Moon's Labyrinth

Sungyoon stopped moving. He tried his best not to move a single hair on his body, that had become tense. He took small steps backward. In no time, cold sweat ran down his cheek.

-Koo-roohk!

It growled. Sungyoon wondered if he had been caught as he froze in place. However, it seemed it hadn’t become aware of his presence yet. It followed its instinct as it started moving deeper into the labyrinth, walking towards the area where the magical energy was denser.

Sungyoon inwardly let out a sigh of relief. However, he didn’t stop his retreat. He did his best not to make any sound as he moved towards the entrance, through which, a small amount of light was coming in. But he kept his gaze on the bastard at all times.

Flinch!

It came to a stop. Sungyoon felt a chill run up his spine.

Hwee-reek!

Its head swiveled around 180 degrees, like the evil spirits within the horror movies. Then, its red, burning eyes met Sungyoon’s eyes.

Sungyoon didn’t hesitate as he turned around. He started running as fast as his feet could carry him.

-Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!

He heard a roar that shook his heart and soul. Soon, he heard booming sounds of something large running across the floor. Sungyoon had become its target.

Sungyoon unsummoned his mace and shield, which were getting in his way. He solely focused on escaping. He could tell by the sound that it was running faster than him. The booming sound was getting closer.

He didn’t even have the luxury to turn around to check the distance. Sungyoon only looked towards the entrance.

Three meters!

Two meters!

As he moved closer to the entrance, his anxiety and worry increased. But he did his best to ignore those feelings.

One meter.

He just needed one last burst of speed. Monsters could only operate within the magical energy of the labyrinths, so they couldn’t exit the labyrinths. He just needed to get out, and he would be safe.

However, Sungyoon’s worry had been spot-on.

He was able to defend the attack, thanks to his enhanced senses. He had needed to take only one more step to reach the entrance. His emotions had begged him to keep running to escape the danger. But, his logical side had remained dispassionate. It had made him give up on taking that last step and prompted him to take out his shield.

A terrifying sound of destruction could be heard from the right.

Boom!

“Koo-ook!”

He had been running away, so he hadn’t been able to get into his defensive stance. Hence, he was barely able to block the attack. He had stopped his right arm from becoming a bloody stump, but the blow sent him sideways. He was sent flying like a leaf swept up in a typhoon.

Tuhl-suhk!

He fell to the labyrinth floor, and the rebound made him roll a bit. His right arm, which held the shield, was throbbing. However, he didn’t have time to complain about the pain, and he immediately got up.

“Shit!”

He cursed. The entrance to the labyrinth was his emergency exit, yet, it was standing in front of the entrance, glaring down at Sungyoon.

Did it smirk at Sungyoon because he was a foolish prey that had dared to run away from it? Or was it just happy to encounter an opponent that would allow it to satisfy its bloodlust? Whatever the reason was, a small curve formed at its lips.

Sungyoon glared at the damned monster that was blocking his way. It was an extremely familiar monster. It wasn’t a monster he had learned about through illustration or text. It was one, whose power Sungyoon had personally experienced.

“Bigfoot!”

Sungyoon mumbled the monster’s name underneath his breath.

It was the monster that had allowed him to meet the Ross siblings. It was also his first experience with a monster unbefitting of the Beginner’s Labyrinth. That monster had appeared in front of Sungyoon, and this time, he had to face it alone.

‘I’m so fucking unlucky!’

In the Beginner’s Labyrinth, he had to team up with Tim and Emily to defeat it. They had barely prevailed. If he thought about all the monsters he had fought in this labyrinth, they were stronger than the monsters within the Beginner’s Labyrinth. It was almost a certainty that this Bigfoot would be stronger than the one he had previously fought in the Beginner’s Labyrinth.

Sungyoon moved the shield to his left arm, and he summoned his mace. He slowly circled around the Bigfoot.

-Koo-roohk.

The Bigfoot stood still as it just swiveled its head to look at Sungyoon. However, that lasted only for a moment.

-Koo-ahhhhhh!

A harsh expression appeared on its wrinkly face, as it let out a loud roar.

Boom!

The monster started to move its feet, and a deafening sound rang out. Judging by the intensity of the sound, one could imagine how incredibly strong it was. The Bigfoot's enormous strength allowed it to generate incredible speed and momentum.

Boom! Boom!

It only needed two steps to arrive in front of Sungyoon. It really happened in a flash. The large fist flew towards Sungyoon, and he desperately raised his shield.

Tuh-ung!

The fist landed on the shield. Sungyoon had already overclocked all his Gems, so they were letting out light and their abilities had been boosted. Despite this, Sungyoon had to grit his teeth when blocking the attack.

‘Too much!’

He was barely able to block the attack, and his body creaked from the force that was transferred through the shield. At that moment, he really missed Emily’s support magic.

-Ooh-wuhhhhhhhh!

Tuhng! Tuhng! Tuh-uhng!

Its fists continuously pounded on his shield, so he didn’t dare attack. Sungyoon was too busy blocking the pummeling fists. Still, he tried his best to get closer to the labyrinth’s entrance even as he blocked the attacks.

‘I just have to exit the labyrinth. ’

He was frustrated. The entrance was less than seven meters away, literally in front of his nose. However, he didn’t have the opportunity to take advantage of this fact. He felt as if there was a lifeline dangling a centimeter away from his fingertips. The situation was frustrating him to no end.

Tuhk!

‘Huh?’

It had been very brief. He had looked away for a very brief moment. His intention was to estimate the distance to the entrance from where he stood.

It was a critical error.

The shock from the repeated pounding could no longer be felt. Instead, he felt his shield shake. It felt as if something heavy had been placed above the shield. Sungyoon immediately tracked the Bigfoot with his eyes.

However, he was too late.

Hweek!

His shield was being dragged away, his body along with it.

‘What the hell!’

The Bigfoot was no longer hitting his shield. It had grabbed the top portion of his shield, and was roughly pulling it. As he held the shield, his body was also being dragged towards the monster. In terms of weight and strength, the Bigfoot was superior. There was no way Sungyoon could resist it.

Tahk!

It would be dangerous if he was dragged any further, so Sungyoon let go of his shield. However, the Bigfoot had already started attacking. The shield that had been in its way was gone. This time the monster put all its strength behind its punch.

Puh-uh-uhk!

Sungyoon didn’t even have the time to formulate a thought. His body just moved on reflex. He swung his mace to meet with the fist.

However, he couldn’t overcome the enormous strength of the Bigfoot. His mace was flung into the air. His palm ripped open as blood flew into the air. He felt pain wash over him, and his body was flung to the ground. As soon as the mace was sent flying, the Bigfoot raised its fist towards Sungyoon once again.

Boom!

It swung with killing intent. The Bigfoot wanted to send Sungyoon’s head flying, but its fist was stopped once again. As soon as Sungyoon's hand had lost its grip on the mace, he had unsummoned and then resummoned his shield. He was barely able to block the Bigfoot’s fist.

Chwahhhhk!

He was sent flying once again, and his body skidded across the floor. The Bigfoot didn’t want to miss this golden opportunity.

Boo-oong!

Its massive body flew into the air. It almost seemed unreal seeing how much height the Bigfoot had reached with its jump. It dropped towards Sungyoon with both its legs extended. It wanted to smush the man with its feet. Even if Sungyoon had a shield, he would be flattened by the weight of the monster. He would get critically injured.

It was the moment of truth.

Ssssk!

Sungyoon once again summoned his mace into his hand. The Bigfoot saw this, but it didn’t care. It knew the attack from such a small stick of steel could do nothing to him. The prey in front of it was like a bug putting up a fight. It smiled as it let gravity take over its body.

However, the Bigfoot had made a critical error.

Sungyoon swung his mace towards the Bigfoot’s legs. He wasn’t in a proper fighting stance, and he had swung it with only one hand. Normally, this attack would have bounced off the Bigfoot’s leather. It wouldn’t have caused any damage.

However, the result was completely the opposite of what the Bigfoot had expected.

Kwah-jee-jeek!

A horrifying sound rang out. The monster had fully extended his legs to smush Sungyoon. But now, one of the legs was bent at an angle. The mace had smashed its thick leather and leg muscles. In the end, a white bone broke through its skin.

-Ggoo-uhhhhhhh!

An unexpected pain cropped up inside it. The Bigfoot’s head had been full of anticipation about killing Sungoon, and it never thought it could be injured. Maybe, it was why the injury felt more painful.

Tahk!

One of the Bigfoot’s legs had become useless, and it made the monster lose its balance. But it still meant that the Bigfoot would fall right on top of Sungyoon. So, the man quickly moved out of the fall radius.

Boom!

The Bigfoot fell where Sungyoon had been. It had lost balance in the air, so it had fallen on its back and hip. It took a lot of damage.

Sungyoon picked himself back up and got into his fighting stance. He put his shield forward as he glared at the Bigfoot. His hand had been ripped open, but he decided to heal it later. The number of times he could use the healing magic increased when he activated the Gold Gem. But, he wanted to leave the healing until the end.

The Bigfoot was still rolling around the floor, clutching at its injured leg. At this point, Sungyoon could run away by exiting the labyrinth. However, he didn't do so. He just clicked his tongue as he looked down at his Device.

‘Shit. I really didn’t want to use this. ’

His Device was surrounded by a brilliant golden light. When the Bigfoot was about to crush him, he had activated the Gold Gem, his last recourse.

-Koo-roo-roohk!

The Bigfoot limped as it got up. There was a massive amount of hate behind its eyes. However, those two emotions weren’t all the emotions that could be seen. In between the hate and anger, another emotion flashed in its eyes. It was fear.

Tah-aht!

Sungyoon strode as he charged towards the Bigfoot, which swung its arm from an awkward position. But there was no clear target in his attack. It was just an attempt to threaten its attacker. The monster didn’t want the man to get close, but Sungyoon could see through its actions. His senses had been amplified, thanks to the power of the Gold Gem. There was no way he would miss such details when the monster swung wildly.

Puhk-uhk!

Sungyoon swung his mace against the Bigfoot’s arms, and blood fountained into the air, the monster's arms violently deflected to the side. He got closer to the monster. He was well within the reach of its arms. He looked up. He could see the wrinkly and ugly face of the Bigfoot. There was shock, anger, hatred, and fear on its face. He swung his mace towards the wrinkly face.

Kwah-jee-jee-jeek!

A large crater had formed in the monster's face. Its eyes had popped, its nose had been smashed, and its sharp teeth rained down to the floor.

Its head lowered in reflex, and the monster took a step backward. Its defensive instinct made it swing its arm. But the arm brushed by Sungyoon, as he took another step forward, swinging his mace again.

Ggwah-doo-doo-doohk!

Sungyoon crushed the arm, which had been flailing in an attempt to regain its balance.

Ggoo-doohk!

He immediately broke the other remaining arm. Then he ruthlessly attacked the pulverized face and body of the Bigfoot.

Puhk! Kwah-dook! Kwah-jee-jeek!

The sound of destruction differed slightly depending on where he hit. But Sungyoon didn’t pay attention to such minute details. He only focused on hitting the Bigfoot again and again.

Boom!

The Bigfoot fell when its entire body had been destroyed, and Sungyoon finally let out a deep breath. He shook his mace to shake off all the blood coated on his weapon.

Hwahk!

In the next moment, the Bigfoot’s corpse was swept up in a light as it disappeared. The Bigfoot had left behind a moonstone and a Device in its place.

‘Device!’

He was gladder to see the Device than the much larger moonstone. Sungyoon quickly gathered both items and exited the labyrinth.

Air disappeared, and his gravity was cut by one-sixth. The desolate land of the Moon was revealed to him.

He had planned on doing a simple test to experience the Mana Stream, and he had never expected to get into a life or death battle. Sungyoon shook his head at the absurdity of it all.