NOVEL NEXT Episode 78:
There was a dystopia that even the slums of cyberpunk movies would cry about.
A labyrinth that has been reborn as a fortress through repeated illegal expansion and renovation of tightly packed houses where people with nowhere to go are forced into.
Even in broad daylight, thanks to the dense shadows of the apartment, no sunlight shines, and it is dark, damp, and full of moisture. There are rats roaming everywhere, and all kinds of sewage and vomit are spreading a foul smell.
Wounds festering and rotting in the shadows of a world that at first glance seemed to have restored peace and order.
It is a lawless area where black players and various criminal organizations are flowing in and even the police can do nothing about it.
“Hi, oh my god. “This is Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell.”
The King of Heroes appeared right there. By going through the portal opened by those at CIPO.
The shadow of the towering apartment complex, like a fortress, is cast and not even the sunlight comes through. I just lowered my head.
In the back alley of the Kowloon Fortress, dismembered torsos and limbs were decorated like objects of grotesque art.
I felt nauseous.
“Whoa, this bastard hasn’t been beaten yet... Yoosung muttered softly. It was right then.
［Entering the Labyrinth.....
［《The Labyrinth of Hakuryu Castle》 is waiting for the player Kang Yu-seong. Clear the labyrinth, win, and get the reward!]
“What?”
In an instant, a message came to mind and I turned my head. And smiled bitterly. What should we call this place other than a labyrinth, with apartments and alleys densely intertwined like a maze and electric wires tangled like spider webs everywhere?
The labyrinth of the Hokuryu Fortress.
Not the world in the tower, but this world itself had been reborn as a ‘game stage.’
I sensed that the form of this game was slowly but surely changing. But right now was not the time to think.
Just as it was in the world inside the tower, there was no difference in the outside world.
A new stage had opened and it was time to live up to their expectations.
There are people living even in the world's garbage dumps, and there is some order there.
In the case of a world without law, establishing order was largely ‘violence'.
A branch of the Black Dragon Association, one of the criminal organizations that dominate the Black Dragon Fortress.
Bang
“Brother is here.”
As soon as Yoosung burst through the entrance of an office, the men there all stood up at once.
“Give me 10 seconds. The person in charge
should come out and hit me in the head;”
“What are you doing!” You bastard! “Is this an attack?!”
“What organization does this guy belong to?”
As expected from a criminal organization, the guns hidden in their suits were aimed at them all at once.
Although it was a minnow, it also included players. This is a black player who committed a crime without even seeing it and ran away.
“Ah, let’s come from someone who doesn’t belong to an organization but becomes the King of Heroes. You don’t believe me? Then pull the trigger.”
With the help of the “interpreter,” Yooseong spoke Cantonese fluently, and the criminals instantly looked at each other. Immediately after, one of the black players fell to his knees in fear.
“That’s right! I know because I saw that face! He is truly the King of Heroes!”
“Now that I think about it…
“5 seconds left. 43....”
“What brought you here?”
At that moment, the head of the Black Dragon Association hurriedly ran over and bowed his head in front of Yooseong.
“Oh, it’s no big deal.”
Yoosung answered as he looked at the branch manager who was already banging his head.
“I need to introduce you to a guide who is familiar with the geography of this place and some useful information.”
“Is that it?”
“Then, for the sake of justice, should we at least root out a criminal organization?”
“Oh no!”
“Yeah, I’m glad you know.”
After saying that, Yoosung turned his head. Towards the player belonging to the criminal organization who was shaking with his head on the floor.
“Why are you shaking so much? “Lift your head.”
“Yes yes?”
“Raise your head.”
Hearing Yooseong’s words, the player of the Black Dragon Society hesitantly raised his head. Yooseong looked at him with an emotionless expression for a moment, and my silence fell.
M ?
......
After a moment of silence, Yoosung took the mobile device out of his arms. As soon as the camera detected the player's face, a special app from the International Player Police Organization looked up his information.
“Hmm, after committing six acts of robbery and murder for the purpose of extorting money and valuables, he escaped… and a few more.”
......
Yooseong muttered softly, and as soon as he heard those words, the Black Dragon Player's expression froze. Immediately after, the six bones sank into the darkness.
Assassination skill Shadow Step.
Before he knew it, he was standing behind Yooseong's back with his sword in his hand and slashed his sword.
Phew!
The blade tore through the nape of the neck and stuck out.
!”
Without even turning his head, the King of Heroes reversed his grip on the dark frost blade and struck it down.
“Kuk keuk...!”
Blood spurted out from the player's neck and the sword was swung.
Sigh!
The head was cut and it spun around in the air. Blood poured from the headless body and rain poured down.
The members of the Black Dragon Society were taken aback by the sudden action and pulled the trigger all at once.
A barrage of bullets rained down. But I didn't avoid it. Like a beehive, the bullets hit Yooseong's body, his flesh was torn apart, and his meat and bones were thrown away in a miserable manner.
The person holding the rifle among them pulled the trigger until the bullets ran out, and only then did the shower of bullets stop.
“Did you get rid of him?”
And there he was.
The king of heroes who regenerates again and again, spitting out bullets that should tear flesh and bone and destroy them.
《Essence of the Abhorrent Fusion Lord》 has quasi-super regenerative abilities.
No, in the first place, there is nothing that can be done with a barrage of bullets when there is a high-ranking vampire's body or the Heavenly Demon Mugol. In reality, what the bullet hit were only scraps of skin and only scratches.
However, to those who could not have known that fact, they must have felt like a monster whose body was regenerating faster than a hail of bullets.
“Ah, did you shoot them all?”
“Hee hee!”
The remaining people at the Black Dragon Association branch, which was in shambles, began to tremble and beg for their lives.
“Well, everyone, don’t be too scared. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do to beat up a gangster.”
“Then why...!”
“The Black Player is a bit of an exception.”
There was no one who called out the player's mission and urged him to fight for the world. However, in the case of the Black Player, who only uses the supernatural power for his own selfish desires and commits evil deeds. I can never let it go.
Show no mercy to the Black player.
That was the only rule Yooseong followed, and he simply followed that rule.
The middle level of the Black Dragon Fortress. Even though it was only a few hundred meters high in the air. Because of the dense structures and shadows all around, I couldn't feel like I was above the earth. Rather, the higher I
climbed, the more I felt like I was heading to the bottom of the underworld.
“Hero King! Hehe, how did such a precious person end up in this garbage dump? “Are you here?”
It was an old woman who was in a drowsy state under the influence of drugs.
If the explanation of the head of the Black Dragon Association is correct, this old woman would be an informant who was looking into what was happening in the 9th district station area of the Black Dragon Fortress. And the player dressed in a formal suit was carrying out the massacre
. The place is also District 9.
“I heard there’s a lunatic running around here, right?”
“Hehe. That’s right!”
The old woman giggled at Yoosung’s question.
“Do you know anything about him?”
“Night and day! But here there is neither night nor day, and there are no sparrows to listen to its whispers. But there are rats out there.”
“You rat.”
Squeak!
As soon as he finished saying that, several rats started making noises and moving.
“The rats always come back to me with whispers.”
“So do you know anything about him?”
“Hehe, I don’t know either. But if you show sincerity…”
Without hesitation, Yoosung held out something from his arms. After accepting the envelope and examining its contents, the old woman said,
“Ah, I remembered!”
“Okay, I’m glad you know. Can you teach me?”
“Ah, wasn’t what you just gave me the price you paid for asking me if I knew anything? Hehehe!”
“...You have a lot of guts to face customers without a single bodyguard.”
“Ah hehe, don’t get me wrong, I am always with people who will protect me. Hehe, but I just know that they mean nothing to you!”
Saying that, the old woman injected an unknown syringe into his arm.
Yoosung was dumbfounded at the sight, so he remained silent and took something out of his pocket again.
“It’s not enough again .” “I’ll take it all with me, so blow it obediently.”
“Hehe, do you have any idea?”
“Tell me everything you know about that madman. Also, introduce me to a guide who will teach me about this labyrinth.”
“Hehe, of course! I have to let you know! Ah, wait a minute, ah, the medicine is getting better, hehe.”
Saying that, the half-asleep old woman smiled and soon opened her mouth:
“That child is the lord of this Black Dragon Fortress and the King of the Gutter Kingdom.”
“Job, the King of Heroes.”
After talking with the old woman, I came out and there was a boy with a lot of love. He was wearing a baseball cap and chewing gum. “Are you a guide?
”
“Oh, that’s right. You are the King of Heroes, right?”
“Oh, as you can see.”
“Wow, that’s crazy...
Yoosung nodded in response to the boy’s question. Then the boy couldn’t hide his surprise and continued,
“You know, King of Heroes. When I grow up, I’m going to become a terrible player like you. .”
“Okay, okay, take this.”
“Huh? The old lady already paid for it...
The boy asked back, but Yoosung answered calmly.
“It’s a tip.”
“Oh thank you.”
After hurriedly looking at the contents of the bag, the boy raised his voice,
“Hehe, with this, I can pay off all the medicine bills, get new medicine, and even see a doctor! I got it.”
“The cost of the medicine?”
“Yes, my younger brother is in a lot of pain. Well, there’s no way he won’t get sick in this trash factory.”
“yes.”
Yoosung shrugged his shoulders and asked,
“So you said you know where that crazy bastard is hiding?”
“Yes.”
However, at that question, the boy's expression shrank as if he were frightened. If the information the old woman taught him was true, there would be no way he wouldn't be afraid. “That's okay. I have no intention of
dragging you in there anyway, so just teach me the way. The rest will take care of itself.” “I will do it.”
“What what’?！”
“That’s only when I can find the right way.”
Yoosung answered without thinking, but after hearing that, the boy shook his head.
“No, that’s impossible.”
“what?”
“Because this is a labyrinth. “You’ll never find it properly.”
“It’s a labyrinth....
Hearing that, Yoosung smiled bitterly.
“A labyrinth always needs a guide.”
Yoosung said after laughing.
“And how good a guide you will be depends on what you do next
.”
“It means that one of the monarchs watching you may see your performance and extend a helping hand.”
“Really?!”
It was only after hearing Yooseong’s words that the boy’s expression began to shine.
And that's when a message occurred to me.
[《Labyrinth of the Black Dragon Fortress） The race begins!] [The monsters of the labyrinth are created...] It is
not a world in a tower, nor is it a tower break or anything. But it undoubtedly takes place against the background of this world. was a game.