Episode 10: Labyrinth (1)
Two days have passed since summoning Caligo.
A lot happened in that time.
First, the Apocalypse Summoner’s conditions updated.
[Points Until Next Legacy Inheritance]
▶0/2,000pt
Gain sacrifice points by offering summon tickets.
Advanced: 2pt
Rare: 5pt
Hero: 25pt
Legendary: 200pt
Mythical: 1,000pt
Common ticket points are gone, Advanced and Rare points are reduced, and the required points doubled to 2,000.
The most efficient option is Hero tickets, needing 80.
At 2 million KRW each, that’s 160 million—eight times the previous 20 million.
Who knows how much the next one will cost?
‘Still, climbing the Tower properly should earn me enough.’
As the former unofficial #1 ranker, can’t I scrape together 80 tickets?
With Caligo in my arsenal, I can start moving in earnest.
I’ve quit my job, confessed my adventurer awakening to my family.
It’s time to charge forward.
Another change: through repeated Rune Dungeon runs, I leveled Caligo to match Hertia.
【Liberator of Death, Caligo】
Attribute: Dark
Level: 10
Rank: Apocalypse
Job Class: Priest
[Stats]
Attack: 7
Defense: 13
Health: 53
Speed: 20
Crit Chance: 15%
Crit Damage: 15
Effect Hit: 0
Effect Resistance: 0
[Unique Skill]
Skill 1: Caligo’s Law of Exchange
Description: Using Caligo’s discovered law, enemy buffs are swapped for enhanced debuffs, and ally debuffs are swapped for enhanced buffs. This skill always hits.
This guy’s as infamous as Hertia.
His ability to flip the battlefield when allies are debuffed is insane.
He’s also a vicious debuffer, turning enemy buffs into debuffs.
Plus, his yet-to-be-unlocked skills 2 and 3 enable damage dealing.
His synergy with Hertia is phenomenal.
And he’s a priest-class summon.
In Legend Seven, priests are naturally tanky, able to withstand attacks while buffing allies and debuffing enemies—a huge advantage.
If Hertia uses her second skill for an AoE attack with this?
‘No need to explain—total annihilation.’
To maximize this, I need to gear up fast.
‘That settles my farming destination.’
I chose the Labyrinth as my next target.
Like the Attribute Rune Dungeon, it’s one of the few dungeons without clear time rankings.
Its main rewards?
Finished equipment!
While not as high-end as crafted gear, it’s perfect for quickly outfitting summons.
But this time, I’m not after gear—I’m targeting something else.
‘Artifacts. I need artifacts for Hertia and Caligo.’
Legend Seven has eight item slots: six for basic gear, one for exclusive equipment, and one for an artifact.
Basic gear handles base stats, but the other two are special.
Exclusive equipment enhances a summon’s unique skills or alters their abilities.
Artifacts grant new abilities to fill mechanical gaps—like oiling a creaky gear.
Both are essential, but exclusive equipment is tough to acquire now.
‘That’s basically endgame territory.’
With the update a month away, I need to prepare the rest.
My goal is to build a force capable of facing the Elf Legion.
‘Gear is the first step.’
***
The next day, I was at Bundang Central Park, opposite the district office.
This is where the Labyrinth is located.
But it’s deserted—way too empty.
The few people around are high-level adventurers running Hero-rank or higher Labyrinths.
Compared to the Rune Dungeon, it’s a ghost town.
‘As expected, the Labyrinth is dead content even in reality.’
It’s understandable.
In the game, the Labyrinth was called ‘failed content,’ stuck in an awkward spot.
Like other dungeons, it’s divided by ranks, but lower ranks aren’t necessarily easy.
Traps lurk everywhere, and the maze is long and complex.
For newbies, gearing up doesn’t make their summons dramatically stronger.
For veterans, there’s no reason to farm low-end finished gear when they can craft better stuff in the Forge Tower.
It’s the definition of a useless dungeon.
‘But for me, there’s no better place.’
In the past, I scoured Legend Seven to its depths.
As a student who couldn’t afford to pay-to-win, I farmed every reward possible.
I ran the Labyrinth countless times for achievements.
As a result—
‘I can see the path just by looking at the entrance pattern.’
To me, the Labyrinth is an ‘easy, fast dungeon with decent rewards’ even at low levels.
‘Now, which rank to pick?’
The Common-rank boss is probably a Goblin Chieftain.
Same as the tutorial, just stronger.
But with Hertia and Caligo, there’s no need for Common rank.
‘Advanced Labyrinth doesn’t offer much either.’
Considering the gear I’ll need, I should aim higher.
So, I chose the Rare-rank Labyrinth again.
‘Above all, artifacts only drop from Rare rank and above.’
《Entering the Berserker’s Labyrinth (Rare).》
***
At the same time, at the Tower of Records, Team Leader Lee Jung-yul was still obsessed with finding the adventurer who broke the tutorial record.
“Tae-gyun, nothing today either?”
“No, still no dungeons with updated records.”
“…Alright. Keep checking.”
Lee Jung-yul was frustrated.
She’d been confident she could quickly identify the rookie.
But as time passed, new adventurers kept popping up, making it harder to pinpoint the one.
A new episode was coming in a month.
Past updates always led to increased difficulty, but this was a ‘main episode’ update, hinting at a sharp spike in challenge and a high risk of a massive dungeon break if they failed.
South Korea, still reeling from the first dungeon break, couldn’t afford another.
Another catastrophe would shatter the fragile peace.
That’s why South Korea needed to find this super rookie first.
‘Are they really in the Rune Dungeon?’
But that’s absurd.
A rookie fresh from the tutorial tackling the Rune Dungeon?
99%—no, 100%—they’d die.
‘…Unless they’re already dead?’
What if they weren’t a prodigy, just some lucky fool who pulled a good summon?
Overconfident, they might’ve rushed into a high-difficulty dungeon and gotten themselves killed.
As this suspicion gained traction, adding to Lee Jung-yul’s frustration, Park Tae-gyun offered an unexpected theory.
“What if this rookie is filthy rich?”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. Even with a great summon from awakening rewards, clearing in 34 seconds is wild.”
“True…”
“So, what if they’re loaded? They could’ve decked out a high-tier summon with gear, breezed through the tutorial, and skipped places like the Forest of Growth since money’s no issue.”
“…Keep going.”
“Uh, what else?”
“If they’re a diamond-spoon rookie, what do you think they’d do next?”
“Hm… I’d probably run the tutorial for kicks, sell everything, and live it up.”
“…Get back to work.”
If only that wasn’t his conclusion!
But the rich rookie theory was compelling.
‘He’s clueless half the time, but sharp when it counts.’
If true, the rookie’s probably ‘shopping’ right now.
Why bother with low-tier dungeons like the Forest of Growth or Rune Dungeon when you can buy summons and gear with cash?
And after shopping…
‘They’d aim to conquer the Tower. Top-tier raider status brings influence even billionaires can’t easily buy.’
If this theory holds, they’d need to monitor the Tower.
A rookie tied to the elite could be a negotiation advantage.
Instead of competing with foreign guilds’ money, they could offer business perks in South Korea.
‘Not something I can handle, but that’s the Union Leader’s problem.’
It’s not certain, but her perspective widened a bit.
Or rather, more variables to consider meant more headaches ahead.
Sighing, Lee Jung-yul leaned back in her chair, wincing at a sharp headache.
Ring—
“Yes, no, uh, yes, Korea Adventurer Bureau here.”
She glanced over to see an international division staff member stiffly responding in English.
Their near-tearful expression said it all—they were getting grilled.
From talks with Union Leader Jeon Myeong-il, she knew pressure from adventurer powerhouses was intensifying.
With the new episode looming, they wanted information first, and foreign interference was already starting.
Ignoring their demands could jeopardize South Korea’s Tower raid support.
‘Trading with human lives. Crazy bastards.’
But that’s reality.
Without foreign aid, South Korea’s weak adventurer force can’t even prevent dungeon breaks.
Lost in thought with her head tilted back, Park Tae-gyun’s comment snapped her out.
“Team Leader, isn’t there something more urgent right now?”
“Huh? Oh, right! That’s true! God, I’m losing it.”
The priority was preparing for the upcoming minor patch.
So-called ‘dip-and-dunk’ updates—minor patches applied before major ones.
Since they can overhaul systems or dungeon structures, they’re when accidents are most likely during raids.
While the main episode update was a first, they expected minor patches as usual and were on high alert.
“It’s about time for one, right? Usually within a week of the announcement.”
“Most have been like that…”
Then—
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The Tower of Records sounded its chime, signaling incoming patch details.
The large display inside flashed.
《A preliminary patch will be applied ahead of Episode 8.》
《The target is the ‘Labyrinth.’》
《Upon entering the Labyrinth, there’s a chance Nightmare Mode will activate.》
《In Nightmare Mode, the Labyrinth’s difficulty increases, and the maze changes in real-time.》
The staff groaned at the patch notes.
“That’s something only top-tier dungeons had! Even veterans struggled with it, and now it’s across all Labyrinths?!”
“This is too much! People who rely on the Labyrinth for a living are risking their lives!”
“They’re telling us to die!”
Despite their complaints, the system continued.
《If the Labyrinth isn’t cleared within a set period, a dungeon break may occur.》
《Clearing a Nightmare Mode Labyrinth grants significant rewards.》
《Patch 2.45.12B will take effect in 20 seconds.》
《See the detailed page for more information.》
Raising the Labyrinth’s difficulty and threatening a dungeon break if it’s not cleared?
This is a deliberate screw-you.
The Tower staff collapsed into their chairs, heads pounding.
But as team leader, Lee Jung-yul snapped into action.
“Alright, no time to waste! The patch hits in 20 seconds. Notify all adventurers immediately! Until we have raid info, the Labyrinth is off-limits!”
As she issued orders, a thought crossed her mind.
‘At least it’s a relief. If that rookie’s as rich as we think, they won’t be caught in the Labyrinth’s chaos.’
Why would a billionaire bother with a place like the Labyrinth when they can buy custom gear?
***
《Nightmare Mode has been activated.》
《The Labyrinth’s difficulty has increased.》
《In Nightmare Mode, the maze changes in real-time.》
‘What the hell is this nonsense?’