hapter 203

  The squall ended up increasing the humidity, and Sungyoon and the others had to endure the sweltering atmosphere again . Their experience in the jungle had been miserable .

  However, it was finally coming to an end .

  When the party found the entrance leading to the next floor, they unconsciously raised their hands in joy, and entered the cave .

  The temperature and the humidity decreased as they moved deeper and deeper, and the faces of the four of them brightened .

  When the party exited the cave, they all let out an exclamation at the sight in front of them .

  Islands surrounded a vast body of water that boasted a blue emerald color . The water looked deep enough to reach their waists .

  The party were standing on one of the islands . Raising their guards, all of them moved toward the white sandy beach . The waves struggled to wash over the sands, and the receding water swept up the white sand along with it into the ocean .

  “Wow~!”


  Emily ran toward the ocean like a kid . She took off her boots and carefully dipped her toes into the water .

  “Kyaaa!”


  A scream of joy escaped her lips when the cold water flowed across her toes . With her hood down, her brown hair swayed in the air .

  Since this beach looked like South Beach, it appealed to Emily even more .

  Grace and Tim slowly approached the ocean too .

  Tim sat at an edge where the waves couldn’t reach him and looked across the ocean . Grace’s gaze became curious . She took off her shoes and pressed her feet into the sand .

  All three of them acted like children as they enjoyed this new location .

  It seemed their suffering in the jungle had intensified the joy they were feeling .

  “I really want to take a vacation right now . ”


  Grace spoke while approaching Sungyoon . She was having so much fun that her cheeks were flushed .

  Sungyoon’s eyes swept over the blue ocean .

  ‘This makes me want to go to the ocean with Shinhae . ’


  Everyone else was enjoying themselves, but Sungyoon, as always, thought about Shinhae first .

  As Sungyoon wondered about visiting the beautiful beaches of South-East Asia with Shinhae, something entered his vision .

  “Everyone, I know you’re enjoying yourself right now, but the time to work has come . ”


  Sungyoon summoned his hammer .

  Hearing his warning, his party members also raised their weapons . They saw something shuffling toward them .

  If viewed from the distance, it looked like a rock moving across the beach . However, it was actually a group of monsters .

  These monsters had bumpy gray shells that looked very hard . Large pincers that resembled sharp teeth of a saw protruded from two of their ten thick legs .

  “Rock Crabs . ”


  “Their shell is hard, right?”


  Tim twirled his ax and asked Sungyoon .

  “Well, they have rock in their name . Their defense is very high . ”


  “They live near the water, yet they’re named Rock Crabs . ”


  “Well, humans named all the monsters without putting much thought into it . However, their name fits their speed . Look at how slow they’re moving . ”


  Up until now, Sungyoon and his party had fought monsters with high mobility, of which some were even capable of flight . So, the slow speed of the Rock Crabs appeared even slower to the party .

  “I guess it’s better than facing agile monsters . ”


  Emily peeked at the Rock Crabs from behind Sungyoon and warned them .

  “I’m not so sure . Their lack of speed means other aspects of their power must be developed . From what I know, their attack and defense are very high . Moreover, their attacking speed is deceptively fast . ”


  Emily’s remarks on the Rock Crab’s offense and defense made sense . However, when she said these monsters’ attack speed was fast, the rest of her party couldn’t help but confusedly look toward the Rock Crabs crawling toward them .

  However, the Rock Crabs immediately resolved their confusion .

  Bubble bubble bubble!

  Foam appeared around the Rock Crabs’ mouths .

  Hoo-oohk!

  Then, they shot the foam forward .

  The party flinched . Sungyoon and Tim raised their shields . However, it wasn’t really an attack, so the two of them didn’t move .

  “So this is the foam of the Rock Crabs . ”


  Tim grabbed one of the bubbles in the air and rubbed it with his fingers . It was sticky and slick .

  The foam had completely surrounded Sungyoon’s party in no time .

  Sungyoon looked at the ground .

  Slick!

  ‘This will obstruct our fight . ’


  The ground was now covered in the soapy bubbles that the Korean variety shows liked to use . The bubbles wouldn’t prove to be a significant hindrance, but they wouldn’t be of any help either .

  However, this only remained true for humans .

  Sssssk!

  When the Rock Crabs reached the foam, they placed their stomach on the bubbles and pushed off using their legs . They slid across the ground at a speed that would shock those who had seen these monsters moving before .

  “They are coming!”


  Tim raised his shield .

  As if they were riding a sled, the Rock Crabs smoothly slid across the slick layer of foam on the ground . One of them neared Tim’s location and raised its claws .

  Boom!

  “Koo-oohk!”


  The claw scratched Tim’s shield . The Rock Crab didn’t stop and extended its leg with the claw .

  When Tim saw it up close, he realized that the leg looked thick because the Rock Crab had folded the leg in on itself using its multiple joints .

  With its leg fully extended, the monster’s claw shot forward like a cannon .

  “Holy shit!”


  Due to the slick bubbles on the ground, Tim found it hard to defend .

  “This is no joke . ”


  After he regained his balance, Tim deflected the claw once again .

  The Rock Crab retracted its leg by collapsing it, but it then once again shot its claw forward . The attacks were quite annoying .

  The claws looked like saw blades, but they were as sharp as sashimi knives .

  Other Rock Crabs also approached the party . Tim swung both his shield and his ax to stop the monsters from getting closer .

  Kah-ahg!

  “Shit! It’s too fricking hard!”


  Tim was annoyed . The slick surface and the continuous attacks coming at him meant that he couldn’t put his full strength behind his ax . However, even if he could do so, he was unsure if he would be able to break through the hard shell of the Rock Crabs .

  Sungyoon raised his shield as he blocked the attack from the Rock Crab in front of him . Then, it was time for his hammer .

  Kwhhhhng!

  When the Rock Crab’s claw met the hammer, the claw was blown off into pieces . The Rock Crab helplessly swung its leg in the air .

  Tuh-uhng!

  Sungyoon swung his shield and pushed back another Rock Crab .

  However, just as he was about to swing his hammer, a voice came from behind him .

  “Stand back!”


  Tim had been blocking a Rock Crab when he also heard the voice .

  Both men instantly retreated from the frontline .

  Kwah-doo-doo-dooh!

  The temperature fell . The Rock Crabs used their foam to slide around the ground, so the cold was especially devastating to them .

  The monsters came to a stop, and soon, they were turned into ice sculptures .

  “You damn bastards!”


  Tim had suffered a lot under the attacks of these monsters, and he let out his frustration by swinging his ax at the ice sculptures .

  Sungyoon looked around and spotted another group of Rock Crabs . It seemed the beaches of these islands were full of these monsters .

  “Let’s use this island as our base . We’ll expand outward . However, we soon have to exit the Great Labyrinth . ”


  “Sounds like a plan . ”


  Grace agreed .

  “If it were free of monsters, this place would be ideal for a picnic . ”


  As she looked at her surroundings, Grace’s eyes shone, and she asked .

  “Why don’t we all go visit the Mediterranean sea or the South-Eastern sea in the future?”


  Sungyoon was already thinking about going to the ocean with Shinhae, and Shinhae got along pretty well with his party members, so Sungyoon nodded .

  “That sounds good too . Let’s ask the others about it . ”


  “Yes!”


  Grace laughed prettily .

  ***

  Sungyoon and his party exited the Great Labyrinth after a few days .

  If they wanted to go deeper than the 7th floor, they would need more than a month . So the party agreed they needed more preparations . Moreover, Sungyoon had another job to do in the meantime .

  “It’s finally starting . ”


  It seemed he was meeting the Mayor quite often these days . The Mayor’s face was a little red from anger .

  “If you destroy all the Golems in the Beginner’s Labyrinth, those damned bastards won’t be able to say our city is unsafe . We can shut them up once and for all . ”


  The Mayor was losing patience with his rival city slinging mud at Armstrong city .

  “We’ll use the accessibility of our labyrinths as a weapon against them . ”


  However, that could only be done if this mission succeded .

  “What’s the plan?”


  Sungyoon asked .

  “Armstrong will temporarily send people away . We’ve already sent out the notices, and we’re sending the civilians and the low-rank Connectors back to Earth . ”


  “Won’t a lot of them push back against such a mandate?”


  “The fate of this city hinges on this mission . We will not put up with their temper tantrums . This might be an unpopular opinion, but they can only stay here because the city allows them to . ”


  In other words, anyone that went against the mandate would never be allowed to set foot on Armstrong .

  The decision was a harsh one, but the Mayor knew the city was going through an existential crisis .

  “I’m really sorry to say this, but we will use Mr . Sungyoon as bait to minimize the damage . ”


  Sungyoon nodded . For some reason, the Golems liked to charge at Sungyoon as if he had killed their parents . Therefore, he was the ideal bait .

  “However, you shouldn’t worry too much . We’ll stick Connectors specialized in defense next to you . Of course, we’ll give you additional compensation too . ”


  “Who’s participating in this venture?”


  “Unfortunately, Sir Russell and Mr . Bruce couldn’t make it . However, Mr . Sung Hyunwoo expressed his intent of participating in this mission . ”


  Sungyoon furrowed his brows .

  It was great that Hyunwoo would be participating, but the absence of Sir Russell and Bruce meant their overall battle capability would suffer a lot .

  “Are you sure we’ll be fine?”


  “We’ll be . We’re sure that the Golems near the Great Labyrinth are weaker . Sir Russell had stopped a Super Golem by himself . I’m sure Mr . Woo and Mr . Sung can take care of them . This is a certainty when we look at what happened in the other city . Also, you’re underestimating yourself . . . ”


  The Mayor exchanged glances with Sungyoon .

  “When we defeated all those Golems in the past, Sir Russell, Mr . Sung, and Mr . Bruce wasn’t the main force . It was you, Mr . Woo . ”


  Sungyoon had cut the Super Golems down as if they were daikon . He had contributed the most in the Golem elimination mission .

  “Please believe in yourself, Mr . Sungyoon . If you don’t participate in this mission, it won’t be successful . That’s the truth . ”


  “.…… I’m a little bit taken aback by your high praise . However, I understand . I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations . ”


  “Thank you . I’ll go into the details of the mission now . ”