[Chapter 226]
[Black Dungeon (3)]
Myth manifestation in the black dungeon.
Eun-ha felt a sensation as if his existence was annihilating as the price for it.
It wasn't an illusion.
My rank is dropping.
Usually when Eun-ha manifested myth, he was somewhat free from the backlash of existence loss, like living myths received backlash.
It was because of his gift.
But manifesting myth on a floor where gifts were sealed, he inevitably received the backlash directly.
Eun-ha felt the pain of his soul being torn away.
It wasn't a metaphor.
His soul was being torn away and his rank was dropping.
Conversely, the myth devoured that rank and swelled its size inside his body.
"Kuk..."
Being devoured by the myth.
Unable to withstand the weight of the myth.
Only then did Eun-ha realize how amazing it was that living myths had endured the weight of myth all this time.
Myth was a huge and violent beast.
A beast trying to devour him somehow, taking advantage of his weakened state.
The moment he lets his guard down, he'll be oxidized by the myth.
From now on, he would have to live with the beast called myth right beside him for the rest of his life until he dies.
He truly realized the meaning of manifesting myth.
It was right then.
Gift
As they moved to the 11th floor.
He became able to use gifts again.
His heart beat strongly.
The gift protected his body and blocked the backlash of myth.
Only then could Eun-ha feel at ease.
"Master, are you okay?" "Ah, Iriya..."
By then Eun-ha came to his senses.
Clan members including Iriya were all gathered around him.
It seemed they were worried about him receiving the backlash of myth.
"Did something happen to your soul..."
"Fortunately the gift activated so I think I'm okay now. It doesn't seem like there's any particular problem with my soul either." "Is that really true?"
"Can't you tell by looking at my face?" "It's the face of Master that I like. It does seem okay, but..."
Iriya examined Eun-ha's condition.
There didn't seem to be any problems on the surface, but it was unknown if something happened to his soul.
But even she couldn't look into the concept of soul.
In the end, all Iriya could do was give a warning.
"Be careful when using that power. Strong powers come with a corresponding price. Even if Master's gift blocks the backlash of myth, it doesn't block 100%, right?"
"Okay, I'll be careful. Thanks."
Eun-ha accepted her warning.
Her words were right.
A gift that's unclear whether to define as
That gift wasn't omnipotent either.
Meanwhile─
"─I'll get up now. I don't want to get caught in the crossfire by being next to Master." "Huh? Why suddenly..."
Iriya looked to one side.
She made an "oops" face and stood up from her seat.
Eun-ha turned his head following the direction she looked.
His face twitched slightly.
"Oh no..."
Jeong Ha-yang was approaching.
Her smile wasn't a smile.
Eun-ha had a bad feeling.
"Eun, ha?" "You came? Is everyone's condition sa..."
"Are you trying to change the subject now?" "..."
The premonition wasn't wrong.
Eun-ha had to be severely scolded by Jeong Ha-yang afterwards.
[I'll start the 11th floor mission soon...!]
""""Rest.""""
[Sigh, everyone's become like that person. Okay, rest.]
Meanwhile, the conquest team members pressed the dungeon guide in place of Eun-ha.
They had now grasped the knack of handling the dungeon guide.
A day of rest time was given.
☆
The conquest difficulty rose sharply after the 10th floor.
It was inevitable, because from then on, a kind of restriction was imposed on the conquest team.
[On the 12th floor, you can't use magic, and must pass using only martial arts and gift power!!]
[The 14th floor is a bit similar to the 10th floor! Although magic power remains unchanged, you can't use gifts! But the difference from the 10th floor would be that you can release the restriction.]
11th floor, nullification of physical attacks.
12th floor, sealing of magic itself.
13th floor, escaping the labyrinth with only detection magic.
14th floor, limited sealing of gifts.
The conquest team members weakened each time powers they heavily relied on were restricted.
The number of deaths steadily increased.
[Monsters with the same gifts as you appear on the 14th floor. If you defeat those monsters, people with the same gift as that monster can use their gift. Now try to escape the maze as quickly as possible while avoiding the monsters!]
Casualties increased on the 14th floor.
It was tricky to face monsters with the conquest team's gifts.
Those comparable to 4th rank and above showed the conquest team exactly what hell was using gifts and their own power.
Gift
"Wh-What...!!"
There were even monsters among them that used Iriya's
The power activated through mediating the world's will showed power similar to the actual
It was fortunate the monsters' intelligence was low.
The monster caused a huge explosion in the surrounding area at the cost of its existence.
Myth Manifestation
Revival
Eun-ha unfolded myth again.
It was the second manifestation, activated without even recovering from the backlash.
He quickly filled the surrounding area with flames and revived the conquest team members.
But he couldn't save conquest team members standing outside his myth.
"Damn..."
It was fortunate he had just killed a monster possessing his gift, using
His gift blocked the backlash from myth manifestation.
Nevertheless, from the point of manifesting myth, Eun-ha couldn't use power anymore.
[You've completed the 14th floor mission! Then we'll move to the next floor now!]
The conquest team barely escaped the labyrinth, taking the incapacitated Eun-ha.
The dungeon guide's words spoken while cackling were extremely hateful.
[Then to the 15th floor....]
"Give us time to rest."
[Tch.]
The conquest team that moved to the 15th floor decided to take a rest.
One day was an extremely short time.
There was a limit to recovering the body with magic.
Healing magic fundamentally drew on the healing ability people possessed from the future.
Above all, raising the healing ability of body organs to near continuous levels could cause mana runaway.
By this point, Supporters had to carefully unfold healing magic.
"That Abyss Axolotl or whatever, its effect wasn't bad. I can't believe there's such an ability." "Still, you need to be careful. How many times have you been injured now?"
A situation where they didn't know when they might die.
In such a situation, the conquest team used byproducts obtained from the dungeon without sparing them.
The conquest team's physical strength was greatly decreasing as they went down floors, but in exchange they obtained powerful abilities.
In Jin Pa-rang's case, he gained abnormally fast natural healing ability using the Abyss Axolotl's skill stone.
Now he could even restore a severed arm with mana.
"Don't rely on that magic too much. We haven't confirmed how much that skill stone can restore, how much it can heal, or if there are any particular problems for the human body."
There were quite a lot of skill stones from the axolotls.
Cha Eun-woo firmly cautioned people who absorbed the monsters' skill stones.
☆
The conquest continued.
About 2 months since entering the black dungeon.
The conquest team finally conquered the 19th floor and could go down to the 20th floor.
If I didn't know the conquest method, the conquest period would have been longer.
Compared to before regression, it was several months faster.
If we keep struggling down like this, we should be able to reach the deepest part within 2 months.
The difficulty gets even harder from now on.
10 floors remaining.
Nevertheless, the reason Eun-ha assumed 2 months was because the difficulty rises sharply again from the 20th floor.
[Welcome to the 20th floor! It's amazing that 387 people out of 532 have reached here!]
The dungeon guide chattered noisily.
The conquest team didn't respond to it, and just gave looks telling it to quietly explain about the 20th floor.
[Sigh, to have no reaction like this... I have no choice. I'll explain about this floor. Everyone, can you hear the sound coming from behind?]
""""...."""
Terrain shaped like a maze.
The terrain wasn't uniform.
Where the conquest team members were was flat, and the terrain they looked back at was a hill road.
And they could tell there was a being of unknown identity on top of the hill road.
Thud thud
As if something was trapped.
The sound of hitting iron bars was heard.
Occasionally, the roar of a beast they had never heard before was heard too.
The conquest team members waited for the dungeon guide to finish explaining.
[What's required of you from the 20th floor is the dedication of specific people!]
The dungeon guide giggled.
Eun-ha glared at it like he would kill it.
Before regression, Eun-ha lost Twenty-five, Seon Gi-jun, and Jin Pa-rang starting from the 20th floor.
And the 20th floor was also where he lost Twenty-five.
[As you can tell from the sound, a being that can't be called a monster is sealed up there. It's a being that doesn't drop mana stones when killed, and can't be killed using mana.]
""""...."""
[Magic, gifts, and physical force don't work on this monster. Since it doesn't have an organ that acts as a heart, it won't die even if destroyed. You can't destroy it in the first place. When the mission starts, the monster trapped up there will escape. You can guess what will happen then, right? Just think that everyone will die.]
The dungeon guide snickered.
And the sound echoing from behind made the conquest team members tense.
[But there is a way to deal with the monster. Also, you don't have to kill the monster. There are several formulas attached around the monster's body that can seal it after coming out of the iron bars. Should I say traps from your perspective? When you solve the traps, magic activates to seal the monster.]
Afterwards, the dungeon guide explained about the mission.
Simply put, the conquest team had to find an exit somewhere in the maze while avoiding the chasing monster.
[There isn't just one exit. You'll see numbers written above the exits. When the corresponding number of people pass through, the exit automatically closes. So you have to keep finding doors until all surviving people move to the next floor. Of course, while avoiding the monster.]
""""...."""
[To save many people, it would be better to have people responsible for sealing the monster remain until the end, right? It could be said that the number of survivors is determined by how much Rangers, Navigators, and Telepaths skilled at handling traps dedicate themselves. So it can be called a mission requiring the dedication of specific people!]
To send down as many people as possible to subjugate the boss monster.
The conquest team had no choice but to move as the dungeon guide said.
In that process, Rangers, Navigators, and Telepaths died.
He grabbed the monster's feet trying to send people down until the end.
At that time, Twenty-five tried to remain until the end to release the monster's traps.
But he couldn't release all the traps entangled on the monster, and instead chose the method of forcibly releasing by transferring most of the traps to his own body.
In that process, he received a near-fatal blow.
[I'll start the mission now!]
He couldn't let that happen in this life.
Unlike before regression, Eun-ha now had capable Rangers, Navigators, and Telepaths including Twenty-five.
Kreuaaaaargh!!
Eventually the mission started.
The monster was released from its seal.
☆
The monster was huge.
A black monster that looked like a maggot chased after them moving its short limbs.
Kraaaaargh!!
As the dungeon guide said.
The conquest team members couldn't land effective hits on the chasing monster.
The monster that didn't receive any damage from magic wriggled its body and completely absorbed the impacts.
Occasionally pieces of flesh fell off.
But that was only momentary.
Its body quickly recovered wounds and attacked the conquest team.
"It's gotten stronger!"
[Oh my, I forgot to mention! The monster gets stronger as time passes! So it would be better to completely seal the monster by solving the traps.]
As the monster got stronger over time, the conquest team had no choice but to give up on the policy of checking the monster with attacks.
The monster's body was long.
The monster stretched out like liquid, contaminating the path they had passed through.
"Trap entangled on the fourth leg, release complete! You two release traps in other locations!"
"This is easy to say but hard to do! Little sister! Can you do it?"
"If unnie helps me!"
Meanwhile, the conquest team members focused on sealing the monster to avoid the pursuit.
Twenty-five, Mei Ling, Mei Lin.
Including those three people, many people tried to release traps entangled on the monster's body.
There were traps that could be easily solved, and traps that were difficult to solve.
The higher the difficulty of the trap, the stronger the power sealing the monster.
[30m ahead. Exit found. Number is 13.]
The pursuit continued for hours.
During that time, conquest team members found exits and entrusted their bodies into them.
The conquest team's size had now decreased to 100 people.
Eun-ha received Jin Seo-na's telepathy and looked ahead.
A forking path splitting left and right.
There was a black subspace on the wall.
The number of people who could go down to the 21st floor was written above it.
"Except for people solving traps, anyone enter the door! As soon as the door closes, run to the left!"
Eun-ha instructed.
Not many conquest team members remained.
Eun-ha watched conquest team members at the front enter the door.
When 13 people crossed the door, the subspace disappeared.
At that moment, Eun-ha led the conquest team and ran to the left.
Kwaaaang!!
The conquest team's number was now about 80 people.
By then, arms sprouting from the monster's back threw rocks at whatever they could grab.
The conquest team had to face the monster while being careful of flying rocks.
"Kuk...!! Just help us two!" "Oppa, where should we touch?"
"Right nostril."
"Nostril... That's our specialty. Unnie, let's go!"
Chains wrap around the monster's body each time a trap is released.
But the monster getting stronger over time didn't slow down much even when caught by chains.
We need to place a stronger seal.
Twenty-five decided to release a complexly constructed trap.
The twins assisted him.
[10 o'clock direction. Exit found. Number is 10. Ha-yang says it would be good to send injured people from the recent battle first.]
[Do that.]
Meanwhile, people who went ahead scouting found a door.
Eun-ha received Jin Seo-na's telepathy and sent injured people through the door first.
The number of remaining conquest team members was now 42, not many left.
"Kuhek...!!"
"Si-hyeong!"
At that moment, Kang Si-hyeong who was blocking the monster in the rear was suddenly launched into the air after being hit by its arm.
Hoshimiya Kaede jumped into the air and caught him as he was about to be smashed into the ceiling.
The kids are very exhausted now too.
They've been running around for hours without rest...
The difficulty became even harder.
At first, the conquest team members touched traps that were easy to solve.
So as time passed, only tricky traps to solve remained.
Meanwhile, the monster's speed became even faster, moving to prevent conquest team members from touching the trap formulas.
"If I knew it would be like this, I should have touched difficult formulas when the monster was slower. There's no time to read the formulas now..."
Twenty-five clicked his tongue.
The people releasing formulas felt similarly.
But even if it had gone as they wished, the result wouldn't have changed.
The remaining formulas seemed made to not be solved.
They were formulas that couldn't be solved by one person, requiring several people to tackle them.
On top of that, they had to coordinate with each other.
If several people touched the formulas carelessly without coordinating, the formulas could get tangled instead.
The monster's speed has gotten even faster.
By this point, people started repeatedly failing to release traps.
Meanwhile, the monster pursued with increasing speed as time passed.
"Kaede. How's Si-hyeong's condition?" "No major injuries. He just fainted from taking that attack earlier."
Meanwhile, Eun-ha spoke to Hoshimiya Kaede who was running while carrying Kang Si-hyeong.
It showed how powerful the monster's attacks were.
Just swinging its arm as if swatting a bug made the Guardian Kang Si-hyeong faint after taking the hit.
Now they couldn't even approach near the monster.
[Seo-na, how many people are left?]
[24 people left now.]
"24 people..."
Eun-ha muttered.
Their efforts running away all this time were worth it.
Not much left now.
They should be able to complete the mission if they find 2-3 more doors.
[Found a door. The number is 9.]
Eventually they found a new door.
Eun-ha decided to send Kang Si-hyeong.
"Kaede, take good care of Si-hyeong. You go down first with him." "Is that okay? Shouldn't I stay and help release traps..."
"You heard what the twins said earlier. They've almost cleared the visible formulas, and the rest need to be handled by the people here now."
"But..." "If you participate in releasing traps too, it could cause confusion needlessly. Go down ahead of us."
Kaede mainly took on the role of checking the monster or searching for doors.
Meanwhile, Twenty-five and the twins were taking on the role of releasing traps.
Their roles were different.
While Twenty-five and the twins were coordinating to release traps, Kaede intervening could cause confusion.
"...Alright. I wish you good luck." "See you later."
Kaede eventually jumped into the door, leaving the conquest team behind.
With 9 people disappearing, 15 remained.
The conquest team's shoulders lightened, but the monster became even stronger.
It pursued closely.
☆
Time passed after Kaede disappeared.
The conquest team just ran through the endless maze.
No door was visible for a long time.
[That's only natural! The doors exist in the same number as you! It should be hard to find doors now.]
The dungeon guide spoke mockingly.
The conquest team was so exhausted they didn't even have the strength to retort to the dungeon guide.
Right then, they finally found a door.
[Found a door with 15 written on it.]
It was good news.
A door had formed with exactly the number of remaining people.
The conquest team's faces brightened.
[Seo-na, you enter first with the people with you. We'll follow right behind.]
[Okay, got it. Ha-yang says to tell you. Don't die and make sure to follow.]
[Tell her I will.]
[And this is my message.]
[Your message?]
[Don't die.]
[...I won't.]
Jin Seo-na's telepathy cut off.
She had entered the door.
Now the only people left in the maze were those with Eun-ha.
11 people.
They ran with all their might.
At that time, the monster roared.
Kreuaaaaargh!!
"No way, why did that thing get even faster?"
[The monster knows too. That if it loses you here, it can't eat you.]
Twenty-five was shocked.
The dungeon guide answered calmly.
People clicked their tongues and shot magic at the chasing monster.
Avenir interfered with the monster's path for a moment.
He was supporting Twenty-five and the twins to release the remaining traps on the monster's body.
The door size is too small.
We can only enter one at a time.
Meanwhile, Eun-ha cursed seeing the approaching door.
The monster was right behind their backs.
If they enter one by one in this state, someone will be caught by the monster.
"Twenty-five! There's not much left so hang in there a bit more!" "Kuk... I'm doing that, right now!"
They arrived in front of the door.
Looking back, the monster was opening its huge mouth.
Twenty-five and the twins barely released a trap.
The monster that had stretched its head to the maximum was pushed back.
Clang clang clang!!
But that effect disappeared not long after.
The monster broke the chains binding its body with even stronger force.
"You guys enter first!"
The monster and conquest team members stopped their feet.
A standoff continued.
Twenty-five and the twins blocked traps, and Eun-ha checked the monster with magic.
"Eun-ha hyung! I'll lend my strength too!"
The remaining people hurriedly jumped inside the door.
Avenir turned his body in front of the door, deciding to block the monster together with Eun-ha.
"Kuk...!!"
The monster strikes the ground with its body.
The ground shook greatly.
The formula Twenty-five and the twins were holding returned to its original state.
The monster opened its mouth.
Platinum Cross
Eun-ha blocked while squeezing out his strength.
Beams of light exploded inside the monster's mouth.
It writhed its body and retreated.
Then it narrowed the distance again.
"Master, hurry and enter too! You there! Bruno's son, hurry and enter too!"
"Who will block if I enter!?"
"Who will cover for you if I enter!?"
"Are you telling us to all enter a space that can only fit 1 person at a time!?"
"Then the twins enter first! I'll cover until the end and then enter!"
"We can't touch the remaining traps without us, Clan Lord!"
"That's right! We have to solve it hanging on all three. We can't solve it otherwise!"
"Then I'll stay too! I should be able to block for a moment!"
Now 5 people remained on the 20th floor.
Twenty-five, Mei Ling, Mei Lin, Avenir, and Eun-ha.
Eun-ha gritted his teeth hearing them shout.
Damn it...
He wanted to send the 4 people and enter last himself.
But the monster's actions could only be blocked by traps.
Him staying wouldn't help.
If they stalled any longer, it could needlessly take away time for them to pass through the door.
In the end, Eun-ha had to make a decision.
"I believe in you. Make sure you succeed."
Eun-ha put his foot in the door.
When Eun-ha looked back, Avenir was gritting his teeth trying to block the monster's offensive.
And the three were moving their hands with all their might to release traps.
"Master!"
""Clan Lord!""
"Eun-ha hyung!"
Eun-ha jumped into the door.
Their cries were heard from behind.
He listened to the fading voices after entering the subspace.
"Thank you for everything until now."
""It was fun until now!!""
"I'll follow right after."
☆
[Welcome to the 21st floor!]
It felt like wandering in the subspace for a long time.
Eun-ha opened his eyelids hearing the dungeon guide's voice.
He had reached the 21st floor.
"Hey, where are the other kids!?"
"I don't see the twins and Avenir, and that Twenty-five person."
A wide open space.
Eun-ha could see the conquest team members who came to the 21st floor.
Jin Pa-rang and Bae Su-bin approached and asked him about the others' whereabouts.
"Damn it..."
Eun-ha bit his lip hard.
No matter how much time had passed, the people who stayed on the upper floor weren't coming down.
The conquest team members couldn't say anything seeing his expression.
Did they pretend to block the monster just to send me? Did they say farewell-like words knowing they couldn't release the traps?
Something must have happened.
Eun-ha blamed himself.
He couldn't save Twenty-five this time either.
And not just Twenty-five.
He lost the twin sisters too.
He couldn't save Avenir after promising Bruno and Julieta.
It was right then.
"Ow!" "Ugh!?"
"Kyaaak!!"
"Huh? Ah, sorry."
""""...."""
Making Eun-ha's worries meaningless.
Suddenly a subspace appeared.
Mei Lin fell out of it.
Twenty-five and Mei Ling fell on top of her, piling up bodies.
Finally Avenir fell, making them scream again.
"Is everyone unhurt? I'll get up quickly. Heave-ho..."
"Whew... We really almost died. We barely solved the trap but didn't expect the monster to move so fast..."
"So we were startled and pushed our bodies into the door. It was a fresh feeling in its own way." "Unnie, oppa... Can you get off me and talk? I feel like I'm dying. Huff, breath... I prefer being on top rather than being crushed..."
"Oh my, sorry. I'll move right away."
While people were dumbfounded.
The four people chatted among themselves, exchanging words of praise for working hard.
Eun-ha stared at them blankly.
"Huh..."
Only then did reality sink in.
Thinking about it, there was no way they would die like this.
Maybe not Twenty-five, but especially not the twins.
Avenir of course.
Eun-ha burst into laughter.
He worried needlessly.
"Oh my? Master, what's wrong?"
"Oh, Clan Lord. What is it? Are you so happy to see us?"
"Just now he was..."
"Little sister, Ha-yang is here."
"Eek. So you're happy to see us?"
"Yeah, you rascals."
Fortunately.
Eun-ha answered honestly.
Then he approached them.
"...Master?"
""Hm?""
Then he hugged them tightly.
Unfortunately Avenir was too big to hug.
Meanwhile, the people suddenly hugged by Eun-ha showed bewildered faces.
"You all came back alive without dying."
"...Of course. That was, the promise."
""We haven't even dated yet! It would be a problem if we died here! Right? Agree? Agree!""
"And."
""""...?""""
"Let's receive some punishment for making people worry." """...!!"""
"Avenir will receive it separately later." "Ack, I have to receive it too?"
Taking advantage of their off-guard moment.
Eun-ha squeezed his arms so tightly they could barely breathe.
The three people screamed.
Eun-ha kept bursting into laughter hearing their screams.