mane Lion’s head without much difficulty . However, she was interfered with by an unexpected source .

Ggah-ahg!

“Kyahhhhk!”

While she had been solely focused on the Blue Mane Lion, something clashed against her axe . She was sent flying to the side .

“Koo-oohk!”

Another scream could be heard . It was the rough and deep voice of a man . Soochan was sent flying to the opposite side of Hweeyae . The Blue Mane Lion stood between the two .

The new development had happened in a flash, so almost everyone in the party was stunned . Only Sungyoon moved to confirm the kill of the Blue Mane Lion . Fortunately, the Blue Mane Lion was dead .

“Shit . Don’t suddenly run out from behind like that!”

Soochan yelled at Hweeyae, whose eyes widened . Then her gentle eyes became sharp .

“I said to get out of my way!”

She was an introvert, but it seemed she was too angry right now . She shot back in a harsh voice .

“What!”

Soochan stood up as Hweeyae continued to glare at him .

“Please! Let’s all calm down!”

Wonho quickly got in between the two . As he did so, he gestured towards Sungyoon and Mina with his eyes . They both gave a small nod, and Sungyoon moved to Wonho’s side, while Mina moved to Hweeyae’s side . They were there to make sure nothing happened .

On Earth, they would probably get into a fistfight at the worst . However, right now, they were armed to the teeth in a labyrinth . If they weren’t careful, the two might swing their weapons against each other . If things went really awry, one of them might die .  

Fortunately, the two of them didn’t come to blows . They just glared at each other .  

When it became clear they weren’t going to explode in anger, Wonho patiently listened to both sides of the story .

The opportunity to hit the final blow had appeared . The Flame magic had landed on the Blue Mane Lion, and Hweeyae had moved to apply the finishing blow . It was as planned . Her battle-ax was the highest rank weapon in the party, and it had the highest killing power . This was why she had been dealing the finishing blow against most monsters up until now . This was also their general strategy .  

However, the only problem this time was that she had been a bit too far away from the monster when she shot the flame magic . Soochan didn’t believe she could close the distance in time, and he had swung his hammer in order to keep the monster in place . When Hweeyae planted her ax, his hammer hit it, and the rebound sent them flying back .

From a certain point of view, the mistake happened because both of them were trying to help the party . However, Soochan and the introvert Hweeyae refused to back down . If Hweeyae’s last blow hadn’t killed the Blue Mane Lion, one of the two of them would have died under the monster's large front paw . It didn’t matter that they were strong . There was a high probability that one of them would have died . This thought chilled both of their spines .

Hence, this argument couldn’t be ended easily . If they trusted each other, it might have been resolved . However, trust was yet to develop within this party .

Wonho had to work very hard to calm the two grumbling party members .

* * *

The argument between the two had come to a close for now . No, it looked like that on the surface . Thanks to Wonho’s intervention, the two of them shook hands, but the chilly atmosphere refused to go away .

To make matters worse, the fights on the 5th floor were tough . It wasn’t something they were unable to handle, but it was unlike before where they could easily kill the monsters . They had less room for error now .

Previously, there had been a good amount of conversation between the party members . But now, only a deep silence surrounded the party .

Wonho tried very hard to change the mood, but it was useless . In the end, even he became tired and shut his mouth .

‘That guy isn’t too bad . ’

Sungyoon looked at Wonho in a new light . As a leader, he was trying to make his party members move past this incident . Sungyoon could clearly feel his intent . Moreover, his leadership skill wasn’t bad at all .

However, that was it . This current situation was beyond his leadership skills .

After exploring the labyrinth until a predetermined date, the party exited the labyrinth . The cold mood was reflected in everyone's actions . No one said much as they all headed towards their respective Moon Surface Vehicle .

‘This party is on the verge of falling apart . ’

Sungyoon had that thought as he lay on his bed .

As time passed, the divide within their ranks was becoming apparent . It centered around Hweeyae and Soochan as they had started to argue more and more .

‘There are still seven days left . ’

There was one week left until the month requested by Wonho .

‘I hope nothing bad happens . ’

Sungyoon closed his eyes .

***

The party was once again exploring the 5th floor . The discord between the party members continued . Wonho had become tired of it all, so he focused on drawing the map of the labyrinth . He decided not to interfere unless the fighting became severe .

It could be directly attributed to the fact that the bickerings had increased on a daily basis .

“This is why you should time your attack!”

Soochan’s rough voice rang out . Wonho gripped his head as another argument had broken out . Sungyoon crossed his arms as he watched the sight . Hweeyae, who didn’t get along with Soochan, glared at him .  

“You just have to match what I do! You should be the one that should work around me!”

This time Mina was yelling at Soochan . Unlike her haughty and prim appearance, she was going toe to toe with Soochan . They both yelled at each other in anger .

“What happened this time?”

Wonho wasn’t going to stop the argument, but he still wanted to know what caused it . He asked the question to Hweeyae and Sungyoon .

“In the last battle, Ms . Mina stabbed her spear over Mr . Soochan’s shield . It seems he didn’t like that . ”

“This again . . . ”

Wonho grabbed his head . He didn’t know how many times they had fought in the past couple weeks regarding this same topic . Mina's primary weapon was a long spear, and there were times when she had to attack past Soochan's shield . It seemed the man felt that the spear got in his way .

‘This all comes down to practice and skill . ’

The person with the shield blocked from the front, and the person from behind used the long spear to attack one’s enemy . However, both combatants had to be on the same page . This party had formed only three weeks ago . Of course, they couldn’t pull off this synergy in so short a time . In the beginning, they had complaints, but there had also been margin for error . So they were more tolerant of each other’s actions . However, past the 5th floor, the margin for error became razor-thin . It caused ill feelings to develop, and the party members started to argue .

‘It isn’t as if I don’t understand why this is happening . ’

They were putting their lives on the line for this work, and a single mistake might cost them their lives . Of course, their nerves were frayed . Moreover, the disagreement was with Soochan, who fought closest to the monsters . The pressure he felt was higher than the other party members .

‘It really makes me appreciate Mr . Tim . He’s an amazing person . ’

Sungyoon thought about his ex-party member who was as big as a bear . He always moved to the front to confront the claws and teeth of monsters . He protected his party members and never lost his happy-go-lucky and relaxed attitude . He was even considerate of Sungyoon’s feelings . Sungyoon probably wasn’t imagining it . His good feeling towards his ex-party members had increased after he joined this party .

After a while, Mina and Soochan got tired of fighting .

The party started to move once again . Sungyoon could see Wonho making an assessment of his party members .

‘Is he going to terminate the party early?’

At this point, it might not be a bad idea . Of course, they had made a promise to party up for a month . Even if one member didn’t want to break up the party early, Wonho would be put in an awkward position . However, Sungyoon doubted Wonho had to worry about that .

“Shit!”

After killing another monster, Soochan cussed . His eyes were unkind as he looked at Hweeyae and Mina . Of course, the two women weren’t looking kindly at him either . However, it wasn’t just Soochan against the two women . Hweeyae and Mina would sometimes turn their cold gazes on each other too .

‘This isn’t going to work . ’

Sungyoon had that thought . He could see Wonho shake his head from side to side . The promised end date was several days away, but Sungyoon predicted the party would come to an end today .

“Why are you always in the back?”

Sungyoon heard the disgruntled voice of Soochan that was clearly directed at himself . Sungyoon moved his gaze away from Wonho and looked toward Soochan .

Soochan had been in a war of nerves with Hweeyae and Mina . Now, in a flash, he had approached Sungyoon .

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you always staying in the back, being so timid?”

“Hold up, Mr . Suh Soochan!”

Soochan was clearly picking a fight with Sungyoon . Wonho quickly approached them, but Soochan didn’t show any signs of stopping .

“Is this all for show?”

Soochan pressed his finger into Sungyoon’s armor . The Scale Mail was made out scale-shaped steel meshed together . The armor clinked .

“This looks incredibly sturdy, yet why are you swinging spear from the back?”

‘Ah . Is that how he sees it?’

Sungyoon was wearing a really sturdy armor, yet he was using his spear from the backline . It seemed Soochan had a problem with this .

“I don’t have a shield . ”

“Then you should let me use that . ”

“I refuse . ”

Everyone’s face stiffened at Soochan’s unorthodox request . However, Sungyoon didn’t look offended . He spoke in a calm manner .

“If you let me borrow your shield, I’m willing to stand in the front . ”

This time Soochan’s face crumpled . It looked as if Sungyoon was trying to live the good life from the backline, so he had tried to antagonize Sungyoon . However, Sunyoon had given the perfect retort . Of course, Soochan wouldn’t let a stranger borrow his precious Gem .

He couldn’t let Sungyoon borrow his Gem for the same reason that Sungyoon wouldn’t let Soochan borrow his Gem .

‘It seems Emily put a lot of trust in me when she let me borrow her mace . ’

His good feeling towards the Ross siblings was at an all-time high right now . It was rising in an endless fashion .