The black-armored man became surprised when confronted with the maelstrom of Mana Stream . He raised his weapon toward the light, and his party members followed suit .

  “W . . . what the hell is this!”


  A scream suddenly rang out . The researcher was still clutching at his two money bags, but now, his face was turning blue .

  “Magical energy poisoning?”


  “Hadn’t he said that he’d be fine because of the magical energy suppressor?”


  Confusion ran rampant within the Connectors’ hearts . The researcher was getting worse and worse . His skin was beyond being blue and was starting to turn purplish black .

  “Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhh!”


  The researcher felt as if ants were crawling and chewing through his veins and arteries .

  He started to scratch at his body with his fingernails . His hands turned bloody from his own blood .

  “L . . . look at him……!”


  The white-robed woman turned pale as she pointed toward the researcher .

  [This device blocks the magical energy of the labyrinth, but I have no idea how it’ll function within a Mana Stream . That’s why we have to be very careful . ]

  McGregor’s warning flashed through the researcher’s brain . However, he was in too much pain . His mind turned blank as the pain ate away at his consciousness .

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk!”


  He screamed until it felt as if his throat would rip apart . It was his last moments .

  Puh-uhng!

  Then his body blew up as if it were a balloon . Blood, bones, flesh, and innards flew into the surroundings .

  Chwahhhhhhk!

  It covered the nearby Connectors .

  “Ooh-ahhhhhhhhht!”


  “Kyahhhhhhk!”


  They let out screams . They were veterans who had fought monsters for a long time, and they were used to death . Their personality was quite twisted as a consequence . But they weren’t rotten enough to be unperturbed by a human dying in front of them .

  This was especially true when the victim had just blown up next to them, and they were coated in his remains . Of course, their panic would deepen .

  “Calm down!”


  The black-armored man yelled .

  “Just focus on the enemy that shows up first! If we don’t, we’ll die a horrible death like that man!”


  As expected of a leader, he caught the attention of his party in an instant . He used the fear of seeing the researcher die in front of them to his advantage, and employed it as a motivation for them to act .

  His party members broke out of their stupor . They didn’t want to die a miserable death like the researcher .

  Boom!

  The light dissipated, and something landed on the ground .

  “.…… So that’s a Golem . It has a very apt name . ”


  At a glance, one could tell its body was made out of metal, and it was not a living creature .

  “Let’s kill that thing first!”


  When their leader shouted out an order, the party responded . They got into a familiar formation as they faced off against the Golem .

  Puhhhhhhhhhhhng!

  One of the Golem’s numerous eyes turned red and shot out a large flame . The largest man in the party stepped forward and blocked the flame with his shield .

  “Koo-oooooohk!”


  The man groaned, but he was somehow able to block the flame .

  However, the Golem’s attack hadn’t ended yet .

  Boom!

  The Golem took a big jump, and in a flash, it closed the distance to the party . Then, it swung its arm in a violent manner .

  “Attaaaaaaaaack!”


  The black-armored man swung his hammer as he confronted the Golem, and the battle started in earnest .

  The battle was fierce . The Golem was strong and fast . Moreover, it was capable of using multiple spells .

  The party members were pushed to the brink when faced with a variety of attacks .

  However, they weren’t pushovers . This party was pretty well-known amongst the parties that raided the Great Labyrinth .

  The party somehow found an equilibrium in fighting the Golem . When they got used to the attacks from their opponent, they started to mount a counteroffensive . They started to push the Golem backward .

  After a while . . .

  Kwah-jee-jeek!

  The hammer crushed the Golem’s chest .

  Numerous wounds already covered the Golem’s body, and this attack was the critical blow .

  Boom!

  It fell to the cold floor of the labyrinth . At the same time, the black-armored man and his party members fell to the ground from exhaustion .

  “Huh-uhk! Huhk! What kind of monster is that!”


  The black-armored man cursed .

  In truth, he hadn’t believed the words of the man named Woo Sungyoon . Even if Woo Sungyoon was a high rank Connector who had entered the Great Labyrinth, he was still a novice compared to their party .

  That was why the black-armored man came to the conclusion that Woo Sungyoon was weak, and that his fear was unwarranted . If the Golem was truly powerful, Woo Sungyoon would have never made it back out . That was the black-armored man’s reasoning .

  However, he had just fought the Golem, and it truly was monstrous .

  ‘Still, we killed it in the end . If I take back the piece of metal alongside the Golem, my name will be honored by the world . . . ’


  However, he couldn’t continue that thought . He saw something that he didn’t want to believe was true .

  Sssk! Sssk! Sssk!

  Numerous lights appeared around his party .

  The magical energy swirled in a crazy manner . It sounded like a cry announcing his impending death .

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  As expected, the light spat out Golems .

  Eight Golems appeared first . However, not all of the Golems looked like the one that the party had just defeated .

  Boooom!

  Then, two more Golems appeared . These Golems looked different from the eight normal Golems .

  They were about twice as big, and they had six arms . The normal Golems had spider-like eyes, but these two had two human-like eyes .

  Sss-ooooooooh!

  Eight normal Golems and two super Golems, which looked much stronger than the normal Golems, all of them locked onto the Connector party in front of them .

  “.…… Run . ”


  The black-armored man quietly spoke . His party members quickly got up .

  The Golems, who had remained still until that moment, started to move .

  “Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuun!”


  The black-armored man started running like the Flash . His party members quickly followed him .

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The Golems started to chase them down .

  ***

  Sungyoon’s party was resting within their lodgings . The battles against the Four-Winged Vultures had taken a turn for the better in the plateau . It meant the party was gaining experience against these monsters . It was looking like they would be able to clear the 2nd floor of the Great Labyrinth soon .

  All of them went to sleep with renewed hope in their heart for tomorrow . However, their sweet dreams were interrupted by an explosion .

  Boooooooooom!

  Bul-duhk!

  Sungyoon immediately got up from his deep sleep .

  ‘What the hell was that?’


  The light outside was still subdued, so it was still night in Armstrong . Sungyoon didn’t have a good idea as to why he had suddenly woken up from his sleep .

  However, he became fully awake when he heard the second explosion .

  Boooooooooom!

  This time he was fully conscious . He jumped out of his bed and ran out the door .

  “Mr . Sungyoon!”


  The first person he encountered was Emily, who was still in her pajamas .

  “What’s that sound?”


  “I have no idea . ”


  Slam!

  Tim slammed the door open as he came out of his room .

  “What’s happeni—!”


  Boooooooooom!

  The third explosion erupted before Tim could ask his question .

  Aeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeng!

  The sound of a siren started ringing out .

  Armstrong was filled with Confusion . When Sungyoon looked out the window, he could see people running out into the streets in droves .

  Pah-aht!

  The lights should’ve been dimmed at this time, but they suddenly brightened .

  “It seems something bad must have happened . ”


  It was a certainty considering what was going on in Sunngyoon’s surroundings .

  The problem was the fact that they had no idea if this was a large or a small incident . From what they had seen and heard, it didn’t seem like a small one .

  “Let’s get our Devices and Gems for now . ”


  They each went into their respective rooms and picked up their Devices and Gems . Then they exited the building .

  It happened at that moment .

  Puhhhhhhhhhhhng!

  A blue light erupted from the place where the Beginner’s Labyrinth was supposed to be . The blue light flew in a straight line and destroyed all the buildings in its path before striking the outer wall of Armstrong .

  Kwah-doo-doo-doohk!

  It almost didn’t look real . The outer wall, which had been protecting the city, was ripped apart as if it were made out of paper .

  An opening was formed, and the space beyond came into clear view .

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhk!”


  Screams of despair echoed everywhere . Normal humans couldn’t live on the rough and lifeless surface of the moon . The wall had been their only protection against the lunar environment, and now it had been breached .

  Connectors like Sungyoon and his party members would be fine . However, Armstrong had a great number of regular people working here as well . The destruction of the outer wall was basically a death sentence for them .

  Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

  An emergency broadcast cut through the screams of despair -

  We are enacting Artemis Level 1 alert . All civilians should evacuate to an emergency shelter . This is not a drill . I repeat . We are enacting Artemis Level 1 alert . All civilians should evacuate to an……

  Artemis .

  It was the name of the Moon Goddess . But the Artemis the broadcast was mentioning was the name of the alert system used in case of an emergency in Armstrong .

  Artemis Level 1 alert meant Armstrong was facing an existential threat .

  Koo-roor-roo-roo-roo!

  Another large sound could be heard in the distance . A barrier was descending from the ceiling, and it was sealing off the breached sector -

  We are quarantining the E-49 section .

  The broadcast explained what was going on . It seemed the higher-ups of the Armstrong city were doing their best to minimize the damage .

  However, their actions bore no fruit .

  Puh-uhng! Puh-uhng! Puh-uhng!

  People could see a variety of attacks erupt from the distance . They could tell it was light, fire, earth, water, and similar spells being shot into the surroundings .

  In a flash, more buildings fell, and numerous wounds formed on the outer wall of Armstrong . The civilians panicked and ran toward the nearest shelter .

  “Mr . Sungyoon!”


  Someone grabbed him . It was Grace . It seemed she had come running to his lodging as soon as this incident had erupted .

  She asked him a question .

  “What’s going on?”


  “I’m not sure . ”


  It wasn’t just Sungyoon . Most of the people in Armstrong had no idea what was going on .

  It happened at that moment .

  Kwahhhng!

  A person came flying through the air, and he crashed into a building .

  “A . . . are you ok?”


  Emily approached the person . She placed a hand over her mouth when she saw this person’s condition .

  At a glance, one could tell the man was heavily injured . He was wearing a high rank black armor, but it was damaged all over . Blood poured out from large and small wounds all over his body .

  Above all else, his left arm was missing, and blood gushed out from the stump .

  “Please stay calm! I’ll heal you right now!”


  Emily raised her staff .

  However, the man didn’t listen to Emily’s words .

  “I . . . I have . . . I have to . . . run . . . run away . . . ”


  His arms and legs didn’t work, yet he struggled to move .

  What was he running away from?

  The answer to the question came knocking before Emily could even ask it .

  Boom!

  A Golem landed in front of her and her party .

  “.…… Why is this here?”


  Sungyoon’s eyes shook .

  However, he didn’t have time to ponder .

  Sssssssssk!

  One of the Golem’s eyes turned white .

  “Oohk!”


  Sungyoon didn’t have time to dodge . Above all else, Tim, Emily, and the evacuating civilians would be put in harm’s way if he dodged the attack .

  Sungyoon immediately activated his Gems, then he overclocked them .

  Too-hwahk!

  White light shot out from the Golem, and the light squarely struck Sungyoon’s shield .

  Puh-uhng!

  The nearby temperature rapidly dropped . Frost started to form around the shield, and in no time, Sungyoon started to freeze .

  “Koo-oo-ook!”


  Sungyoon gritted his teeth . The cold air seeped through the gaps in his armor . If his armor didn’t have innate resistance, he would have become an unsightly ice sculpture .

  The Golem stopped its attack, and Sungyoon fell to his knee .

  Kwah-jeek! Kwah-jeek!

  The sound of ice breaking off his body rang out .

  ‘Cold!’


  Sungyoon felt as if even his internal organs were frozen, and he couldn’t properly move his body .

  “Mr . Sungyoon! Shit!”


  Tim swung his ax toward the Golem .

  However, the Golem used its agile movements to dodge .