Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Labyrinth Upgrade

The top floor of Kronos headquarters.

After finishing his briefing at the regular meeting, Park Gang-seok formed a confident smile.

“As I said just a moment ago, Labyrinth destruction has no effect whatsoever on Kronos. At most, it is a loss of a few hundred Lowest-Grade Magic Stones.”

“In contrast, public opinion and the communities are quite heated.”

“Are they not originally that sort of crowd? They flare up quickly, then die down just as quickly. Before long, they will realize this was nothing more than a small happening and grow quiet.”

The executives seated around him nodded.

Park Gang-seok was right.

It was irritating in many ways, but the damage it caused Kronos was minimal.

The proof was that applicants were still lining up because they wanted to join Kronos.

“Very well. Then may we understand that there are no major issues with Headquarters Director Park’s Labyrinth management?”

“Of course! As we have done until now, we will manage it thoroughly and tightly.”

“But you still need to find the destroyer, do you not?”

“Yes. That is separate from the damage. Since he has raised a rebellion against Kronos, we will uncover him no matter what. And this may even be a good opportunity. Since so many people’s attention is focused on him, he will serve as an excellent example.”

“We will trust you, Headquarters Director Park. Then, let us end here and……”

They were just about to end the regular meeting and move to the dining venue.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Their phone alarms rang out at a level that seemed like a national disaster alert.

After checking them, the executives all raised their heads at once and stared at Park Gang-seok.

“Check it. Immediately.”

“Y-Yes, understood!”

Park Gang-seok, who had been blinking blankly in confusion, took out his phone.

“What……?”

Whether the executives were seated in front of him or not, the words slipped out reflexively.

Park Gang-seok rubbed his eyes a couple of times.

That was how hard the contents were to believe.

“H-How…… How could this……”

One of the executives opened his mouth in place of the broken Park Gang-seok.

“The monitor. Bring up the Labyrinth status window.”

The Management Team member serving as support hurriedly carried out the instruction.

On the 200-inch monitor in the conference room, the Labyrinth status window from the 1st floor to the 100th floor was displayed.

The status board had been filled with black question marks from the 1st floor to the 10th floor, and blue, representing Kronos’s rights, from the 11th floor to the 100th floor.

That status board began belatedly reflecting the results.

Sharararararak!!

At that absurd sight, Labyrinth Management Headquarters Director Park Gang-seok’s mouth fell open.

The status board began turning black from the 11th floor onward, as if cards were being flipped over.

He thought only two or three would flip.

He desperately hoped that would be the case.

But it was not.

They flipped endlessly until they reached the 40th floor.

On top of that, for some reason, the 41st floor had completely vanished from the status board.

The middle had gone empty, as if a tooth had been knocked out.

A heavy silence flowed for a long while.

“Headquarters Director Park Gang-seok. Is the briefing you gave just now still valid?”

“T-That is……”

“Does it still have no effect on Kronos? Is the damage inflicted on Kronos players still minimal as well?”

Silence flowed once more.

He could not bring himself to answer with his own mouth.

He could not say that the situation had changed, that from this point on, the damage Labyrinth destruction inflicted on Kronos had become enormous.

“It seems we should skip today’s meal. Would you not agree? Headquarters Director Park does not seem to have time to sit around eating.”

The executives rose from their seats and left the conference room.

While the team member, now left alone with Park Gang-seok, could neither do this nor that.

The conference room door opened, and Issue Response Team Leader Bae Mina entered.

She had rushed over to report the current situation, but she was one step too late.

Swish.

Seeing the huge monitor, Bae Mina let out a deep sigh.

“Son of a……”

She had been about to curse before she realized it.

“Son of a bitch!!!”

Park Gang-seok did it for her.

He threw the phone he was holding at the monitor.

He threw it so hard that cracks spread across the entire 200-inch monitor.

Park Gang-seok strode over and slammed his fist into the monitor.

“Forty percent? Does this make any sense?! Thirty-one floors at once? How the hell is something like this possible!!!”

It was the first time, both before and after the Regression.

The first time the executives had looked at Park Gang-seok with such cold eyes.

Bae Mina clicked her tongue at the conference room that had become a complete mess.

There was no need to think any further.

They were fucked.

---

The Labyrinth’s Personal Lobby.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Not yet.”

When Aris saw the Mid-Grade Magic Stones, she began drooling like a waterfall.

Then she tried to charge at them immediately, so I held her back for now.

“Poporu, hold her properly.”

“Understood-duuuurrrrrr!!”

Unlike Aris, Kung-du was holding onto his sanity.

His salivary glands had burst to the point that his mouth was practically Niagara Falls, but still.

I turned my head and looked at the Magic Stones piled up like a mountain.

There were so many that they filled half the Personal Lobby.

I quickly rubbed my chin.

What was I supposed to do with this absurd amount?

Continuing my happy dilemma, I turned back to the waterfall duo.

Judging by their eyes rolling back, if I let them loose, they looked ready to eat everything.

I quickly entered the Labyrinth upgrade window and checked the list.

‘Okay.’

I swiftly tossed the things I needed into the cart.

I had gained a lot of Magic Stones, so let’s not agonize over it and just flex.

Ding!

[The Labyrinth’s Personal Lobby will be expanded to 42 pyeong! 5,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones will be used!]

[A 100-pyeong Subspace Safe will be installed! 2,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones will be used!]

[A Vitality and Mana Recovery Sauna will be installed! 3,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones will be used!]

[An infirmary will be installed! Basic first aid can be performed! 2,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones will be used!]

Ding!

[A healing worker must be hired for treatment! 100 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones will be consumed every month!]

I had been excitedly pressing confirm, but I could not help flinching at the final message.

Was this how the convenience store owner who had tried to somehow lower my hourly wage back in college had felt?

Taking it as a negative lesson, I quickly pressed the confirm button.

[Payment of 12,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones has been completed!]

I swallowed dryly and swept my hair back.

30,000 won multiplied by 12,000 stones. In won, that was 360 million.

For a moment, I thought, Is this really right?! But it was already too late.

12,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones vanished from my sight in an instant.

I did not know if this was how flexing was supposed to be done.

They said someone who had eaten meat before was better at eating meat, and I had never done anything like this before.

“Gyaaaaaaaah!! My Magic Stones!”

Aris screamed as if she had lost her country.

Why are they yours? They are mine.

[Expansion and installation of the Personal Lobby will begin!]

With a thud, the floor shook, and the stone walls of the lobby slowly began moving outward.

The walls on all sides expanded smoothly, as if an invisible hand was pulling them away.

The lobby, which had been about the size of a single room, widened in an instant.

THUD!!!

‘You startled me.’

A square Subspace Safe dropped onto one side of the lobby.

Even if the lobby had no interior design, they were throwing things in way too carelessly.

I walked over, opened the door, and put my hand inside.

A 100-pyeong space was shared through my vision.

It was incredibly fascinating.

It was clearly an enormous space, yet my hand could reach every part of it without missing a spot.

I quickly ran over and shoved the Magic Stones into the Subspace Safe.

“Gyaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Glutton Aris kicked Poporu away and flew at me like a missile.

She flew in as if she was going to score herself into the safe, but an invisible wall blocked her, and she slid down.

Mm! The safe’s performance was certain.

Then the Recovery Sauna and infirmary were installed in succession.

A short while later, pointed ears appeared inside the infirmary.

“Nyang.”

Nyang?

Wrinkling my nose, I looked toward the source of the sound.

It kept nyang-nyanging, so I thought it was a cat, but that was not the case.

I crept closer and examined the nyang-nyanging worker.

It was about knee-high, pale, and shaped like a rice-cake dumpling.

When I pressed it, it really had the texture of mochi…… No, the feel of it.

Could this friend really heal people?

For verification, I picked up Aris, who was sprawled on the floor, and laid her on the bed.

She had just bumped her head, so there was a lump on her forehead.

When I pointed at the lump, the rice-cake dumpling’s eyes sparkled.

“Nyang, nyang, nyang.”

It neatly put on gloves and picked up a sharp scalpel…… She had a bump, so why was it holding a scalpel?!

“Nyang.”

As if it had been a joke, it put down the scalpel and took out an ice pack.

This rice-cake dumpling friend even had a sense of humor.

After giving it a thumbs-up for its excellent first aid, I opened the Subspace Safe and organized the Magic Stones.

1,000 Mid-Grade Magic Stones, 2,000 Low-Grade Magic Stones, and 8,000 Lowest-Grade Magic Stones.

Since things had been neatly cleared, I now had to explore the Labyrinth starting from the 42nd floor.

The difficulty would be completely different from when I had been a mere 10th-floor level, so I needed to equip myself a little more properly.

The Low-Grade Magic Stones and Lowest-Grade Magic Stones were decided for sale!

As for the Mid-Grade Magic Stones……

Swish.

Aris, who was only lifting her head from the bed, was staring straight at me.

Poporu, who had walked right beside me, was also drooling.

……I had to give them some, right?

Squeezing my eyes shut, I held out the bundle of Mid-Grade Magic Stones.

“Poporu, 500 Mid-Grade Magic Stones!”

“Duaaaaaaaagh!!”

“Kyaaaaaaaak!!”

I gave the remaining 500 to Aris, who had kicked off the blanket and flown over.

Munch, munch, munch! Nom, nom, nom!

Perhaps because they tasted good, smiles never left Poporu and Aris’s faces.

They did not devour them wildly like Lowest-Grade Magic Stones, but instead nibbled and savored each one.

They were eating so well that just watching them made me feel full and happy…… If I said that, I would honestly be lying.

The market price of a Mid-Grade Magic Stone was one million won each.

The total value of what those friends were eating was one billion.

Was it a waste?

Not really.

Poporu and Aris’s growth was my growth.

It was just that, separate from all that, watching one billion won slowly melt away felt a little sorrowful.

[Aris di Carsia, the Demon of the Evil Eye, has consumed Mid-Grade Magic Stones!]

[They are of a flavor incomparably excellent compared to Lowest-Grade Magic Stones!]

[Aris leveled up!]

[Aris leveled up!]

[Aris leveled up!]

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.

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[Level 45 achieved!]

[The level of the Unique Trait Evil Eye rises!]

[The level of the Unique Trait Evil Eye rises!]

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[Unique Trait Evil Eye current level: 10]

[The performance of the Evil Eye’s unique ability “Item Search” improves! It indicates more detailed locations and directions!]

[The Evil Eye’s additional ability “Motion Prediction” is unlocked! It calculates the flow of muscles and force to predict the next movement!]

[The Evil Eye’s additional ability “Suppression” is unlocked!]

It suppresses the movements of a target who makes eye contact for a short period of time!

If mana permits, it can also be used on multiple targets who make eye contact!

Depending on the target’s toughness or related abilities, mana consumption and duration may change!

[Poporu, the Demon of Kung Fu, has consumed Mid-Grade Magic Stones!]

[A feast tasted for the first time in a long while!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

[Poporu leveled up!]

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.

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[Level 41 achieved!]

[The level of the Unique Trait “Physical Training” rises! Current level: 5]

The speed of muscle growth and neural system enhancement increases!

[The level of the Unique Trait “Understanding of the Body” rises! Current level: 4]

You can feel the flow of force through your body more clearly!

As sensitivity has increased, you instinctively understand how to use force efficiently!

[The level of the Unique Trait “Kung Fu” rises! Current level: 6]

You acquire the Kung Fu technique “Wind God Kick”!

It is a kick as fast as the wind!

Ordinary eyes will be unable to follow the movement of the foot!

You acquire the Kung Fu technique “Linked Fists”!

You crush the enemy by pouring out fists without pause!

You acquire the Kung Fu secret technique “Mountain-Shattering Fist”!

It is a destructive technique that breaks a mountain with a single punch!

Be careful, because if the opponent is too hard, your own fist may break!

While examining the messages being listed, my eyes flashed.

Suppression? Mountain-Shattering Fist?

Some interesting friends had appeared.

Next.