She twirled her hair, her expression ambiguous, and began to speak.
“Is it the Guides of Sin?”
Taesan realized it through the words of the Demon God.
“It seems to be one person.”
Taesan had already defeated all the fourth-rank adventurers from the 40th floor.
If so, next would be the fifth-rank adventurers, but it was still too much for all of them to come down.
So, probably just one person.
Someone talented.
Someone who has understood many things about the labyrinth, made breakthroughs, and acquired numerous things.
Not someone who was simply satisfied with clearing the floors like other ordinary adventurers, but someone who, like Taesan, focused on the skills and strategies themselves.
There was a high possibility that such an outstanding person would come down.
The Demon God nodded.
The Demon God looked regretful.
“A demon?”
The Demon God’s eyes narrowed. For a moment, the air grew tense.
A chilling sensation enveloped Taesan.
The Demon God shook her head. The energy that had engulfed the space disappeared.
“That’s what I was planning to do.”
Taesan responded.
The Demon God disappeared with a bitter expression.
“It seems you’ve grown quite fond of him.”
If she’s making a statement like that, then the demon must indeed be formidable.
Taesan steeled his resolve and advanced to the next level.
On the 40th floor, he encountered a Golden Knight wielding a longsword. The knight, gripping the sword with both hands, charged at Taesan.
Taesan swung his sword, easily overpowering him.
Sure Hit was ineffective against such an adversary. Since the knight had no intention of dodging, it was essentially as if Sure Hit was an inherent ability.
The true moment for Sure Hit to prove its worth would likely come when facing the entity at the end of the 4th tier.
Taesan, sword in hand, swiftly continued his journey through the floor.
The Golden Knight on the 40th floor was considerably stronger than previous foes, but this difference was negligible for Taesan, allowing him to smoothly navigate the labyrinth.
As before, he discovered a secret room, overcame its traps, and secured a reward.
While the boots offered decent defense, Taesan’s current footwear was superior, so he stored them in his inventory.
Taesan pressed on, encountering no special trials from the gods or NPCs on the 40th floor, which allowed him to reach the boss unimpeded.
Clank.
True to its name, the boss was a golden knight, its armor casting brilliant light throughout the room.
The knight, wielding a longsword, charged at Taesan.
Clash!
Floor 40. As the final boss of this level, it was indeed formidable. For an average adventurer, this would be a foe worth risking their life to defeat.
Crack.
Taesan brought his sword down, and the knight was slammed into the ground while blocking with its own sword.
Taesan waved his hand.
Dozens of arrows formed in mid-air.
They pierced through the knight. With a tearing sound, holes began to form in the armor.
Thus, the knight fell.
With that, the 40th floor was conquered.
The creator of the labyrinth. The level desired by the sorcerer. Taesan had seen such a system window when he reached level 55. Along with it, an entity appeared.
The bricks on the floor rose up, starting to form shapes in the air as if assembling a puzzle.
The administrator of the labyrinth, Balbabamba, has appeared.
Balbabamba moved its brick eyes.
“Do you remember?”
The sound of bricks clacking against each other resonated.
“Are there fewer choices this time?”
Currency and equipment. It seemed to be a choice between gold and items. Taesan began to ponder.
Up to now, he would have chosen equipment without question. However, the level of equipment Taesan was wearing now was too high. Even if he received something decent, there wouldn’t be much difference if he replaced it, or he might not even be able to replace it if it wasn’t compatible.
Taesan made his decision.
“The highest currency.”
He had just passed the 40th floor. The shop’s items were scheduled to change, so he planned to buy according to that.
Balbabamba blinked its eyes.
Ninety thousand gold. It was more than he had anticipated. With this amount, he could choose and buy the equipment he wanted from the store.
Balbabamba spoke to a smiling Taesan contentedly.
“That’s the plan.”
The bricks scattered again and turned back into the floor. The ghost murmured.
Words filled with expectation. The ghost had never heard such things. To Balbabamba, who had seen countless adventurers since the inception of the labyrinth, Taesan was an exception.
Taesan began to check the rewards for clearing the floor.
“For sale, huh.”
It had no stats attached. It seemed to suggest that it should be sold in the shop for an item worthy of the clear reward.
“Ah-ha.”
It was a pretty good ring.
Overall, it had lower stats than the ring Vargan had given him upon completing the quest in the gods’ battlefield. However, that didn’t mean this ring wasn’t remarkable; it simply meant that Vargan had given him an exceptionally good ring.
Considering it could be used until reaching the deeper levels, the stats of this ring were suitable for use until then.
Taesan replaced a ring with 8 attack power with the Colorless Ring.
And then, the rewards for clearing a theme on the 40th floor.
“It really boosts the attack power a lot.”
As the ghost said, for Taesan, who had mastered the Airak weapon technique, attack power was not particularly lacking.
Although gathering it was more challenging than acquiring statistics, it was rewarding to achieve such high figures in this manner.
This represented Taesan’s current status.
He had managed to reach approximately a third of Lee Taeyeon’s level, marking a satisfying rate of progress.
But that was not all.
The title “The Recognized One” also bestowed a skill upon him.
A reduction in defense was somewhat unexpected, yet he surmised the reason behind it.
“Could it be an advantage when facing adventurers in deeper parts?”
In the labyrinth, attack and defense calculations were straightforward, based on addition and subtraction. That is, if an opponent’s defense surpassed one’s attack power, it was presumed that inflicting damage was impossible.
While not insurmountable with strategies involving critical hits, specific skills, or the dynamics of battle, such a disparity was not easily bridged. Without the Airak Weapon Technique, Taesan would have found it significantly challenging to overcome this hurdle.
“It was granted later than I anticipated.”
A shift from the experience up to the 40th floor.
He was filled with anticipation for the items and skills he would acquire in the future.
However, there was something he needed to attend to first.
Sensing someone ascending the stairs, Taesan murmured,
“Waiting until I was done checking. That’s considerate of you.”
“It’s the most thrilling part of descending the labyrinth. I wouldn’t want to interrupt that.”
The newcomer was a man with black hair.
He still appeared youthful. To Taesan, he seemed to be around the same age as Anetsha, whom he had met in Vekveta.
His expression was listless, as if devoid of any will to fight, and he waved his hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah.”
Taesan replied calmly and observed the demon.
It was different from what Taesan had anticipated.
He had expected the demon, like the Guides of Sin before him, to show hostility and charge at him the moment he saw Taesan. So, the moment he sensed the presence, he had prepared to activate all his skills.
However, the demon in front of him showed no apparent hostility.
“I really hate it. I hate it.”
Instead, a sense of denial was even visible.
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