The pool of magical energy was manifesting all across the country, and monsters could appear from any of these locations . So the government had put the Connectors on standby in multiple locations all around the country . This plan would allow them to quickly deploy the Connectors to troublesome spots .

  The government did their best to listen to the wishes of the Connectors, but the competition to be stationed at popular locations were too fierce . In the end, they had to use a lottery system . Sungyoon had been stationed near his house . He was put on standby close to Seoul as a sign of respect from the Korean government .

  Usually, four Connectors were assigned to a single standby location . Two Connectors manned the day shift, and the other two manned the night shift .

  If a monster appeared, the nearest two Connectors had to go out and kill it .

  Sungyoon’s shift was thirty minutes away from ending, yet the monster had appeared now .

  He kept cursing as he gathered his Devices and Gems . Then he ran straight up to the roof .

  The helicopter was still .

  It seemed the pilot wasn’t here . Sungyoon waited next to the helicopter .

  It didn’t take long for the pilot to arrive on the roof . However, someone had arrived alongside the pilot .

  “What are you doing here, Mr . Jinsoo?”


  “I want to go with you . ”


  Jinsoo shook his Device .

  “It isn’t Mr . Jinsoo’s shift right now . ”


  “It’s only a thirty-minute difference . I spoke with the Connector who is on the night shift with you . He said I can take his place . ”


  Jinsoo was putting himself in harm’s way to attack the monster . It was his choice, so Sungyoon had nothing more to say .

  Soon, the two of them entered the helicopter and flew toward the place where the monster had appeared .

  ***

  They arrived at a location near a little town nestled near the foot of a mountain in Gyeonggi Province . The helicopter slowly decelerated and hovered in midair .

  “Great . At least, we won’t have to search for this monster . ”


  Jinsoo spoke while looking down .

  He could see a dense forest at the foot of the mountain . The forest was so dense that one couldn’t see the ground from above . Yet, Jinsoo easily spotted a monster within these dense trees . Its head was protruding above the trees .

  Since only Sungyoon and Jinsoo had come here to fight the monster, the massive body of the monster wasn’t a good sign . However, it also allowed them to get an accurate location of the monster .

  Boom! Boom!

  “It’s a Giant . ”


  Jinsoo told Sungyoon .

  “Let’s do this!”


  He then let out an energetic shout as he imbued his Gems with magical energy . Soon, his body became covered in armor .

  “I’ll be going first!”


  Jinsoo jumped out even though the ground was still very far away .

  All the Connectors who were put on standby were skilled . Heights of this magnitude weren’t an obstacle to them .

  ‘He is full of energy . Is it because he is young?’


  Sungyoon couldn’t see an open spot where the helicopter could land, so he signaled the pilot and also jumped off the helicopter .

  Boom!

  A normal person would suffer life-threatening injuries if they fell from that height, and that was the case if they were lucky . However, Sungyoon’s armor absorbed all the shock . His gaze immediately moved forward .

  Ggoo-uhhhhhhhhh!

  The Giant made two big swings with its fists .

  Kwah-jeek! Kwah-jee-jeek!

  The tall trees broke like straws . However, Jinsoo’s movements were smooth as he pushed past the chaos and swung his spear .

  Suh-guhk!

  The spear blade made a deep wound in the Giant’s wrist, and blood gushed out .

  Ggoo-ahhhhhhh!

  “This is easy! You should just stay back and watch, Mr . Sungyoon! I’ll kill it by myself . ”


  Jinsoo shouted as he gripped his spear with his hands . He stabbed the Giant’s side and left a big wound .

  ‘Will he be ok?’


  Sungyoon had been about to enter the battle from the rear, but he stopped when Jinsoo shouted those words at him .

  Sungyoon hesitated . He wondered if it was really ok to just stay back and watch . However, Jinsoo was starting to corner the Giant, so Sungyoon decided to take the back seat .

  ‘Look! Am I not amazing!’


  Jinsoo turned backward to glance at Sungyoon .

  Sungyoon’s appearance, his stylish silver armor, and his red cape, they all were exactly the same as what Jinsoo had seen on the TV . Sungyoon had even received the nickname of ‘Silver Knight’ in England and Korea . People went nuts for an image of him, and rumors had it that his figurines were also going to hit the markets soon .

  It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Woo Sungyoon was the greatest star that had turned out amongst the Connectors .

  ‘Who cares about that? He just barely entered the Great Labyrinth!’


  Sungyoon was on the same level as Jinsoo . However, Jinsoo had traveled far deeper into the Great Labyrinth than Sungyoon . A part of Jinsoo knew that his progress in the Great Labyrinth had been possible only due to the support given by Fabion . However, that didn’t matter . At the end of the day, he was ahead of Sungyoon .

  ‘I’m amazing too!’


  There was no way he was inferior to Woo Sungyoon . The proof was in the pudding . He was beating back the Giant .

  ‘Look! Look at me! I’m pushing it so hard that the Giant can’t even put up a fight! I can be as good as ‘The Connector’! There is no way I’ll be shoved to the side by ‘The Connector’!’


  Poo-oohk!

  The spear pierced through the monster’s thigh .

  Jinsoo saw the Giant go mad with pain . He let out a bloody smile as he tried to extract his spear .

  ‘What the hell!’


  He found that the Giant’s muscle had great elasticity, and it flexed to keep the spear in place . Jinsoo placed his feet on the Giant’s thigh as he pulled with all his might .

  Slip!

  ‘Blood!’


  Jinsoo hadn’t noticed it, but the Giant’s blood was coating the shaft of the spear . It was the price for not keeping all of his attention on the monster and just gazing at Sungyoon even in the middle of the fight .

  Hoo-oong!

  “Koohk!”


  The Giant’s massive fist flew toward him . Left with no other choice, Jinsoo unsummoned his spear and jumped off from the Giant’s thigh .

  ‘Hurry! Hurry up!’


  He imbued his magical energy into the Gem to summon his spear once again . However, he needed time to activate his Gem . The only problem was the fact that the Giant wouldn’t stand still and wait for him .

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The Giant’s fists kept attacking Jinsoo . He could barely dodge the fists, but a chill ran down his spine when he saw the craters the Giant’s fists left on the ground .

  ‘Shit! I have to do something!’


  Kwahng!

  At that moment, a shield blocked the fist that was about to hit Jinsoo .

  The angel-like wings slowly receded to form the red cape once again .

  “I’ll take over from here . ”


  Sungyoon didn’t even glance at Jinsoo . He immediately stabbed his sword into the Giant’s hand .

  Kyahhhhhhhhhk!

  The monster screamed in pain and desperately retracted its hand . Sungyoon felt his sword being dragged away, so he let go of the hilt .

  The sword’s electrical attack would continue to attack the Giant even if Sungyoon wasn’t touching the weapon . The Giant’s muscles convulsed in the area surrounding the weapon, and its arm started to move in an erratic manner .

  ‘It isn’t that tough . ’


  The monster kept trying to pull out the sword that was attacking it with electricity . If it were a tough monster, it would have ignored the pain and tried to squash Sungyoon . In some ways, the Giant’s actions were very cute .

  Sungyoon summoned his halberd and activated his earth magic .

  Puh-uhk! Puh-uhk!

  Stalagmites shot up from the ground . Of course, the number of stalagmites that appeared was lower, and their height and destructive capability were lessened compared to that on the Moon . Obviously, it couldn’t damage the Giant . However, the stalagmites were useful as stepping stones . They allowed Sungyoon to jump atop the monster’s head . Sungyoon could also use the trees around him, but he didn’t use them as he didn’t know how sturdy they were .

  The Giant was still trying to desperately pull out the sword . Sungyoon had already landed on its head, and he took a firm grip of his halberd .

  Puh-uh-uhk!

  He brought it down straight into its skull . Before the monster could even react, Sungyoon summoned his hammer and hit the handle of the halberd with all his strength .

  Kwah-jee-jeek!

  The halberd pierced deep into the Giant’s head, and the monster stopped moving in an instant .

  Boom!

  It slumped over the stalagmites summoned by Sungyoon, and Sungyoon jumped down from its head .

  ‘The fight against the Behemoth allowed me to gain experience of fighting against large monsters . It was a big help in this fight . ’


  In the past, Sungyoon would have had a much harder time defeating this monster . However, his experience and the fact that the halberd was a Jewel rank weapon now had immensely helped him this time .

  His halberd didn’t have any special ability like the lightning attack of the sword . It was just as sharp and sturdy as a Gem one rank above it, and in these aspects, it outshined those weapons with abilities that were at the same rank . The same applied to the hammer too .

  Ssssk!

  When the stalagmites disappeared, the Giant’s body fell to the ground . The fall crushed several trees, and the Giant’s enormous body created an open space in the dense forest .

  “Amazing!”


  Jinsoo approached Sungyoon . His eyes kept alternating between the Giant and his fellow Connector .

  “As expected of the Knight praised by the world!”


  “You praise me too much . ”


  Sungyoon downplayed his achievement as he picked up the communication device and reported the situation .

  Jinsoo had a bright smile on his face as he watched it all . However, his eyes, they were burning with an ugly light .

  ***

  After he ended his two-month mandatory duty, Sungyoon had to go back to the Moon . As always, it was sad to say goodbye to Shinhae . As he left for the Moon, Shinhae and Jimin watched the spaceship from the ground .

  “Let’s head back . Ok?”


  It seemed Shinhae was somewhat used to this now . She no longer cried . In fact, she was quite mature in how she acted as she said goodbye to Sungyoon .

  However, the sadness felt by the child remained . She nodded at Jimin’s words with red eyes . When Jimin saw this, she lovingly embraced the little girl .

  Jimin returned to Seoul with Shinhae in her car . Her company was still busy with an increased workload, but it was getting its feet under itself . It was a bit more stable now .

  That was why she had decided to spend the whole day with Shinhae . But as they were about to enter Sungyoon’s house, they saw someone .

  “.…… Why are you here?”


  Jimin’s eyes turned sharp, and she asked in a cold and low voice . Jimin was already a charismatic and cold person, and this action made her appear more threatening .

  However, her opponent wasn’t a pushover .

  “You are the president of Jungbum? Hahn Jimin? You know about me . That will speed up the conversation . I’m her mother, and I’m here to see my daughter . There is nothing out of the ordinary about this . ”


  Miyun laughed as she looked at Shinhae .

  “It’s been a while, Shinhae . ”


  Shinhae quickly hid behind Jimin when she saw Miyun . Shinhae’s actions didn’t resemble that of a six-year-old child who missed the touch of her mother .

  “I said why are you here?”


  “Why do you think I’m here? I’m here to see my daughter . I don’t see anything wrong with me doing that . Do you?”


  “You aren’t my mom!”


  Shinhae yelled out loud . The little girl trembled as she continued speaking .

  “You aren’t my mom……”


  “If I’m not your mother, who am I, Shinhae?”


  Miyun spoke to Shinhae in a kind voice . However, Jimin didn’t miss that split second when Miyun’s eyes turned sharp .

  This woman was being nice to Shinhae, but she was like the devil trying to lure its victim .

  No, she was the devil .

  “She said you aren’t her mother . ”


  Jimin tried to get on Miyun’s nerves, but Miyun remained calm and brazen-faced .

  Jimin knew that even her own mother couldn’t compare to Miyun in shamelessness .

  “You abandoned your child, but now you want to take her?”


  “Oh my! Did my ex-husband tell you that? Do you really believe his words?”


  Miyun put on an aggrieved expression . She spoke as if Sungyoon had spoken badly about her without any basis .

  “I can’t believe you believed his words . I thought you looked smart, but it seems you are lacking experience since you are still young . You should try hearing both sides of the story before making such a proclamation . ”


  “I can tell who is right and who is wrong by looking at Shinhae’s behavior . ”


  “Children are immature . They easily trust the words spoken by adults . I can guess what kind of nonsense my ex-husband told this child about me . It is obvious . As expected, I should’ve taken custody of the child…… Whenever he goes to the Moon, the child is alone here . It seems he doesn’t even care about that . Jeez . ”


  Miyun really was shameless .

  Jimin already knew this, but her opinion about Miyun solidified .

  This woman was her enemy .

  ‘I was planning on letting her off easy, but…… . ’


  Jimin didn’t care about Sungyoon’s past . She only wished to make a happy future for Shinhae . She respected Sungyoon’s opinions when it came to his past, but it was a completely different story if the past came back to bite them . It was a problem if it was trying to prevent future happiness for both of them .

  ‘Alright . I don’t like you, and you’re giving me a reason to act . ’


  Miyun had the perfect family in Sungyoon and Shinhae, yet she had thrown away everything for her desire and selfishness .

  Jimin had already received permission from Sungyoon . She could use any tool in her arsenal, by fair means or foul . Once Miyun targeted Shinhae, Miyun had automatically become Jimin’s enemy . She no longer needed to hold back . A quiet murderous intent smoldered within Jimin .