Yoo Seolha moved to the Labyrinth control room.
It was not difficult to travel there since it was directly accessible from the Tower Master’s office in the Golden Tower.
She cast search magic across the entire Labyrinth. She did this to check if any holes had been poked through the Labyrinth somewhere.
‘Nothing here.’
Even when she expanded the search magic to cover the entire Earth, no traces of the Apostles were visible. If that was the case, there was only one way for the Apostles to cross over to Earth. They were likely hiding somewhere inside the Red Dungeons.
She selected the dungeon category in the control room and checked the Red Dungeons. As she calmly performed her search magic, traces of the White Dragon God appeared in five Red Dungeons.
‘Found them.’
They had not appeared in just one place but had settled across ten locations. She checked the positions of the Red Dungeons.
Korea, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Japan, and others.
The Apostles of the White Dragon God were inside Red Dungeons located in a total of ten countries.
‘One High Apostle in the China region. The rest are all Intermediate Apostles.’
Judging by their strength, it seemed they were deployed for information gathering and sabotage. It seemed the High Apostle could be left to the Cheonma. The remaining Intermediate Apostles could easily be handled by the S-rank Hunters of each country.
After finishing her rough strategic analysis, she returned to the Golden Tower. When she arrived at the planning room, the mages of the Golden Tower were gathered there.
“The Apostles of the White Dragon God have infiltrated the Red Dungeons. We are going to hold an event to hunt them. Only S-rank Hunters or higher can participate. No solo entries allowed. They must challenge it in a team of at least five.”
“Have the regions been specified?”
Yoo Seolha marked red dots on a map. They indicated the locations of the Red Dungeons in each country. She shared the information that at least four Apostles of the White Dragon God were hiding at each of these locations.
“We must clear them out quickly before they try any tricks.”
“What should we set as the rewards?”
“Are we disclosing the locations immediately?”
They decided on the things necessary to conduct the event one by one. Then, someone raised their hand.
“However, only specific countries can participate in the event. If we proceed like this, there will likely be many complaints from other countries.”
Yoo Seolha nodded slightly at that opinion. It was a valid point. If this were just about catching the Apostles of the White Dragon God, it wouldn’t matter, but if special rewards were involved, it could cause conflict.
“To begin with, Red Dungeons appear randomly, and they don’t even appear in certain regions. Do we really need to consider those things?”
“It’s just unfortunate for them. We can just hold another event next time, can’t we?”
It was indeed strange to attach the word “fairness” to the Labyrinth and dungeons. Talent, luck, and skill—differences in these areas were bound to exist, and some had been reaping enormous benefits by utilizing such differences in each country.
As various opinions were being voiced, Yoo Seolha spoke up after listening to everyone.
“We have to make them one.”
“…”
“What we are doing isn’t just running a game. We are building the strength to face the White Dragon God.”
In order to survive the massive war that would strike in the future, the entire world had to become one. This event had to be the catalyst for that.
“Then how about proceeding in a way that unites the whole world? Like a time attack. If they clear all of them within a certain number of days, we distribute rewards to Hunters all over the world.”
It was a fairly good idea. Yoo Seolha instructed them to prepare the event again based on that suggestion.
“We should probably give a bit more reward to the people who actually caught the Apostles, right?”
“Right. I wonder what reward would be good.”
Once the framework was established, the progress quickened. Since they had already conducted several events, they carried out their assigned tasks and prepared for the event step by step.
“And let’s also start the Apostle Project.”
Since the appearance of the Constellation System, the skill levels of Hunters had been standardized upward. In particular, many of those who had not realized their own talent were now discovering it and growing at a tremendous speed.
Kim Chan-woo was one such case.
He was overjoyed when he first awakened as a Hunter, but after feeling the limits of his talent, he had given up his life as a Hunter.
[Dokkaebi has won the Stage Battle!]
Then, his heart burned at Dokkaebi’s exploits. His heart throbbed as the prestige of Korea rose. He wanted to be a part of that kind of life. Even though he knew he had no talent, he still wanted to enter the Labyrinth once more.
‘Let’s take it slow.’
He made a plan so that he could grow step by step, even if it was slow. Physical training after work on weekdays. Studying the Labyrinth and dungeons on weekends. After training for one month, he entered the Labyrinth.
However, the results were not very good. He couldn’t even swing his weapon properly because of the fear the Labyrinth instilled. His body creaked and his weapon missed. Because he was fumbling like a broken machine, he failed to clear the Labyrinth.
‘Things haven’t changed much even with time.’
‘I guess I should be satisfied with just watching.’
Just as he made up his mind and was about to leave the Labyrinth, he heard someone’s voice.
[‘Why on earth are you holding a sword?’]
Startled by the unfamiliar voice, he looked around, but nothing was visible.
“Who is it?”
[‘Pick up a bow. That’s where your talent lies.’]
The voice that had suddenly appeared just as suddenly vanished. Kim Chan-woo exited the Labyrinth with his failed clear, and as if possessed by the voice he had just heard, he visited a weapon shop.
He purchased a bow, which he had never used before. He packed arrows and used the Hunter app to find a party to clear a dungeon.
An F-rank dungeon raid.
He joined an entry-level party led by a D-rank Hunter and tried firing the bow.
Thwack!
Thwack!
Thwack!
Every single arrow he fired hit a goblin’s head. Everything felt as natural as if he and the bow were one. He could see where the arrow would fly, and his body knew how to release it.
“Wow… he’s a divine archer.”
“Is your talent really F-rank?”
“At this rate, I think you could easily become an A-rank Hunter.”
After clearing the dungeon, he was able to figure out the identity of the voice.
A Constellation.
A system newly updated in the Labyrinth.
Kim Chan-woo entered the Labyrinth the next day and cleared it very easily, then proceeded to officially form a contract with the Constellation.
[‘You must be able to fire an arrow no matter when or what the situation is.’]
The Constellation gave him detailed instructions. As he worked hard to learn and train in the methods the Constellation taught him, they became skills and were naturally etched into his body.
The more time passed, the more his growth speed increased tremendously. The speed at which he descended the Labyrinth floors couldn’t even keep up with his growth. In terms of Labyrinth floors, he was a D-rank Hunter, but in reality, he had cleared up to S-rank dungeons.
A rising prospect of South Korea.
He grew enough to proudly put his name among those ten people. Even today, he finished clearing the Labyrinth and came outside to gain practical experience by clearing dungeons.
A message appeared before Kim Chan-woo.
[A special event is being held.]
[The ‘Apostle’s Invasion’ event has begun.]
[The Apostles of the White Dragon God are hiding in the Red Dungeons existing in this world. Special rewards will be given if all of them are defeated within the time limit.]
[Qualification: S-rank Hunter or higher.]
[Time Limit: One week.]
[This event requires the entire world to become one. If all Apostles are cleared within the time limit, a special reward will be distributed to all Hunters.]
Along with that, the locations of the Red Dungeons where the Apostles of the White Dragon God were hiding were shared. It was the very place Kim Chan-woo was planning to clear.
When he arrived in front of the dungeon, many people were already gathered. Even Association employees were out to manage the surrounding area.
“This is the dungeon our party decided to clear first. It’s only right that we go in first.”
Kim Chan-woo spoke to the Association employee, and his request was actively accepted, giving Kim Chan-woo’s party the first right of entry. Kim Chan-woo entered the S-rank Red Dungeon with his party members.
A blue field appeared. Boss monsters that would normally be seen in an A-rank dungeon were scattered all over the field.
“Handle them while saving as much strength as possible.”
“Got it.”
“Everyone, check your potions one more time.”
“All set.”
“Then let’s go.”
Kim Chan-woo took out an item he had recently obtained from his Constellation: the Darkness Bow. He placed his hand on the bowstring. Mana was consumed, and an arrow of the darkness attribute was formed. Kim Chan-woo pulled the string with all his might and then released it toward the enemy.
Pang!
The arrow, possessing strong destructive power, flew quickly and exploded the head of a boss monster.
Pang!
Pang!
Pang!
He cleared out those approaching his party members from a distance. After defeating the surrounding monsters and checking their physical conditions and equipment, they moved further inside.
“I feel a strange presence coming from further in.”
A party member with a search skill pointed toward the dense trees in the forest. It was a place where visibility was poor.
“Let’s burn it down.”
“Roger that!”
A party member who had prepared fire magic launched it straight toward the forest.
Kwoooooom!
With a massive explosion, flames shot upward, and as the forest burned, something revealed itself.
People draped in white cloaks.
“It’s them. Don’t let a single one get away!”
Kim Chan-woo quickly raised his bow to face the enemies.
Swish!
Swish!
Arrows were fired in rapid succession.
The enemies dodged the arrows with flexible movements and raised their weapons to deflect the attacks launched by the party members. They were on a completely different level from regular monsters.
However, he didn’t think they would lose. That was because he had the potions obtained through the Labyrinth’s time attack.
“Let’s drink.”
“Yeah!”
“Alright, let’s do this!”
Kim Chan-woo also took out the potion attached to his belt and drank it quickly.
[You drink a Supreme Power Elixir.]
[All stats increase permanently.]
[All stats are temporarily tripled.]
[Health recovery speed increases to the limit.]
[Mana recovery speed increases to the limit.]
[Regenerative power increases to the limit.]
[The power of all magic, weapons, and skills increases significantly.]
Feeling the power surging through his entire body, Kim Chan-woo rained down arrows mercilessly. A rain of arrows that filled the sky poured down on the enemies, and the powerful skills unleashed by the party members swept them away.
“Is it over?”
As soon as one of the party members spoke, the enemies’ counterattack began. The enemies resisted fiercely while radiating a brilliant white light.
“Good. I was feeling a lack of intensity lately anyway.”
“If we fight these guys and win, we might gain some enlightenment, right?”
“Just don’t die.”
Because he had grown quickly, he had reached a wall just as fast. For a while, he had spent boring days without any growth. The emptiness caused by the lack of intensity was being filled through this battle.
Kim Chan-woo unleashed his arrows with a smirk, feeling the thirst for survival and intensity that he hadn’t felt in a long time. After a fierce struggle, the effects of the Elixir wore off.
[The effect of the Power Elixir has ended.]
Along with the appearance of the message, they were finally able to defeat the enemies.
[You have defeated an Apostle of the White Dragon God.]
[A Constellation Summoning Ticket is awarded as a reward.]
[You can meet a Constellation in person and receive teachings, or you can request help to clear the Labyrinth.]
The message did not end there.
[You have acquired the Apostle’s Qualification.]
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