What just happened?
That was Horion’s first thought as he was pinned to the ground, barely able to raise his head. A throbbing sensation was felt in his face.
“You, you一”
By the time Horion barely managed to stand up, Taesan was already rushing in. Horion, startled, drew his sword. Taesan swung two swords.
Clash!
Contrary to Taesan’s expectation to overwhelm his opponent, both of their stats were almost equal.
The fact that Horion was not falling behind in strength and speed, even though the health boosted by leveling up was similar, meant the equipment he was wearing was filling the gap.
He was an adventurer from the 30th floor. Naturally, he would have better materials and equipment from the shops.
Clang!
Swords were repelled. Both retreated to similar distances, and disbelief was in Horion’s face.
“This, this...”
He wasn’t just any ordinary adventurer of the 30th floor, as Taesan expected.
Like the Guides of Sin on the 20th floor, he too was an adventurer who had stopped at the line of the 30th floor. So, he had raised all the levels he could at the 30th floor, bought all the equipment available in the shop, and completed all the refinements using the blacksmith.
He could easily suppress an ordinary adventurer on the 30th floor.
Even if they fought back fiercely, he had the skill to negate any advantage by exploiting openings.
However, he was being pushed back against Taesan, who was on the 24th floor.
Clang.
The repelled sword cuts through Horion’s thigh.
[Horion takes 225 damage.]
“Why is the damage like this!”
Horion was baffled. The equipment difference between the 24th and 30th floors was absolute.
Moreover, he was in a state where he had reached the limits of strength on the 30th floor.
Essentially, he should not have taken any damage.
However, the damage coming from Taesan was unbelievable.
“I’m a special case.”
Aura. A skill that penetrated physical defense. Regardless of how superior Horion’s equipment was, it was as good as non-existent against it.
Considering the ghost didn’t even know of Aura’s full extent, a Guide of Sin of the 3rd rank couldn’t have known about it. Horion gritted his teeth and charged.
“Eek!”
[Horion has activated Counter.] [You have activated Lightning Strike.]
Counter was a skill that avoided a possible attack and retaliated. It was meaningless and was wasted against unavoidable skills. That was the weakness of Counter.
Taesan thrust his sword into Horion’s chest. Since he believed in Counter and charged, his unprotected chest was pierced through.
[Horion takes 67 damage.]
“This, this......”
Horion, clutching his chest, retreated, but Taesan did not stop his steps.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
It was a one-sided battle.
Horion, being of the 3rd rank, was considerably stronger than the 2nd rank. However, Taesan had already defeated those of the 3rd rank when he was on the lower floors.
Additionally, he had become much stronger since descending the labyrinth, so there was no chance for Horion. Horion kept resisting and then tried to flee but was blocked by Taesan’s black magic and magic.
“Gah!”
Soon, Horion was pinned to the ground.
Taesan pressed the tip of his sword against his forehead.
“Got some questions. Answer them, and I’ll make your end quick.”
“You......”
Horion gritted his teeth.
“Who are you! I’ve never heard of someone like you!”
A guide of the 2nd rank overpowering a 3rd rank. It was impossible. To begin with, if he was at that level, the executives would have granted him permission to go deeper.
While poking Horion’s forehead, Taesan answered.
“A friend of yours came up a while ago, remember? And died?”
Horion’s pupils quivered. The 3rd rank guide, Jagan. He crossed Horion’s mind.
“But... I heard his opponent died with him.”
“A blatant lie.”
Horion let out a sarcastic laugh.
A man capable of defeating adventurers from the 20th to 30th floors and was even stronger after descending. Horion never had a chance of winning.
His will broke. There was no need to oppress himself with self-evidence. In exchange for a peaceful death, Taesan asked,
“What are the executives doing now?”
Now, there was no more hiding. The executives would be informed once the adventurers of the 3rd rank died. It was only a matter of time before they would act.
To Taesan’s question, Horion answered with a drained voice,
“They can’t come up now.”
“What?”
“The executives have been stuck on a floor for a long time. I heard they left their positions for a long time to attempt to break through it. They won’t show up for a while.”
[..Hmm.]
The ghost seemed to have a guess.
“Do you know something?”
There was no passion or zeal seen among them as they exchanged mundane chatter.
Having been stuck on the 30th floor for a long time, they had used all means to become stronger. And they were the result of that end.
Their strength faded, and there was no one to contend with. If they did not occasionally confront each other, there would be no fighting at all. This was what the Guides of Sin had always been. Having lived for decades in this manner, everything had been broken down.
‘It’s almost as bad as being dead.’
The administrator of the third hierarchy, who had called them, sneered bitterly. They, too, were once passionate about descending the labyrinth. However, they became Guides due to a fear of death, and this was the result.
‘I should have died back then.’
When they were still adventurers.
They might have maintained their purity if they had died back when they still hoped to conquer the labyrinth and dreamed of conquest.
However, that time had passed. They had made their choice, and this was the result.
The administrator, gathering his thoughts, spoke.
“Horion is dead.”
At those words, silence fell for a moment. A young boy with a flushed face spoke in confusion.
“Him?”
“Did he try to go past the 31st floor? And therefore, the Guides of the fourth hierarchy killed him?”
“No. Horion died on the 24th floor. That’s why... I called you.”
The administrator spoke softly.
“If one of us dies, we are the most likely suspects.”
When an adventurer killed an adventurer, their level increased. It was the only way for them to become stronger, whose growth had been blocked.
However, they scrunched their faces in discomfort.
“Who would do such a thing?”
“The level difference would be immediately noticed, and if you try to go down, you’ll get killed. Even if you don’t go down, we will tear you apart. Who would do such a foolish act that leads to death either way?”
“I know.”
A Guide who killed his comrade would be executed at that moment. Since the level was only 1 or 2 higher, it was not significantly stronger, not to the point of resisting an execution. As they said, there was no reason to do it.
“But Horion is dead. An adventurer of the second hierarchy absolutely couldn’t have killed him. So I mentioned it.”
There was a difference in equipment. An adventurer of the second hierarchy could rush and overwhelm Horion, but couldn’t kill him. Even if they hit him, only minimal damage would be dealt, so he could somehow escape.
The Guides of the second hierarchy were not equal to the third hierarchy. After a long period of thinking, someone spoke.
“Isn’t it him?”
“Who?”
“The guy who killed Jagan recently. The one who was said to be accompanied by the ghost of the hero.”
“Oh.”
Belatedly, they realized the existence of Taesan.
“Jagan really did die, didn’t he? He was unsightly but wasn’t weak.”
They disliked Jagan. He possessed the arrogance of the demons and had a low-value view that the weak should be trampled upon. Even in the third hierarchy, Jagan was one to be ostracized.
But Jagan was not weak. The unique black magic of the demon race had a complicated destructive power, and he was middle-tier within the third hierarchy.
The administrator groaned.
“......Right. He had gone up to the 20th floor and died. But he also died with him, didn’t he?”
The adventurer who had been accompanied by Jagan and the ghost of the hero was already eliminated. That was the information they knew.
“What if that’s false?”
“Would the adventurers of the second hierarchy lie?”
“There’s a possibility. They might have thought to resist the guy who took down Jagan, knowing the outcome, just to survive as long as possible?”
“The possibility......exists.”
The administrator’s pupils sank. Either way, this matter needed confirmation.
“Let’s go up together.”
“Do we all need to go just to catch one guy?”
“He’s the one who won against Jagan even while in the second hierarchy. He must have gotten stronger coming down this far. We cannot be careless.”
“Do we all really need to go?”
They expressed reluctance with ambiguous faces.
“After all, he’s just an adventurer from the 24th floor. He might have beaten Jagan and Horion, but that was 1 on 1, right? If more than two go, isn’t it a sure win?”
“True. Three of us going should suffice. No more needed.”
“Is that so?”
The administrator mumbled.
“Then four should go down. If needed, just run away immediately.”
“There will be no need to run.”
“We will settle this quickly and return. I need to get more proper sleep.”
Four Guides of Sin ascended the labyrinth. The rest leisurely started to wait for them.
Their past selves wouldn’t have made such a decision.
The strength of the enemy was unknown, and it was certain that he was stronger than each of them individually. It would have been the correct move for everyone to go down and suppress him.
But they had been lingering around the 30th floor for decades.
That time of powerlessness had made them sluggish.
Their judgment had become clouded, and an excessive confidence also emerged to prevent their ego from being consumed by a sense of powerlessness.
If the second hierarchy obtained arrogance and recklessness after a long period of stagnation, the third hierarchy obtained laziness and a sense of powerlessness.
The Guides of the second hierarchy paid the price.
It was time for the third hierarchy to pay the price as well.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.