Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Double Digits

“I’m going to be reverse-summoned!”

Aris, who had fallen flat while clutching her head, screamed.

The vibration shaking heaven and earth made it difficult even to stand.

“My lord, duuu!”

Poporu, who belatedly tried to run over, lost his balance and flopped over.

How could even the way he fell look so sausage-like...

No, that was not important.

This stupid, reckless Boss!

He could have gone around and taken his time, yet he had insisted on rushing and ruined everything.

“No! I was going to get my power back and beat up all the Constellations!”

What is she saying right now!? Who is she going to beat up?

This bastard was a complete reactionary! How dare she say she will beat up the masters of the Labyrinth!

Go back to prison! Your master has become dried filefish!

“It’s all ruined!”

“Hey, Aris, du! Believe in my lord, du! He is surely alive, du!”

“What do you mean, believe, you Strongman Sausage bastard! Don’t you see that dust cloud?! It bloomed because the debris collapsed! Boss has become dried file—”

GRAB!

“Ow, ow, ow, ow!!”

A hand stretched out from the dust cloud and seized Aris’s head.

Thinking it might be a Goblin Warrior that had popped out, she lifted her head.

Her eyes shook violently.

It was not a goblin.

“It’s dried filefish!”

“Who are you calling dried filefish, you crazy steamed bun?”

It’s dried filefiiiish!!

The dried filefish is talking!!

How is dried filefish walking around!!

It’s a dried-filefish maaan!!

I frowned at the Constellations, who went even further.

It seemed everyone had wanted me to become dried filefish.

“My lord, du! I believed in you, du! Leave the remaining ones to me, du!”

Poporu raised his fist with a solemn expression.

I abducted even that Poporu and pulled him to my side.

“There’s no need to fight. It’s over.”

“Du!?”

“They’re all dead.”

DING!

[The debris poured down and annihilated the Goblin Special Forces that had been lying in ambush!]

[They were troops summoned by the Labyrinth after recognizing the Destroyer! They have been annihilated without a single one remaining, satisfying the destruction condition!]

[Basement Floor 10 of the Labyrinth has been destroyed!]

[Clear settlement will take place when leaving Basement Floor 10!]

[Basement Floor 10 is regenerated, and ownership is transferred to Player Ryu Jin!]

[Player Ryu Jin becomes the new lord of Basement Floor 10 of the Labyrinth!]

Ding.

[A Constellation who looks detached quietly nods.]

As expected.

What do you mean, as expected, you crazy old man! You just screamed, “It’s dried filefiiiish!”

Who did that? I do not recall doing such a thing.

I saw it too.

I saw it too. You screamed louder than anyone else!

[The Constellation who looks detached has left.]

He ran away!

Where did that old coot go!

Where did the word “old coot” even come from?

He’s not a baseball bat, he’s an old coot!?

It seemed Constellations, like people, were beings capable of adapting.

Seeing as more aggro was drawn to the detached Constellation who had run away than to the destroyed Labyrinth.

I looked at the shattered floor, then stretched.

Let us get out first.

[Leaving Basement Floor 10 of the Labyrinth!]

[Entering the Labyrinth Personal Lobby!]

[Settlement for Basement Floor 10 of the Labyrinth begins!]

[You have completely destroyed one floor of the Labyrinth! The First Destruction Bonus is given!]

[Player Ryu Jin leveled up!]

[Player Ryu Jin leveled up!]

.

.

.

[Player Ryu Jin leveled up! Current Level: 47 achieved!]

Eight levels gained from clearing four floors, from Floor 7 to Floor 10.

As expected, the difference in experience depending on whether Maximum Difficulty appeared or not was considerable.

Since it said Goblin Special Forces, I had hoped it would be Maximum Difficulty, but it seemed that had not been the case.

‘What a spoiled thing to say.’

I let out a faint laugh.

Even this was only because it had been destruction. If it had been a simple clear, gaining even 5 levels would have been difficult.

My current level was quite high compared to the existing appropriate level.

[Each stat increases!]

[The recharge time of Draw Tickets is reduced to 17 hours!]

[You acquire 1,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones!]

I checked the Magic Stones obtained while running from Floor 7 to Floor 10.

Since Maximum Difficulty had never appeared, there were no Low-Grade Magic Stones.

Was I disappointed because of that?

Of course not.

Lowest-Grade Magic Stones: 3,000.

This alone was 90 million won.

Even if it was thanks to destruction, this was truly insane cash farming itself.

In a single day, I had earned more money than my annual salary when I worked at Kronos.

If I added the accumulated taxes on top of that, a few hundred more stones would be added.

At this rate, I might become a millionaire.

I laid out the Lowest-Grade Magic Stones on the floor.

Then I counted the exact number with Evil Eye and split them in half.

“What are you doing? Hurry and eat.”

“Ddu!?”

“What!?”

Aris and Poporu’s eyes shook in surprise.

Perhaps because she had been born with betrayal in her DNA.

Even among demons, Aris was second to none when it came to suspicion.

Drip!

Cold sweat ran down Aris’s back.

Even if they were Lowest-Grade Magic Stones, there were a full three thousand of them.

But he was telling them to eat them all? What sort of test was this?

She wrinkled her nose.

It was not a test.

It was a trap.

The moment she innocently touched them, he would smack her forehead while saying something like she was trying to eat everything without considering the party’s finances.

“Dduaaaaaaaaagh!!”

Unlike Aris, Poporu, the Demon of Kung-du, simply flew toward the Lowest-Grade Magic Stones first.

Aris clicked her tongue.

That stupid sausage seal!

No matter how much he had moved and how hungry he was, he should not act like that.

‘I won’t fall for it.’

Hmph!

“......?”

Ryu Jin frowned at Aris, who wore a triumphant smile.

What on earth was this steamed bun imagining all by herself this time?

Thinking she would eat on her own, I walked to the corner.

The equipment I had won from Old Man Noh Cheon-jang at Racecourse Park.

Even after excluding what Poporu and I had equipped, equipment worth hundreds of millions still remained.

I had given the Magic Stones generously this time because I planned to dispose of this equipment and convert it to cash.

‘I should take them out one by one and sell them carefully.’

If I lost them, I might cry like Poporu, the Demon of Crybabies.

While I was choosing what to sell first.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!!

A tremble came to Aris’s hands as she watched the mukbang.

Droooool.

I want to eat too!

Since her suspicion disease was still ongoing, she had not touched them, but for some reason, Boss Ryu Jin did not seem interested in this place.

‘Hmph! As if I would fall for it! I know this is all a scheme to make me lower my guard...’

She had been about to insist that she knew everything.

“Ddu?”

But when the sausage demon finished eating all of his and rolled his eyes to the side, she could no longer endure it.

“Aris, du. If you aren’t going to eat it, then I will—”

“I was saving them because I didn’t want to eat at the same table as you! What do you think you’re eating, you hippo!”

BAAAAAAM!!

She quickly ran over and delivered a dropkick.

“Dduak!”

Right after overeating, Poporu could not dodge and was sent flying away.

Aris did not miss the chance while the sausage rolled away.

Nom, nom, nom, nom!!

She began inhaling the stones like a storm with both hands.

Mmm! Magic Stones were sweet no matter when she ate them.

“Should I try selling this one first?”

I chose one piece of equipment and stood up.

Aris, who seemed to have finished her useless flights of imagination, had begun her mukbang late.

For some reason, Poporu was stuck in a corner and fast asleep.

When had he rolled all the way there?

Nomaaaaagh!!

As expected, when it came to eating... No, when it came to the speed of eating, she was outstanding.

Aris devoured 1,500 stones in an instant and licked her palms.

At the same time, messages appeared.

[Aris, the Demon of the Evil Eye, has consumed a large quantity of Lowest-Grade Magic Stones!]

[Aris leveled up!]

[Aris leveled up!]

[Level 25 achieved!]

[The level of the Unique Trait Evil Eye has increased! Current Level: 6]

The additional Evil Eye ability ‘Flow Detection’ has been unlocked!

You can see the flow of power or energy existing within the target!

[Poporu, the Demon of Kung Fu, has consumed a large quantity of Lowest-Grade Magic Stones!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Level 23 achieved!]

[The level of the Unique Trait ‘Physical Training’ has increased! Current Level: 3]

The speed of muscle growth and Neural System Enhancement improves!

[The level of the Unique Trait ‘Understanding of the Body’ has increased! Current Level: 2]

From now on, you can feel the flow of power moving through the body!

When you calm your breathing and concentrate, the flow becomes even clearer!

[The level of the Unique Trait ‘Kung Fu’ has increased! Current Level: 4]

Kung Fu technique ‘Stomping Strike’ acquired!

A technique that strongly stomps the ground to create vibration!

The size of the vibration becomes stronger in proportion to your possessed strength!

I always felt this, but how should I put it?

Poporu’s level-ups looked extremely generous.

Was it because several things rose at the same time?

Flop!

Perhaps because she had eaten her fill, Aris lay down on her back.

I used Evil Eye’s Flow Detection and examined Aris.

As expected of a friend who had gone all-in on her eyes.

Every bit of energy in her entire body was concentrated in her two eyes.

By comparison, Poporu’s energy was balanced well throughout his body.

I slowly approached and poked Aris’s belly, which protruded like Namsan.

“Isn’t it going to burst?”

“I’m so full!”

By the way, from now on, I needed to somehow obtain Low-Grade Magic Stones and feed them those.

Looking at the increase in values, leveling up from now on seemed like it would be difficult with only Lowest-Grade Magic Stones.

[The maximum capacity of Labyrinth Energy increases!]

[Labyrinth Energy has been charged!]

[You can draw 2 books from the Unique Trait ‘Great Labyrinth Library’!]

[You can use the Unique Skill ‘Reset - Value LV3’ 3 times!]

Since I did not have equipment to reset immediately, I planned to use everything on the Great Labyrinth Library this time.

Once the weapon Draw Ticket recharged, I would enter the Great Labyrinth Library.

[Basement Floor 10 of the Labyrinth has been destroyed! Please set the tax!]

Click!

[From now on, all members affiliated with Kronos, the company with the world’s largest market capitalization, are assigned a tax rate of 100%.]

I smiled and stared at the lobby’s electronic display.

The total number of Labyrinth floors Kronos had cleared so far was 100.

Therefore, it had finally reached double digits.

The Labyrinth floors I had smashed, gobbled up, and taken from them, that was.

---

The Labyrinth Management Headquarters of the global conglomerate Kronos.

“You fuuuuucking bastards!!!!!!!!!!”

Rough fury erupted in the center of the conference room.

Headquarters Director Park Gang-seok, who had seen the newly updated Labyrinth occupation rate, swept everything off the table.

Looking for something else to throw, he even grabbed a nearby team member’s phone and hurled it.

“You useless bastards!!!”

Park Gang-seok huffed and looked around at the people gathered in the conference room.

One day.

In a single day, four Labyrinth floors Kronos possessed had been stolen.

Yet they had failed to find the culprit, let alone any meaningful clues.

“You think we pay you to keep your mouths shut like mute idiots? Find them, you bastards! Are you going to find them after every Labyrinth floor is taken!?”

In the silent conference room, Park Gang-seok slammed the table.

“Answer me, you bastards!”

“W-We will find them!”

“How are you going to find them?”

“T-That is...”

“You little—!”

“I’m sorry!”

Park Gang-seok swept his hair back and closed his eyes.

Then, after catching his breath, he looked at the person seated at the end of the conference room.

“HR Team Leader Kim Se-yun.”

“Yes.”

“Did you narrow them down? Among the Kronos retirees, the ones who might bear a grudge.”

“I narrowed them down as much as possible and brought the list.”

Kim Se-yun, who received the question, looked at the tablet before her.

More precisely, she stared at one name.

Ryu Jin.

A man who had not only lost everything, but had also been struck cleanly in the back of the head.

For some reason.

This man’s name kept catching her eye.