Moon's Labyrinths

Chapter 183

Chapter 183

‘Fear . ’

Sungyoon chewed on that word after Hyunwoo left . He went over his memories, but he couldn’t find a clear instance where he had felt fear .

He lightly rubbed at his chest .

However, he couldn’t worry over it for too long . Another guest came knocking .

“Who is it?”

Emily, who had gone out to greet the guest, asked the question . The visitor was a middle-aged man who looked very fit . It seemed he had worked out a lot when he was younger .

“Is this the lodging of Jungbum?”

“Yes . That’s correct . ”

“Then you must be Ms . Emily Ross . ”

Wariness appeared in Emily’s eyes .

The middle-aged man then took out a business card .

“This is who I work for . ”

Emily’s eyes turned round when she read the business card .

The consulate general of Russia had come calling .

“May I enter?”

“P . . . please wait a moment . ”

Emily quickly went inside . It seemed she wanted to discuss the next steps with her party members .

The Consulate General was well at ease as he waited .

He didn’t have to wait long . The door opened once again, and a large man appeared from within the building . Tim invited him inside .

“Please come in . ”

“Please excuse me . ”

The Consulate General entered the house .

He did a quick scan of his surroundings . It wasn’t that great of a house .

This building was suitable for Connectors affiliated with a middle-tier company . But the Consulate General hadn’t expected London’s Knight to reside in such a house .

Sungyoon and his party greeted him . The Consulate General’s gaze remained on Sungyoon for a brief moment .

This was the second time today that Sungyoon had to prepare a beverage for his guest . He served the coffee and sat down across the Consulate General . Sungyoon then looked at him as if trying to discern why the man had come here .

“What brings you here?”

Sungyoon didn’t bother with diplomatic rhetoric in order to put the other man at ease and went straight to the point . However, it seemed the Consulate General didn’t mind this approach . He revealed why he had come here .

“We would like to scout you, Mr . Woo . ”

Grace, who had been sitting next to Sungyoon, sucked in her breath .

Sungyoon responded calmly .

“Are you asking me to go to your country and become naturalized?”

“I could ask for nothing more if you would do that . However, you have turned down similar offers from England and other countries . I doubt you’ll go along with such a request . ”

“Then what are you asking of me?”

“You probably know this, but we are building a new Lunar city . ”

Sungyoon nodded .

“We would like you to move your base of operation from Armstrong to our city . ”

“You’re aiming for a publicity stunt . ”

Grace spoke .

The violence that had broken out in Armstrong had allowed China and Russia to smoothly launch their plan for building a new Lunar city .

However, it wasn’t enough . Since their city was still new, it needed an advantage over Armstrong . In such a situation, Sungyoon was a chess piece that sounded very attractive, for he was currently the most famous Connector on Earth .

If he moved his base of operations to the new Lunar city, its promotional effect on the city would shoot up through the roof .

It seemed the Consulate General had no intention of hiding their plan .

“That’s right . Of course, you’ll be compensated for the move . ”

The Consulate General then looked around the house in an exaggerated manner . It was clear that he was assessing the house .

“You’re living in a small house compared to your fame . I’m sure Armstrong is charging an exorbitant amount for you to rent this place out . ”

He then let out a bright smile .

“First, we will gift you a house in our city . It’ll be your house . You don’t have to pay rent to the city . In fact, you can rent out the place if you so desire . Of course, the house will be several dozen times better than this place . ”

It was a surprising offer . In Armstrong, there were no real estate transactions . One could only rent .

The offer didn’t end there .

“Moreover, we will allow you to invest in the city . Honestly speaking, many parties are interested in investing in the city that we will build . They have smelled the opportunity to make money . Countries, companies, and wealthy individuals are constantly calling us about investing in the city . However, we can’t allow everyone to invest . An investment means rights to a part of the city . Every additional investment means we lose part of the pie . However, we are willing to let you become a shareholder . ”

Basically, Sungyoon would be given the opportunity to buy a stake in the city . It meant he would be part of a group like the one that ruled Armstrong . He would be one of the higher-ups in the second Lunar city .

‘I’m sure they won’t sell me enough to have a great influence in the city . ’

However, Sungyoon would gain many rights and interests through that move . The Moon only had two cities, and Sungyoon could get a piece of the action in one of the cities . It was a very lucrative offer .

“I’m going to be honest . It isn’t an exaggeration to say that the Connectors are exploited by Armstrong city . This city doesn’t properly appreciate the abilities of Connectors . They do not appreciate the sacrifices you make . The reason they can do that is simple . They have no competition . If Connectors want to improve their status, the second city needs to be a success . It’ll allow connectors to gain leverage . ”

‘He’s coming at it from a logical point of view . ’

Many Connectors were unsatisfied with how Amstrong treated them .

In some ways, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the newly built city a land of opportunity for the Connectors .

“Of course, we’ll allow Korea to make a significant amount of investments into the city . Korea was late coming into raiding the labyrinths . That’s why they do not have many rights within Armstrong . We are well aware of this fact . ”

‘He is trying to tap into my patriotism . ’

It seemed the Consulate General had made a significant amount of preparation for this meeting . However, Sungyoon shook his head from side to side .

“I’m thankful for the offer, but I’ll have to turn it down . ”

“May I know the reason behind your decision?”

As expected of an experienced diplomat, he was calm with his question .

“I have to clear the Great Labyrinth of Armstrong . ”

“We discovered another Great Labyrinth near where our city will be built . ”

“It can’t be that Great Labyrinth . It has to be the Great Labyrinth of Armstrong . ”

The Consulate General’s expression didn’t change when Sungyoon gave a firm answer . However, he thought this was a debacle .

He had observed Sungyoon’s words and expression and discerned the great resolve behind Sungyoon’s words . It would be very difficult to change his mind .

Sungyoon didn’t budge even when money, honor, and patriotism were all mentioned . It seemed he wanted something that could be only offered by Armstrong’s Great Labyrinth .

The Consulate General’s superiors had put in a lot of effort in order to scout Sungyoon . He sighed at the thought of having to explain his failure .

“That really is too bad . But if you change your mind, please contact us . ”

The Consulate General handed his business card to Sungyoon . Then he looked at the rest of the party .

“I’ve only been speaking to Mr . Woo until now, but the offer is valid to all of you . Would any of you like to join us?”

The first one to shake his head from side to side was Tim .

“We’re Sungyoon’s party . ”

Tim almost worshipped Sungyoon . There was no way he would leave him .

It was the same for Emily . She nodded to indicate that she felt the same way as Tim .

There was only one person left . When the Consulate General’s gaze landed on Grace, she smiled .

“Do you really think I’ll agree to join you?”

“Not at all . ”

The Consulate General stood up .

“It has been nice meeting you . Our offer will always remain open . If you are interested, please contact us at any time . I’ll leave with this warning . The profit you can gain from this deal diminishes as time passes . ”

As a last-ditch effort, he gave a little threat before leaving .

***

After they entertained two separate guests, Sungyoon’s party headed toward the Beginner’s Labyrinth .

Since they had acquired high-rank Gems, they had to familiarize themselves with the new Gems before going into the Great Labyrinth .

However, they couldn’t gain entry into the Beginner’s Labyrinth .

A large steel fence had been erected in front of the entrance, and several people guarded it .

Some Connectors complained to the guards about not being able to enter the Beginner’s Labyrinth .

“... We should have expected this . Of course they would seal it off considering what happened . ”

Sungyoon mumbled .

What if some idiot messed with the labyrinth again? Armstrong would be razed to the ground once again .

Moreover, they now had a rival city, whose slogan said that they were the safer city .

Still, this action by Armstrong city felt a bit too little, too late .

The guards shouted at the Connectors that they were making a new Beginner’s Labyrinth outside the city . They told the Connectors to be patient .

“What should we do? Should we go to the Great Labyrinth? Or should we go to one of our Personal Labyrinths?”

Grace asked for Sungyoon’s opinion .

“Let’s immediately head toward the Great Labyrinth . We can experiment a little bit in the grasslands . ”

“Do you think they shuttered the Great Labyrinth too?”

“There is no way they would do that . ”

Sungyoon allayed Emily’s worries .

“The Beginner’s Labyrinth can be replicated in other labyrinths . But there can be no replacement for the Great Labyrinth for Armstrong city . In fact, they might encourage Connectors to go to the Great Labyrinth instead, because it might help them find answers to the mysteries of the labyrinths . ”

“Then let’s hurry up and go!”

Tim snorted like an impatient horse and a child who had acquired new toys . He really wanted to test out the powers of his newly-acquired Gems .

“Let’s do that . ”

Sungyoon’s party turned around and walked straight toward the Great Labyrinth .

***

The green grassland and the blue skies were the hallmarks of the 1st floor of the Great Labyrinth . However, this beautiful scenery was home to some monsters . These hidden monsters were a great threat to the safety of Connectors .

However, these very monsters were being rolled at that moment .

Kah-ahk!

The Brutal Worm flew through the air with its creepy mouth open . It was targeting Tim .

“Ha-ahhhhht!”

Tim took it head-on as he roughly swung his shield .

Kwahhhng!

Kwehhhhk!

The Brutal Worm’s body was sent flying . Tim had never displayed such immense strength before .

“Ms . Grace!”

Sungyoon called out . Grace turned her head and saw five Mad Dogs running toward the party in the distance .

She raised her staff .

Kwahhhhhng!

An enormous explosion erupted between the Mad Dogs . Intense heat burned the grassland, and the blackened remains of the Mad Dogs were sent flying into the surroundings .

This spell was the Flame magic that Grace liked to use . But her activation speed had now become twice as fast, and the power of her spell had also doubled .

Duhp-suhk!

A Brutal Worm used this opportunity to bite Tim’s leg . However, its teeth couldn’t penetrate Tim’s newly-acquired armor .

Kwah-doohk!

Tim stepped on the head of the Brutal Worm, which let out a scream as it fell back . Tim’s ax chased after it and split apart the Brutal Worm’s face .

“Ha! This is amazing!”

Tim used his foot to tap at the region where the Brutal Worm had tried to bite .

It had been a monster that resided within the Great Labyrinth that bit the armor, yet nothing had happened . Tim was normally the shield of his party, so he was extremely satisfied with the result .

However, someone else became dissatisfied with his action .

“Do you have a death wish!”

Emily hit her brother with her staff .

However, Tim’s armor was too sturdy . Of course, the staff wouldn’t work against the armor .

Tim grinned as he answered her .

“I have to see how sturdy this armor is . Also, if I did lose my leg, you can reattach it again . ”

Emily had acquired a very powerful healing Gem .

It was as Tim had said . The new Gem’s healing ability was so powerful that Emily could reattach or regrow a limb if she wanted to .

“It isn’t something that should be used lightly! I can use it only a couple of times, and the cooldown is really long!”

As expected of a powerful healing Gem, there were onerous restrictions to the Gem .

Sungyoon watched the siblings bicker with each other . Then he turned to look at Grace .

“How was it, Ms . Grace?”

“The power of my spell was greatly enhanced, and the activation speed became faster too . It really is good . ”

Jean Fajardo was a close-range fighter, so his Gems were optimized towards close-range combat, healing magic, and support magic that boosted his healing magic .

Tim had picked the Gems related to close-range combat . Emily had bought the Gems related to healing . And Grace had purchased the magic support Gem that Jean had used to boost his healing magic .

Everyone was satisfied with how the Gems were distributed .

Since they were now well acquainted with their newly-acquired Gems, they no longer needed to stay in the grasslands .

“Well, everyone . . . ”

Sungyoon swept his gaze over his party .

“Let’s break through the plateau this time . ”

His party members nodded in a confident manner .