Moon's Labyrinths

The party didn’t need any instructions as they got into formation . Tim raised his shield while stepping forward, and Sungyoon stood diagonally to the back of Tim .

Emily and Grace prepared their spells . This was their first time fighting this monster, so they went at it by the books .

Grace prepared her attack spells and Emily prepared her support magic .

“I’m shooting it!”

Thanks to the Gem that assisted her magic, Grace could cast her spell faster than Emily .

An enormous fireball shot toward the monster . It melted the nearby snow as a red streak reached the monster .

Boom!

The red pillar of flame landed on the Ice Bear, which had been charging at the party .

Flames swirled around the monster and melted all the nearby snow . Slush spread everywhere .

Emily followed up with her support magic . The physical abilities of Sungyoon and Tim were buffed .

The party was tense as they waited for their enemy to charge out of the flame .

However, nothing ran at them even as the flame dissipated .

Sungyoon’s party slowly moved toward the location where the spell had detonated . They found that the maelstrom of fire had blown all the snow away, and the frozen ground was revealed . At the site of the detonation, all they could see was a pretty deep puddle .

Everyone went silent . They could sense the heat coming out of the puddle, and the water was so clear that they could see the bottom of the puddle . A moonstone was resting atop the white frozen ground .

Everyone turned to look at Grace .

“Ah . I... I read most of the monsters in the snowy fields are weak to fire magic . That’s why I sent a fire spell . Still, I didn’t know this would happen!”

When her party members looked at her with lukewarm gazes, Grace yelled out in protest . The three of them were not truly criticizing her, so they let the subject go . They turned their head back to the deep puddle .

“Would anyone like to fish out that moonstone?”

Sungyoon asked, but no one volunteered .

It was a moonstone that had dropped within the Great Labyrinth, so it was worth a lot of money . However, a single moonstone wouldn’t make or break anyone in Sungyoon’s party .

Above all else, the weather was the biggest problem .

Anyone that went into the water would likely feel miserable in this cold place . The probability of the person being affected negatively was too high .

Of course, Sungyoon’s Storage Gem had towels and spare clothes, but the party had to hunt for a prolonged period in the snowy plains .

Would it be worth it to suffer the negative consequences to retrieve the Ice Bear’s moonstone? Of course not .

“Let’s just go . ”

The other three members of his party nodded all at once when they heard Sungyoon’s words .

They left behind the newly-formed puddle and roamed around the snowy plain . However, they never strayed far from the entrance . When they felt like they traveled too far, they retraced their steps using their footprints on the snow, then they went toward a different direction . This went on and on .

The floor didn’t have any signposts, and everything looked and felt the same . Getting lost would be easy in this place . Unlike the other floors, the Connectors could even freeze to death here .

‘The cold is more dangerous than the monsters . ’

Sungyoon glanced at his comrades . It was clear that they were suffering under the cold weather . This was especially true for Grace .

“Mr . Sungyoon!”

“Yes . I saw them . ”

When Tim called out to him, Sungyoon focused his gaze .

He saw some creatures hanging back at a certain spot in the distance . Their large figures and blue furs moved in the wind . They looked similar to canines .

These monsters were the Frost Wolves .

As a single unit, they couldn’t be compared to the Ice Bear, but according to the information the party possessed, these monsters moved in packs . The information held true, as the party could see at least six Frost Wolves .

So, the Connectors once again got into their battle formation, and Sungyoon turned to look at Grace . Grace nodded and started to prepare her spell .

The buffs placed on Sungyoon and Tim hadn’t run out yet, so Emily had nothing to do right now .

Pah-jee-jee-jeek!

This time, Grace prepared the lightning spell . The monsters of the snowy plains had high resistance to Ice magic, so ice spells wouldn’t be effective against them . And Grace had seen the result of her fire magic earlier herself . So, the lightning spell was the obvious choice .

Rumble!

Powerful electricity shot forward . The lightning struck the Frost Wolves .

Kahhhhhng!

The Frost Wolves screamed . However, their screams were drowned out by the sound of thunder .

The lightning had passed through the pack and left behind two blackened remains .

Four monsters were still left . Tim moved to the front .

Puh-uhk!

Kang!

His shield smashed the Frost Wolf baring its teeth at him, and the monster was sent flying . As always, Tim tried to occupy as many monsters as he could .

“It’s so cold!”

Tim yelled out . As expected of monsters with ‘Frost’ in its name, cold air swirled around these monsters’ bodies .

The temperature dropped further when Tim got close to the Frost Wolves, but he didn’t back down .

As always, Sungyoon rushed past Tim . However, he furrowed his brows in short order .

‘The snow is interfering with my mobility . ’

His feet kept falling into the snow, and the slippery patches on the ground limited his movements . On the other hand, the Frost Wolves freely ran atop the snow .

This was typical of the Great Labyrinth, where the environment could be hostile toward the Connectors .

Sungyoon was careful as he kept his balance . He attacked the Frost Wolves .

A fierce battle ensued for a short time . The snow was kicked up into the air as Sungyoon’s weapons sliced through the falling snow .

The snowfields caused a lot of trouble for the party, yet they killed all the Frost Wolves .

After they picked up the moonstones, they continued to move forward . In the process, they met another Ice Bear .

Sungyoon and the Ross siblings naturally looked toward Grace .

Grace’s face had turned red .

This time, she didn’t use her magic, and the party defeated the Ice Bear through other ways .

“This seems to be the level of the snowy fields . ”

After killing several more monsters, Sungyoon spoke .

“In terms of the level of the monsters, this floor is similar to the 2nd floor . However, this damn snow is making everything very difficult . ”

Tim complained . He stomped on the snow to express his annoyance .

Everyone was having a hard time maintaining their footing, but it was especially detrimental to Tim . His great defense required his feet had to be rooted to the ground as if they were roots to a tree .

“Still, you are doing well . We believe in you, Mr . Tim . ”

“Yes . Please don’t worry about it . I’m just voicing my frustration . ”

Sungyoon was like a trainer . Emily and Grace had the same thought when they saw Sungyoon soothing Tim in a skillful manner .

It happened at that moment . The nearby magical energy shook in a violent manner .

Woo-oong!

The magical energy had been churning like turbulent waves all this time, but now, it started to move like a typhoon . The four of them were familiar with this phenomenon .

Tim immediately raised his shield . Emily and Grace hid behind him, and they prepared their spells . Sungyoon was tense as he raised his sword .

Sssk!

A light appeared . It was the light that summoned a monster .

The Great Labyrinth was in a constant state of Mana Stream, so of course, the party expected such a thing to happen here .

As the light disappeared, a large monster appeared .

“That’s . . . ”

Sungyoon’s eyes turned round . Everyone else was surprised too .

This monster resembled a monkey . Its fur was black, and its eyes were red . The only unique thing about it was the fact that flames burned out at various parts of its body .

“Flame Monkey . ”

This monster should have appeared several floors below . However, this wasn’t out of the ordinary .

In the first place, the labyrinth didn’t decide where the monsters appeared .

The monsters separated themselves depending on how strong or weak they were . Their attribute also determined which environment they preferred .

Kyah-ahk!

The Flame Monkey revealed its canines as it threatened the party . However, the situation looked odd . The monster didn’t look threatening at all .

“Huh! It’s threatening us while shivering like that?”

Tim sounded baffled . It was as he said . The Flame Monkey was trembling .

It wasn’t trembling because it was scared . It was just feeling cold .

“Let’s think of it in a positive manner . We can experience fighting a monster that will appear several floors down . ”

Sungyoon threw in one more comment .

“We get to face it in this awesome environment . ”

The snowy plains was a hostile environment for Sungyoon’s party, but this was doubly true for the Flame Monkey .

The heat from the Flame Monkey’s body melted the snow around it, and the monster was ankle-deep in melted water . It tried to hop out, but it was surrounded by a field of snow . Whenever the monster hopped to another spot, the snow would melt again . The process kept repeating .

“... Let’s just end its misery . ”

As if he were bored with the comedy skit playing in front of him, Sungyoon spoke . Soon, the party charged at the Flame Monkey .

***

The party spent several days at a time in the snowy plains . The cold continued to hamper their progress . It became a real problem when they had to sleep . Thankfully, someone had built an igloo in the Magical Void, so the party could avoid freezing to death while they slept .

However, they did come out to the still-damaged Armstrong city from time to time after they spent a lot of time within the Great Labyrinth . They took a short break before heading back into the Great Labyrinth . They continued acquiring more moonstones and experience in the Great Labyrinth .

Days and weeks passed like this, and it was time for Sungyoon to return to Earth .

Since the monsters could appear on Earth now, high-rank Connectors had to return to Earth twice a year . And it was now Sungyoon’s and Grace’s turn to go down .

Since the Ross siblings didn’t hold much sway with their government, they couldn’t get their schedule to match with Sungyoon and Grace . The siblings were scheduled to go back to Earth a month later .

***

“I called you on such short notice because I heard Mr . Sungyoon is going back down to Earth . ”

Chelsea sat next to him . She winked as she continued speaking .

“I heard you came over to the research facility because you were worried about me?”

“I did . ”

After the incident in Armstrong, Sungyoon had gone to the research facility to check up on Chelsea . Thankfully, the research facility was unharmed, and Sungyoon had received news that Chelsea was safe .

However, the research facility had been in a state of disorder, so it had been impossible for him to meet Chelsea .

This was the reason Chelsea had called out Sungyoon when she heard he was getting ready to return to Earth .

“You were worried about me . The least I can do is say goodbye face to face . ”

“How did you know I was heading down?”

“I coincidently saw the Korean news . The newscaster said Mr . Sungyoon will be back soon . ”

It seemed the press had found out about Sungyoon’s return date .

The two of them were sitting on a bench at a park, and each held a fragrant cup of coffee . Chelsea was the one who had given Sungyoon the coffee .

Of course, she hadn’t bought it . She had received the coffee as part of rations from her research facility, and she had brought it here in a thermos .

Sungyoon and Chelsea then discussed various topics, and one particular story drew Sungyoon’s interest .

“They are banning Connectors from entering Armstrong city?”

“Yes . Any Connectors who move their base of operations to the other Lunar city will be barred from entering Armstrong city . It’s a hearsay, but my source has a friend close to the higher-ups of Armstrong . I’m pretty sure this isn’t a false rumor . ”

It seemed Armstrong city would do everything in its power to stunt the growth of the second Lunar city being built by China and Russia .

“It isn’t just that . They are bringing out numerous policies against the other Lunar City . They also promised better treatment of the Connectors, and they will lower the taxes on the Connectors . They’ll implement many changes from all angles . ”

Sungyoon thought about the Russian consulate general, who had made the argument that the second Lunar city had to be successful if the Connectors wanted to elevate their status . It seemed he had been correct .

“Ah! The research on the ore is progressing . I’m talking about the ore we discovered in the Beginner’s Labyrinth . ”

Sungyoon was very surprised by this news .

“How did you acquire it?”

“The man named Jean Fajardo had successfully brought it out . ”

Even in such a dire situation, Jean had the presence of mind to take the metal . He was an incredible piece of work .

After speaking to Sungyoon a little longer, Chelsea stood up .

“I’ll be heading back now . I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for me to say this, but this incident allowed us to gather numerous samples . We’ll be busy for a while . You should visit us sometimes . We have two normal Golems and a Super Golem . They will all be registered as your possessions, so you should check up on it . ”

“Understood . ”

This had been a beneficial meeting for Sungyoon . The two of them shook hands, then headed toward their respective lodgings .

***

Finally, it was the day when Sungyoon was returning to Earth .

He expected Jimin to bring Shinhae as always, so he was excited . He was going to meet his precious daughter after all .

Click! Click!

However, the one to greet Sungyoon at the space center first was a large group of reporters .