Moon's Labyrinth

“That was how I spent years on the bottom while growing up . A person’s life is fragile, but resilient at the same time . It's hard to end it . Anyway, I continued to live my life as a lowly insect, but then, something life-changing happened . I awakened as a Connector . ”

Hyunwoo looked at the ceiling . It seemed he was back in his feelings again .

“The chapter of my life without dreams and hopes had come to an end . I had a bright future . Of course, Mother was overjoyed . I didn’t care about that, but it was true that she had given birth to me and raised me . That was why I gave her just enough money so that we would barely see each other . She was satisfied since this was the only reason she had given birth to me . ”

Sungyoon thought about Hyunwoo’s mother . Her entire body was draped with luxury items . She was a woman who openly boasted her extravagant lifestyle .

“Then, I met Jungbum . ”

Sungyoon's pain subsided a little, and he put strength into his legs to stand up . Hyunwoo didn’t stop him; he sounded drunk on his own words .

“He became my friend, a very close friend . We hit it off as soon as we met . Above all else, we were a duo . We were the aces of our company . At the time, our company was small, and we helped it grow . ”

When his pain completely subsided, Sungyoon once again attacked Hyunwoo .

‘Something is off with him!’

Something was changing within Hyunwoo . Sungyoon didn’t think it would be advantageous for him to let Hyunwoo go through with this change . Thus, he stabbed at him with his sword . Shockingly, Hyunwoo grabbed the sword with his hands once again . It seemed the last time hadn't been a fluke .

Sssk!

However, Sungyoon was ready . As soon as Hyunwoo grabbed the sword, Sungyoon unsummoned it, leaving nothing in Hyunwoo’s hands . The halberd made its appearance, and Sungyoon swung it .

Tuh-uhk!

However, Hyunwoo caught his weapon yet again . Sungyoon’s eyebrows twitched, and he unsummoned his halberd . This time, he held his ax in his right hand and his hammer in his left .

Hoo-oohng!

He attacked with both weapons at the same time, thinking Hyunwoo would probably be unable to grab both the weapons .

But, it had been too simple of an idea .

Tah-ahng! Tah-ahng!

Hyunwoo’s hands deflected the ax and the hammer .

Kwahng!

The hammer caused an explosion, but Hyunwoo didn’t receive any damage from it .

Hyunwoo lifted his foot .

Puh-uh-uhk!

Sungyoon once again received a kick in the stomach . He felt as if his internal organs had been crushed .

“Kuh-huhk!”

He screamed and felt as if he were out of breath at the same time . The kick had sent him flying backward again . Unlike before, he didn’t roll across the ground . He just staggered to a halt . However, the pain wasn’t any weaker than before .

When he touched his stomach, he found another location where his armor had caved in .

‘What strength!’

If Hyunwoo had swung his sword, Sungyoon felt as if it would've cut him in half .

“If I think about it, it was my golden age . ”

Hyunwoo continued to speak . He didn’t seem interested in the blows that they had exchanged .

“At that time, I had already erased my dark past from my mind . I always thought I would continue to ascend . I was supposed to be in my glory days . ”

The excitement was apparent in Hyunwoo's voice . However, in the next moment, that excitement disappeared, and his voice fell . Sungyoon could sometimes get a glimpse of Hyunwoo’s eyes through the visor of Hyunwoo's helmet, and he saw Hyunwoo's eyes turn red .

“I was mistaken . ”

Hyunwoo's voice sounded inhuman as he croaked out his words .

“You asked me before . You asked me what Gen I was . ”

“I did . ”

“At the time, I said I was a 2nd Gen . Honestly, I’m not . ”

Hyunwoo’s gloomy voice spoke the truth .

“I'm like you, a 1st Gen Connector . ”

This surprised Sungyoon .

“First Gen? I thought you said your father was a 1st Gen? That means . . . ”

The first thing Sungyoon thought about was infidelity, and it seemed Hyunwoo realized what Sungyoon was thinking .

“My mother wasn’t unfaithful . Well, it can’t be called infidelity since she only copulated with Connectors to acquire their seed . She never married or dated any of the Connectors . ”

The relationships between Connectors and Hyunwoo’s mother had strictly been those born of desire and selfishness .

“My mother only needed Connector children . This was why she always went after Connectors . I'm sure my father was a Connector . ”

“Are you saying a 1st Gen was born from a 1st Gen?”

“It's understandable why you can’t comprehend it . I’m a special case . Let me lay out an example . ”

Hyunwoo raised his finger .

“Your daughter was born before you awakened, right? Then I guess she won’t make a good example . Let’s take Jimin for example . Her father, Jungbum, was a 2nd Gen . Woosang and Woosung, who were born as Connectors, naturally became 3rd Gen Connectors . However, like Jimin, not all Connector children become Connectors . ”

Jimin was a regular human, so she had to set up a company to search for her missing father . It was an inefficient venture .

“Jimin is a normal child born from a Connector, but what would happen if she awakened now?”

“… Basically, she would be treated as a 1st Gen despite having a Connector as a parent?”

“It isn’t about being treated like one . She would really be a 1st Gen .

"She would be different from 2nd and 3rd Gens because they hold the characteristics of 1st Gens . ”

A normal person born to a Connector parent would be newly awakened as a Connector .

“It must be a very rare occurrence . ”

The rarity of this occurrence was the reason this information wasn’t well known .

“Yes, I'm rare, and I defied the odds to become what I am . ”

Hyunwoo laughed . It was clear that he wasn’t laughing out of joy . Since his voice had become inhuman, his laughter sounded creepy .

“I first found out the truth through the Great Labyrinth . You’ve experienced it before, right? Do you remember the feeling when you first saw the Great Labyrinth?”

Sungyoon had seen the Great Labyrinth for the first time with Jimin . At that time, he had felt fear and pressure . The effect was mild on him than it was on the other Connectors, who either fell to their knees or on their butt .

“My party members also felt fear in the beginning . However, they shed this fear once their power advanced to a certain point . All of them boasted about wanting to clear the Great Labyrinth . I laughed and went along with their words . However, I never got used to the fear . It made me realize that I was a 1st Gen Connector . ”

It was a brutal truth that could destroy his future .

“When I had found this out, I had despaired . First Gen was synonymous with hopelessness . ”

Hyunwoo’s voice turned rougher .

“When my mother used to beat us, she would tell us that 1st Gen blood was bad . She would say that a 1st Gen Connector wasn’t a proper Connector . A 1st Gen was basically trash . She had said that it was why we didn’t awaken as Connectors . ”

However, it wasn’t the last time 1st Gens were derided .

“Then came the mocking laughter of my comrades! The 2nd Gens and the 3rd Gens ignored the 1st Gens . This class warfare was exacerbated in Fabion . Most of their members were 3rd Gens or 1st Gens like me, who had a bad relationship with their parents . Moreover, the one who stood at the top of the 2nd and 3rd Gens was Hahn Jungbum!”

Anger! Hate! A loathsome despair swirled around Hyunwoo's body .

“That was why I couldn’t tell anyone that I was a 1st Gen . Jungbum and the other guys mocked 1st Gens for being useless studs . I couldn’t say a word when they said such things!”

Hyunwoo had hated himself for being a 1st Gen . Moreover, it could've ultimately led to him losing his friendship with a close friend . He had also feared losing his lifestyle . All those reasons had weighed him down .

“Still, I was fine with it at the time . I was much more talented compared to the other 1st Gens, and no one suspected I was a 1st Gen . However, in the end, the time of reckoning came . ”

Hyunwoo reflected on another turning point in his life .

“It was time for us to attempt the Great Labyrinth!”

The first turning point in his life was becoming a Connector, which allowed him to soar into the blue skies . The second turning point had sent him plummeting to the ground .

“You know what happens to 1st Gens in the Great Labyrinth . ”

There were two reasons other Connectors looked down on 1st Gens . First Gens reached their potential really quickly, and they went insane in the Great Labyrinth .

“I had to find a way . If I were to go mad from fear, everything I had achieved until that moment would've crumbled in front of my eyes . ”

Hyunwoo’s eyes had turned red, and the red light his eyes emitted had become clearly visible through his helmet .

‘He’s like a monster . ’

Sungyoon sensed an ominous feeling wash over him . However, he couldn’t recklessly attack . Right now, Hyunwoo’s power was on a different level . Sungyoon was trying to spot any openings . He also paid attention to Hyunwoo’s words as they might give him hints on how to defeat him .

“In the end, I found a method . It was a special-ability Gem that reduced one’s fear . It steadied one’s mind and soul in battle . However, this was only a temporary solution . Of course, the Gem’s abilities started tapering off the deeper I went into the Great Labyrinth . Moreover, I reached the limit of my abilities . Even if I was an outstanding 1st Gen, I could never become like you . ”

Hyunwoo’s voice became full of envy .

“Every day was filled with anxiety and a feeling of inadequacy . It was driving me crazy . However, there was one thing that made me lose it . ”

Ooh-doohk! Ooh-doohk!

A hair-raising sound started to ring out from within Hyunwoo’s armor .

Cold sweat dripped down Sungyoon’s cheek .

“It was a normal day . We went into the Great Labyrinth and harvested moonstones . It was like every other day, but I wasn’t feeling good . I made several mistakes, and it was clear that I was holding back my party members . My party members didn’t mind, and they even bought me alcohol several times to cheer me up . ”

Hyunwoo continued to recall those memories, then he arrived when everything came to an end .

“We were heavily drinking . You know how good Connectors are at drinking alcohol . We were drinking cases of hard liquor, and it could've been the reason I had a moment of weakness . I asked a terrible question . ”

His eyes lost focus, and he remembered the time he had asked the question to his party members .

“What would you do if you found out that one of your comrades was a 1st Gen?”

Kwah-doo-doohk!

Sungyoon could clearly hear the sound of bones breaking . It sounded like bone grinding against bone . Something was happening within Hyunwoo’s armor, and this made Sungyoon nervous .

“After receiving my question, I could see that they were weirded out . However, they soon burst out laughing, then a barrage of insults followed . They said how could a stud become their comrade? How could cowards who wet themselves at the sight of monsters in the Great Labyrinth keep up with them? They said all kinds of disparaging words . I’m actually surprised that I had endured such abuse . Let me tell you this, Sungyoon . The most shocking part came when Jungbum spoke . ”

[There's no way such useless beings can be our comrades . They should know their place . If someone like that tries to enter my party, I’ll beat them up . ]

Hyunwoo unsummoned his armor .