Daphne was currently suspicious.
“As expected, Bingsin!”
None other than Hio Pavlenko, Jijoncheonma, was the one she doubted.
“Let’s keep going like this. Take a right up ahead… Yes, Bingsin!”
No matter how good the compliment, wasn’t it a bit much to keep calling him the Ice God?
Hearing it repeatedly gave off a strange feeling, almost like sarcasm…
“Uh…? There’s a monster coming. Let’s go, Laflicia!”
Moreover, Jijoncheonma had never once revealed his true power.
The power that alone ended the war and stood against Atawolf to protect Imenia.
Of course, Daphne’s own strength was enough to break through the labyrinth, but wouldn’t it be even faster if he stepped in?
“Yet, he never did.”
“That attitude, combined with the first impression she had when they met, fueled her suspicion.”
“Maybe he was a fake impersonating Jijoncheonma.”
“Or a scammer using the Guardian Knight’s emblem to deceive guild members.”
Well, a mere con artist wouldn’t have much reason to go that far, but even so, there were quite a few odd points making it hard to be sure he was really Jijoncheonma.
Still, Daphne was a person who prioritized clearly.
He was the Abyss administrator capable of destroying an entire world, the one responsible for the Hill of Hell.
So, for now, she could only trust what he said and follow the path he pointed to.
There was no other way to clear the labyrinth.
“Good. Not much left now.”
However, no matter how cold-headed Daphne was, she couldn’t help but ask halfway through.
“Jijoncheonma, weren’t you originally more taciturn?”
The person claiming to be Hio Pavlenko wasn’t particularly talkative or clumsy.
‘But there was an image to maintain, wasn’t there?’
An image all players of Ventair shared.
The overwhelming number one, Jijoncheonma’s image.
Always silently rushing to prevent destruction, giving his all without boasting about his overwhelming power.
Taciturn and cold, but warm inside.
A person who separated work and personal matters well, cared for even the little things quietly, and was incredibly strong without showing it—just doing what had to be done.
‘Isn’t that the image everyone expected of Jijoncheonma?’
Compared to ordinary players, Daphne had met Jijoncheonma more often, and in her mind, he fit that image perfectly.
She never expected to see someone squeezing a robe under a cape, wearing a strange pointed hat, leaning on a showy staff, and shouting “Fighting, Bingsin!” like that.
“Well, they say environment shapes a person.”
No matter what others thought, Hio felt it was unfair from his side.
First, their nationalities were different, so they rarely had the chance to talk.
Also, back then, Hio, or Lee Hyunseung, was just wallowing in despair, locked away in his room.
It was only natural he was different from now.
“…I see.”
Of course, Daphne didn’t know that and didn’t let go of her growing suspicion.
As they moved toward the labyrinth’s center together, one fact was reconfirmed.
Skills embedded in Artifacts did not activate trait effects.
It was something already known from gaming experience but needed to be confirmed here.
The staff’s skill, “Dark Insight,” did not trigger the “Cannot Live Without Style!” trait that makes effects flashier.
Therefore, the penalties of the Hidden Trait also did not apply.
It made sense.
Traits were personal abilities, not powers of Artifacts.
“‘Staff of the Dark Authority’ skill – ‘Dark Insight’ activated.”
As the skill triggered, mana was sucked into the staff.
The staff greedily consumed it, then cast its own magic, turning Hio’s eyes black.
The surroundings brightened, but only Hio could see it.
In those blackened eyes appeared a clear target point.
Among the thick darkness all around, an unusually dark spot, as if it were the abyss itself.
Without a doubt, that must be the labyrinth’s center.
“This time, we just have to keep going straight.”
He told Daphne that and tried to deactivate Dark Insight.
The amount of mana the staff consumed was no joke.
Well, the skill was worth that much. It was comparable to many high-tier guidance skills.
Indeed.
It could dispel all sorts of obstacles, including the Abyss’s darkness, to reveal the path.
Just as he was about to cut off the mana flow, His footsteps abruptly stopped.
His head snapped around stiffly, and goosebumps rose along his arms and neck.
Dark Insight’s vision caught something strange in a corner of his sight.
Something he didn’t know when it had appeared, but it resembled a human eye, staring directly at Hio.
“Psychic attack detected.”
“Trait – ‘Cannot Live Without Style!’ activated.”
But it was only a brief moment.
By the time Hio turned his head, it was already gone.
It wasn’t a hallucination. It had definitely been watching him, and Hio had noticed its presence.
“I gazed into the abyss. The abyss also gazed back at me.”
The first sentence of the message left by Kreutzvalt suddenly came to mind.
And then—
“Caution. Sometimes, it’s better not to look.”
The one line of warning written at the end of the skill Dark Insight.
The goosebumps didn’t subside, and his frozen legs didn’t move an inch.
It was a very brief moment, but he clearly saw it.
A huge, horizontally elongated eye.
‘What should he call it? The Eye of the Abyss, perhaps?’
Thoughts tangled and piled up as he stared with his entirely blackened eyes, unable to even think about deactivating Dark Insight.
Just a simple glance caused such discomfort.
That alone triggered the trait that defends against psychic attacks.
His thoughts sped up, reaching memories from quite some time ago.
“Only a tiny fraction of those swallowed by the Gate return dramatically.”
It was a story he’d heard on Earth when they failed to clear the Abyss First Floor.
“And every single one of them goes mad. No one knows what exactly they saw there…”
Stories from survivors who returned from an unknown space.
Their endings were all the same.
“Eventually, they cried out to be saved and took their own lives.”
‘Were they, perhaps, visitors to the abyss?’
‘Did Kreutzvalt, who had seen a bit of that place where the fight still rages, leave those words?’
If so, then what he just saw, and what had looked at him in return, was…
“‘Staff of the Dark Authority’ skill – ‘Dark Insight’ deactivated.”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Hio immediately deactivated Dark Insight.
The mana being greedily consumed stopped flowing, and the black pupil that had taken over his eyes returned to normal size.
Indeed.
“Why all of a sudden? Is something wrong?”
Daphne asked, and Hio could only close his eyes and shake his head.
“No. Let’s move quickly. We don’t have much time left for the clear.”
“…Understood.”
He couldn’t answer carelessly, but cautiously, he conveyed one thing.
“Let’s move… with some caution.”
A baseless hunch that the labyrinth’s end wouldn’t come easily.
As they neared the center, the number of Abyss Monsters thinned, and somewhat stronger ones began to appear.
Well, they were still just labyrinth monsters.
As mentioned before, the labyrinth’s difficulty came from the confusion in finding the path and the monsters and traps that suddenly appeared, not from their strength.
Instead, something else happened.
His eyes were covered even more deeply, and other senses were confused too.
Without the guide skill, reaching the labyrinth’s center was hopeless.
The guide had to use their skill more frequently.
“‘Staff of the Dark Authority’ skill – ‘Dark Insight’ activated.”
He activated Dark Insight, piercing through the dense darkness to find the way.
Of course, he wasn’t just searching for the path.
He tried to look again for the eye that gave him goosebumps and stopped his steps, but it never appeared again.
Only a growing, unexplained sense of discomfort increased with every use of Dark Insight.
“If it’s this close, the center can’t be far.”
Though this was his first time experiencing the labyrinth outside the game, he could feel they were nearing the center.
Entering the Abyss and reaching this point in just half a day was an impressive feat.
It was possible because they knew the way and moved directly without hesitation.
“You still won’t join the fight until the end, Jijoncheonma.”
They had moved quickly, and battles had been almost nonstop, yet Hio hadn’t joined a single one.
“Are you really Jijoncheonma?”
Daphne’s suspicion grew so much she finally voiced it.
Even though Daphne could handle the monsters alone, it was strange that he never stepped up.
Indeed.
If the path hadn’t been correct, she would have questioned him long ago.
“I know it’s strange coming from me, but yes, I’m Jijoncheonma.”
“Then show me proof.”
They were about to reach the center.
There was a sphere on this floor, guarded by a boss-class monster.
Before reaching there, Daphne wanted to be certain.
“If it’s proof you want, haven’t I already shown it?”
Hio took out the Guardian Knight’s emblem.
If one was possessed, able to see item information, they would recognize the unique value of this medal.
But Daphne shook her head.
“There are many kinds of ability users in this world. I know some who can deceive item info. I came here because clearing the labyrinth was priority, but I want to know who you really are and why you’re here.”
It wasn’t hard to verify.
If he was Jijoncheonma, he’d prove it.
If not, he’d try to escape somehow.
“…Let’s just finish the clear quickly, shall we?”
Yes.
Just like that.
“It was only a mild suspicion, but now it’s really strange. If you’re really Jijoncheonma, why not show your power from the start? Why hide it so much?”
She couldn’t understand his mind.
He had stayed out of the fights as if he couldn’t use his strength.
Even though countless moments called for him to lend a hand.
Daphne slowly pulled back her bowstring.
Her target was Hio Pavlenko.
“If you feel wronged, prove it. That’s all.”
If he showed the power worthy of his reputation and recent deeds, that would be proof, and this would be just a trivial incident.
Hio sighed softly and nodded.
“Alright then.”
He lightly lifted his staff.
Mana gathered, and his will moved.
“Skill – ‘Azure Flame’ activated.”
In the surrounding darkness, a blue flame blazed endlessly from the staff’s tip.
A mysterious fire that could burn everything it touched or not, depending on Hio’s will.
Daphne would surely feel the immense power of Azure Flame.
She couldn’t help but acknowledge the power of the blue sun that surged within the Abyss.
“This is…”
As expected, Daphne murmured in awe while looking up at Azure Flame.
Her tension eased little by little, and the tightly drawn bowstring relaxed naturally.
“Is that enough?”
The mana disappeared quickly, befitting a top-tier skill.
Fortunately, Azure Flame consumed less mana when idle than most.
The mana used for Dark Insight on the way here was already substantial, so Hio planned to deactivate Azure Flame as soon as possible.
Just as Daphne was about to nod in agreement, An unfamiliar noise came from behind.
Just by hearing it, they knew it wasn’t a sound any creature in this world could make.
The manager of Abyss Underground Floor 50 and the boss monster guarding the sphere.
For some reason, it had left the sphere’s chamber and was approaching Daphne and Hio.
Its presence was different from before.
But it wasn’t a big problem.
Though a mid-level Abyss monster, it was still a boss monster of the labyrinth.
The real difficulty was finding the path and completing the clear within the time limit, not the monster’s strength.
However, Daphne’s gaze was now on Hio Pavlenko, not the boss monster, which was a problem.
“This time, you take the lead.”
She even dismissed Laflicia and stepped back, making things quite awkward.
“If you really are Jijoncheonma, this shouldn’t be difficult.”
An awkward smile appeared at Hio’s lips.
A Bingsin who pushes violence?
“…This is troublesome.”
It was indeed troublesome.
[Hidden Trait: Violence is Not Allowed! (Endurance: 935 / 1000)]