Moon's Labyrinths

“Did you talk to your company about it?”

Tim frowned .

“No, we didn’t . The evidence we have is just a single line written in my mother’s diary . It is too weak for the company to take action . Moreover, these are the same people that looked down on my mother after she passed away . I’m pretty sure that even if I do talk to them, nothing will come out of it . ”

‘That is why he contacted me . ’

The Ross siblings had found about an odd passage from their mother’s diary, yet the only person they could call was Sungyoon .

“If something suspicious exists in the labyrinth, the chances of it being connected to our mother’s death are high . If we find something, those that killed our mother will no longer be able to ignore us . ”

Tim was full of determination, and it was the same for Emily . However, Sungyoon was put in a bit of an awkward spot .

‘This isn’t just about clearing the labyrinth once . ’

“If something really is fishy inside the labyrinth, wouldn’t it be dangerous for us? Your mother was very capable, yet she lost her life . The degree of danger must be very high . ”

“I believe it will be . ”

As he gave that answer, Tim looked at how Sungyoon would react .

“If we do find something strange inside, we plan on immediately coming out . Our mother had the chance to write in her diary after witnessing it . We determined that we’d be fine if we do the same thing . If Mr . Sungyoon doesn’t want to do it, you don’t have to participate . You aren’t obligated to come with us . ”

Sungyoon agonized over the problem for a brief moment .

This might turn out to be dangerous . If it were any other time, he would have walked away . However, the problem had arisen because the Ross siblings were the ones asking . He wanted them as party members for the Great Labyrinth .

‘Do I avoid the danger that’ll be sure to come, or do I want the siblings to be indebted to me?’

However, Sungyoon didn’t think too long .

‘Since I’m going to attempt the Great Labyrinth, it is better to have comrades that I can trust . ’

If it would aid him in his quest for the Great Labyrinth, he was willing to take the risk . Moreover, it would be a lie if he said a small part of him wasn’t worried about the siblings .

“I have a general idea of your situation now . For now, we just have to comb through the labyrinth as if we are trying to catch a flea . ”

Even after learning everything, Sungyoon was willing to help them . Tim and Emily’s expression tremendously brightened .

“Thank you very much . As expected, we were right in asking Mr . Sungyoon for help . ”

“Thank you very much . ”

After Tim and Emily gave their thanks, Sungyoon spoke in a muted manner .

“We can think about it as practice for the time when we’ll raid the Great Labyrinth together . ”

Sungyoon floated the idea in a discreet manner . Even if it was a little bit, he wanted to get a commitment from the siblings regarding the Great Labyrinth .

He had acted sly, but it seemed that his crafty plan had worked . Tim and Emily smiled .

“Of course . ”

“Please look out for us when that time comes . ”

The Ross siblings gave a firm answer, their voice infused with trust .

* * *

The three of them traveled using the Moon Surface Vehicles . In preparation for this day, the Ross siblings had rented a Moon Surface Vehicle . It was slightly larger than Sungyoon’s vehicle, and possessed two beds . Jimin had been very considerate and generous in purchasing a Moon surface vehicle for Sungyoon . But unlike him, the Ross siblings couldn’t use their company’s Moon Surface Vehicle for personal use . They had no choice but to spend a fortune on renting one .

Five days passed, and the party arrived at their destination .

They could see the labyrinth’s entrance on a slope leading up to a small hill . The slope wasn’t steep, so it wasn’t hard to approach it .

After parking the Moon Surface Vehicles before the slope started to incline, the three of them walked up to the labyrinth’s entrance . The siblings looked at the entrance with great emotions in their eyes . This was their mother’s labyrinth .

Tim gestured with his hand and went inside first . Sungyoon and Emily followed him .

As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a monster .

‘The place must be overflowing with monsters . ’

It was a labyrinth previously owned by someone, yet a long time had passed since the owner had disappeared . Moreover, this place was probably going through the same phenomena as his labyrinth . Sungyoon guessed it was overflowing with more monsters than usual .

The first monster to appear was a Mad Dog . It had very scary eyes, and it growled, revealing its canines . However, the party looked at it without much emotion in their eyes . Tim even snorted .

“I’ll say this again, but...”

Sungyoon thought Tim had relapsed into his bad habit of taking things carelessly . He was about to say something, but Tim stole the rest of his words .

“‘Don’t get careless . ’ You wanted to say that, right?”

Tim winked as if he understood Sungyoon’s sentiment . Then he took a step forward and raised his shield that was unfamiliar to Sungyoon . Tim probably had acquired a new one .

“Well, it has been a long time, but let’s hunt together as a party!”

Tim sounded excited . However, his stance had no opening . It was rock solid, unlike his excited voice .

Sungyoon looked towards Emily, who let out a bright smile .

“He’s matured a little bit . ”

She looked towards her brother . Normally, she constantly bickered with him, but now pride and love could be seen in her eyes .

‘This is what it means to be siblings . ’

Siblings constantly fought each other as if their lives were on the line, but they also worried about each other .

Sungyoon summoned his halberd . Emily had to act as support, and she was faithful to her role as she stood a bit away from the fight . But when she saw Sungyoon’s weapon, her eyes turned round .

“You changed your weapon?”

“Yes . I’ll tell you the details after we kill that monster . ”

He moved to the rear of Tim . The Mad Dog had jumped to rip open Tim’s throat, its canines in full view . Tim responded by swinging his shield .

-Kang!

It was way too easy . The Mad Dog was sent flying . Even if Tim didn’t look down on his opponent, it was too weak .

‘This is no fun . Jeez . ’

While he was inwardly grumbling, Sungyoon dashed forward .

‘Huh?’

This time, it was Tim, whose eyes turned round .

His eyes followed Sungyoon’s back . It wasn’t odd to see Sungyoon dash forward, since this was their usual formation, and Sungyoon was doing what he was supposed to do . Tim was surprised because of Sungyoon’s equipment . The man looked completely different than before . He now possessed a powerful halberd and a sturdy armor along with other armors that he hadn’t possessed before .

Tim saw Sungyoon swing his halberd . An indomitable force powered the attack . He wasn’t the target of the attack, yet he felt a chill run down his spine .

Suh-guhk!

The Mad Dog was severed into two . It was too easy .

The battle had ended in a flash . It didn’t even feel like they had been in a battle . The siblings didn’t look at the dead corpse of the Mad Dog . Their eyes were filled with curiosity as they looked at Sungyoon .

Tim looked over Sungyoon’s equipment .

“It seems your equipment went through a complete overhaul, Mr Sungyoon . ”

“It turned out like that . ”

Fortunately, Tim and Emily didn’t show any jealousy .

“Come to think of it, we haven’t really talked about what happened since we’ve parted ways . I really want to hear your story, Mr . Sungyoon . It’ll give us the opportunity to discuss how our Gems and Devices have changed . ”

Emily’s eyes shone as she spoke . She was curious about the changes that had occurred to him . It let her overcome her introverted personality .

Sungyoon had already planned on telling them about his Devices and Gems after entering the labyrinth . Since they were going to fight together, they had to fully know his capabilities . Moreover, it would quench their curiosity . It was basically killing two birds with one stone .

He started telling them about what had happened after he parted ways with them . Then he talked about his Devices and Gems .

The expressions of the Ross siblings was quite interesting to watch . Shock, anger, happiness, their expressions changed as time went on . It was as if they were showing him every emotion they could express .

“It really seems...”

Tim spat out .

“It really seems there is an endless stream of events occurring around Mr . Sungyoon . ”

Emily nodded from next to Tim, and Sungyoon turned his gaze on her .

“That is why the shield given to me by Ms . Emily was destroyed . I would like to apologize about that . ”

“Ah . No! I gave it to you as thanks for helping out in the fight against the Bigfoot . I’m glad that it came to your assistance . ”

She let out a gentle smile . The delicate smile could strike a man’s instinct of wanting to protect a woman . Even Tim became mesmerized for a brief moment . Of course, an enormous wave of self-denial washed over him when he realized his sister’s smile had mesmerized him . It was destructive enough that he almost fell into self-hate . Sungyoon still had his expressionless face as he lowered his head .

“Thank you for saying that . ”

“I feel very reassured that Mr . Sungyoon has become so strong . We made a great decision in inviting you here, Mr . Sungyoon . ”

Tim had his arms crossed . He nodded at his sister’s words .

Sungyoon turned his head .

“What should we do about that?”

He pointed towards the moonstone left behind by the dead Mad Dog .

“As I’ve told you, I have a storage Gem . Should we use that? Or should we put it in the bag like before?”

It was a sensitive topic . If trust wasn’t established between the party members, the use of a storage Gem was discouraged . In some parties, it was outright banned . This was why when he had worked with a temporary party, he left behind his storage Gem in his Moon Surface Vehicle .

The siblings looked at each other for a brief moment . They nodded once to each other and turned to look at Sungyoon .

“We’ll leave it to you then . It’ll make our hunt easier . ”

“We won’t have to lug around a big bag . ”

Not even an ounce of suspicion were in their words as they entrusted the moonstones to Sungyoon .

“ . . . understood . ”

How could these people trust him so much? Sungyoon couldn’t understand them . The moonstone in his hand went into the Gem . He even put the siblings’ baggage inside .

Tim and Emily looked sorry that they were causing too much trouble for him, but they didn’t even show a bit of suspicion towards him .

“I’ll give you this one warning . ”

Sungyoon suddenly opened his mouth .

“You shouldn’t trust people too much even if that person seems trustworthy . ”

It was a warning that came from personal experience . This experience was bitter like a concentrated brew of espresso . Tim and Emily looked a bit surprised by his words, but in the end, they just quietly laughed .

“Don’t worry about it . We aren’t dumb . We are selective in who we trust . ”

“At the very least, Mr . Sungyoon is a trustworthy person . A person who is untrustworthy wouldn’t say such words . ”

“ . . . I see . ”

They were saying something dumb . Sungyoon had been betrayed by two people whom he really trusted . So, to him, the words of the Ross siblings sounded naive .

However, a foothold was made in his heart when they had expressed unlimited trust towards him .

***

Sungyoon also heard about Tim and Emily’s Gems . Unlike his completely revamped equipment, not much had changed with their Gems . Tim now had an Orange rank shield and a Green rank armor . Emily had acquired a Green rank defense magic Gem .

Still, it was enough to clear this low-rank labyrinth . Above all else, Sungyoon had become much stronger .

Too-hwahk!

The halberd shot forward like an arrow . The spear blade was precise as it ruthlessly pierced between the monster’s eyes . The enormous body of the Bloody Rhino shook once and then fell to the ground .

“Whew . These guys are just foods to you now . ”

Tim let out a whistle as he kicked the corpse of the Bloody Rhino . Sungyoon felt a bit of pleasure at Tim’s words . In the Beginner’s Labyrinth, the Bloody Rhino had forced Sungyoon to turn back from the 4th floor . However, the dangerous charge, the hard horn, and the hard leather of the monster didn’t stand a chance in front of him now .

The party once again started to move after Sungyoon picked up the moonstone . They weren’t traveling in a random fashion . Tim held the map created by his mother . The three of them had decided to explore every location that looked a bit suspicious, and they were thorough in their search . However, everywhere they went, it looked like a normal labyrinth . The only differences were the old marks made by Mrs . Ross when labeling the forks in the tunnels .

After a while, they finally arrived at the entrance of the 7th floor .

“Until the 6th floor, only monsters from the Beginner’s Labyrinth showed up . However, on this floor, it will be different . Stronger monsters will start to come out . So please be cautious”

Tim warned them .

‘I’ll finally get to see it . ’

Although the monsters from the Beginner’s Labyrinth were considered to be monsters, it felt as if they were just a stronger version of animals . This was why those monsters were the only ones left behind when they swept the Beginner’s Labyrinth .

But the ones they would encounter from now on would be different .