The one-eyed monster was looking down at the two Connectors as if they were bugs .

  The Ogre had been 2 . 5 meters tall, and its body was rather large . However, the Ogre looked like a child compared to the Cyclops .

  At a glance, it looked to be over 4 meters tall . Its body didn’t look like something belonging to a living being . Watching the monster step forward looked as if a large boulder were walking .

  The monster itself was a nightmare, but what made it even worse was the fact that it held a weapon . Sungyoon would probably be turned into a pancake if he tried to block its enormous hammer with his shield .

  “Mmm . I think this one might be too much for you to handle . ”


  Sungyoon had been letting out cold sweat at the prospect of fighting it . So he was very glad to hear these words .

  Hyunwoo lightly shook his sword and slowly approached the Cyclops .

  A small human dared to stand up to it . It was laughable . The Cyclops laughed scornfully .

  Even in this situation, Sungyoon was impressed that the monster could express such emotions with only one eye .

  Ssssssk!

  The Cyclops slowly moved . And then, it drew its hammer backward .

  However, the slow movement from before was gone .

  Hoo-oong!

  Unlike its enormous size, the monster swung its hammer at great speed . Its large body and long reach allowed it to attack from a significant distance away . Hyunwoo was walking toward it, and he was completely within its reach .

  He was in a situation where he would be sent flying and turn into a bloody pulp, if he got hit by the hammer . However, the man’s sword moved when the hammer was about to reach him . By any measure, it looked like he was reacting too late . However, the result was unexpected .

  Kwahhhhhhng!

  A loud sound rang out . It was hard to believe a sword and a hammer had just clashed . It had sounded like an explosion .

  Sungyoon shouted in pain as the sound hurt his ears, but he didn’t look away from the fight . He didn’t cover his ears or blink . He solely focused on watching the battle conducted by Hyunwoo, one of the strongest Connectors in the world .

  Gulp!

  Sungyoon gulped at what he saw . It was unbelievable .

  The cyclops had swung the hammer violently toward Hyunwoo, yet the weapon was easily deflected .

  It resulted in the monster falling on its butt as it couldn’t withstand the rebound .

  The Cyclops shook its head from side to side . It seemed to have no idea of what had just happened .

  Koo-rahhhhhhhhhhk!

  However, it didn’t take long for the monster to get back on its feet . It let out a roar of anger . Then it picked up the hammer, which had been knocked out of his hands .

  The hammer had been half destroyed, but the Cyclops didn’t care . It swung the weapon once again .

  Kwahhhhhng!

  The hammer impacted the ground . Even if it was damaged, the weapon was capable of causing massive amounts of destruction . The Cyclops grinned when it thought it had made the little human into a bloody splat on the ground .

  However, it had celebrated its victory too early

  “Why are you laughing like that? It’s creepy . ”


  The Cyclops heard a disgruntled voice near its feet . It looked down . Sungyoon had also missed Hyunwoo’s movement, so he turned to look from where the voice had come .

  Hyunwoo was right in front of the Cyclops .

  When did he move there? However, something else caught Sungyoon’s interest more so than that question .

  The Flamberge sword in Hyunwoo’s hand was now burning red hot . Flames had erupted to form a three-meter long fire sword .

  Hoong!

  Hyunwoo swung his weapon . He looked a bit disinterested, and his sword strike was sloppy . Yet it moved like the wind, and the flame sword cut through the Cyclop’s abdomen .

  Suh-guhk!

  The sword had way too easy of a time cutting the Cyclops into two .

  However, that wasn’t all .

  Hwahhhhhk!

  Flame erupted from where it had been cut .

  Then…… .

  Kwahhhhhng!

  An explosion occurred . The flames which had erupted from the severed surface of its body instantly surrounded the Cyclops .

  The labyrinth became filled with red light, and heat erupted forth . Soon, the Cyclops was burnt to a crisp, and the charred pieces of its body were sent flying into the surrounding .

  Hyunwoo had turned his back to the explosion, and he leisurely walked toward Sungyoon .

  “Hmm? What’s wrong?”


  Hyunwoo sounded puzzled when he saw Sungyoon shrinking away . But he quickly realized the reason .

  “Ah . Is it because the Rainbow rank defensive gear doesn’t have Resistance ability?”


  The extreme heat was making their surroundings feel like an oven .

  Clank!

  Hyunwoo’s shield made a sound . It was a layered shield . Five plates had been combined to make this shield, and one of them fell away .

  The detached part of the shield floated in the air before flying toward Sungyoon . It then attached itself to the man’s arm .

  The heat, which had been tormenting Sungyoon, was gone in an instant .

  “Hoo-ooh!”


  As if he had barely come out of an arduous situation, Sungyoon unfurled his back .

  “I’m sorry . I don’t have to worry about this when I raid with my comrades . ”


  Hyunwoo was a bit cheeky as he gave an apology . However, Sungyoon was too busy staring at the shield attached to his arm . It was probably blocking the insanely hot heat in his surroundings .

  ‘As expected of a Jewel rank Gem, it has more functions than being just sturdy . ’


  It wasn’t just the shield . Hyunwoo’s weapon also had some kind of magic-like ability that could cause an explosion . The sword was also shocking in what it could do .

  ‘He is indeed one of the strongest Connectors . . . ’


  Currently, Sungyoon couldn’t hold a candle against him .

  “What Gen are you, Mr . Hyunwoo?”


  “Me? I’m a 2nd Gen . My father was a 1st Gen . ”


  Hyunwoo answered in a nonchalant manner .

  However, was Sungyoon just imagining things? He had a sense that Hyunwoo was acting as if nothing were wrong .

  Sungyoon looked at the Cyclops……

  No, he looked at the messy remains of the Cyclops .

  Hyunwoo had killed the Cyclops in an instant, but this monster was absolutely a massive threat to Sungyoon if he were to face it .

  “Are Cyclops usually located on the 1st floor of this labyrinth?”


  “No . Since it is the period of Mana Stream right now, it appeared on the 1st floor . Usually, they appear much deeper . ”


  It seemed this was a situation similar to the time he had encountered a Bigfoot on the 1st floor of his labyrinth .

  “Does this happen a lot in the Great Labyrinth?”


  “What do you mean?”


  “I’m talking about high ranking monsters showing up on floors that they aren’t supposed to be on . ”


  When he realized what Sungyoon was referring to, Hyunwoo smirked .

  “In the first place, the Mana Stream never abates . It rages all year round . And since the Mana Stream doesn’t end, you don’t see monsters sort themselves out throughout the different floors . Still, this doesn’t mean there is a complete disorder in the distribution of monsters . However, you won’t experience something horrifying like the monsters from the lowest floor appearing on the first floor . ”


  The true nature of the Great Labyrinth was yet to be discerned . It was unknown as to what type of outrageous monsters inhibited the lowest floor . Still, if they showed up on the earlier floors, it would be impossible to progress in the Great Labyrinth .

  “It depends on how strong the monster is . There is a range of floors they can appear on . However, it isn’t precise like other labyrinths . It is why that place is so difficult . ”


  Sungyoon once again learned about the dangers of the Great Labyrinth .

  ***

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The sound of continuous clashing could be heard . The monster continued to pound on Sungyoon’s shield, but Sungyoon’s stance remained stable as he blocked each attack .

  “Hoohp!”


  Sungyoon faced the fist head-on by swinging his shield .

  Boom!

  But he had to take a couple of steps backward, thanks to the rebound . And the impact had also made the monster pause in its attack .

  The shield disappeared from Sungyoon’s hand, and a halberd appeared . He used the halberd’s long reach to take advantage of the distance created when he had been pushed backward .

  He immediately swung his halberd .

  Poo-oo-ook!

  The ax blade pierced the monster’s wrist . The monster screamed .

  Sungyoon unsummoned the halberd, and immediately followed up with another attack . After resummoning his halberd, he had used the spear blade this time .

  Poo-oo-ook!

  A deep wound appeared on the monster’s stomach .

  Kahhhhhhhhk!

  It screamed once again .

  However, it was able to execute a counterattack this time . It grabbed the shaft of the halberd with one hand and used the other hand to attack Sungyoon .

  But Sungyoon didn’t even sweat it . He unsummoned his halberd once again and ducked past the attack .

  The sound of destruction brushed past his head . However, the Connector wasn’t intimidated . By the time he finished taking a step forward, an ax was already in his hands . The monster had exposed its side when it had attacked Sungyoon . He didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately swung his ax .

  Puhhhhhhhhhhk!

  The battle-ax ruthlessly cut into the monster’s belly .

  It once again struggled, but it had already lost the engagement .

  Sungyoon didn’t retreat this time .

  The monster swung its arms in a wild flurry, but Sungyoon blocked each blow with his shield . Then he swung his ax once again after retrieving it .

  Puhhhhhhhhhhk!

  It was already suffering a critical wound on its side, yet Sungyoon attacked the same place once again . Of course, it created a much deeper wound .

  The monster’s flesh fell open as its innards dropped out .

  It tried to hold it in using both hands, an inevitable reaction . It was in too much pain .

  However, its two arms were its main mode of attack, so the price of diverting both his hands toward its wound was devastating .

  Puh-uhk!

  Sungyoon didn’t hesitate as he summoned the halberd . He swung it toward the monster’s neck . The ax blade cut halfway into its neck, and blood sprayed out from the wound .

  Ggoo-rooooooooohk!

  Boom!

  With a bizarre scream, the monster fell .

  Flinch! Flinch!

  Its corpse twitched very imperceptibly . Sungyoon looked at it with cold eyes and brought down the halberd from up high to apply the finishing blow .

  Poo-ook!

  The spear blade pierced through its head . It seemed the monster had been barely alive as its body slumped after the spear blade pierced through .

  When Sungyoon confirmed his kill, he once again observed the monster .

  It was around 2 meters tall, and it possessed bumpy green skin . Its girth made it look bigger than it was .

  “You are able to take down a Troll without much trouble now . ”


  Hyunwoo had done nothing as he had been observing from the back .

  Three days had passed since the two of them had been going around Hyunwoo’s Personal Labyrinth . Sungyoon had gained many good experiences . He was able to confirm that he had become stronger, and he had been able to test out tactics that he had only theorized in his head . Moreover, he was able to experience fighting a variety of monsters, and he realized that the bar of being one of the strongest Connectors was ridiculously high . .

  “Amazing . Your movement is getting better every day . ”


  “I’m still far off . ”


  Sungyoon wasn’t being modest . Whenever a monster that he couldn’t handle appeared, Hyunwoo displayed his power . It was shocking . Sungyoon felt that even if he worked very hard, he wouldn’t be able to hold a candle to Hyunwoo’s skill level .

  Woong!

  Sungyoon’s Device shook as it emitted light, and both Connectors looked toward the source . It was the device equipped with the Evolution Gem . The two Blue rank Gems were letting out a silver light .

  Sssssk!

  Soon, their color changed . They turned from blue to green .

  “They evolved . ”


  Hyunwoo spoke .

  “By the shape of them, they look to be magic Gems . ”


  “That is correct . ”


  These gems were the Gravity magic Gem and the Healing magic Gem . Sungyoon then activated the two Gems to see how their abilities had changed .

  ‘It increased the gravity, and the number of times I can use the Healing magic went up . ’


  Before, his Gravity magic increased the gravity eight times . But now it would increase the gravity sixteen times . He could use healing magic four times before, but now he could use it six times in succession .

  It was objectively a satisfying result .

  However, why did it feel lacking? Sungyoon realized why he was feeling such emotions .

  ‘I have witnessed Mr . Hyunwoo’s amazing abilities, so of course, I would find my abilities lacking . ’


  Sungyoon glanced at Hyunwoo’s equipment and smacked his lips .