Chapter 97: A Clean Victory

‘Guhut.’

Levan smiled as he saw the notification appear before his eyes.

Dungeon Labyrinthos!

Labyrinthos is a hidden dungeon that only reveals itself to users who meet certain conditions.

Levan had just fulfilled those conditions and was finally invited by the master of the dungeon.

When prompted by the system, Levan shouted "Yes" without hesitation.

[You have accepted the invitation.]

[Entering the hidden dungeon, ‘Labyrinthos’.]

Paaat!

A white light.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in pitch-black darkness.

At that moment.

Flick! Flick! Flick!

From the closest point in his field of vision to the farthest horizon, lights came on everywhere within his sight.

The color of the lights was blue.

A will-o’-the-wisp shade, perfectly suited for a gloomy underground prison.

‘So this is the labyrinth, Labyrinthos.’

A dungeon he hasn’t entered in quite a while.

Moreover, he’d only ever heard about Labyrinthos’s reputation—this was his first time actually entering.

‘Now it finally feels like I’m playing a real game.’

Back in his Blunt Warrior days, Levan’s level was 105.

As a solo player back then, the hunting grounds he could manage were extremely limited.

Of course, he still mostly plays solo. But the circumstances are completely different now.

That’s why he wasn’t afraid at all.

The changed circumstances played a part, but Labyrinthos was also one of those national dungeons whose value on the auction house had plummeted.

‘I’ve memorized all the information I need. From now on, all I need to focus on is the performance!’

Levan didn’t say any lines upon entering Labyrinthos.

He usually spoke for comedic effect or to advance the situation, but he had entered Labyrinthos without a word to cap off the ‘Forest of the Labyrinth’ series not with comedy, but with seriousness.

Levan drew his kite shield instead of his rock shield and began to advance.

‘Labyrinthos is a concept dungeon modeled directly after Greek and Roman mythology. So, the clear condition for Labyrinthos is to defeat the boss monster inside, the ‘Minotauros King’.’

Of course, there are many other clear conditions, but the optimal ending Levan wanted to showcase was killing the master of this place.

‘That’s the real thrill of running a dungeon.’

Display skill, but always master the basics.

That’s Levan’s philosophy for streaming.

Levan strode quickly along the path ahead.

Soon, he reached the first fork in the road.

Without hesitation, Levan chose the left path. There was no particular reason. Because—

‘Labyrinthos is, as the name suggests, a maze-type dungeon. The problem is, the layout changes every time. So memorizing the maze is pointless. All I need to do is hunt down the Minotauros King when he shows up.’

With a clear goal, there’s no need to overthink it.

Besides, Levan’s sub-quest is One Class Master, so even if he wanders in the dungeon for a long time, it doesn’t really matter.

The longer he spends in the dungeon, the more monsters he can hunt.

Taking the left path, he soon encountered the first monster.

[Gray Minotauros / Lv.129]

Labyrinthos, being modeled after a massive maze, has quite a high ceiling.

But compared to the lofty ceiling, the Gray Minotauros that appeared was only about 2 meters tall, half the size of some of the other monsters that reach 4 or 5 meters.

Still, just because its size is smaller doesn’t mean it can be underestimated. The smaller size means it’s much more agile.

“This is fine by me.”

A single welcome monster, like a welcome drink.

The perfect number to get warmed up.

Facing the Gray Minotauros, Levan raised his black iron kite shield.

‘Let’s see… my level is only 70 now, so I’ll be facing something nearly 50 levels higher?’

The level difference, which he hadn’t cared much about, suddenly weighed on his mind.

He let out a laugh.

Not a gap of ten or twenty, but a whopping fifty levels.

If others heard, they’d probably call him a liar and laugh in his face.

‘Sometimes I think it’s ridiculous… this War Mage class.’

“Purung.”

The Gray Minotauros took a combat stance.

With horns twice as long as the others, it began charging at Levan.

Levan ran at it too.

Kaaang-!!

Levan’s kite shield and the Gray Minotauros’s horns clashed, releasing a deafening boom and a short shockwave.

“Wow… you’re pretty strong.”

“Moo!!”

Its height and frame had shrunk, but its strength was exceptional.

This is why they say small peppers are spicier. But no matter how spicy a small pepper is, it’s still small.

“A small pepper can never be the main dish. I’m the big one here!”

With a shout, Levan grabbed the Gray Minotauros’s horns.

Then, using pure brute force, he hurled the Gray Minotauros far away.

Kwa-dang!!

The Gray Minotauros was thrown to the ground.

Apparently, it was the first time it had experienced this; though it got back up immediately, its face was bewildered.

In the meantime, Levan quickly closed the distance.

“Smash!”

[Smash is activated.]

[Roaring Shout is activated.]

Kwa-du-deuk!!

By shouting as he used Smash, he activated Roaring Shout at the same time.

Sound is faster than a club, so Levan was able to smack the Gray Minotauros’s head easily again this time.

[Critical Hit!]

The satisfying impact—its skull must have cracked.

Riding the momentum, Levan unleashed Thunder Strikes in succession and mercilessly pummeled the Gray Minotauros, giving it no chance to get up.

[You have hunted a Gray Minotauros.]

“Grazie!”

A clean victory.

Levan defeated the Gray Minotauros without taking a single hit.

It went the same way after that.

Most of the Minotauros roaming Labyrinthos were Gray Minotauros.

Occasionally, a bigger one would appear, but aside from being higher-level, there was little difference from the smaller ones.

[Level up!]

The experience gain was excellent.

They were nearly fifty levels above him, after all.

Levan spent a while forgetting all about the Minotauros King, deliberately seeking out Gray Minotauros and swinging his club without a break.

“Are you next?”

“Moo.”

“Come on.”

Kwaang!!

Such straightforward monsters.

The Gray Minotauros attack pattern is always the same: charge with their long horns, then brawl with brute force.

Of course, as ordinary monsters, it’s inevitable that their attacks are repetitive, but at some point, the hunting becomes weirdly dull.

That’s why Levan tries to use as many different combat techniques as possible in these situations.

For example—

“Grip.”

“Moo?”

Levan caught the Gray Minotauros’s horns on his kite shield, then seized them with his Master Orc’s Fist.

Then, just like throwing a phone to the floor in anger, he slammed the monster into the ground with all his might.

Kwaaang!!

But that wasn’t the end.

If that were all, he wouldn’t have used Master Orc’s Fist.

Holding onto the iron horns stuck to his glove, Levan slammed the monster to the other side.

Then the opposite side again.

Then back again.

Without giving it a chance to rest, he slammed the Gray Minotauros left and right until finally—

[You have hunted a Gray Minotauros.]

He finished the hunt without even using his club.

“Hmph, these bulls are weaklings.”

Relentless slams.

They’re good for showmanship, but not very efficient. So, unless there’s a special reason, he decided not to use them.

Levan set off in search of his next target.

---

Entrance to the Forest of the Labyrinth.

A man in a black hood appeared at the entrance.

He stood there for a while, gazing at the forest, then finally walked into its depths.

“Mmooooo….”

As soon as he entered the Forest of the Labyrinth, a Brown Minotauros was in sight, as expected.

But at the entrance, there weren’t just one, but a whole group of ten Brown Minotauros.

The man was in luck.

Because the ten Brown Minotauros hadn’t noticed him yet, and his location was cleverly hidden from their sight.

He was aware of his position.

But as if it didn’t matter, the man walked right past the group of Brown Minotauros with an unconcerned expression.

“Mmu?”

“Mmo?”

“Purung?”

The Brown Minotauros’s gazes gathered on the man.

They were bewildered.

Because the man walked past them so boldly, not caring about them in the least.

But their surprise was brief; the Brown Minotauros soon charged straight at the man as always.

In an instant, four fists shot toward the man.

Kwaaang!!

A punch that shook the air.

Not just one, but four at once, as if an earthquake had struck.

Anyone witnessing this would probably have offered condolences for the nameless man.

Or clicked their tongues at his arrogance.

But when the dust settled, the Brown Minotauros with their fists outstretched couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Mmu?”

The dust cleared.

The man stood exactly where he’d been.

With the Brown Minotauros’s fists stuck all over his body.

Still wearing his hood, the man muttered quietly.

A flash lit up inside the hood, and he placed his hand over the fists stuck to his body.

Udu-deuk!

“Mmooooo!!”

In an instant, the Brown Minotauros’s wrist twisted back.

The man, gripping the twisted wrist, flung it in the opposite direction.

Thunk!

The Brown Minotauros were flustered.

But only for a moment—when the man counterattacked, the Brown Minotauros swung at him with even greater fury.

Eighteen fists.

It was like a torrential rain of fists from the sky.

The man didn’t dodge at all, taking every blow with his body.

The first punch landed on him.

Udu-deuk!!

“……!”

The sound of something breaking.

But it wasn’t the man.

It was the Brown Minotauros’s fist.

The same happened with the others.

As soon as their fists hit the man, fingers bent grotesquely as they snapped.

“Mmooooo!!”

Still, the man didn’t move.

Only after the Brown Minotauros’s fists had bounced off him did he approach and, as before, hurl them all far away.

The bulls crashed to the ground in miserable heaps.

Once all ten Minotauros lay sprawled across the floor, the man began to walk again, muttering to himself.

“So boring….”

(Serial) The Mage Doesn’t Hide His Power