Chapter 65
When Lee Shin returned after clearing the wave, he saw that the other three were lying on the floor, exhausted. They had fought so fiercely that even Mariel was panting, unable to get up from the floor.
"Lee Shin!"
"Hey! You!" Fletta shouted.
"You guys must have had a hard time,” said Lee Shin.
When Lee Shin said that, Fletta started lamenting about how difficult it was for him.
"You won’t even believe me. I tried so hard to block those ones from coming…” Fletta muttered.
"Hey, Fletta. Didn't you see the wave ranking?" Alice asked accusingly.
"No, not yet. I haven't watched it yet because I was too tired," Fletta replied.
"Ugh… Take a look at it right now," Alice said, shaking her head.
"What about the rankin—" Fletta could not finish his sentence.
As he spoke and looked at the ranking, Fletta was startled. He then turned to Lee Shin so suddenly that he almost twisted his neck. Fletta became the sixth place in this wave with 1,850 points; however, Lee Shin had more than 30,000 points. A while ago, he had barely managed to get 1,850 points after fighting like a mad dog, so he could not believe that Lee Shin managed to get 30,000 points.
"What in the world..." Fletta muttered.
"Mr. Lee Shin, how did you do this?" Mariel asked.
"Yeah, what exactly do you have to do to get more than 30,000 points? I've never heard of a challenger who got such a score before,” Alice said.
They asked Lee Shin for an answer because they could not understand what was going on. As people who had experienced the wave, they knew it was almost impossible to achieve such a score. Others would not know about this unless they have experienced the wave before.
"You just have to try hard to block them,” said Lee Shin.
Lee Shin did not feel the need to answer their questions. Besides, it was kind of hard to explain.
"You gotta be kidding me! How on earth did you do that?" Fletta asked again.
After seeing Lee Shin’s attitude, Alice seemed to have given up on asking and Mariel nodded and muttered, “Oh, so you just have to try harder.”
However, Fletta continued to nag at Lee Shin, as if Lee Shin’s words did not make any sense to him.
"I'll tell you later,” said Lee Shin.
"Really? Really?" Fletta was excited to hear that.
"Yeah," Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin thought that since Fletta was a simple guy, he would forget this over time. The only thing left to do was to get the last divinity stat, so now Lee Shin could complete the two tasks at once, while dealing with the final boss to escape the labyrinth.
"Let's go," said Lee Shin.
* * *
Thanks to Lee Shin's guidance, the group was easily able to get to the place where the boss of the labyrinth of Payne was located. There was a huge door that looked like it was 10 meters tall, and beyond it was the final boss whom Lee Shin and the group had to defeat in order to escape the labyrinth.
The boss beyond this door was the strongest one in the labyrinth of Payne, and upon defeating this boss, all the exits were supposed to open. Besides, since these challengers could get the hearthstone for sure, they did not have to go through the hassle of finding a way out again.
"Ha... We should be going the right way, right?” Alice grabbed her head, looking confused.
Knowing the power of the boss here, Alice kept wondering whether they had made the correct decision, but she had no choice but to follow.
"Are we going in now?” Mariel, who had finished preparing for the battle, asked Lee Shin.
"Wait a second,” said Lee Shin.
The three challengers felt nervous for a moment when they saw Lee Shin frown. When the place got quiet, they could hear some footsteps.
"Someone's coming."
"Stay behind me, Ms. Alice, and Ms. Mariel," said Fletta.
When Fletta took a few steps forward to protect the two ladies, he was able to see several unknown challengers from afar. There were quite a lot of them, at least 10 challengers. Most of them had the same aura as the Fighting Dog from earlier.
When the man at the front noticed Lee Shin’s group, he flinched and signaled to his group. He then approached Lee Shin’s group alone. Although he was quite big in size and had a sharp gaze, he did not seem antagonistic because he approached with a bright smile.
"I didn’t know someone was here already. Nice to meet you all. My name is Decan." Decan introduced himself to Lee Shin’s group.
It was the guy who came in second place for the ranking of the first wave. Although there was a big difference between Lee Shin’s and his score, his was already very high considering that there was a margin of almost 5,000 points to the third place.
‘Hmm… Why is he introducing himself first… Is it to see if I'm the one who got first place on the ranking?’
Lee Shin’s group and Decan stood in front of the door of the room of the strongest boss in the labyrinth. It was very unlikely that challengers who were not of a certain caliber would come here in the first place. For a player as skilled as Decan, there would have been no need to suss out who the opponent was—that was if a strong challenger like Lee Shin was not around at the first wave.
‘He’s just trying to see if I'm Lee Shin.’
He seemed like a sly guy and Lee Shin had a bad feeling about that.
"...Nice to meet you," said Lee Shin.
"Haha, you don't have to look that worried. We are not planning to fight at all,” said Decan.
After declaring his innocence, Decan’s gaze shifted from Lee Shin to Mariel.
"I'd like to hear an introduction from this beautiful lady over here, would that be okay?” Decan asked.
"Oh, my name is Mariel, and this is Alice, this is Fletta, and…” Mariel started introducing everyone in her group.
"What brings you here?” Lee Shin interrupted Mariel who was about to introduce Lee Shin and asked Decan a question instead.
"I'm here to defeat the boss here, but I never thought that there would be another group here already,” said Decan.
"Well then, are you going to back down?" Lee Shin asked.
"Umm, that's a little tricky... but, by the way, are you the leader of this group?" Decan, who had a keen observation, asked.
Decan looked at Lee Shin. It seemed like Decan was telling him to just admit his identity because he already knew. When Lee Shin smirked at Decan after noticing his intention, Decan seemed uneasy, but it was only for a moment. Decan seemed to be very good at keeping a poker face.
"I am the leader of this group. Let me introduce myself. I’m Lee Shin," Lee Shin introduced himself.
When Lee Shin proudly revealed who he was, surprise flashed across Decan’s face.
"Oh! You're that one who got first place in the first wave…?” Decan asked.
"That’s right," Lee Shin replied.
After hearing Lee Shin's answer, not only Decan, but the rest of his group also started mumbling something about him. When Alice and Fletta saw that, they smiled proudly.
"I'm very curious about what your ability is Mr. Lee Shin, but you probably won't tell me about it, right? Anyways, I have a suggestion. Do you know about the boss here, Mr. Lee Shin?" Decan asked.
"Well, do you know something about the boss?” Lee Shin asked back.
"Yes, I do. Why don’t we share our information? And then we can cooperate and defeat the boss together. Dealing with the boss will not be easy for you, Mr. Lee Shin, because your team members could be in danger,” Decan suggested.
Decan talked about Lee Shin’s team members, rather than Lee Shin himself, because his score of 30,000 points suggested that Lee Shin could deal with the boss alone, no matter how strong the boss was. Besides, even if it were said to be impossible, he would still be able to escape from the boss easily.
"Alright then, let's do this together,” Lee Shin agreed to Decan’s suggestion.
"Are you sure?" Decan asked.
Decan was expecting Lee Shin to reject his offer, and that was why Decan now had to think about his next move. Decan was rather surprised when Lee Shin agreed so readily.
"No, don't!" Alice shouted.
At that moment, Alice, who was standing at the back, pushed Fletta away and stood next to Lee Shin, trying to stop him.
"I just remembered that guy. He’s Decan, the king of the Fighting Dogs and also the ruler of the Underworld. Aren’t I right?” Alice shouted.
"What are you talking about? That’s not me.” Decan pretended like he did not know what Alice was talking about with a firm look on his face.
However, Alice did not give up.
"He's a piece of shit. He always uses the Fighting Dogs to his advantage and then gets rid of them. I’m sure he will stab you in the back,” Alice said.
"No, Mr. Lee Shin. I’m not him," said Decan.
"Have you ever seen that man named Decan yourself?” Lee Shin asked.
"Huh? No... I have not… But I’ve definitely heard of him! I’m sure he looks like that…” Alice could not finish her sentence.
"Well then, that means you're not sure. Then why would you say something like that? Is it just your gut feeling?" Lee Shin asked accusingly.
Alice could not respond, because she had not expected such a cold reaction from Lee Shin.
"If it's your gut feeling, then I’m disappointed in you; and if it isn’t, tell me the reason why,” Lee Shin said.
“...”
"And again, you are not saying anything as usual,” Lee Shin muttered.
The coldness injected in each word from Lee Shin became more intense as he spoke. It even seemed like once they reached the end of the conversation, there would be no connection left between Alice and Lee Shin.
"I don’t think I can trust you anymore,” said Lee Shin.
After hearing Lee Shin’s words, the last shred of hope inside Alice died.
"Hahaha, I'm sorry to hear that. Then Mr. Lee Shin will go with u—" Decan said.
"Alright, I'll tell you," said Alice.
Lee Shin turned back to Alice. Alice approached Lee Shin as if she was conscious of her surroundings and whispered in his ear.
"I can tell when my opponent lies. Not only that, I can see the truth hidden in it," Alice whispered.
"What? A unique ability?" Lee Shin was shocked to hear that.
"Yeah, it's the ability called the [Eyes of the Wise Man],” Alice explained.
Lee Shin’s eyes had never opened this big since he had entered the labyrinth.
‘So it was really the Eyes of the Wise Man?’
This was the ability that seemed the least likely one out of what Lee Shin had imagined. In his past life, the Eyes of the Wise Man was possessed by someone else.
‘So then, that hypothesis was correct?’
The extortion of unique abilities came into Lee Shin’s mind. Few people had been suspecting that, but they could not be sure of that. However, the evidence was here.
'If what she’s saying is true... I cannot have them steal it.’
Decan was one of the worst enemies to deal with in the future. People had thought that without the Eyes of the Wise Man, he would not have been such a troublesome enemy. That also meant this unique ability was among the highest-level ones out of all unique abilities.
Lee Shin did not think that Alice had lied to him. It would not make any sense if she knew such an ability existed unless she wielded it. Lee Shin went back to Decan.
"I think I should just trust my team member more than you,” said Lee Shin.
"Do you really trust that chick?” Decan asked.
There was a sudden change of tone in Decan’s voice. Seeing Lee Shin’s face, he had realized that their negotiations had already broken down. Decan began to show his true colors.
"Yes, I think this lady is more reliable than you,” Lee Shin replied.
"Tsk." Decan clicked his tongue.
As soon as Decan frowned, thorns rose from the floor. The thorns rushed toward Alice as if they were about to pierce Alice's neck, but Lee Shin, who had already predicted the situation, froze the thorns and stopped the attack.
"Tsk." Decan clicked his tongue and withdrew.
Suddenly, the tension of the battle had escalated rapidly.
"Thank you," said Alice.
"Stay back,” Lee Shin said.
Lee Shin had meticulously spread the wave of mana around Alice, because Alice was someone who should never die here. The Eyes of the Wise Man had solidified her importance.
"Kill them all," Decan ordered.
At Decan's direction, the nine Fighting Dogs that were behind him began to attack. Alice, Mariel, and Fletta took charge of six Fighting Dogs, and the other three Fighting Dogs, along with Decan, started attacking Lee Shin.
While Lee Shin was defending himself against Decan, who had been shooting thorns from his whole body and the other Fighting Dogs who were trying to get close to Lee Shin, Lee Shin heard a scream coming from his group.
"Mariel!" Alice shouted in shock.
While trying to protect Alice, Mariel collapsed on the floor, spilling blue blood after her abdomen was penetrated by the claw of the Fighting Dog. The Fighting Dogs were not in good condition either; but Fletta, Alica, and Mariel were more severely injured. Fletta was full of wounds, and Alice was panting, perhaps because she had used her powers too much.
"Please run away, I'll sacrifice myself," Mariel said.
As Mariel was struggling to get up, the swirl of divine power began to rush toward her spear.
"W-w-w-what are you doing, Mariel!" Alice shouted.
"Don’t do that Ms. Mariel! You shouldn’t sacrifice yourself! And if someone needs to sacrifice, then that will be me!” Fletta shouted.
"It's an angel's duty to protect you all. I will do my duty," said Mariel calmly.
When the divine power was about to burst, a lightning bolt struck in front of them.
Rumble— Crack!
The sudden thunderbolt neutralized the Fighting Dog that was attacking Mariel at once. The Fighting Dog shook, his eyes rolled, and he fell to the floor.
"Mr. Lee Shin?" Mariel was surprised.
Lee Shin, who was covered with wounds as he forcefully broke through Decan and the Fighting Dog’s attacks, stood in front of Mariel.
"Sacrificing is unacceptable,” Lee Shin said.
"But..." Mariel muttered.
"Undo that divine spell right away.” Lee Shin ordered.
"Mr. Lee… Shin…” Mariel was startled and her eyes shook like an earthquake.
The divine power that was about to explode any moment was scattered and disappeared. Once undone, the divine spell had a long cooling time before it could be used again. Normally, Mariel would never have undone it, but at Lee Shin's firm command, Mariel had undone the divine spell right away.
[You have saved Mariel, the Elyos, from danger.]
[You have cleared the Hidden Quest - Communicating with Elyos.]
[You have acquired the 『Stat: Divinity』.]
[Divinity]
A power built on pure and sacred energy.
# You will acquire divine power.
# The recovery effect will be increased by 10%.
‘Finally I got it.’
Lee Shin had put in so much effort to acquire this stat. However, before he could enjoy his newly acquired power, he had to block the incoming attacks. Decan's eyes had changed, because he noticed that Lee Shin had just activated a new power.
"Hurry up and kill him! This is your only chance!”
"No, it's too late,” Lee Shin replied.
There's nothing more to lose now. Lee Shin did not have to control his power to clear the quest. Besides, he did not have to care about Mariel’s favorability anymore.
'Still, I think it's too much to bring out the undead.’
"Gundo," Lee Shin called out.
At Lee Shin’s call, Gundo was summoned from the bracelet with mana.
"Did you call me, master?" Gundo replied with a confident voice and stood in front of Lee Shin.
The aura felt from Gundo was completely different from what Lee Shin had felt from the Lizardman Guardian Warrior that he had faced when he first came up to the second floor.
"Protect those people," Lee Shin ordered.
"Alright," Gundo replied.
In addition, another subordinate appeared on the battlefield. An attractive woman walked out of the portal of blood that was created in the air. Seeing the beautiful jewel-like red eyes, Fletta approached her with a vacant look.
"Lilian," Lee Shin called out.
At Lee Shin’s cold voice, Lilian undid her enchantment. Then, Fletta finally came back to his senses and looked around to see where he was. It was not just Fletta, but all the Fighting Dogs except Decan were enchanted. Among them were the top rankers of the last wave, but those were all meaningless.
"You fucking idiots! Focus!” Decan shouted.
Even though Decan had shouted, it seemed like his group members could not get out of the enchantment. Decan clenched his teeth and glared at Lilian who was exuding an aura that was as dangerous as Lee Shin. Lilian was so beautiful that it was enough for Decan to be shaken for a moment. However, Decan was able to keep his mind straight because he saw the danger contained in it.
"Though I kind of restrained myself, that guy is impressive.” Lilian, who was indeed a little bit impressed, stared at Decan.
It seemed like Lilian was saying, ‘Let’s see how much you can withstand my enchantment.'
"Stop," Lee Shin ordered.
"Tsk. I was going to play with an interesting guy for the first time in a while,” Lilian, with a really sad expression on her face, undid her enchantment and stepped back.
"Ha… ha..." Decan panted.
Decan felt like his mind and body were exhausted just by enduring the simple enchantment. Mental defense differed greatly from physical defense, and enchantment was the ability to affect such one’s mental state. Decan felt helpless for the first time.
Thud!
At that time, Decan got on his knees as if he had lost his strength. Suddenly, Decan began to beg Lee Shin for his life, his head on the ground.
"P-p-please, forgive me!”
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com