Chapter 25: Tomb Labyrinth (1)

Srrrr

A narrow passage appeared after he touched the engraved rune on the wall. Along the way, there were Moonstones embedded on the ceiling, so it wasn’t too dark.

Jabok jabok

Woohyuk moved around, completely at ease. It was a place he had previously explored, so there wasn’t any need to be worried about traps.

He soon arrived at a small laboratory. He saw some vials containing bubbling blue liquid.

Leftovers from failed experiments. This place had been abandoned ever since Jake passed away, unable to complete his life’s work due to a worsening disease.

‘You just wanted your work to be recognized.’

A man who had led an unfortunate life. He had to live in seclusion due to politics

His research had been deemed blasphemous by the Church, and his apprentices had all been hunted down and publicly executed.

It was a dark age for Magic Engineering

It had been a tremendous loss for all, and they had been subsequently unprepared to fight off the Demons.

‘Then again, the clergy had no idea that their Gods would have been punished by the Creator himself.’

historical

The Eeth continent had fallen into chaos following the Gods’ exodus.

There was a good chance that Jake's legacy would be useful in his journey.

‘Last time around it had been Isaac that had obtained most of it.’

Of course it was later lost to the Necromancer Logan.

The research and items he had stolen from Isaac had no doubt had helped him extensively in his future experiments.

Woohyuk went around the lab, storing anything he found of use.

[Jake’s Pocket Watch]

Category: Jewel

Grade: C (Growth)

Durability: 8000

Effect: Immobilizes beings that have been created as a result of Magical Engineering, for 10 seconds. ( 15 meter radius, limited to beings weaker than the user.) When used as a pendulum, can hypnotize weakened opponents

[Jake’s Hextech Ring]

Category: Jewel

Grade: C (Growth)

Durability: 8000

Effect: Drive all experience points gained toward a single Stat ( 50% loss in efficiency). Summon Jake’s Experiment Set.

[Jake’s Airwalker Boots]

Category: Armor

Grade: C (Growth)

Durability: 8200

Effect: Can increase height of your jump by emitting air pressure from the sole of the boots. Also, it can instead suck in air, allowing one to stick to a wall or ceiling.

[Jake’s Research Journal]

Category: Personal Items

Effect: an exhaustive collection of incomplete designs. With enough understanding and skill, they can be used as a basis for new Magical Engineering inventions.

[(Boss) Bronze Golem’s Belt]

Category: Jewel

Grade: C (Growth)

Durability: 8000

Effect: +15 Spirit, 10 Equipment slots.

[Organizational Scroll]

Category: Consumable

Effect: Can stack Items of the same type into a single slot. However, any miscellaneous materials will be lost.

‘That’s pretty good.’

The Hextech Ring was useful if you were lacking in a particular Stat. Of course there was the 50% loss as a penalty, but it couldn’t be helped. Jake’s Airwalker Boots on the other hand would make it much easier to explore certain Historical Sites.

Especially for higher tier Historical Sites, the improved mobility gave him more options.

Jake’s Pocket Watch could be used to interrogate prisoners, hypnotizing them to quickly get the answers you needed. Unlike the Lizardmen’s Poison which was disposable, this could last forever as long as you didn’t neglect the durability.

Everything was useful, it was quite the haul.

Bronze Rock mountain had more items compared to the other areas they’d overcome, because it was closest to the map’s center.

After transferring all his items from his Gladiator’s Belt, to his new one, Woohyuk then left the lab.

“We are all done over here.”

“Will we be heading back to base?”

“Might as well go and have some lunch.”

He had left Triton behind to guard the base, so there was nothing to worry about.

Any Penguins that tried to come and plunder, wouldn’t be his match.

“Here, wear this from now on.”

Woohyuk handed Lee Jaesung his Gladiator's Belt, then took out his Pocket Watch.

He picked out a Gremlin which had just appeared from the passage way, and used the Hypnotic effects on it.

“I am the God of Gremlins. If you disobey any of my order three generations of your species shall be cursed.”

The Gremlin’s eyes widened as it stared at the pocket watch swinging back and forth.

* * *

Woohyuk had hypnotized ten Gremlins into defending their new base.

They were good with their hands, quickly building themselves a resting area near the camp. They then went ahead and completed any defensive structures according to their instructions.

Now, even if the Stymphalian birds were to attack, they wouldn’t be able to cause any damage.

Since they had managed to settle down and the group's situation was stable, Woohyuk left them behind as he headed over to the next area.

[Valley of Kings]

A desert zone where the three paths of each side would meet. Just like its name indicated, it was basically a flat road with several valleys interconnected in a complicated mess.

A place whereby properly making use of the terrain, one could defeat a larger force using guerilla warfare.

Of course, there was no one lying in wait for Woohyuk. Just like in the previous stage, the very best reward would be found in the center of the map.

If you managed to destroy a Fossil Dragon which could whip up sandstorms, you would receive 100 coins and your allies would each receive 10. There was also a Faction Buff that would last an entire day.

Faction buffs could also be stacked if your side managed to hunt several Epic monsters.

1 Stack : 15% increase in Health and Mana Regeneration.

2 Stacks: 15% increase in damage dealt to Monsters.

3 Stacks: 15% increase in Movement Speed.

4 Stacks: 15% increase in damage dealt to Players

Fossil Dragons would respawn after 3 days, so controlling the center was very important. Of course, there were also many items to be found that improved your own personal strength.

For example, smack in the middle of the Valley of Kings, there was the Twilight Tower. It had multiple floors and you would receive a reward for the completion of each level.

It was something that all had attempted, no matter how fierce the Faction battles had become.

‘The difficulty of that tower is no joke.’

A Historical Site meant to test humanity’s limits.

It was naturally something that he couldn’t pass on, because he had come back in time for that very reason, to achieve the impossible.

‘But it isn’t time yet.’

There was no point in challenging it right now. It wasn’t going anywhere and the Canyon Battle would last quite a while. It wouldn’t be too late to return after first exploring other Historical Sites.

Then the first place in the Valley of Kings to visit should be..

[Tomb Labyrinth]

It was a Historical Site whose existence had been rather unknown.

Hidden within a cave found deep in a gorge, a narrow space between two cliffs facing each other.

The cave entrance was so remote that it would take a truly peculiar person to discover it.

‘That guy definitely wasn’t normal.’

Logan had been famous for his eccentric personality, but at the time that he had discovered the Tomb, he hadn’t been anything special.

He had seen some goats climbing up and down the cliff wall using their powerful legs and hooves, and it had caught his attention.

He then set out to capture a Golden Goat, and rode it to climb the highest cliff for the thrill.

He then rode the goat on the way down, jumping along the cliff walls before stumbling upon the Tomb.

It wasn’t that he had been searching for a Historical Site, he was just a complete weirdo that lived for the thrill of danger. Riding the goat on the cliffs was just a high for him.

‘Logan’s method wasn’t bad...’

The Golden Goat was a good mount, strong and slim, but it wasn’t easy to catch. It wasn’t restricted to a single area and would roam around the valley, making it a matter of luck.

As he stood before the steep cliff wall, not looking down as Woohyuk steadied his breathing.

Just the sight of staring into the gorge’s deep abyss, would give him a fright.

‘I can’t use the Three Clawed Eagle this time.’

There were numerous Gargoyle statues placed near the entrance of the Tomb Labyrinth. A defensive measure against any that would employ such a shortcut. They reacted only to flying mounts, and had a surprisingly high Agility.

Fight the Gargoyles in such a narrow space was basically suicide. Anyways, he had his own method.

‘Let’s start.’

Equipping Jake’s Airwalker Boots, he stepped front and cautiously took his first step down

Srrrk

His boot began to slide down, and the friction it caused led rocks fragments to fall into the darkness.

It seemed that the suction ability of a single boot wasn’t enough to hold his entire weight for an extended period of time.

Tak

He stopped sliding down as soon as his left foot pressed up against the wall.

He stuck out like a tree rooted to the cliff. He then proceeded to take one step at the time, making his way down to the cave entrance as if he were taking a stroll.

‘Works pretty well.’

It almost felt like he was walking across a frozen lake. The key was to maintain a steady pace. As soon as he lost his balance or moved too quickly he might fall down to the ground and die. There was no reason not to be extra careful.

After quite some time, he finally arrived near the cave. Woohyuk hung his arms around the Gargoyle’s neck, swinging and using the moment to arrive at the cave’s ceiling.

The sole of the boot continuously sucked in air, attempting to remain glued to the ceiling for as long as possible. Shortly after his left foot came down, and he was rooted in place.

Having successfully passed that critical moment, Woohyuk could finally let out a sigh before jumping down to the cave’s floor.

He could hear the wailing of dead spirits coming from deep within the cave

‘Logan, your class shall be mine.’

The ability to summon and control large numbers of Undead. Logan’s past achievements were a testament to its power. There was also the need to conquer death, if he wanted to challenge for the Divine Throne.

‘The Necromancer class is one of the best for solo players.’

All he would need was a corpse, to summon a soldier. Unlike humans, they didn’t need to eat or sleep and were completely loyal.

In essence, even if he only had a small team with him, he wouldn’t be easily outnumbered with such a class.

‘I need to make it to that Secret Room before Logan does.’

He had no idea when it was that he’d arrive, so he had to hurry up.

Woohyuk raised Grandia as he walked along the cave.

Paddk

Upon turning the corner, he encountered a Skeleton Soldier holding a sword and buckler in each hand.

It was a rather difficult undead to deal with because one had to shatter its bones to destroy it.

Naturally this wasn’t an issue for Woohyuk.

Swoosh!

A vertical slash from Grandia split the Skeleton in two, the quick movement causing a small gust of wind.

Shaaaa

The blue magic burst for Skeleton’s bones as it scattered into the wind like dust.

At the same time however, a couple of arrows flew out towards Woohyuk.

Whuic Whuic

Skeleton Archers.

Woohyuk calmly dodged the incoming arrows, and countered with a Chain Lightning. A sharp crackling sound broke out as the lightning jumped from skeleton to skeleton.

‘I knew it would be useful here, so I’ve stored quite a lot of them.’

He had managed to buy bits and pieces of info about the Dead Man’s Labyrinth from information brokers, but of course didn’t know all of the Site’s details.

There had been a few that had managed to enter this place aside from Logan, but not many of them had survived.

In such an unknown area, it was best to move around carefully.

‘Alright, Tomb Labyrinth.’

Akunaton, a king that wanted to maintain his power even after his death. He had invited the Dark Wizard Nakron to study the secrets of immortality.

An endeavor that had continued for ten years, uninterrupted. Even if the treasury had long run dry or a plague had broken out, all of the King’s focus was on this research.

Eventually Akunaton had been assassinated by his younger brother, his corpse placed in this labyrinth that he has spent most of his life designing.

There is a legend that says that Nakron was able to later resurrect him, but it remained unconfirmed.

Logan was the only one to have explored the deepest regions of the Labyrinth and live to tell the tale.

‘It’s really too bad I wasn’t able to obtain it back then.’

If only he had been able to read the Adventurer’s Log in Logan’s watch, it would have made this trip so much easier.

Woohyuk clicked his tongue as he kept exploring.

Since it was designed as a King’s tomb, there were far more traps than in other ruins.

Poisonous arrows shooting out form the walls, ground collapsing into a pit filled with sharpened spears, this place had it all.

‘Is this the right way?’

The maze was so complicated that it would have been nice to have Ariadne’s Thread.

Although he really wanted to eat the Paradise Fruit, in the end Woohyuk chose not to. He was confident enough to overcome this Historical Site with his own ability.

Sagak Sagak

Using the Vampiric dagger, he left a mark on the wall.

With his 40 years of experience as an adventurer, there were no Sites in this world he could not conquer.