Moon's Labyrinths

Its mouth was like a fissure in the white snow . A red tongue slithered in and out . Its smooth skin was covered in hard scales, and its elliptical pupils struck fear in its enemies . Each time its enormous body brushed against the floor, a hair-raising sound rang out .

“Giant Snake . ”

Tim, who had been walking in the front, came to a stop . He carefully observed the monster which had appeared in front of them . It was over 5 meters long . The Giant Snake stood up as it glared at the party in front of it .

“Ah, shit! I really hate this bastard . ”

Tim clicked his tongue . Sungyoon and Emily agreed with his sentiment .

Unlike normal monsters that had arms and legs, the Giant Snake only had a head and a body . Hence, the Giant Snake attacked in an entirely unorthodox way .

“It doesn’t matter . This is our last one . Let’s go out with a bang . ”

“I see . It is our last one . ”

Bitterness was apparent within Tim’s voice as he replied to Sungyoon . Emily’s expression didn’t look great, either .

“Alright! It is our last one . Let’s give it our all . ”

As if he was shaking off his sadness, Tim pounded his ax on his shield to create a loud noise . Then he took a large step forward to approach the Giant Snake .

-Shweek!

Tim moved to take on any hostile attacks that may come from the monster . The Giant Snake charged towards him . It would alternatively fold and extend its body to crawl across the floor . The sight was quite creepy, and it made Emily shiver .

“Never let it encircle you!”

Tim yelled out .

Fortunately, the Giant Snake didn’t have fangs that could release venom . It coiled around its prey to crush it to death . It was more like an anaconda than a cobra . However, it was still a very dangerous monster .

Ssrrrrrrrrk!

The Giant Snake’s speed slowed down a little bit . However, this was only the case for its head and the upper portion of its body . The lower half was still moving at a fast speed .

It started to curl in on itself like a spring .

“It is coming!”

It happened not long after Tim shouted to warn .

Too-hahk!

The coiled body unfurled, and it shot forward like a bullet .

-Kyahhhk!

One could see down its throat as the monster’s wide-open mouth approached Tim at a blinding speed .

Tuh-uhng!

The snake’s mouth impacted on Tim’s shield, but he wasn’t pushed back . He stood firm .

On the other side of Tim’s shield, the creepy-looking snake was struggling, as it wanted to swallow Tim in one bite . If it had possessed fangs filled with venom, one could imagine how much more dangerous this situation would be . Just the thought of it sent chills down Tim’s spine .

If it were any other monster, it would have lost its temper for having its forward progress stalled . It would have continued to ram against the shield . However, that wasn’t the case with the Giant Snake .

Ssssk!

It kept its mouth on the shield, but it pulled back its neck . It suddenly moved its neck to the side and used its enormous body as an anchor, as it moved its neck in all directions . It was annoying and dangerous .

In a flash, its neck whipped in from Tim’s right side .

“You bastard!”

Tim desperately brought down his ax on the approaching neck .

-Kee-shaaaaaaah!

Several scales were destroyed, as the fragments flew into the air . A large wound appeared on the monster’s neck . Letting out a scream, it quickly pulled back its neck . It became wary of Tim .

“Be careful! If it wraps around you, it will crush you to death!”

“I already know that!”

Emily had been ready to activate a healing spell if something went awry . Tim was forceful in his words as he responded to Emily .

-Keeeeeeek!

Its head started to sway in order to attack Tim from the side . However, the connector subtly shifted his shield to block the head and swung his ax to keep the neck away .

-Keee, kee-rahhhhhhhk!

In the end, its patience had come to an end . The Giant Snake let out a hair-raising, high-pitched screech as it violently moved its body .

‘It’s coming!’

Three sets of eyes were tense as they waited .

When they had fought this monster for the first time, it had been really dangerous, since the monster moved in an unpredictable manner . This was especially true for Emily . If it hadn’t been for Sungyoon’s special training, she would have lost her life .

-Koo-rahhhhh!

Its head struck out towards Tim . However, they weren’t nervous about it . When it came to frontal assaults, Tim could block it . It was his role .

However, its head wasn’t the only thing that moved .

Too-hwahhhhk!

As soon as the head of the snake impacted on Tim’s shield, something flew in from behind it . The tip of its tail flew towards Tim like a whip . A terrifying sound accompanied its destructive power .

“Mr . Sungyoon!”

Tim quickly called out to Sungyoon . However, Sungyoon had already been moving before his name was called out .

He moved past Tim, who was engaged with the head of the Giant Snake . He glared at the snake’s tail . Sungyoon used his shield to deflect the violent strike of the tail .

“Koo-oohk!”

A groan escaped naturally by itself . He had angled his shield in such a way that the tail would be deflected upwards . Despite doing this to minimize the force, Sungyoon had to take two steps backward .

‘As expected, this is hard . ’

Sungyoon grumbled to himself as he glanced backward . He checked up on Emily .

In their first battle with a Giant Snake, Sungyoon and Tim had only been focused on the head . So, the sudden attack of the monster’s tail had bypassed the two men, and it had struck out towards Emily .

At that moment, Sungyoon and Tim had become so surprised that their mind turned blank . She was the healer of the party, so she had to survive until the end . Even if she wasn’t a healer, Emily was Tim’s sister, and she was Sungyoon’s comrade .

Fortunately, she was somewhat experienced in close-range combat now . She had the presence of mind to raise her shield, so she successfully blocked the snake’s tail . Of course, she couldn’t block it cleanly like Tim or Sungyoon could, so she fell backward . Still, she did well for herself .

They had gained this experience, so Sungyoon and Tim were extra careful when dealing with the Giant Snake . They looked out for Emily’s safety more than usual . If they carelessly lost the healer first, there was a chance that their party might get wiped out .

Still, it didn’t mean they weren’t capable of killing this monster .

‘Now!’

As soon as the Giant Snake started to retract its tail, Sungyoon followed it . He ran past the Giant Snake’s head and Tim . The tail hadn’t returned to its original position yet, so its body was wide open .

He didn’t have the luxury to hesitate . Sungyoon raised his mace up high and brought it down on the undulating cylindrical body of the snake .

Puh-uhhhhk!

Sungyoon’s mace ruthlessly broke the Giant Snake’s scales, and it even caused damage to its bones .

-Kyahhhhhhk!

The Giant Snake went on a rampage . Tim and Sungyoon retreated for now . A monster’s rampage was dangerous, and this was true about all monsters . However, this monster’s rampage was much more dangerous, as it possessed incredible size and weight . It raised its tail up high and swung it in all directions . It was a great attack that also served as a great defensive measure . If one was swept up in that rampage, a broken bone would be the least of one’s problems .

However, its rampage was also an opportunity for Sungyoon’s party .

-Shweeek!

It wanted to find the person that had given it pain, but its eyes had rolled back during its rampage . Of course, it lost sight of Sungyoon and Tim .

The Giant Snake stopped its rampage, and it tried to locate the two men . Tim and Sungyoon used this small opening to their advantage .

Taht!

When the Giant Snake was showing signs of turning towards them, they didn’t hesitate . It didn’t matter who attacked first . Both of them charged forward with all their might .

They swung their weapons .

The ax ripped into its body, and the mace smashed it . The Giant Snake once again screeched in pain . It raised its body up high as it shook its head from side to side . Tim was wary of the head, so he took a couple steps back . He quietly glared at the snake . There was also the chance that it might try to attack Emily, so he was being cautious .

Unlike Tim, Sungyoon continued to charge towards it . They had caused mayhem on the head and upper body of the Great Snake . The movement of the tail was slowing down too . It was the result of Sungyoon and Tim focusing their attack on the upper portion of the Great Snake’s body .

“Ha-aht!”

Sungyoon let out a shout as he brought down his mace on the barely moving tail .

-Kee-ehhhhhk!

The monster let out a scream once again . Its tail started to thrash like its head, and Sungyoon retreated backward .

This dance continued for a while . Tim focused on the head, and Sungyoon took care of the tail . They alternated in their tasks . When one protected Emily, the other attacked, and vice versa . It was a tiring and complex battle plan . However, it was the best tactic to use if they wanted to keep all three party members safe .

How long had it been?

Boooom!

The Giant Snake was horribly mangled . It was hard to even look at it . It was a bloody mess . In the end, the monster fell to the floor, and it died .

“Hoo-ooh!”

Tim let out a big sigh .

“This bastard is so hard to kill!”

After confirming the kill, Tim kicked the Giant Snake’s head in annoyance . The head was so heavy that it barely budged .

“However, the reward is worth it . ”

Sungyoon spoke as he approached Tim and Emily .

The Giant Snake’s body disappeared as it was swept up in light . A moonstone was left behind on the floor . It was clearly larger than the moonstones from other monsters .

“If this wasn’t the drop, I wouldn’t have even bothered with it . ”

Tim hummed as he retrieved the moonstone . He felt very good when he felt the heavy weight of the moonstone .

“Hot damn! It dropped a Gem too?”

A Gem was rolling around next to the moonstone . Tim rejoiced as he quickly picked it up .

“It was worth our time to kill it . ”

Tim let out a bright smile as he spoke to Sungyoon . Sungyoon replied with a small smile on his lips .

“Yes . We got a Gem on the last one . We are lucky . ”

Sungyoon was in a good mood, so he spoke out . However, Tim and Emily drooped when they heard his words .

“That’s right . This is the last one . ”

Emily spoke in a low voice . Tim also let out a small sigh . Sungyoon didn’t comment on their reaction . There was nothing he could do for them .

Last!

It was a weighty word . It especially pushed down on the shoulders of Tim and Emily .

There were too many sealed sections, so the party had continued to hunt on the 7th floor for a while . However, the high-rank Connectors made desperate efforts to clean up the labyrinth . Eventually, there came a time when Sungyoon’s party could hunt beyond the 8th floor without much difficulty . So, of course, they continued to head downwards as they resumed their hunt .

Three months had passed like that . The next Mana Stream was imminent . Sungyoon’s party had been diligent in their hunt, and they had finally reached the lowest floor . They were now proficient in hunting on the 10th floor .

Tim and Emily had come here to gain experience, and that goal had been achieved . Sungyoon was qualified to be assigned a Personal labyrinth . He had found the required Gems by clearing the Beginner’s labyrinth .

The three of them had no reason to come to the Beginner’s labyrinth anymore .

Since they wanted to be fully prepared for their next leg of their journey, they decided to continue entering the Beginner’s labyrinth until the Mana Stream hit . Today was the last day .

After killing the Giant Snake, their exploration of the Beginner’s labyrinth had come to an end .

Sungyoon looked at his surroundings with new eyes . When he had first come here, he had been very tense . And now, the 10th floor of the Beginner’s labyrinth looked the same as the other floors . He was used to it now .

“Let’s head back up . ”

He spoke the words in a calm manner . It was words that Tim and Emily were having a hard time saying . It wasn’t equal to what the two siblings felt, but he was a bit sad to say goodbye . He had gotten somewhat close to the siblings while working with them .

However, he had a goal that was more important than them . He couldn’t stop now just because he was feeling sentimental . This was also true for Tim and Emily .

The siblings didn’t like it, yet, they nodded their heads at Sungyoon’s words .

The three of them slowly climbed up the labyrinth .

Sungyoon had graduated from the Beginner’s labyrinth . Finally, he had shed the label of being a beginner Connector .