Moon's Labyrinths

Sungyoon also sat down in front of his companions .

“Ah . Somehow we are alive!”

Tim fully extended his legs .

-Koo-roo-roohk!

However, a fiendish cry interrupted their sweet resting time . He saw three Goblins walking toward them .

“These bastards won’t even let us rest!”

They were tired, but they couldn’t remain sitting when faced with the monsters . Tim frowned as he tried to get up, but Sungyoon stopped him .

“It’s fine . You can just sit there . ”

After he said those words, Sungyoon opened his hand and pointed it towards the Goblins . His magical energy flowed into his Gem, and a spell activated .

Kwah-jee-jee-jeek!

Sharp stalagmites appeared all around the Goblins . They shot up with great force and skewered the Goblins .

“Hweeeeeek~!”

Tim whistled when he saw this . As always, Sungyoon had the crazy ability of instantly activating a Gem . And when that ability was paired up with a magic Gem, he could display terrifying firepower .

“Mr . Sungyoon’s spells are amazing . Can’t you clear most labyrinths with these spells?”

Sungyoon shook his head at Tim’s admiration .

“It isn’t that great . Above all else, a magic Gem can only be used for a finite number of times before requiring a cooldown . That was the last spell that I can cast with this Gem . ”

If he wasn’t so mentally exhausted, he wouldn’t have used his last spell like this . He would have saved it .

“I don’t care . We get to rest thanks to you . I like it . ”

Sungyoon followed Tim’s example and stretched out his legs .

However, they couldn’t rest for long . Although this was a low-level labyrinth with Goblins and animal type monsters, it was still a labyrinth . It couldn’t be taken lightly .

When they determined that they had gotten the minimum amount of rest, the party immediately started to climb up the labyrinth . They didn’t need any directions . They just needed to follow the signs pointing towards the entrance . The only thing they had to was to slaughter the monsters that got in their way and pick up the moonstones .

Finally, they had ascended to the labyrinth’s entrance .

The three of them were very happy to see the desolate surface of the moon spread out in front of them .

They spent the night in their respective Moon Surface Vehicles, and headed toward Armstrong on the next day .

After all sorts of events, this labyrinth exploration run had come to an end .

* * *

When they arrived at Armstrong, they were extremely tired . Connectors faced danger every day in their adventures, but this labyrinth run had been too spectacular .

“What should we do now?”

Sungyoon asked .

Normally, they would go have a drink before going their own ways . However, that was impossible right now . Above all else, Sungyoon still possessed the corpse of Mrs . Ross .

“I know you must be tired, but can you accompany us to our company?”

Tim spoke .

These were the streets of Armstrong . Of course, if Sungyoon handed over a corpse to the Ross siblings here, they would become the center of everyone’s attention . If people got the wrong idea, they might call the police . No, he was sure they would get arrested . It would be best to tell the complete account of their adventure to their company before handing over the corpse .

“Understood . ”

The three of them headed towards the sibling’s company .

The Ross siblings took the lead . Sungyoon followed from behind, observing the two of them .

He noticed the they were walking tall, and could understand their feelings .

‘They are happy because they can now restore their mother’s honor and reputation . ’

The people from the siblings’ company thought Mrs . Ross had died at the hands of weak monsters . In reality, she had fallen to a powerful existence, the Golem . Even if it was weakened, their mother was able to defeat such a being . Once this became known, no one would be able to look down on her . Sungyoon wished their mother’s honor and reputation would be restored after this . However, he didn’t think things would go as smoothly unlike what the two siblings expected . It would be a toss-up in his opinion .

‘Life doesn’t work out the way you want it to . ’

He had tasted the highs and lows of what people called life .

Soon, they arrived at a familiar building . It was the Ross sibling’s company building . He hadn’t come here often, yet he felt familiar with this place . Sungyoon inwardly let out a bitter laugh .

“Hey . I’m here!”

Tim yelled out loud as he pressed the doorbell . His confident and proud voice rang out .

Click!

It didn’t take too long for the door to open .

He wanted to tell everyone that they had found their mother . He wanted to tell them about the adventure undertaken by her, and the foe she had defeated in the process . He had been ready to talk . However, his face crumpled when he saw who had answered the door . Emily stood behind him . This time she wouldn’t stop her brother if he went on a rampage . Even Sungyoon frowned a bit when he saw the person .

‘His name was . . . Louis?’

The man that the Ross siblings hated the most stood in front of them .

“Oh hey . Look who it is! “

As much as the Ross siblings frowned, Louis’ face was filled with a mocking smile .

“You are early . What’s wrong? Your vacation hasn’t ended yet . It isn’t as if it’s time for the Mana Stream to erupt in your precious labyrinth . When you left, you acted as if you would live there for two months . ”

“Get out of the way . It is none of your business . ”

At the very least, he didn’t want to tell Louis what they had gone through . So, Tim spoke in a cold manner .

However, Louis didn’t plan on listening . Instead of moving out of the way, he looked over the three of them . The mocking smile on his face deepened .

The labyrinth floor had collapsed on them, and they had fallen from a height equivalent to a third-floor building . Then they had to run away from the Golem . This was why all three of them were in a rough state . Their clothes, which weren’t covered by their defensive gears, had been ripped apart . Moreover, dust and dirt covered their body .

“What? Did you perhaps run away from that place?”

He had asked the question, but he spoke as if he already had the answer . He had asked the questions rhetorically in order to mock them .

“I said get out of our way!”

Tim was forceful with his words . However, Louis seemed to enjoy seeing Tim riled up . He didn’t show any signs of getting out of the way .

Emily, who was behind Tim, was about to say some sharp words .

“What’s going on?”

A man appeared from behind Louis . It was the man who had argued with the Ross siblings when they had said that they wanted to go to their labyrinth .

He looked between the Ross siblings and Louis . Then he pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache .

“You guys again? What happened this time?”

“These guys ran away from that lousy labyrinth, Mr . Cohen . ”

“We didn’t run away!”

Tim was very forceful in his retort . However, Louis refused to let it go and spoke in a sarcastic manner .

“So what happened? You came back early in that state . Are you trying to say you were able to successfully clear the labyrinth and returned early? Both of you were so adamant about spending all your time in that labyrinth . ”

Laughter could be heard .

Sungyoon looked behind the man called Cohen . Several people had started to gather behind Cohen . It seemed they were other Connectors contracted under this company . They had come because of the commotion .

‘It is hard to call them comrades . ’

Even if they weren’t hostile towards the Ross siblings, it was clear that they held no love toward them . Sungyoon was able to discern this truth .

“You bastard!”

Tim was greatly angered, but Cohen tried to soothe him .

“Come in for now . Let’s talk after that . ”

The Connectors behind Cohen weren’t the only lookers . People walking on the streets had also stopped to look with deep interest upon hearing the shouts .

“You can leave now . ”

Cohen looked annoyed as he gazed at Sungyoon . It was a look one gave towards an irritant .

“Wait a moment! I asked for a favor from him! Don’t do as you please by sending him away!”

Tim pushed back . Cohen frowned . For some reason, he glared at Sungyoon . However, it was as if he had some kind of idea, so he nodded .

“If that’s true, please come in . ”

What was he plotting? Sungyoon knew Cohen would never welcome him, so he looked at him with mistrust . However, Cohen had already turned his back on them, walking back into the building .

Louis and the other Connectors of the company followed suit . Tim entered as he fumed with anger .

“Let us go too . ”

Emily lightly pulled at Sungyoon’s arm . Normally, the introverted Emily wouldn’t have dared to make such a gesture, but she was beyond the point of caring now . She was feeling a great deal of anger and had become charged up .

Sungyoon didn’t turn her down .

They arrived at a large common room . Cohen, Louis, and the other Connectors sat down in various chairs . Tim didn’t sit . He folded his arms, looking down on them with a disgruntled attitude .

“In the end, you brought him in here?”

Louis glanced at Sungyoon, and he smirked .

“They really don’t know their place . . . ”

“Shut the hell up, Louis!”

Tim growled .

“Both of you should stop now!”

Tim and Louis looked like they were about to fight, so Cohen tried to put out the fire . Tim huffed in anger, and Louis just shrugged .

“Ok . So, why did you bring him here?”

When one looked at his attitude and tone of voice, it was clear Cohen didn’t like Sungyoon . However, Cohen had the courtesy of treating him with some respect .

“You should hear this, Cohen! We found something amazing!”

He would finally be able to restore his mother’s honor and reputation . Tim’s voice subconsciously became louder .

However, the people around him didn’t give his words much merit .

‘Even if they found something amazing, it is from a low rank labyrinth . . . ’

Everyone had the same thought .

“What? Did you find your mother’s corpse?”

Louis once again antagonized the two siblings . Tim, who had been about to speak, shut his mouth . He glared at Louis with blood in his eyes . It was said that even a blind squirrel could find a nut . Louis had guessed the right answer, but everyone knew he hadn’t spoken for the benefit of the Ross siblings . He was using their dead mother to insult them .

“Louis!”

Cohen yelled out once again . This time the complexion on the faces of the other Connectors changed . However, Louis remained nonchalant .

“I know . I know . You want me to watch what I say, but I can’t help it . ”

He looked annoyed .

“How long are we going to accept their tantrums? I spoke out because I’m frustrated . ”

It seemed Louis really thought he was in the right . The Ross siblings found his assertions to be ridiculous .

“When did we throw a tantrum?”

Tim gritted his teeth as he asked .

“We did as the company asked . We entered all the labyrinths according to schedule . After we graduated the Beginner’s Labyrinth, we faithfully followed the company’s schedule . ”

“You asked for that trash labyrinth . ”

“As a Connector, we have the freedom to ask for any available labyrinth . In the first place, our contract doesn’t stipulate that we have to take on a labyrinth chosen by the company . ”

“The company told you to not go on a raid this time . ”

“It is something we decided to do on our time off . As Connectors, we are free to do whatever we want during our time off . If it interferes with our future labyrinth raids, it might be a different story . But at the very least, that’s not an issue now . You would only have a valid argument once our performance starts to suffer under a labyrinth raid under the command of the company . ”

Did Louis think he was losing the argument? His expression worsened . So he suddenly switched his attention over Sungyoon . A cruel expression appeared on his face .

“What about you guys traveling with that trash over there?”

Louis insulted Sungyoon by calling him trash . Everyone knew it . Of course, Tim became angry .

“Shut up, Louis!”