Moon’s Labyrinths - Chapter 74

Chapter 74

hapter 74

“How was it?”

Jimin had been waiting outside of the room with Shinhae . So she asked the question when she spotted Sungyoon, who had exited the room after he had the confirmation .  As always, Shinhae ran towards her father . Sungyoon took his daughter into his arms and replied .

“I’ve confirmed it . I was able to activate the Gems . ”

“I knew it . How many Gems were you able to activate at once?”

If one had the ability to use a Jewel-rank Gem, one would be able to use Devices and Gems on earth . However, the moon was the source of magical energy . If one was far away from the source, the numbers of Gems that one could activate decreased . Also, the effectiveness of the Gems suffered too .

“I couldn’t activate the Gold Gem and the Yellow Gem since I did not have the required Device . However, I was able to activate all the other Gems . ”

“I see . ”

Jimin nodded .

‘It makes sense . He is someone capable of activating a Gold Gem . Even if his power is weakened on earth, it should be easy for him to activate a couple of lowly Rainbow-rank Gems . ’

“Am I done? Is this all you needed me to do?”

“Yes . At the very least, we’ve done everything we need to do for the immediate future . ”

It was enough . He would have to get into the spaceship, which was pointing towards the sky as if it would launch at any moment . It was time for him to leave behind the earth .

“Dad will be back . ”

Sungyoon spoke as he hugged Shinhae .

They had already said goodbye twice before, so they were a bit used to this now . Still, Shinhae’s eyes were full of unshed tears as she rubbed her face against his chest .  

“You have to come back quickly . ”

“I understand . I’ll come back as soon as I am able to . You have to be a good girl and listen to unni . Ok?”

“Yes . ”

While he hugged her, he brushed her head with his hand . He could feel his child’s gentle warmth through their hug .

In the past, it had been excruciatingly painful when he had to separate from Shinhae . However, his heart didn’t hurt as much now . Unlike before, he had hope for their future . He had a clear vision . It saddened him that he had to separate from Shinhae again, but the more he earned, the brighter his daughter's future would become .

Sungyoon patted her back for the last time and then put her down on the floor .

“Please look after Shinhae . ”

“Please don’t worry about her . ”

Jimin hugged the sniffling Shinhae as if she were the little girl's mother . Shinhae didn’t reject her . However, her teary eyes didn’t waver as they chased after her father .

Sungyoon started walking with the only luggage he had, a couple of small carry-ons . He advanced towards the space ship, which was ready to launch .

“Have a safe trip, dad!”

He could hear Shinhae yell loudly from the back . Sungyoon turned back and let out a bright smile, waving his hand towards his daughter . However, his steps never stopped . He had to head towards the moon .

He arrived at a bend in the passageway, and he could no longer see Shinhae . He turned his head, looking forward .

Unlike the goofy expression he had put on for his daughter’s benefit, he had now returned to being the cold and expressionless faced man once again .

It was time to hunt once again .

* * *

He had returned after 2 weeks, but everything on the moon had remained the same . The gray buildings and the stale air remain unchanged . Then there was his damned lodging . It was completely different from earth, where he had lived in relative luxury . This was an uncomfortable life, where he was unable to eat what he wanted, couldn’t sleep where he wanted . But despite all the negatives, his heart was much more at ease on the moon as compared to on the earth . It felt like returning to your hometown from your distant memories .

Basically, his body was uncomfortable, but his heart was comfortable .

If he thought about it, on earth, his body had been comfortable, but his heart felt a bit agitated as if it wanted to go to the moon . In some ways, it was better to live on the moon than on the earth . It was said that one’s quality of life went up if one’s heart was content more so than the body .  

Even if his body was uncomfortable, he thought if his heart was at ease, his quality of life would improve . On second thought, it was probably bullshit .

Toohk!

He arrived at the lodging provided by the Support Center, aka the Chicken Coop . He threw the items he had brought from earth into his room . Of course, weight and volume would cause the carry-on fee to skyrocket, so he hadn't brought much .

Sungyoon pushed his body into the small and smelly space .

In the beginning, it felt uncomfortable, but Sungyoon’s body quickly acclimated itself to his new surroundings . In the past half-year, he had lived more the life of a pauper on the moon . He had lived a comfortable life for the past two weeks on earth, but it was easy for him to get back in the groove of living a hard life .

Of course, it wasn’t something worth celebrating .

However, this crappy place reminded him of his reality . He might have lost his edge in the past two weeks, but this place reminded him of his resolve . On earth, he was able to laugh with his daughter . But that time had come to an end . He would once again move head-first into danger, and he prepared to fight for his life every day .

‘… shall I go there?’

Sungyoon exited the Chicken Coop and left the Support Center . He started trudging forward . Armstrong was still the same . Death was rampant like a pestilence in this place, but it was also a vortex of money and greed . One couldn’t see the vibrant energy of life here . The city was inorganic, and a very dark atmosphere surrounded it .

However, Sungyoon still liked this place .

Tap!

He stopped walking . As always, there weren’t many people here . Even if he came across other people, they avoided him like spooked animals avoiding fire . They didn’t even turn their head as they went on their way .

Sungyoon planted his feet as if he were showing defiance . He raised his head and looked forward with defiance in his eyes .  

In front of him, there was a very ominous maw of darkness . It looked as if it would swallow the Armstrong city whole . Low-rank Connectors would become swept up in fear from standing in its presence . The Great Labyrinth’s presence was in full display .

However, the Great Labyrinth failed to strike as much fear into Sungyoon’s heart as it used to do before .

‘Is it because I’ve leveled up?’

He was still at the bottom, yet he had gained the experience of using a Jewel-rank Gold Gem . It was proof that the quality of magical energy provided by his unbeating heart had significantly increased .

In the past, his goal had felt like a mirage in the distance . But at this moment, he felt his goal solidify .

His promise to Jimin was the thing most important to him after Shinhae . Sungyoon looked towards his goal until the image would become engraved in his eyes .

* * *

It had been a while since the Beginner's labyrinth was this busy . It had been sealed for a long time thanks to the Mana Stream . The beginner Connectors were getting ready to charge into the labyrinth once again . They were doing for their life and future .

Moreover, Sungyoon and the Ross siblings were part of the crowd .

“It has been a while! How have you been?”

When Tim discovered Sungyoon, he let out a spirited laugh and extended his hand towards Sungyoon . He had a sturdy body, and a merry laughter escaped his lips . In the labyrinth, Tim had blocked all attacks from the frontline . He hadn’t changed at all .

Sungyoon saw Emily follow behind her brother . She was tall for a woman, but she stood next to Tim, who was well over 190 cm .  It couldn’t be helped that she looked short in comparison . Her small voice greeted Sungyoon .

Sungyoon gave a simple reply .

“I’ve been doing well . How have the two of you been?”

“Thankfully, nothing eventful happened . ”

They greeted each other and asked how each other was doing . The conversation was kept short . They promised each other that they would catch up later in the night over beers . The three of them entered the labyrinth .

“You have new armor . ”

Tim’s eyes shone as he looked at Sungyoon’s scale armor . The sturdy metallic scales clinked when they ground against each other . His previous leather armor couldn’t be compared to it . This armor looked very hard and sturdy, and at a glance, one could tell that he was wearing a high-rank armor .

“I acquired it after both of you returned to earth . ”

“That’s awesome . We can go a bit lower in the labyrinth now . ”

Tim rejoiced . Their party had enough firepower, but they had been worried about Sungyoon’s weak defensive gear . This was why they had decided to not go very deep into the labyrinth . But with Sungyoon's new armor, their party would be able to aim for the lower floors without overextending themselves .

Sungyoon didn’t quibble about Tim’s point .

“Yes . I still have some shortcomings, but I’ve acquired a couple Gems that outstrip the Beginner’s labyrinth . If luck is with us, we’ll be able to clear the Beginner’s labyrinth before the next Mana Stream starts . ”

“Oh! That sounds awesome!”

Tim made a fist .

“The Beginner's labyrinth has a total of 10 floors . We usually operate on the 7th floor . We just need to go down three more floors . Then we’ll be assigned Personal labyrinths, and we can shed the label of being beginners . It seems that day is not too far away . ”

Tim and Emily already fulfilled the prerequisites needed to be assigned a Personal labyrinth . If they wanted to, they could graduate from the Beginner’s labyrinth right now . They had continued to enter into the Beginner’s Labyrinth only to gain more experience . When they would reach the 10th floor of the Beginner’s labyrinth, they would have achieved their goal of gaining experience . They could walk the road of a Connector in earnest from that point on .

They would be a step closer to their dream . Tim was swept up in a good mood, and his steps felt light .

It was the same for Emily, but she also felt something crash in her heart .

“… so we’ll no longer party with Mr . Sungyoon?”

“Ah…!”

Tim, who had been in a good mood, froze in place . An awkward expression appeared on his face as he scratched the back of his head .

“That’s probably the likely outcome . ”

Sungyoon was unperturbed as he agreed with her . Even if they wanted to party up in the Personal labyrinth, Tim and Emily’s company would probably move to stop it .

‘Jeez!’

Tim discreetly glanced at his sister . Even if this place was full of danger, she had been spending time with the person she liked here . But that relationship would come to an end when they would reach the last floor .

‘Should we delay our progress a little bit?’

However, they couldn’t openly do such a thing . The siblings had spent time with Sungyoon, so they knew how hard it was to form interpersonal relationships with him . In their first meeting, they had met in a life or death situation . If they hadn't taken responsibility for their actions, they probably wouldn’t have been able to form a party with Sungyoon . They wouldn’t have been able to get close to him . Moreover, Sungyoon wasn’t like other men . He didn’t blink an eye when faced with Emily’s beauty . If Tim did something clumsy like trying to play matchmaker, he knew it would blow up in their faces in a major way . Sungyoon might feel awkward or disgusted, and he might even want to leave the party .

That would be terrible . It might sound heartless, but this had to end with his sister’s heart being broken . She just had to bite the bullet and get over it . Tim didn’t want to intentionally subvert their progress, as it might permanently damage their relationship to Sungyoon . Tim didn’t want that at all .

Moreover, Emily already knew this truth .

However, they heard something unexpected from Sungyoon .

“The prospect of disbanding the party in the Personal labyrinth is high . However, it’ll be different in the Great Labyrinth . How about we join up once again after we earn the right to challenge the Great Labyrinth?”

Tim and Emily were surprised . They had never expected Sungyoon to say those words . However, they welcomed his suggestion .

“Yes, yes! Of course!”

Emily was the first to answer . She had been dangling off a cliff, and she felt like she had been given a lifeline . Her voice overflowed with hope .

Tim didn’t sound as enthused as her, but he also readily agreed to the offer .

“I never expected you to suggest such a thing . Let’s do that . None of the Connectors in my company wants to attempt the Great Labyrinth . No one will go against us if we want to form a party with you at that time . ”

Of course, this was contingent on the fact that all three of them were able to earn the right to enter into the Great Labyrinth . However, Tim and Emily didn’t mind planning that far ahead .

‘We’ve made the promise of forming a party when we are ready to head into the Great Labyrinth . This means we have a reason to meet him occasionally . ’

When they weren’t busy, they could use this promise as an excuse to build chemistry for their party . They could meet up in the Beginner’s labyrinth to work on tactics . Also, they could use the opportunity to get closer to Sungyoon .

On the other hand, this arrangement had a significant upside for Sungyoon too . In fact, that upside was the reason why he had made the suggestion .

His chances of being able to enter into the Great Labyrinth had gone up significantly . This was why Sungyoon had to plan for the future .

‘If I want to enter the Great Labyrinth, I have to form a party . I’m the only employee in our company . That means I’ll have to team up with people from other companies eventually . ’

Of course, there was a high probability that Jimin would find party members for him . However, it was also true that he would have better success working with people he was familiar with . They would have the experience of fighting alongside each other .

At the very least, it was worth it for Sungyoon to exchange verbal promises with the siblings .