CHAPTER 177 – The Labyrinth Forest
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“Black Scythe-nim!”
As Joo Seong-tak waved and came running over, Ryu Min shot him a look.
“Be quiet. Even if there’s no one around, you’re making it obvious by acting like you know me like that.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Joo Seong-tak—who always used to glare at him with fire in his eyes whenever he saw him—lowered his gaze like a tame puppy.
When Ryu Min read his thoughts, they were filled with absolute obedience toward his master.
‘This is why the duel system is so good. If you duel with consent, it influences them almost like dominion.’
A male slave hadn’t been part of the original plan, but looking at Joo Seong-tak made him think it was good he’d made one.
At least he didn’t harbor dark intentions toward his master or cling annoyingly like Yamtti did.
“Joo Seong-tak.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Follow closely so you don’t get lost. From here on, it’s the entrance to the labyrinth.”
“A labyrinth?”
Where Ryu Min was now was the entrance to the Labyrinth Forest.
He planned to kill the boss here, a doppelganger, and obtain the Doppelganger’s Ring, which would allow him to change his nickname.
‘To do that, I absolutely need Joo Seong-tak’s rune that increases boss drop rates by ten times. Getting the Doppelganger’s Ring isn’t easy.’
That was why Ryu Min had called Joo Seong-tak.
He needed his help to kill the boss.
“A labyrinth… you mean this forest?”
“Yeah. I’m going to kill the boss here. And for that, I need your help.”
“A boss? What boss?”
‘Cancel that part about a male slave being better.’
Talking to Joo Seong-tak revealed a downside.
He asked too many questions.
“Just stop talking and follow.”
“I-I’m sorry. I’ll follow quietly.”
As they entered the forest, Ryu Min didn’t look back.
Even without looking, his Clairvoyance could tell him who was following.
“He went in, right?”
“Yes, he went in. With some guy.”
After seeing the Black Scythe enter the forest with a man, Shizkang tilted his head.
“What’s in there that he goes in without even hesitating?”
A forest so ominous that anyone would hesitate at least once—yet the moment an ally appeared, the Black Scythe went right in.
As if he knew what would appear inside.
“Suspicious. Are you going to follow?”
“We came all this way—why would we turn back? Of course we follow. Hey, Pangz.”
“Huh?”
The Korean player who was being held in a headlock-like arm hook looked up with a cowed expression.
“What are you staring off for? Hurry up and guide us.”
“O-okay. Th-this way…”
“If you get any funny ideas, you die. Got it?”
“Y-yes…”
As the Korean player led the way while sniffling, Shizkang’s sneer drilled into the back of his head.
“A grown man crying like that. Tch.”
“Um… Shizkang-nim. But are you really planning to deal with the Black Scythe? Won’t it be dangerous?”
“Idiot. Don’t worry. Who do you think I am? I’m Shizkang, Rank 3 in the gang, you punk.”
He’d planned to keep the Black Scythe as the target a secret, but with a Korean guide in tow, he had no choice but to reveal it.
Of course, he mixed in truth and lies while keeping the plan of using the subordinates as bait hidden.
“If I persuade him in Korean, he’ll have to drop his guard. Then we smack him from behind—get it?”
“The plan is good, but the opponent is that famous Black Scythe…”
“To catch a tiger, you’ve gotta enter the tiger’s den. If you don’t leave the well, you’ll end up eating nothing but stagnant water forever. You only live once—if you’re a man, shouldn’t you play in bigger waters?”
“You’re right.”
“So shut up and just trust me. If we do it by the plan, we can make a huge score.”
“Understood. We’ll trust only you, Shizkang-nim.”
After persuading his subordinates, Shizkang tracked the Black Scythe with a greasy smile—
without realizing someone was following behind him.
“Manager An. Are you sure we’re going the right way?”
“Yes. The Black Scythe went in this direction.”
In front of Ma Kyung-rok was an enormous forest.
A forest that looked dangerous at a glance, with a damp, sinister aura leaking out—no ordinary place.
“So the Black Scythe went in there.”
“According to the guidance, that’s what it shows.”
“But did you see earlier? It looked like someone else went into that forest too.”
“Yes. It looked like a group—more than ten people.”
The two of them had seen a group of Players enter the forest together.
They were too far away to tell whether they were allies or enemies, but one thing was clear: like them, they’d hesitated and then gone in.
‘Could there be others chasing the Black Scythe?’
His face and nickname were well known, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to be tracked.
The problem was that if they kept tracking, they might have to run into those other people.
‘Are they guys like me, trying to stick to the Black Scythe and pick up scraps?’
If they followed a bit closer, they’d find out.
Maybe they were foreign Players.
‘If they’re foreign Players, I’ll watch for an opening and kill them.’
Just in case a situation arose where he’d have to commit murder, Ma Kyung-rok instructed An Sang-cheol.
“Manager An. If we run into foreign Players, kill them when you see the chance.”
“Pardon? Kill them?”
“They’re probably thinking the same thing we are. By the rules, we have no choice but to become enemies. The one who strikes first survives.”
“Ah… understood.”
“Keep your surrounding-detection skill on too. It’ll help us prepare for anything.”
“Understood.”
The two of them soon entered the Labyrinth Forest.
Without knowing it was a place that was hard to escape.
The Labyrinth Forest, located between the Alvitz Kingdom and the Braham Kingdom.
This was an unknown region that even the kingdoms didn’t touch.
Because no one who entered had ever returned alive.
‘When I first heard the NPC’s explanation, I was a little scared. I wondered if I’d waste an entire run by going in for no reason.’
But even back then, Ryu Min—who was growing at a uniquely rapid pace—had been able to escape the Labyrinth Forest safely.
‘Even if I did wander in the forest for a full five hours.’
The Labyrinth Forest lived up to its reputation for being hard to get out of.
At a glance, it looked like a single path, but like a cube, the paths changed every five minutes, and depending on where you walked, the route split again.
In other words, the Labyrinth Forest was a place that split up those who entered through countless possibilities and patterns.
‘Even someone you’re following right in front of you—after just five minutes, it’s easy to lose them in an instant.’
That was why Ryu Min had told Joo Seong-tak to stick close.
“Don’t come to my side—just trail behind me. Don’t let the distance between us get wider than five meters.”
“Understood, Master.”
Since he knew the way, as long as Joo Seong-tak followed properly, there was no risk of them becoming a separated family.
‘Even getting out only takes fifteen minutes.’
The first time, escaping had taken five hours, but the more regressions repeated, the more that time decreased, until it reached his current level.
That was how he’d ended up memorizing every path and pattern in the labyrinth—after twenty-five attempts.
‘With that being the case, do those fresh chicks who just entered have any chance of escaping?’
Ryu Min looked at the group following him with a sneer.
They could come in however they wanted, but leaving was another story.
‘They’ll probably take at least five hours, like I did.’
If they were unlucky, they could be trapped for a full twenty-four hours.
If it came to that, all they could do inside the labyrinth was pray their team had gathered plenty of points.
‘I know why you followed me. The Chinese guy, and Ma Kyung-rok’s group too.’
But he had no intention of letting them go easily.
‘You’re the kind who shouldn’t be allowed to leave the labyrinth.’
The Chinese man and Ma Kyung-rok were treating Players as walking points.
If he let them loose outside the labyrinth, they’d commit murder all over the place like colts with the reins cut.
‘That’s why I lured them into the labyrinth on purpose.’
It would look like they followed him, but in truth, Ryu Min was the one who lured them.
‘I told Min Juri too. In this round, stay away from the Black Scythe no matter what.’
There was a reason he had foretold that.
Because he couldn’t let Min Juri get entangled too.
Because he couldn’t let her get lost in the labyrinth.
‘Go ahead—try to chase me. Not that you’ll be able to find me in this labyrinth.’
With one corner of his mouth lifted, Ryu Min moved even deeper inside.
The gang members, led by Shizkang, entered deeper into the labyrinth.
Even as they went farther and farther into the forest, they moved with confidence because they had a reliable senior named Shizkang to trust.
But that trust didn’t last long.
Five minutes after entering the forest, the Korean at the front suddenly stopped.
“Huh?”
“What is it, Pangz?”
“Th-th-the tracking… it’s weird.”
“What do you mean, weird?”
“Tracking… it says it’s impossible.”
“What?”
Shizkang’s face twisted like a demon’s.
“What kind of bullshit are you pulling right now?”
“I-it’s true. P-please believe me!”
The Korean trembled as he spoke.
If it was acting, it was far too real.
And he didn’t look like he had the guts to lie at this point, either.
‘Is it real?’
Just like Shizkang, doubt surfaced in the subordinates’ minds too.
“What’s wrong, Shizkang-nim? Is there some problem?”
“Ah, well…”
For a split second, Shizkang debated whether to tell the truth or not.
The debate didn’t last long.
“This crazy bastard says we should rest for a bit.”
“What?”
“That Pangz bastard’s really lost it.”
“Captured and still talking big?”
“Looks like his liver’s swollen—maybe we should cut his belly open right now and pull it out.”
The subordinates glared and raised their voices at the Korean player.
Since he couldn’t understand them, he could only shrink back as the atmosphere turned hostile.
‘If I tell them the truth, it’ll make me look stupid for insisting we chase the Black Scythe. Lying was the right call.’
Smiling inwardly, Shizkang barked at him in Korean.
“Just go!”
“Huh?”
“Even if tracking doesn’t work, just lead the way!”
“O-okay.”
A message saying tracking was impossible floated on one side, but the Korean player walked anyway.
If he was told to go, what else could he do?
If someone told him to do it, he had to do it.
‘Fuck, what is this? Why can’t it track all of a sudden?’
Just in case, Shizkang thought of someone else and tried using tracking.
[The signal cannot be found. Tracking is impossible.]
The person Shizkang thought of was a subordinate standing right beside him.
‘It says tracking is impossible even though he’s right next to me?’
To be safe, he even tried using surrounding detection.
[The signal cannot be found. Detection is impossible.]
‘What the hell?’
His skills weren’t working.
They’d worked just a moment ago, but now they didn’t.
‘Damn it. I stepped into some fucking shithole…’
He’d followed the Black Scythe and ended up in a strange place where neither tracking nor detection worked.
Had they fallen into a trap?
‘No… that can’t be.’
It was just speculation.
How could the Black Scythe possibly know in advance that they would follow?
They were following at a distance of over 500 meters so they wouldn’t get caught by surrounding detection.
‘The situation’s bad, but there’s nothing to worry about. It’s a straight path—if we just keep going, we’ll meet the Black Scythe eventually.’
But Shizkang’s thought was erased within five minutes.
“Huh? What the hell!”
The Korean who had been five meters ahead vanished in the blink of an eye, disappearing.
Shizkang rushed forward to catch up, but there was no sign of him anywhere.
“What the hell? Where did this bastard go!?”
“Shizkang-nim. Where did that Pangz guy go?”
‘That’s what I want to fucking know!’
He couldn’t even sense him with presence detection, and it was enough to make him go crazy.
And in the meantime, the subordinates were flustered—and side-eyeing Shizkang.
They’d trusted only Shizkang and entered, and now this mess had happened, so resentment was inevitable.
“Ha… what a load of crap.”
A sigh escaped Shizkang.
The Chinese group, trying to track down the Black Scythe, had instead lost their way.