‘No! I can’t let it end like this!’


  His eyes hardened . If he went along without putting up a fight, all his secrets would be revealed . There were a good number of people who had witnessed his confrontation with the maggot .

  ‘Do I have time to activate my Gems?’


  Nicholas tried to get a measure of the two Connectors who had barged into the room .

  However, his opponents were no pushovers .

  Ssssk!

  A large sword was placed next to Nicholas’ neck .

  “Do not do anything rash . How long do you think it’ll take you to completely activate your Gems? I don’t think it will be faster than me decapitating your head with my sword . ”


  “.……Shit!”


  Nicholas spat out his anger and frustration before he lowered his head .

  * * *

  Sungyoon sat in view of the Great Labyrinth, and he continued to glare towards it . The Beginner’s labyrinth was currently like a market that had been closed for the day . Not many people entered it . The number of Connectors entering into the Great Labyrinth was also sparse . The traffic of the Great Labyrinth was comparable to the traffic of the Beginner’s labyrinth right now .

  ‘It is said that the Mana Stream constantly occurrs within the Great Labyrinth . ’


  It was due to the Mana Stream, that the lesser ranked Connectors couldn’t enter into the Great Labyrinth . As soon as monsters were killed in the Great Labyrinth, the Mana Stream immediately replenished the monsters . These were the brutal obstacles one had to overcome as Connectors .

  However, Sungyoon didn’t plan on backing down . He glared at the Great Labyrinth .

  Sungyoon’s reputation for his eccentric behavior had started to spread a little bit within Armstrong city . This was why curious people pointed and stared at Sungyoon . However, it didn’t bother him . He had to reflect on his goals once again . He had to blunt the fear that had developed that day .

  After he had almost died in the Beginner’s labyrinth, he once again started feeling fear towards death . His fear was suffocating him . In a very short amount of time, he had almost died twice . He almost died to the Bigfoot, and he almost died when he entered the sealed region .

  When he was fighting, he only thought about his survival, so he didn’t have the time to feel fear .

  However, now everything had ended . He had gone to the ‘chicken coop’ next to the support center to lie down and started reviewing the past events . In doing so, he had become overwhelmed by fear . He desperately took out the picture of his daughter and kept looking at it . Before he knew it, he was rubbing his face against the picture . He would be meeting her soon .

  However, it wasn’t enough to control his fear . This was why he came to see his final goal . He came to renew his goals once again by watching the Great Labyrinth .

  ‘Yes . I have to put Shinhae in a good environment . She needs a good education, and she’ll get to eat delicious foods . Also, I have to honor the contract of raiding the Great Labyrinth . ’


  He would willingly put his life on the line to make these goals come true .

  In addition, didn’t he find out that he had the capacity to use the Gold Gem?

  ‘I wonder if the president will like that news . ’


  The Great Labyrinth was almost an obsession to her . There was hope now . There was a chance that he would be able to make her wish come true . He was sure she would be very happy .

  He kept talking to himself as he blunted the fear that had seeped into his heart .

  ‘Alright . Shall I start heading back?’


  Sungyoon stood up .

  The Mana Stream would start to sweep through the Beginner’s labyrinth starting that day . He had no reason to stay on the moon . Sungyoon went to gather his sparse belongings that he had brought from earth . Then he headed towards the spaceport .

  * * *

  “Thank you for your hard work . ”


  A pale and soft hand was raised towards him . Sungyoon naturally shook the hand offered to him .

  “Thank you . ”


  “It seems you’ll be able to spend time in paradise once again for the near future . ”


  Chelsea sounded very jealous as she spoke .

  Sungyoon stared at her .

  “Hmm? What’s wrong? Did you perhaps fall for me?”


  Chelsea wrapped her two arms around her body, and she moved away from him . Sungyoon smirked .

  “It seems I won’t have to worry about you . You are capable of making jokes like that . ”


  “Ah ah . I was wondering why you were acting this way . ”


  Chelsea laughed with him .

  “You don’t have to worry about me . It is true that I became afraid when that bastard threatened me, but I won’t let that keep me down . I don’t have that delicate of a personality . ”


  “Still, you should be more careful from now on . This is especially true for someone as beautiful as you, Ms . Strobe . ”


  Chelsea looked at Sungyoon with surprise in her eyes . She never expected him to say such an embarrassing statement . She never expected him to call her beautiful . A playful smile appeared on her lips, and she poked his arm .

  “Oh my! You called me beautiful . Thank you! Are you perhaps interested in me, Mr . Woo?”


  Chelsea brushed her hair back as she put on a coquettish smile . She still wasn’t wearing any make up, and her clothes were a mess . Despite all of this, her natural beauty trumped such minor details . Anyone, who had coincidentally caught sight of her gesture, looked mesmerized as they stared at Chelsea .

  She was making a joke, yet Sungyoon took a step backwards . He looked really against that idea .

  “I have no interest . ”


  Chelsea’s eyebrows twitched . She hated men who approached her solely based on how her face looked . However, she became miffed when Sungyoon showed such overt signs of not being interested in her .

  ‘Should I make a run at him once?’


  She was so miffed with Sungyoon’s reaction that, for a moment, she had such thoughts . However, Chelsea let out a sigh as she erased these thoughts from her mind .

  ‘Why am I having such childish thoughts?’


  It seemed she was still affected by the earlier incident . She was sure that was it .

  “Anyways, I want to thank you again for helping me from that bastard . When I go back to earth, I’ll buy you a meal . ”


  “Understood . I’ll see you next time, Ms . Strobe . ”


  “Just call me Chelsea . ”


  “.…… are you sure?”


  Sungyoon looked a bit surprised as he asked the question . However, Chelsea was firm as she nodded .

  “In return, I’ll call you Mr . Sungyoon . Aren’t we good enough friends? We can call each other by our first names . ”


  Chelsea winked . However, Sungyoon was unable to reply right away .

  ‘Friend…… . ’


  Chelsea didn’t have much difficulty using that word, but that word had a negative connotation to Sungyoon . Whenever he heard that word, it made him think of the son of a bitch who used to be Sungyoon’s best friend .

  “Uh . Sungyoon…… No . Mr . . . Woo?”


  Chelsea was careful with her words . She walked on eggshells . When he had heard her suggestion, a dark cloud had formed around him . She was taken aback . She wondered if he hated the idea of being friends with her .

  Sungyoon shook off such negative thoughts . Chelsea had only good intentions behind her offer . She had nothing to do with his past dealings with that son of a bitch . If he turned down her offer of friendship, he would be letting that bastard influence him . He didn’t want that bastard to drag him down by the ankles . This was why he decided to accept Chelsea’s offer .

  “I would like that . I do think of you as a friend . Understood . Let us call each other by our first name, Ms . Chelsea . ”


  Chelsea’s face brightened when Sungyoon gave his answer .

  “Well, I look forward to working with you after you come back . ”


  She once again pushed her hand forward, and Sungyoon gave a firm handshake . However, his inner thoughts were conflicted . Would he really be able to trust a friend once again? Sungyoon wasn’t confident it could happen .

  * * *

  The sun had moved past the mountain, and it was time for darkness to descend . There was a house located just outside of Seoul, and night descended there too .

  It was a sweet little house . It was two stories high, and it had a beautiful backyard . There was a vegetable garden, and numerous flowers decorating the backyard, giving an insight into what the house owner liked .

  A car arrived in front of the charming house .

  It was an extremely expensive brand of car . People would show admiration from just seeing the logo . Its design reminded one of a spaceship, and it was fancy enough to make other cars avoid driving too close to it on the road .

  After stopping at the driveway, the car door opened upwards in a stylish manner . A man got out of the car .

  He had short hair, and firm lips . He looked like a stubborn person . However, one could see it occasionally in his actions . At times, he had a carefree way of carrying himself, and it indicated that he had a lively personality . If one wanted to put a negative spin to it, it looked as if he had a frivolous personality .

  His name was Hahn Woosung . He was a pretty successful Connector . He was in his mid 20s, but he had inherited Gems and Devices from his father . He had also received a lot of support from his company, so his talent was already starting to blossom .

  He opened the front door . He smelled something he had missed . Dinner was being prepared, and the smell of the fragrant bean-paste stew filled the house . Woosung’s mouth watered before he knew it .

  “You are here, Woosung!”


  “Mother!”


  A woman came out of the kitchen, and she greeted Woosung . He put on a bright smile as he hugged her .

  “Mother? Why are you calling me by mother? That’s a bit too much . Just call me mom . You are going to give me goosebumps . ”


  “Ah ha ha ha . I’m getting too old for that . ”


  “Aiin told you to do that, right? She is so rigid and formal! Jeez!”


  The woman, who had greeted Woosung, was one of his step mothers . When he heard Hweeyoung’s complaint, he let out a laughter as he scratched the back of his head .

  “Still, I’m glad you are here . Please come in . ”


  Hweeyoung welcomed Woosung into the house .

  “Are you hungry? Wait a moment . I’ll prepare dinner for you . ”


  “What about other mother?”


  “Aiin went to a meeting . She said she is meeting up with her old classmates from elementary school . When is your hyung coming?”


  “He’ll be a little bit late . ”


  “He really is the worst when it comes to how he treats his family . You should make sure to never become like him . Alright?”


  Woosung let out a bitter laughter as he just accepted her advice .

  His mother went back into the kitchen to finish dinner, so he decided to look around the house . The house was clean . It seemed the house had been cleaned not too long ago . He couldn’t see a speck of dust . The interior design was simple . It only possessed the essential furniture . The only thing that was abundant was the numerous pictures hung on the wall .

  Woosung stood in front of the wall with the pictures . He gently brushed his hand over a picture frame . All the pictures on the wall were pictures of his entire family . It was pictures of his father, mothers, brother and sister .

  It was when all of his family laughed, cried, fought, and loved together .

  “You miss it, right?”


  Hweeyoung had snuck up next to him . She had a bright smile on her face .

  “I do . Why don’t we all live together again? I’m sure hyung and noona will agree to it . If they don’t want to, I would like to take care of my mothers . ”


  “It’s fine . I’m having fun living with that stiff woman . You shouldn’t be thinking about living with us . You should hurry up and marry . You should start a family . ”


  This topic came up again . Whenever he returned home, both of his mothers always repeated the same thing . Woosung used his brain to the fullest . He had to escape this pit that was trying to trap him .

  “S . . . so, what’s noona doing these days?”


  Hweeyoung stared at Woosung when she heard his question . Woosung did his best to avoid her gaze .

  “Tsk tsk . The only thing you learned are these petty tricks . ”


  His mother could see through his obvious tactics . His intentions were revealed immediately . Woosung hunched his shoulders . He had a robust physique, but he looked like a whipped dog at that moment . It was an interesting sight .

  Hweeyoung didn’t have any intentions of berating him any further . She decided to answer Woosung’s question .

  “She is still running her company . ”


  “Still?”


  She was still wasting her time on that? Woosung gripped his head .

  “She said this is her last attempt . She only brought in one employee this time . ”


  “He’s probably an unreliable asshole . Why didn’t you stop her?”


  He thought about the past Connectors brought into Jimin’s company, as he spoke .

  “Do you really think she’ll listen to me if I tried to stop her? Are there any children, including you, who listen to their mothers?”


  “That’s…… You do have a point, but…… . ”


  What could he say when his mother came at him like that? Woosung had no choice . He shut his mouth .

  “Oh no . The stew is boiling over!”


  Hweeyoung ran into the kitchen when she heard something overflow . Woosung was left alone in the living room . He let out a deep sigh as he looked at the floor .

  It seemed he would have to go meet his noona .