Sungyoon frowned when he returned to his labyrinth . Even if he had spent an unexpected amount of time in Armstrong, the round-trip had taken two weeks .

  ‘I can see why people want labyrinths that are closer to Armstrong . ’


  If he had spent these two weeks raiding the labyrinth, he would have earned more moonstones, and he would have progressed in clearing the labyrinth . He couldn’t shake the idea that he had wasted his time .

  Still, it was too late to change anything, and nothing would come from complaining about it . Sungyoon immediately moved to the 2nd floor .

  In front of him, four tunnels leading to the 2nd floor appeared . Sungyoon looked at the neat and well-drawn professional map and moved to the closest tunnel .

  He immediately entered the 2nd floor .

  The 2nd floor was like the 1st floor, filled with monsters . The first monster he encountered was the Big Horn Deer .

  It was a monster commonly seen on the 6th floor of the Beginner’s Labyrinth . It looked like a deer, but its red eyes were filled with murderous intent . It was a monster in no uncertain terms . Its entire body bulged with muscles, so it didn’t have the sleek and light form of a deer . When the monster saw Sungyoon, it growled -

  Koo-roo-roo-roo-roo!

  It clearly wasn’t the cry of a deer . The horns on its head looked like the roots of a bonsai tree . The monster aimed its large horns at the prey in front of him .

  Sungyoon raised his shield -

  Koo-ahhhhh!

  The Big Horn Deer’s tongue protruded out of its mouth, and the monster ran towards Sungyoon like a dog with rabies . It shook the labyrinth as it ran straight towards its prey .

  Sungyoon focused his mind so that he didn’t get overwhelmed by the monster’s ferocity . This monster was like Bloody Rhino that used its large horns to execute a fierce attack . If one was careful of their charge, these monsters were pretty easy to handle . Of course, it was under the premise that one had enough agility to dodge or enough defensive capability to block the attack .

  Sungyoon deflected the attack to the side with a practiced hand .

  Boom!

  Despite him turning aside the attack, his shield rang out from the heavy impact .

  After deflecting the Big Horn Deer’s attack at a slight angle, Sungyoon immediately turned around and caught sight of the monster’s rear . It was trying hard to stop its forward progress, but it couldn’t overcome its own momentum . Sungyoon caught up with the monster and swung his mace .

  Kwah-doo-doohk!

  Its buttock sunk inwards, and the monster let out a mournful cry as it fell to the ground . Blood gushed out . Its pelvis had been completely crushed by the attack, so it couldn’t use its rear legs . The loss of mobility was like a death sentence for this monster . It couldn’t even stand up, and its future was obvious .

  Kwah-jeek!

  With Sungyoon’s mace landing on its head, the monster lost its life .

  Wooooooooong!

  “Huh?”


  He was waiting for the familiar process of the corpse turning into a moonstone when it happened . Sungyoon raised his arm to look at his Devices .

  It was the Device which had been equipped with the Yellow Gem . The two Purple Gems were surrounded by a yellow light, which swirled around them before being sucked into the Purple Gems .

  Then, the two Gems changed colors . Purple turned into indigo .

  ‘It rose!’


  In truth, although he had equipped the Yellow Gem, the man had no idea if it was working . He was suspicious as to whether it was capable of ranking up a Gem . However, the Yellow Gem had done its job .

  He immediately tried to summon his spear .

  The image of a spear appeared in his head, but the spear didn’t materialize . Sungyoon was a bit taken aback . He tried to summon it a couple more times, yet the spear refused to be summoned . In order to cover all his bases, he let his magical energy flow into the Gem . It was the same procedure he went through when he had summoned a Gem for the first time .

  It took around 20 seconds .

  The spear appeared in Sungyoon’s hand .

  ‘It treated this as my first summon . ’


  Even if it was a Gem he had used before, when it advanced in rank, it was treated as a new Gem . Sungyoon unsummoned his spear and, once again, pictured the image of a spear in his mind . This time, he could summon the spear in a normal manner .

  The outer appearance of the spear had changed a bit . The spear blade was attached to a polished wooden pole . That hadn’t changed . However, the spear blade had gotten a bit longer and sharper . Overall, the length of the spear was similar to before .

  Hoohng! Hoo-oong!

  He swung it a couple of times . Thankfully, it didn’t feel awkward . He could immediately use it in battle .

  Sungyoon unsummoned his spear, and then, he activated the strength-enhancing Gem .

  ‘If I can raise it by one more rank, the spear will be the same rank as the mace . ’


  At that point, he could use it as his main weapon . The mace wasn’t bad, but sometimes, he missed the long reach of the spear .

  He didn’t know how long it would take . Still, it was better than doing nothing and waiting for a Gem to drop . Moreover, it was possible for him to evolve any Gems that fit certain criteria .

  ‘Awesome!’


  Sungyoon was in a good mood as he once again started to roam the 2nd floor .

  * * *

  Jimin held her handphone as she stared at the screen . Her long slender brows were furrowed as if she had received some bad news .

  “What’s wrong?”


  Chelsea entered the office with two cups of coffee in her hands .

  Chelsea was still in Korea, so Jimin sometimes used her as free labor . Usually, Jimin’s company didn’t generate much work, but due to Sungyoon’s exploits, her workload was starting to increase . Of course, the volume of the increase wasn’t that much . She didn’t need help from others to finish it . Jimin was just being a bit wicked in ordering Chelsea around .

  “Did something bad happen?”


  Chelsea placed the coffee cup in front of Jimin and asked the question as she drank her own cup of coffee .

  “No . It’s nothing like that . ”


  Jimin placed her handphone on her desk .

  “Mr . Sungyoon isn’t spending any money . ”


  “Money?”


  “Yes . As you know, my company is making a good amount of money now, thanks to Mr . Sungyoon . But since he can no longer receive help from the Support Center, I opened an account for him to spend on food and lodging . However, he hasn’t used the card at all . ”


  Of course, the account didn’t have enough money for Sungyoon to live in luxury . However, it was enough for him to rent a decent room for his stay in Armstrong . It was enough for the man to fill his stomach with bread and sausages . Most companies provided this level of support to their Connectors . Of course, the bigger companies provided much more to the higher-ranking Connectors . The really rich Connectors didn’t even bother with the companies . They just used their money to live the high life on the moon .

  “He’s a notorious penny pincher . It probably galls him to spend that money . ”


  When it came to Shinhae, Sungyoon’s wallet was wide open . He didn’t hesitate in spending when it came to her . However, Sungyoon was really strict when it came to spending on himself . Chelsea remembered he had always looked like a beggar on the moon .

  ‘It means it was an extremely kind gesture for him to buy me coffee in the past . ’


  She thought about the coffee he had bought her during the incident with Nicholas . She, once again, felt her good feeling towards Sungyoon rise .

  “I think you are right . There is also the debt that he owes me . He probably sees it as a waste to spend that money . ”


  Jimin grumbled . He was needlessly being considerate towards her when it came to money .

  When the next time he came back to earth, she decided to give him a piece of her mind . She would somehow make him spend that money . Jimin firmed her resolve . It happened when she was about to pick up her coffee cup .

  Crack!

  “Kyahhh!”


  The coffee cup suddenly cracked and broke apart, and the hot coffee and the broken fragments of the cup spread all over the desk . The steaming coffee dripped off the desk to the floor . Jimin quickly got up from her seat .

  “Are you ok, Jimin?”


  Chelsea quickly approached her friend, who calmed herself by placing a hand over her surprised heart . Jimin nodded .

  “I’m fine . ”


  Fortunately, she wasn’t hurt . Chelsea let out a sigh of relief when she realized Jimin was unhurt . However, Jimin’s eyes remained tense .

  This was just bad luck . She just had to wipe away the coffee and collect the broken fragments of the cup . However, her heart remained uneasy . This was a small accident . She would forget this happened in a couple of days .

  But she didn’t know why, she had an ominous feeling . Her heart started beating fast in a foreboding manner . It unnerved her .

  * * *

  Tuh-buhk!

  The dust had piled up like snow on the surface of the moon, and new footprints had appeared on top of it . Aside from the survey party that had made a quick survey of this location, Sungyoon was the only one frequenting the labyrinth called H-023 . However, another person’s shadow fell across the entrance of the labyrinth .

  ‘I guess this is the place . ’


  His destination was Woo Sungyoon’s labyrinth . Soobin’s eyes narrowed .

  His gaze headed towards the Moon Surface Vehicle parked in front of the labyrinth . He had been thrown away by his company, so he hadn’t even been assigned a Personal Labyrinth . Even if it was a used vehicle, this 1st Gen, Sungyoon, was driving around a Moon Surface Vehicle . Soobin felt jealousy sprout in his heart again .

  He checked the interior of the vehicle . It was empty .

  ‘He must be inside the labyrinth . ’


  Thankfully, they hadn’t missed each other .

  Crunch!

  He summoned his halberd and destroyed the wheels of the Moon Surface Vehicle .

  ‘Just in case . . . ’


  The masked man had said that he would erase all evidence after the deed was done . However, Soobin wanted to make sure he destroyed all escape routes .

  Soobin slowly entered the labyrinth . He had never been in a labyrinth other than the Beginner’s Labyrinth . However, his footsteps were confident . He wasn’t afraid at all . There was no need for him to be afraid .

  The power he had acquired was that amazing .

  He activated his Gems . A helmet and an armor appeared on his body, and his body overflowed with strength . He readjusted his grip on his halberd as he looked at his surroundings .

  The space beyond the entrance was incredibly large . A gentle slope extended from the entrance to the inside of the labyrinth . Soobin leisurely looked at his surroundings as he moved deeper into the labyrinth .

  He came to a fork in the road . Soobin rubbed his chin as he became absorbed in his thoughts .

  ‘We might miss each other, so I should probably wait for him here . ’


  He smirked as he looked at the arrow placed on the surface of the wall . As he looked around to see if there was any place to sit, his gaze chanced upon a pair of red eyes observing him .

  ‘Mad Dog . ’


  It was a basic monster that could be found in the Beginner’s Labyrinth . It seemed they existed in this labyrinth too .

  The Mad Dog revealed its teeth as it growled . It was clearly making threatening gestures towards Soobin, but he only snorted in derision -

  Koo-ah!

  The Mad Dog revealed its sharp teeth as it charged towards its prey .

  In the past, even a single Mad Dog had made him nervous, as there was a chance that he could die . He had been so careful when he hunted this monster . His past self looked dumb and foolish .

  However, he was different now . His body was overflowing with power, like the time when he had just awakened . It felt as if all the nerves in his body were firing .

  The Mad Dog jumped towards Soobin’s neck .

  Suh-guhk!

  A silver light split the air . The halberd was swung parallel to the floor, and the Mad Dog was cut in half in mid-air .

  Chwahhhk!

  The Mad Dog fell to the floor . The two severed pieces of its body fell far from each other, and blood and innards fell to the floor like rain .

  A person with a weak stomach would turn away from such a sight . However, Soobin didn’t show any emotion as he looked at the corpse of the Mad Dog .

  Something odd happened at that moment .

  Soo-roo!

  The blood from the Mad Dog’s body flowed out and moved as if it had sentience . In the beginning, the two blobs of blood looked wary of each other, but in the end, they merged into one .

  It was an extremely bizarre sight .

  Chwahk!

  The blood, which had been crawling across the surface of the floor, suddenly shot into the air . It was sucked into a single location .

  A circular necklace, 10 cm in diameter, hung on Soobin’s chest . The Blood Gem was slotted in the middle, and it was greedily sucking in the blood .

  ‘It is as the name suggests . It is a Blood Gem . ’


  Soobin had a broad smile on his lips as he watched the odd and frightening event . He didn’t care if this Gem was odd or not .

  There was only one thing that was important to him . This Gem would bring him future success .

  Also, it would bring him joy .

  Soobin sat cross-legged on top of an extruding rock wall . He was going to leisurely wait for Sungyoon .

  His eyes were filled with anticipation .