Deep within the Labyrinth.
Perhaps near the 68th floor.
“Huu……!”
Zion looked around, confirming that all enemies had fallen, and let out a long sigh.
[These monsters seem to be average at upper first-class… Just how deep is this Labyrinth supposed to be?]
[It’s amazing in itself that such a vast and deep Labyrinth exists. Mm, mmm… Zion, ah, if it’s just for a moment, can’t you try summoning me?]
[You want to do that now, when MP management is already so tight? Even if she says it’s fine, I’ll be the one to talk her out of it.]
[Ahaha. I wasn’t even expecting it.]
Frey and Crooks exchanged words, and Zion couldn’t help but let a faint smile creep onto his lips.
But there was no time to linger in one place.
After regrouping with K, who had been waiting some distance away for the battle to end, Zion immediately began moving again.
The deeper they descended, the stronger the monsters became.
Having passed the 60th floor, it was still at a level they could handle calmly, without injury.
However, it was no longer possible to take down an enemy in a single blow.
The monsters’ growing strength was one thing, but their increasing ferocity was another considerable issue.
If they stayed in one place for even a moment, monsters would charge from all sides.
Take down one, and two more would come; defeat those two, and four or five would appear; and while fighting those, more would come…
In that way, the battle wouldn’t end until every monster in the area was defeated.
Both physical and mental exhaustion accumulated severely.
An Awakened possesses far greater sustained combat prowess against monsters than any conventional soldier.
That’s because they absorb MP with every monster defeated, recovering and growing stronger.
But in the Labyrinth, that premise broke down.
Even when Zion defeated a monster, the MP he absorbed was minuscule.
Near the upper floors, it was barely noticeable, but the deeper they went, the more pronounced the effect became.
Now, past the 60th floor, even powerful monsters yielded only a handful of MP.
Considering Zion’s natural aptitude and the Pendant’s assistance, which allowed him to absorb MP several times more efficiently than others, it was practically as if he was absorbing nothing at all.
[The remaining MP is flowing into the depths of the Labyrinth. It seems the central control function at the deepest part is collecting the MP generated and released by monsters when they die, and using it to create new monsters.]
[And the leftover MP probably seeps into the natural resources scattered throughout the Labyrinth, which is how the ‘Labyrinth resources’ the tower magicians talk about are created.]
With his Mystic Eyes open, Frey analyzed the situation, and Crooks supplemented it.
It was speculation, but it was highly persuasive.
[So, there’s no way to solve this for now, is there?]
[Seems that way. Even if we try to supplement MP absorption with an Artifact, unless we make something better than the Pendant, it’s pretty much meaningless.]
The Awakened’s opinions were pessimistic, but Zion himself wasn’t particularly worried.
Or more precisely, he had no energy left to feel worry or anxiety.
The only thing that mattered right now was to shave down the time it took to defeat each monster, even by a little.
Following K’s lead down the path, Zion steadily defeated every monster they encountered, all the while studying how to bring down enemies more efficiently.
He observed with his eyes, listened with his ears, smelled with his nose—analyzing the monsters’ habits, behaviors, and weaknesses.
For example, some monsters had overdeveloped eyesight, making them vulnerable to strong light.
Some had perpetually wet bodies and were afraid of flames that would dry them out.
One by one, little by little.
If he couldn’t overwhelm with strength, he’d overcome with experience.
If it took four exchanges to bring down a certain foe before, then next time, three.
Then two the time after that.
It was easier said than done.
There were times he needed five exchanges against a monster he’d previously defeated in four.
But Zion was never impatient.
His mind, focused only on bringing down the enemy, had no room for such trivial emotions.
Even the voices of the other Awakened faded to the background.
How many more floors did they descend?
How much more time had passed?
In that moment, when all sense of space and time dulled and only himself and the enemy to be felled remained—
Zion, having just swung his greatsword, paused for a moment in that posture, then slowly returned to his stance.
He looked down at the corpse of the monster before him.
It was a single blow.
He drove his sword between the minuscule gaps in armor tougher than steel, then twisted the blade to slice through the heart and other vital organs all at once.
No wasted movement, no unnecessary effort—an ideal engagement.
More than that, it was a monster he had never seen before.
‘My body just moved on its own… No, it didn’t move on its own…’
Just now, he had experienced an inexplicably strange state.
The moment he recognized the enemy, his mind and body responded in perfect harmony, without the slightest error.
His sharpened senses mercilessly analyzed the foe’s entire body and weaknesses, and his body reacted in real time.
The result lay at his feet.
[…He’s broken through the wall.]
Still frozen in a squat, Crooks spoke with a voice full of admiration perhaps even fear.
All the Awakened, including him, were frozen.
That’s how astonishing a scene it was.
[Wow… brother, do you see this? I’ve got chills running all over my body and they won’t go away.]
[What a coincidence. I’m the same right now.]
Crooks, a martial arts master, and Frey, though not a master but equally knowledgeable, best understood the realm Zion had reached.
Arcs and Yumin, even if they didn’t comprehend it exactly, could sense just how high a level Zion had attained.
[This is… No, you can’t define this with mere ‘talent’. Talent is the baseline—you need bone-grinding effort, long experience, the right temperament… Even with all that, reaching this level at his age is nearly impossible.]
[Zion’s done the impossible. That’s the Alkoth blood for you—never fails.]
[It’s not you who’s amazing, it’s Zion.]
[I know that. Hey, why are you picking a fight when I haven’t even said anything yet?]
“If I don’t, you’re bound to say something weird.”
Zion also clearly recognized the level he had reached.
As a child, he had hazily dreamed of this realm, honing sword and magic under his master’s guidance.
If he had lived a different life, it might have become his lifelong goal just to set foot here.
“Haha. I’m glad. Now, there’s nothing left to slow me down.”
[…Is that all the impression you have? If I were you, I’d be screaming my head off in madness by now.]
“If I did that, monsters would come swarming from all directions. How could I?”
[It’s just an expression. I mean you’re allowed to be that happy.]
“Well, I am happy, but…”
Zion gave a bitter smile.
He was happy.
But not so elated that he lost control.
Having mingled with other Awakened and learned their strength, he didn’t want to settle or be satisfied at this halfway point.
The goal he sought, the back he chased, was still far away.
This was only the beginning—a realistic possibility had finally appeared.
“I think I’ll save basking in joy for after we clear the Labyrinth.”
[Well… You’re right.]
Once more, Zion began descending with K.
MP absorption was still terrible and his stamina drained quickly, but he had gained far more mental composure.
He now had the confidence to defeat most enemies with a single blow.
Even those that couldn’t be taken down in one strike, he spent almost no time dealing with.
He was faster at dispatching each monster than the time it took for others to hear and rush in.
His pace was now far swifter than before.
“K. Your memory still hasn’t come back?”
“Huh? Umm… I feel like something is coming back, but I’m still not sure. I think I need to go further down!”
Since the 60th floor, their conversations had resumed.
Most were mundane, but occasionally important topics would surface—chiefly, K’s memories.
“Uh… I think I’ve seen that guy before. Sometimes, when he’d pass by and snort, I’d get so startled I’d run away.”
K pointed at a quadrupedal monster over two meters tall and five meters long, resembling a giant bull.
Zion was curious as to what K’s true identity could be, to have scared off such a monster with just a snort, but K still couldn’t recall anything about himself.
“Ah, I’ve seen this area.”
“Maybe we were too noisy. K, step back.”
From the upper floors until now, K had never participated in battle.
He seemed unwilling, and Zion, too, had no intention of considering a child-like figure with the appearance and mental age of a kid as part of their fighting strength.
Fortunately, the monsters never attacked K; as long as he was kept out of the way of stray attacks, he was safe.
“This used to be the site of a fountain. Looks like the central function has cut off supply—nothing works now. My friends used to gather here and relax.”
So K said, gazing at the large open space along a passage on the 80th floor.
At other open areas or blocked corridors, K would sometimes explain with a faraway look what purpose the place originally served.
“Ah, here is…”
And when they reached the 88th floor—
“This place… Yes. This is my room.”
It was the largest, widest, and tallest chamber yet.
If a child like K stood in the center, he’d look like a speck of dust.
Unless there was some other special reason, the original occupant must have been huge enough to match the room’s size.
“Did you remember something about yourself?”
“No? Not really.” K shook his head innocently.
“I just remembered that this is my room. After thinking about it, I think my memory is being restricted right now.”
“Restricted? By the magicians?”
“No. My dad did.”
“…?”
The sudden and inexplicable word left Zion and the others bewildered.
K paid them no mind and walked lightly ahead.
“Zion, come on. We’re almost there.”
Pushing aside his questions, Zion hurried after him.
[Do monsters reproduce?]
[Well, it varies by species. Orcs, obviously—you already know about them. Then goblins and such…]
[There are papers that say monsters similar to real creatures have the necessary organs and can reproduce normally. But monsters that don’t resemble anything real often don’t even have reproductive organs.]
[If it lives in such a big communal space, it’s probably not the former.]
[It’s just a tendency, not a rule. And maybe the ‘dad’ K mentioned is just a metaphor or slang.]
[Why overthink it? If we go all the way to the bottom, we’ll figure most of it out.]
[What if we get there and still don’t know?]
[Huh? Then we don’t know. Do you have to know where your friend lived, what country he’s from, what hospital he was born in, just to be friends?]
[No, that’s not… Ugh. You’re always so mean to me.]
[Look who’s talking. Don’t you people have a word for ‘the pot calling the kettle black’?]
The 89th floor felt completely different from before.
There weren’t many monsters, and the ones present were almost unpleasantly docile.
Unless Zion attacked first, they showed no hostility.
After killing one on a whim and being struck by inexplicable guilt, Zion decided to pass quietly through this floor.
“I think my dad gave the order.”
“What? Wait—your father’s alive?”
“Yeah. Down there.”
K pointed downward.
Zion swallowed dryly. Maybe—no, surely—if they kept going, they’d soon meet the ‘dad’ K spoke of.
“From here, it’s what magicians call the central control. Dad and I just called it the bomb shelter.”
The 90th floor.
The deepest part of the Labyrinth.