Chapter 62

<Chapter 62: Maiden’s Labyrinth (3)>

“…What?”

The door of the relic room began to open slowly.

Everyone stopped fighting and looked in that direction.

Saaah-

Steam was spewing out through the gap of the door.

Surely, the guardian of this relic room had the attribute of ‘water’ because it engraved a special item with a special mobile unit.

The other two relic rooms were ‘wind’ and ‘fire’, so it must be certain.

Then, of course, that steam must be the guardian’s magic.

“The Guardian is coming out by himself…?”

It was confusing.

Was the battle so fierce that he heard the sound and came out to meet them?

Is that possible?

-Don’t just stare and run! You bastards!

The woman’s voice that had been heard earlier became more urgent.

From that voice, I could understand that this was a very critical situation.

“Why run?”

“Maybe there’s a reason for that? Don’t we have to run?”

I said.

“No. It’s too late.”

-what are you talking…

The woman seemed to have noticed too.

-It’s too late. Shit!

If this situation is an emergency situation. That is, if our lives are in danger, we can’t run away.

We 12 are quite exhausted from the fierce battle.

If we run away from the guardian, at least six of us will be left behind.

Therefore, there is no escape.

And the next moment.

Bang-!

The door that was slowly opening opened wide.

“Blue… statue?”

“Is that the guardian?”

A dragon-like face.

A blue appearance overall.

A trident in his hand.

“Poseidon.”

The god of the sea, Poseidon.

Surely, that name was attached.

-Shit. Get ready! He’s charging!

At the same time as that scream, the guardian, Poseidon, started to move.

He stabbed his trident at me.

“Get out!”

It was a fast movement, but Ha Si-yeon, who was using the Ice Empress, was faster.

In no time, Ha Si-yeon blocked Poseidon’s front and formed a huge ice wall to block his path.

That Poseidon was a representative elite monster of Maiden’s Labyrinth, but the one here was for training purposes.

It was an inferior version with output limitations.

Ha Si-yeon should have been able to block it without any problem.

…He should have.

Crash!

“Kak!”

But Ha Si-yeon’s ice magic broke too easily.

“…What?”

Fortunately, the trident’s trajectory was twisted by hitting the ice magic just before.

The trident charged at a random place.

Crash-

Nothing else but the wall of the cave.

“Crazy.”

“What kind of destructive power is that…”

The wall was shattered into pieces.

It was twice as powerful as I had imagined.

Is that an inferior version?

-Hold on for a minute, no, two minutes! The superhumans will be here soon!

I’ve been thinking about it since before, but this strangely sharp and hysterical voice.

“…Are you Maiden Critines?”

-Who else would it be! Just hold on for two minutes!

If Maiden intervened like this, it must be a serious matter.

My expression sank even more.

“Everyone heard it! It’s an emergency situation! The battle is temporarily suspended! Now let’s just focus on stopping that guardian!”

I shouted.

“Si-yeon and Choi Ji-hoon! And the two shields! Just think about avoiding his attack!”

“Got it!”

“…Understood.”

I don’t know the situation yet, but if I have to hold on, I have to hold on. What can I do?

Holding on for two minutes is enough.

“The ranged dealers are under Jia’s command!”

“…Okay.”

“Remember! Don’t ever think about attacking! The ranged ones focus on backing up the front line! The front line is mainly focused on evasion!”

Everyone except me took their positions. And they started to draw Poseidon’s attention with Ha Si-yeon as the leader.

I moved away from them a little and asked a question to grasp the situation.

“What exactly is going on right now?”

-I don’t have time to explain! Just hold on!

I heard something tapping on the other side of the speaker.

Maybe Maiden is performing formula correction number 18.

“Hmm.”

A stronger than expected Poseidon.

Maiden’s flustered voice.

This situation happened as soon as my dagger with [Spirit Flame] stuck to the wall of the cave.

And [Spirit Flame] is a flame of spirit that burns even magic.

If I think about them together,

“…Did I break the output-limiter unit?”

This conclusion comes out.

-You, how did you know that…. Huh. That’s not important right now. Yes. That’s right.

“Then, do I have to assume that the safety setting is also released?”

-…Yeah.

I see.

I was right.

My spirit flame seems to have sent the output-limited mobile unit to America.

“I understand. Minimize the impact on the terrain and hold on until the superhumans on standby arrive. That’s it.”

If there is a problem with the limiter unit, we should not cause any more damage to the cave structure where the mobile unit is buried.

-…What are you really?

“Isn’t it?”

-Huh? No! Yes! That’s right, but…

“I got it.”

Two minutes.

It coincides with the remaining time of Ha Si-yeon’s ice queen.

“I’ll try to hold on.”

I said that and checked the door where the guardian came out.

The room where the relic is sealed.

…Do I need to take the relic as insurance?

The guardian is going crazy here, so there’s no problem.

Then, all that’s left is the seal.

Hmm.

There were three seals, right?

* * *

About a minute passed.

“I repeat! A problem occurred in the outer area A2-B3372! The guardians went berserk due to the destruction of the mobile units!”

Situation Room.

Maiden was urgently reporting the current situation.

“I repeat! The cadets who are taking the test should stop the attack immediately and move according to the guidance! The superhumans who are waiting on the scene should gather in the area A2-B3372!”

Around her, there were countless formulas floating in the air.

Her hand was touching those formulas without a break.

Tadadadak-

She was correcting the limiter units that had problems earlier from a distance.

“Monstrous things! How can they be cadets!”

Maiden grumbled as she recalled the battle between Shin Jia’s team and Ha Si-yeon’s team.

Ha Si-yeon, who was pouring out ice magic like crazy and repeating the charge.

Shin Jia, who somehow avoided that crazy charge.

“…If they are cadets, then more than half of my juniors have to die!”

It was a fierce fight that made her mouth open wide.

It was almost like watching a duel between active superhumans.

Until then, her only worry was that the popcorn and cola she had in her hand were running out.

“…107th.”

But the situation changed when Kang Seo-yul started to use his power more actively.

Tadadadak-

She kept fixing the formulas, biting her lips hard.

“What kind of thing can cut off the output-limiter units completely…!”

Surely, Ha Si-yeon’s ice magic had affected various places, causing a time lag in the output-limiting device.

But it was never enough to collapse.

But when Kang Seo-yul’s knife pierced the wall of the cave, all the mobile units were destroyed.

“What the hell is he doing, that bastard!”

He quickly grasped the situation and came up with a conclusion of ‘output-limited mobile unit destruction’ in an instant.

He had excellent brain, leadership, and action skills that could read the situation and give a perfect command even in an emergency situation.

And finally, an unidentified ability that destroyed the output-limiter units.

He was not an ordinary cadet.

‘…I’ll have to ask Hwa to meet him later!’

-Sister!

She heard Yu Hwa’s voice on the radio.

“Why! I’m busy-”

-From A2-B3361 to all the passages collapsed!

“-What?”

Maiden looked at the monitor with an urgent expression.

“Shit!”

As Yu Hwa said, all the passages were collapsed.

It must be the aftermath of the battle.

She didn’t see the important situation because she was busy with formula correction.

-What should we do? Should we break through?

“No! If you try to force your way through, there is a possibility that the whole maze will collapse.”

-…Okay. Then I’ll try to break through as carefully as possible from here.

“Okay. I’m counting on you.”

Maiden looked at the main monitor.

Kang Seo-yul and Shin Jia were fighting with the guardians.

They all had big and small wounds.

They were barely holding on, but they were holding on somehow.

“…Damn it.”

But that seemed to be close to their limit soon.

The movement of Ha Si-yeon, who was the key to holding on, slowed down noticeably. Maybe she was running out of magic.

‘It’s amazing that she fought for five minutes with such high-output magic.’

Anyway, Ha Si-yeon was about to reach her limit soon.

And Ha Si-yeon stopping her action meant total annihilation.

‘Think. Think! This is a disaster caused by my incompetence. I have to solve it. Somehow… Somehow I have to solve it!’

That’s when it happened.

-Is there any problem?

She heard Kang Seo-yul’s voice over the speaker.

“…Yes. The passage to your side is blocked.”

-I didn’t feel any signs of life. I see. That’s why.

Kang Seo-yul’s voice was calm.

-How long do you think it will take?

Maiden checked the appearance of the superhumans, including Yu Hwa.

“Three minutes. No, two minutes!”

They were all pros who had done a lot of rescue operations.

They made a passage quite fast.

If it’s two minutes, somehow…

-Two minutes… It seems hard to hold on.

“Ah.”

Maiden sighed.

Maiden thought that it was impossible for them to hold on for two minutes.

-Can I ask you one favor?

“Speak.”

Maiden bit her lips and lowered her eyes.

Maybe he wanted to leave some last words.

‘It’s all my fault.’

I should have done a proper safety check until the end.

I should have prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Regret flooded like a low tide.

-Let’s have a meal with Yu Hwa later.

“What?”

But Kang Seo-yul’s words were completely different from what Maiden expected.

-I have something to talk to you. It will be a good talk for both of us.

What the hell is he talking about in this situation?

-Ah. And please adjust the formula right now, to amplify the damage of Poseidon’s weakness. Lightning attribute damage.

Maiden’s eyes trembled with confusion.

He could guess the thing about Poseidon’s weakness.

It was a name and attribute that was possible to guess.

But how did he know about the weakness amplification function?

-Can you do that from there? It should be a basic transformation formula that you use often in your labyrinth.

She was shocked beyond confusion.

“Who are you? What are you?”

She felt like she was stripped naked. She felt like she was exposing everything.

“How much do you know…”

-Please do it within 10 seconds.

Kang Seo-yul took off the strange-shaped necklace around his neck and put it in his pocket.

-We don’t have time.

He took out a blue ring from the accessory transporter carrier on his waist and put it on.

Maiden clenched his teeth.

“Damn it. I’ll do it in five seconds!”

Tadadadadak-!

Maiden’s hand moved at the speed of light.

And exactly five seconds later.

“I’ve completed the amplification setting! You cheeky bastard!”

-Confirmed.

“What are you trying to do with this? There’s no one in your party who has a rare attribute like lightning…”

Maiden’s eyes widened like lanterns.

“You…! When did you take out that relic!”

Kang Seo-yul held a blue bead in his right hand.

-I sneaked it out when I had a chance.

“When did you…”

She didn’t see it.

She was busy adjusting the formula, and se paid more attention to watching Poseidon’s battle than Kang Seo-yul.

“No, how did you break the seal in such a short time?”

-Yes.

“…”

Maiden’s mouth opened slightly.

‘What the hell is he?’

It wasn’t a seal that could be easily broken.

“Ha.”

No, that’s not important right now.

“That relic’s effect is simple magic amplification! There’s no additional function like lightning attribute…”

-I know.

White sparks flew from Kang Seo-yul’s body.

“!”

At the same time, Maiden’s pupils dilated.

“Lightning?”

Kang Seo-yul made a name for himself with fire attribute energy.

But what he was dealing with now was clearly lightning energy.

There was only one thing this meant.

“Dual attribute!”

Kang Seo-yul had a peculiar constitution that possessed two attributes, fire, and lightning.

-Everyone, get out of here!

Kang Seo-yul shouted.

-I’m going for a big one!

And the next moment.

Kwaaaaaaang-!

“Ahh!”

With a thunderous sound that tore her ears, the monitor turned white.

She couldn’t see anything.

Her ears were full of tinnitus.

Jiiiiing…

When her tinnitus subsided a little, Maiden opened her eyes.

“This is impossible.”

Beyond the monitor.

Maiden’s pride, one of the three-element’s guardian, Poseidon, was shattered.

“That bastard… What the hell is he doing…”

Maiden’s eyes shook violently with horror.