Taesan entered. Passing through a passage shrouded in thick dust, he discovered a small room.
Inside, there lay a decayed skeleton and a small staff.
Taesan picked up the staff.
It was a staff imbued with magic he hadn’t encountered in some time. Its effect—creating a path of ice—wasn’t particularly impressive.
Lee Taeyeon had only managed to retrieve a single staff upon entering this place.
Taesan reached out towards the skeleton beyond the staff.
Keeing.
However, his touch was thwarted by a barrier. Engraved with numerous magical symbols, the barrier steadfastly protected the skeleton.
“It’s just as the story described.”
Lee Taeyeon had discovered another secret room within the secret room.
And she had acquired the Staff of the Ice Path. There was a skeleton, but it was shielded by something, preventing her approach.
Taesan applied more force against the barrier. It vibrated violently, showing increased resistance.
“It might be difficult to break through with brute force.”
It wasn’t unbreakable. However, given its resilience, the potential consequences of breaking it were uncertain.
Taesan opened his inventory.
The Dagger of Magic Dispel, previously obtained, was now in his grasp.
The magic imbued in the dagger vanished, turning it into a mere dagger with no effects.
Taesan put the dagger away and placed his hand on the barrier again.
Keening.
Waves emanated from the magic circle. Mana, containing the power of dispel, spread across the barrier, breaking through.
The barrier fluctuated roughly, as if resisting.
Taesan’s mana drained away, as if leaking out. Slowly, cracks started to form on the barrier.
Crash!
And the barrier, unable to withstand any longer, shattered.
Taesan brushed off the remnants of the magic and picked up the skeleton.
A faint magical power was felt from the skeleton. Taesan blew mana into the skeleton through the hand that held it.
Brrr.
The skeleton trembled.
A blue light settled in its empty eye sockets. The scattered bone fragments on the ground began to rise and fit together automatically.
The skeleton’s jaw moved, and a voice sounded.
The jaw clicked. The skeleton looked at its body as if amazed. Disappointed by its skeletal physique, it shook its head in dejection.
“Hello?”
Taesan spoke up. Only then did the skeleton seem to notice Taesan’s presence, clacking its jaw.
There was a deep desperation in the skeleton’s voice.
The skeleton wrapped itself in a robe that was decaying into dust. It also held a staff, now unrecognizable due to corrosion, in its skeletal hand.
“I don’t know.”
Akishaya clicked its jaw, a motion akin to tsking. The ghost, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
The ghost had ventured deep into the labyrinth. If he was unaware, then it narrowed down to two possibilities.
A being from before the ghost’s time, or after.
However, pinpointing the exact time was impossible, as the labyrinth offered no clues about time.
Akishaya groaned and inquired.
The ghost chuckled, seemingly grasping the situation.
A spark of interest lit up Akishaya’s face.
Akishaya froze at the ghost’s response.
A cold laugh resonated.
Akishaya’s laugh was eerie. Taesan quickly grasped the situation.
“Betrayal?”
Akishaya’s voice was heavy with bitterness.
Akishaya’s words were laced with suppressed rage.
“That place being the labyrinth?”
“That being the great wizard.”
Akishaya nodded.
The one who had everyone’s attention, love, and trust lost it all overnight to someone with superior talent.
The ghost urged Akishaya to continue, seemingly intrigued by the story. Akishaya spoke reluctantly.
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
Encountering someone with superior talent was distressing, even for an ordinary person. And for someone who couldn’t bear that, it could lead to harboring twisted feelings.
The ghost murmured, as if finding the story interesting.
Akishaya laughed, a low chuckle that abruptly stopped.
Taesan nodded. Akishaya’s blue eyes blazed.
“Yes.”
Taesan readily agreed. He had to fight against the Guides of Sin anyway. Since they were an enemy to be defeated eventually, accepting the quest was no issue.
Upon Taesan’s immediate agreement, Akishaya appeared somewhat perplexed.
Akishaya needed to know whether Taesan had the skills to defeat him or could develop them.
Akishaya waved its skeletal fingers, and a magic circle formed in the small room.
Woong.
A small golden slime popped out from it.
This was the 45th floor. Considering that monsters significantly strengthened when crossing one of the labyrinth’s thematic boundaries, it was reasonable to assume that a typical adventurer of the 45th floor couldn’t handle it.
The slime was flung towards Taesan with a thud.
It was quite fast.
Taesan brought his sword down.
Crack.
The slime smashed and crashed into the floor, wobbling as if it had taken a significant blow.
Taesan stepped on it and plunged his sword down.
“It’s nothing special.”
Akishaya stuttered.
The Golden Slime. A monster with physical and magical resistance.
In other words, if one had the power to penetrate that, it was a relatively simple monster. Akishaya gasped in astonishment.
Akishaya said proudly, waving his fingers. Magical power was imbued in Taesan.
The blue flames in the skeleton began to fade.
With those words, the skeleton crumbled away.
No more presence of Akishaya was felt. Taesan stepped outside.
“Now there are two.”
The spirit that sought revenge on the Spirit King.
And the skeleton that sought revenge on the great wizard.
There were now two leaders to defeat.
“Do you have one too? Was it Societ you mentioned?”
The ashen woman, Societ Garudentia.
The ghost had said she was close to him. But the plan to kill him was devised by none other than Societ.
“There are quite a few.”
Taesan murmured as he breached the floor.
Nothing particularly different followed. No NPCs giving quests appeared, nor did any divine trials.
Thus, Taesan cleared the floors without any disturbances, organized the equipment that appeared, and communicated the emotions to Valencia.
As a result, he was able to reach the 48th floor.