chapter 20
20 – Escape the Labyrinth – 2
“Ugh…”
‘Oh sh*t, I’m craving the back bone. What is it, Shang, where are you?’
I woke up in an unfamiliar room.
The unfamiliar room was large and luxurious, like a five-star hotel suite. Besides, more than anything, this bed… It’s very soft.
‘Look how soft it is, is it a microfiber duvet?’
I’ve never slept on such a soft bed on Earth.
I was pressing down on the bed as if I was curious, but a woman dressed as a maid opened the door and came in.
“Are you awake?”
“Huh?…Um…Who are you, by the way…?”
“I am the lady-in-waiting of this castle. If Gaon-nim coughs, I have the role of guiding you to His Majesty.”
‘Your Majesty…? Oh, that crazy macho beast?’
The last thing I saw before passing out was the Beast King’s status.
If I looked at it correctly, the level of the Beast King would be 91.
I wonder if it was a world where the power balance was really broken?
“I’ll guide you when you’re ready.”
“Oh, is it okay if I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“That macho… No, how strong is the Beast King?”
At that, the lady-in-waiting replied to me with the expression on her face, ‘What bullsh*t are you talking about?’
“You are very strong. You are a member of the four strongest continents among mankind.”
“Um…That’s right. Thank you.”
Fortunately, contrary to my worries, it wasn’t a world where the power balance was destroyed.
It was just that the Beast King was f*cking strong.
“Then can you guide me?”
“Okay. Follow me.”
I asked her maid to guide her, and the maid lowered her head slightly and started walking down her hallway.
I followed the lady-in-waiting and looked around her.
“Is this the royal castle?”
“That’s right. It’s the Leonhard Castle, which boasts a long tradition.”
“It’s so gorgeous.”
“This is quite frugal compared to other kingdoms.”
This is frugal? How much do other kingdoms splurge on?
“We’re almost there.”
“….A playground?”
“You’re right in saying it’s a training ground, not a playground.”
The place the lady-in-waiting guided was a training ground full of sweat.
When I entered the training ground, I saw a Beastman King with a large body that could be seen from far away.
As a bonus, I saw people sparring in front of the Beast King.
“You’re here.”
The Beast King approached me with a stern expression.
What is it? What did i do wrong Is your expression too scary?
“Hmm? I’m sorry. The expression on my face is a bit scary. Thanks to that, I was misunderstood a lot when I was younger. Just think of my expression now as expressionless.”
“Oh, I see…”
Are you expressionless? No matter how you look at it, it looks like a person is cut in half and killed.
“Let me apologize first. You didn’t even know you were the benefactor who saved my daughter and you committed my rudeness.”
“No, that’s fine. It’s misleading when her daughter comes into the house accompanied by a strange man.”
“That’s right.”
No, what the f*ck, this gentleman?
“So, did you bury Aldre’s ashes well?”
“Ah…Surely…”
“It’s okay. I already knew that Aldre passed away a year ago. The Labyrinth of the Abyss is such a place.”
I had a moment of doubt.
The Beast King’s level is 91, and he can definitely walk around the Labyrinth of the Abyss as if he were in his own room, but why didn’t he come to the rescue when his son or daughter went inside?
“But can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Why didn’t Ellie enter the labyrinth herself?”
“………”
The Beast King was silent for a moment. The expression on his face was so serious that he almost fainted in an instant.
Did I say something wrong? If you make that face and remain silent, anyone will be scared!
“Aren’t you from another world?”
“Huh? How…”
“I’m not stupid like Ellie. I know that only people from another world can get enough points to learn emotions and even fire magic at level 40.”
The Beast King said, pointing at the people who were sparring in the distance.
“All the people over there are earthlings like you.”
“Eh?”
Come to think of it, all the people fighting over there were pure humans, not beastmen. Moreover, the ethnicity was also very diverse.
‘Two Caucasians…Two Asians…’
I used my emotions to fight people from afar.
[LV 15 Jackson Smith]
HP: 866/916
Mana: 124/124
Status: None
[LV 16 Emma Brown]
HP: 617/617
Mana: 421/621
Status: None
[LV 14 Haolan]
HP: 715/729
Mana: 312/351
Status: None
[LV 17 Hiroshi Morish*ta]
HP: 819/1025
Mana: 310/310
Status: None
Two were Westerners, and the other two appeared to be Chinese and Japanese, respectively.
Anyway, why is the level so low? Did you transfer later than me?
“Did all the people of this world transfer to different time zones?”
“No. They grew up comfortably unlike you. That’s why their level is lower than you.”
I see. Someone had a hard time in the labyrinth, but someone said they sucked honey while training comfortably?
“How long has it been since the aliens were summoned?”
“It’s been more than a week, maybe 10 days.”
‘Already?’
In the labyrinth, there was no concept of time, so we couldn’t know the exact date.
So it felt like it had been a little less than a week…
“Anyway, to get back to the point, I can’t enter the labyrinth of the abyss. If I do, it’s dangerous for me as well as for the beast kingdom.”
“But aren’t you strong?”
At those words, the Beast King smiled and asked me.
“Have you seen ‘them’?”
“‘It’…?”
“You couldn’t have seen it, because if you did, you’d never be alive.”
The Beast King stayed silent for a while with his eyes closed, perhaps thinking of the old days.
After a few seconds, the Beast King slowly opened his eyes and said.
“I don’t know if you know it, but the Labyrinth of the Abyss is like a kind of living creature.”
“Life..?”
“Yes, in the labyrinth of the abyss, there are ‘eyes’ everywhere, and those ‘eyes’ bring ‘it’.”
No f*ck, what are ‘eyes’ and what are ‘it’… You have to tell them to figure it out.
“It’s better that you don’t know. You just have to live with great gratitude that you didn’t meet ‘it’ in the labyrinth. But surviving the labyrinth of the abyss with level 1 is definitely worthy of praise.”
“Ah, thank you…”
“Anyway, the important thing is that the moment I enter the labyrinth of the abyss, the labyrinth that senses my energy will call ‘them’. If that happens, my kingdom will be in danger, so I can’t recklessly enter the labyrinth.”
To sum up the conclusion, the beast king cannot enter the labyrinth. Is it like that?
I don’t know what ‘they’ are, but if the Beast King is careful, they must be incredibly strong monsters.
At that moment, the memories of meeting the fragments of the void and the abyss flashed through my head.
‘Ah… I can’t believe it…’
King Suin clearly said that if he had met ‘it’ he would not be alive.
Then it’s not our sweet Void Fragments and Abyss Fragments.
Because the only monsters in the labyrinth that were friendly to me were fragments of the void and fragments of the abyss.
“So, is the place you transferred to the middle layer of the labyrinth of the abyss? Or… Is it ‘the abyss’?”
“The transferred place is the middle layer… But where is the abyss?”
“‘Abyss’ is the name of the lower level of the labyrinth of the abyss. Just as the middle level is Hell and the upper level is Hell, the lower level has the name ‘Abyss’.”
Crazy.
Is that why the name of the labyrinth was ‘Abyss’ Labyrinth?
“There is a rumor that the lower level of the ‘Abyss’, the lower level of the labyrinth, exists… But it is not known whether it is true.”
“Okay, so now that the introduction is long, let’s start with the main topic, right?”
At my words, the Beast King grinned.
As expected, this man wants something? The smirk makes it look like there is a ulterior motive no matter who sees it.
“It’s nice to be quick-witted. I don’t know about you, but now each country is determined to raise people from other worlds.”
“It must be because of [Another world transfer].”
“That’s right. Even if it’s about twice the experience, if you raise the point twice as much as level 50, it’s about 100 levels of efficiency, so it’s worth it that each country is frantic to raise people from another world.”
“So what do you want to say to me?”
“Wouldn’t you like to work under my direct control? Let me raise you myself. I heard that you are a wizard…. I will find one of my magic teachers.”
‘How can a daughter and a father be so alike? ‘
I rejected the Beast King’s offer just like Ellie did.
“I refuse. I don’t want to belong to anyone.”
“Hmm, as expected.”
The Beast King had a slightly lethargic expression.
But it didn’t look like he was going to question my answer.
“Anyway, even if the points are doubled, it seems that he has some kind of special ability if he learns emotions and fire magic.”
“Isn’t there anyone in the kingdom of beasts with appraisal abilities? As I expected, if the appraisal level is high, the appraisal will show…”
“Yes. But emotions don’t work for people with emotions.”
What is it, really?
I know first. Emotions have such a function.
“Of course, even if emotions are blocked, the level and name will come out. Only health and mana will be treated as question marks.”
“So you knew I was from another world?”
Unusually many abilities for a level 40, an unusual name in another world called Park Ga-on. Oh my, no one is an earthling, right?
‘Does the Beast King have feelings then? Mana and health are marked with question marks.’
“Then the King…”
“I don’t have any emotions. It’s just that I have a normal ability called [Emotion Interference], So I can’t see my health and mana. Compared to my emotions, the amount of points is very small, so it’s a very effective ability. Instead, I have a higher level than an appraiser, [ There is a condition that the level of [Emotion disturbance] Must be higher than [Emotion].”
So, did the Void Fragments and Abyss Fragments I encountered before also have [Emotion Interference]?
They have stamina and mana? Because it was marked
“Anyway, if you don’t come under my direct control, I’ll treat you as a state guest. Instead, the Bureau of Wardens is in a state of war, so you’d better be careful.”
“If it’s a state of war… Why don’t you have a bad relationship with other countries?”
“Something similar.”
With those words, the Beast King turned his back and walked towards the earthlings in sparring.
But he stopped in the middle and glanced at me.
“Ah, that’s right. You almost forgot me. I knocked you out, which made Ellie angry for a while. Yes, she’s worried. Go find her.”
“…I understand.”
After hearing the beast king’s words, I asked the lady-in-waiting next to her with her head bowed.
“Ellie…Where is the princess?”
“If you are the second princess, you should be in your room right now. I will guide you.”
“Thank you.”
I followed her handmaiden into her palace.
The size of the castle is so large that it took nearly 5 minutes to reach Eli’s room.
Smart…
“Is the second princess here?”
…..
“Princess?”
When the lady-in-waiting didn’t hear her answer, she tried to knock again, a little flustered.
But before the lady-in-waiting knocked again, she quickly opened the door and went inside.
“Gaon? No matter how much you are a state guest, you can freely enter the princess’s room…”
The lady-in-waiting was taken aback by my bold attitude and scolded me, but soon swallowed her words after looking at the scenery in the room.
“I felt a strange mana, so I came in on my own… What is this?”
Ellie’s room was a mess and there were many scratches as if she had been fighting with someone.
“Is this a kidnapping?”
You rescued this damn princess, but is this a kidnapping?
“You must go quickly and tell the Beast King that Ellie has been kidnapped.”
“Yes…Yes!”
The lady-in-waiting quickly ran to the training ground where the Beast King was.
I approached the wide open window and used my magic.
“Memories of Wind.”
Memories of the wind is a high-level wind attribute magic that allows you to see traces of the wind.
I couldn’t directly see the kidnapping scene, but I could roughly guess which direction the abductor took Ellie.
“Did you go there?”
I grinned and went up into the air using [Psychokinesis].
Then it started to fly at high speed in the direction where the traces of the wind were connected.