◈ Episode 130. Tetpern Labyrinth (3)[Top Ten Mysteries Quest: Tetpern’s Labyrinth]
Tetpern, one of the ten great mysteries of the Arcana Continent.
Break through Tetpern’s labyrinth.
Reveal Tetpern’s true nature to the world.
Mysteries uncovered so far: 0 / 10─Witness Tetpern’s labyrinth. (Success)─Reach the depths of the labyrinth. (In Progress)
The updated objective was to reach the depths of the labyrinth.
Well, it wasn’t an unexpected objective.
Now that I had entered the labyrinth, I had to reach its depths in order to break through it.
I suppose it felt like completing the quest while I was at it.
“……
Is that a spirit?”
It was understandable to be surprised at first sight.
Its appearance was far too aesthetic.
The explorers stared at Hiel and the dark spirit as if their souls had left their bodies.
“Sir, may we take it from here?”
Fabian was the first to come to his senses.‘That damn title.’Calling me Sir Hoyeol from our very first meeting.
It did not seem rude, and yet it was a title that was rude to me.
I could understand it.‘The Explorers’ League belongs to the Kingdom of Yusra, after all.’It’s a bit awkward to say it myself.
In any case, I held [Authority]
in the Kingdom of Yusra.
At the very least, it was only natural for League explorers belonging to the Kingdom of Yusra to show me a respectful attitude.
Was that why?
I answered magnanimously.
“I shall watch your performance.”
Fabian and the two men stepped forward.
Gently─they reached out and examined the towering walls.
They must be searching for traps.
Still, having some experience, I could tell that much myself.
When it came to traps, I had tasted enough to have put my tongue on them, so to speak.In the [Quirnberg Machine Tower] rift, that is.‘Of course, this already feels different from back then.’The Machine Tower’s traps were designed solely to hunt demons.
Compared to those silver traps.
The traps here, in Tetpern’s Labyrinth, were…….‘I haven’t seen them yet, but they’ll be far more vicious.’For starters, the warning message had been anything but ordinary.[You foolish one who has entered Tetpern’s Labyrinth.][There is no wealth or glory here.][Leave this place at once.][If you do not wish to die.]
But when someone says there isn’t anything, there usually is.
And when someone tells you not to do something, it only makes you want to do it more.
Surely, I wasn’t the only one who had seen a message like this.‘Every player who entered must be thinking the same thing, right?’That there was definitely something inside Tetpern’s Labyrinth.
Since a message appeared right from the start.
They must already be making a fuss from the entrance, thinking that there might be more than ordinary spoils hidden here.‘Wouldn’t I have thought the same?’If not for this embodiment of integrity.
Grandfell’s exhausting personality.
And if I hadn’t met the dark spirit, that is.
“Mr. Fabian, the level of these traps is no joke.”
“They’re not simple mechanical devices. There’s mana imbued in them.”
“……
It is mana, but it doesn’t look like ordinary mana. Considering the magic tool isn’t reacting, I mean.”
“So that is what makes it a mystery.”
“This is tricky. As expected, it was wise to bring the League’s treasure.”
Glance─Fabian, who had discovered a trap, looked at me.……
Was he hinting at me to ask if I was just going to stand there?
Though I felt needlessly guilty, I did not avoid his gaze.
After all, I had already put on a brazen face and declared it.
That I would watch your performance.‘That’s why I told you to prepare thoroughly. I did.’In order to accompany me.
In order to handle my bubble of overestimation.
A great deal of preparation would be necessary.
I had even kindly written and delivered a letter to that effect.‘Still, my conscience won’t let me just freeload the whole way.’This exhausting personality that insists on turning overestimation into reality……!
And since I was even less the type to rely entirely on others.
When I said thorough preparation.
It meant I had made preparations on my end as well.‘It’s a relief my stamina has become superhuman.’In that sense, it was a tremendous blessing that the Magic Tower did not have any books related to labyrinths.
I hadn’t had the leeway to cram knowledge about labyrinths into my head as well.
I recalled the best preparation I could make.‘I don’t have knowledge about labyrinths or traps.’But I was able to obtain information about [Tetpern’s Labyrinth].
I looked at the dark spirit....
“The reason I invited you is simple.”
The chief office of the Magic Tower.
Clink─I said as I set out the teacups.
“It is to hear the opinions of the two seniors regarding the dark spirit.”
The dark spirit, about which extremely little had been revealed.
No matter what book I searched through, there was no information beyond what I already knew.
There was no need to search the internet either. The other players knew nothing even about ordinary spirits.
That was why I had invited the two seniors, Matisse and Peiyan.
“It is an honor to be invited.”
“Yes, it’s an honor for me too……. Um, may I wet my throat first?”
“Drink.”
Peiyan immediately picked up his teacup.‘Good medicine is bitter to the mouth.’Most elixir herbs were not fit for a person’s palate.
To begin with, they were plants closer to medicine than tea.
I had been consuming them steadily to supplement my paltry stats, but…….
Monster-like senior mages would have no need for elixir herbs.
Elixir herb tea was not appropriate for serving guests.
So this was the tea I had prepared.
“……
Ugh, this has a strangely subtle flavor, doesn’t it? It’s different from black tea.”
Did people who ate a lot know well?
Peiyan, being a big eater, seemed to have noticed right away.‘Yes, it must be a subtle taste.’That’s because it’s premium green tea in teabags that cost 300 won each.
As for why I had served teabag green tea, and premium at that.
If I traced it back, I would have to explain the discount coupon from early-morning delivery.
Leaving Peiyan behind as he frowned, I got to the main point.
“What do you think is the reason a dark spirit appeared in Tetpern?”
Hot, hot─The first to speak was Peiyan, who had been about to down the tea in one shot.
Peiyan hurriedly lowered his voice and said,
“As you know, I believe it was because the difficult conditions for the appearance of a dark spirit happened to align. Regarding that, I still have nothing more to say…….”
“I did not call you here to rebuke you, Peiyan Lot.”
“……
Pardon?”
I had said it then as well, but it was not anyone’s responsibility.
That the dark spirit had appeared.
It was merely a coincidence layered upon coincidence.
Matisse nodded.
“Senior Peiyan. Chief Lee Hoyeol is asking us why Tetpern became a place that satisfied those difficult conditions.”
That was what I had meant to say.
Matisse, as expected of the senior of black magic.
You really do see through my insides, blackened by my dark history.
“Ah, if that is what you meant…….”
Peiyan laughed awkwardly and continued.
“An uncontracted spirit has a habit of remaining in the place where it opened its eyes. Though the dark spirit is異質, an異質 existence……. I do not believe its fundamental nature would be different. That is why I predict the dark spirit may have been born in Tetpern.”
“Matisse, what are your thoughts?”
“My thoughts are the same as Senior Peiyan’s.”
The founder of black magic.
Matisse laid out his extensive knowledge.
“Just as an uncontracted spirit supplies the mana it needs from nature, the dark spirit must also obtain suitable mana from nature.”
“That’s right. In the end, it is still a spirit.”
“It would mean Tetpern was an exceedingly suitable place.”
To put it simply.
It meant that suitable mana must be surging throughout Tetpern.
At Matisse’s conjecture, I swallowed a sigh.……
So this wasn’t called a mystery quest for nothing.‘Suitable mana originates from the past and its background.’In other words, there must be a story connected to Tetpern.
Matisse continued politely.
“I believe speaking with the dark spirit will be of help in discovering the source of the suitable mana. Of course, no matter what story may be involved, I doubt it will pose any great problem for you, Sir.”
You trust me far too much, Senior Matisse.
However, Matisse was not entirely mistaken.
Yes, black magic and the nature of suitable mana.‘Darkness is buried by even deeper darkness.’Matisse greatly overestimated my suitable mana. He must think that even Tetpern would not be a problem for me.‘In the end, speaking with the dark spirit seems to be the best option.’The conversation ended around there.
The two seniors rose from their seats.
Peiyan, who had been following Matisse out of the office, suddenly spoke.
“……
Um, Chief Lee Hoyeol.”
“?”
“By any chance, could I have just one of those teas from earlier?”
Peiyan flashed a shameless smile.
“It had such a subtle taste that I’d like to try one more cup.”
Was it because he was a big eater that even 300-won green tea tasted good to him?
If I could, I wanted to give him several.
Unfortunately, the timing was sorrowful.
“Regrettably, that will not be possible.”
There was only one teabag left.
However, this damned pride and formality of mine.
Would not allow me to honestly say that I intended to drink it myself and thus could not give it to him.
Thanks to that, I spoke firmly.
“Excessive caffeine consumption interferes with sleep.”
“……
Pardon? Caffeine? What kind of fiend is that?”...
Anyone who heard would think I couldn’t sleep because of excessive caffeine consumption. Even thinking back on it, the shamelessness of that conversation made me click my tongue. However, that too had been part of my thorough preparation.
I spoke in a voice no different from usual.
“There is something I wish to ask about Tetpern.”
Tetpern.
As soon as that name came out, the dark spirit answered.
“I have been waiting for that question. O infinitely deep darkness.”
Indeed, it was just as Matisse had said.
It looked like it had a great deal it wanted to say.
I looked at Fabian and his party, who were focused on disarming the trap.‘This should be information that helps them in many ways as well.’Now that we were in the same boat, it was not information worth hiding.
So I spoke boldly.
“I wish to know Tetpern’s past, dark spirit.”*
A message that appeared in their vision.
A voice that echoed through the labyrinth.
The players who had come to their senses began conversing.
“Everyone heard that, right?”
“It said there’s nothing here and told us to leave right away, so…….”
“A strong denial is a strong affirmation! As expected, it was a good call to enter, huh?”
Some had entered with guilds and parties.
Some had entered alone.
The players who entered in guild or party units had no great problems, but the situation was a little different for those who entered alone.
Most of them were NetTuber players.
“No, hyungs. I’m by myself, okay? How am I supposed to sprint at full speed like a normal person! I don’t know what kind of trap might pop out from where!”
“If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve found a party or something……!”
“I heard that labyrinths each have different starting points. But still, surely I’m not completely alone, right? There must be other players who entered alone like me, right?”
Like them, he was a NetTuber player.
Park Hwigang relayed the situation to his viewers.
As expected, the knowledge of an explorer shone through.
“Even if a labyrinth has one exit, it has many entrances! That means the players, including me, have each been dropped in different places! What? Can’t I see Hoyeol-nim? No! Once we reach the depths of the labyrinth, we’ll all end up meeting eventually.”
-So you’re saying you have to get to the depths???
-Can Hwigang do that alone??
-If it looks impossible, just give up ㅇㅇ-For real, holding out until Hoyeol-nim clears it is also an option.Most of what the viewers said was always correct, but…….
Park Hwigang had made a resolution.
This time, he would try putting in a little effort.‘This is a chance to let the world know of Hoyeol-nim’s achievements.’Let the world not know what I have done!
Hoyeol had acted as though he lived by such a motto.
Even in simple interviews and press conferences, Hoyeol had never boasted of or revealed his achievements.‘Even when he cleared the Demon King’s Castle rifts…….’And it had not been an ordinary clear.
He had cleared no fewer than three Demon King’s Castle rifts in just ten minutes.
To the point that it could be called “overwhelming annihilation.”
That was Hoyeol.
So Park Hwigang sincerely thought.‘The world needs to know a little more about Hoyeol-nim’s hard work.’Simply, Homen.
Park Hwigang chanted the prayer inwardly and took a deep breath.
Then he shouted.
“Is there anyone here who’d like to form a party with me?”
“……
Huh? See, hyungs. I told you I wasn’t alone.”
“My class is Explorer! I’ll be useful in a labyrinth!”
“……
Explorer? Damn, what a relief!!”
“Me too! Please let me join too!”
The players gathered in an instant.
Every one of them was different.
There were NetTuber players like Bak Hwigang, high-level players skilled enough to enter alone, and even some whose faces were known as supernovas.
But what did their origins matter?
In the end, they all had one goal.
“Let’s join forces and make our way to the depths!”
Of course, this was no ordinary labyrinth, but [Teppeoreun Labyrinth], one of the Ten Wonders.
Naturally, even the first step was far from easy. Including Bak Hwigang’s party, shouts rang out from all over the labyrinth.
“Wh-what? The labyrinth wall is cracking?”
“Um? Hwigang-ssi. Isn’t this thing about to collapse?!”
“Hold on, hyungs! There’s something inside the wall!”
“Aaaaaaagh! Something’s moving inside the wall!!”...
Murmur, murmur—there were countless starting points in Teppeoreun Labyrinth.
But the only place where silence flowed was the spot where Hoyeol, Fabian, and the others had entered.
And who was Fabian? The greatest labyrinth expert on the Arcana Continent, and the living legend of explorers.
“Whew……. The trap has been disarmed.”
It had been a long time since he had been in the field, but the senses engraved into his body had not dulled.
Of course, his thorough preparations had helped a great deal.
If not for the magic tool, he might have thoroughly embarrassed himself in front of Sir Hoyeol. ‘This is no ordinary labyrinth.’
A labyrinth was a place where someone hid their spoils.
Naturally, it would be built while calculating the route for retrieving those spoils.
Perhaps there was a hidden shortcut safe from traps.
Perhaps there was a rule that made the traps easy to dismantle.
Yes, that was common sense for ordinary labyrinths.
But no such element existed in Teppeoreun Labyrinth.
As if it truly intended to allow no one’s approach.
Every trap was so elaborate that dismantling it was an overwhelming task. ‘……
Perhaps that voice was telling the truth.’
There are no riches or glory.
Leave this place at once.
If you do not wish to die…….
Fabian was not the only one who sensed something was wrong.
“Aaron, what do you think?”
“……
Mr. Fabian, don’t you find something strange as well?”
“Of course. I feel a sense of wrongness too.”
Fabian was gripped by doubt.
If it was not for storing riches and glory.
Then why had Teppeoreun built a labyrinth like this?
“It truly is a wonder.”
It was utterly incomprehensible within the bounds of common sense.
But the question did not last long.
Because the dark spirit began to unravel the answer.
“Teppeoreun sought to protect it. Everything.”
Yes, the truth of Teppeoreun.
“……!!!”
As they listened to the story, Fabian, Aaron, and Rombus’s faces filled with astonishment.
It was an unbelievable story. Yes, the reason silence flowed in this moment was precisely because of that truth.
But of course.
There was not the slightest change in Hoyeol’s expression.
Soon, Hoyeol opened his mouth.
“I have come to know your pride. O Teppeoreun.”
And then he uttered shocking words.
“Fabian, from this point on, I will break through the traps head-on.”
“……?”
“You all should act according to your own pride.”……
Out of nowhere?
Break through the traps head-on?
And pride, on top of that?
Bead by bead.
Cold sweat formed on Fabian’s forehead.
“Sir, what do you mean by that?”...
What do I mean?
To sum it up in one line, it was simple. ‘Teppeoreun sacrificed themselves for the Arcana Continent.’
Thanks to that, that pride he lives and dies by had been triggered.
As expected, nothing ever goes easily.
Still, it was a relief.
Because there was still “one” magic tool I had not returned.
There was no time to spare.
I immediately put on the magic tool I had borrowed from the Magic Tower’s Garnet Hall.
Flutter—