NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34
The turtle cautiously stepped forward.
Was everything all right?
Just as I let out a sigh of relief, the walls on either side suddenly cracked open, revealing a massive maw filled with teeth, right before it clamped down on the turtle. In an instant, the pressure split the turtle’s shell.
A chill ran down my spine. If I had been up there, I would have been halved myself. I poured a ton of magic into the turtle and commanded it to dash forward. Regardless of the crushing pressure of that giant mouth, the turtle began to charge ahead.
The teeth dug sharply into its shell like ice picks, but they couldn’t overcome the turtle’s immense mass and ultimately released it.
The turtle sprinted for a good while before escaping that area. A junction appeared where paths met, and finally, the turtle came to a stop.
What on earth was that? To think something would ambush me hiding in the walls. I hadn’t felt any magical waves before getting bitten, so I hadn’t suspected a trap. Fortunately, it seemed like the creature lacked the mobility to follow.
I quickly surveyed my surroundings. I couldn’t let my guard down again like that. But after some time of vigilance, there was still nothing out of the ordinary. This place seemed relatively safe.
I peeked up from inside the turtle to check for traces left by the monster. The bite marks had split the shell, but that wasn’t the only damage. It was plastered with various injuries sustained from overcoming traps until now.
A bitter laugh escaped me. That last monster was on the easier side. The turtle managed to escape on its own.
I couldn’t help but recall the previous trap. Flames had erupted from all sides, engulfing the turtle. The fire was strong enough to melt its legs in an instant. If it hadn’t rolled out of those flames, we would have both been cooked together.
If only the turtle’s legs were intact, it could have dodged before getting bitten. That thought left me feeling regretful. I poured my materials into repairing its legs again, but they weren’t stabilized yet, so it couldn’t react as quickly as before.
All the traps I had navigated thus far were filled with malicious intent to kill. However, even then, I could barely escape if I put in all my effort. I imagined the professor giggling while watching me struggle.
They must have intentionally placed traps like this to enjoy watching me squirm. Other people’s traps were sure to be even more deadly, without a doubt.
But now the turtle was at its limit. Just one or two more traps and it would definitely break down. I proceeded cautiously along the path. Luckily, this seemed to be the last trap.
Ahead, an open field began to emerge, and it was several times larger than before. In this area, formed by many paths converging, a lot of people had already gathered and were resting. It looked like about half of the remaining participants were here.
When I arrived, they all stared at me. Upon seeing the turtle’s pitiful state, they turned their focus back to preparing themselves.
Despite the labyrinth’s changes, there weren’t many stragglers. Everyone seemed to have enough leisure. This meant that most of the ordinary folks had been filtered out, leaving only those with skills.
I maneuvered the turtle to lie down on one side of the open field. It sprawled out like a corpse. I quickly started making repairs to the turtle, making sure not to forget to set up a tent in front. Even in this situation, business couldn’t be stalled.
The maze had changed, and the traps had grown more vicious. Many of my dolls had been lost in there as well. I couldn’t make a single move now. No, I didn’t even want to think about moving. The outside of the open field was simply too dangerous.
While I was busy fixing the turtle, a signal was detected. It was from a coffin doll confirming a pick-up. I sent out the remaining dolls to collect it. Against all odds, that doll had managed to hold on through the chaos and entered the tent, spewing out a person.
I was shocked to see who it was. Jun. I hadn’t expected him to still be here. When we parted, he had already been in a half-collapsed state, so I couldn’t believe he made it this far. He must have had some tricks up his sleeve. He was hanging more artificial limbs onto himself and restoring the flow of magic.
Once he recovered, he would get up on his own. I couldn’t wait for him to wake up yet; the turtle’s state wasn’t good. I exited the tent to fiddle with the turtle again. Its pathetic appearance made me sigh.
But I felt the gazes of a few people in the open field. Following their gaze, I spotted those I hadn’t encountered since entering the labyrinth. One of them approached me — a young man who always seemed to wear a smile, Hongryeong.
“That doll looks interesting. Could I have one too?”
Hongryeong said, extending his hand. He was probably referring to the coffin doll. I quickly handed it over. I checked the direction he had come from. His entourage, looking like highborn folk, was chatting without a hint of fatigue.
Hongryeong inspected the coffin doll. Then he pulled out a ring. I carefully placed my ring next to it. Two points inflected.
“According to others, 2 points is the going rate. It looks to be made of the same material as the turtle I saw before. Quite useful. I’ll make sure to return it in good condition.”
“I’m grateful for your kind words. But may I ask why you’re all gathered here?”
When I asked, Hongryeong’s smile turned slightly bitter. He shook his head and raised his hand. There was a small wound on his palm. Inside lingered a thick curse that seemed to be prying open the wound. Though his magic was burning the curse away, it was stubbornly holding on.
“The traps’ difficulty has increased significantly, so we can’t advance as before. We didn’t even find any treasure.”
“I see. That explains why so many people are gathered here.”
That summed up our conversation. I tried to get back to fixing the turtle, but for some reason, Hongryeong didn’t seem inclined to move. I subtly watched him. He was just staring at me intently.
It seemed like he had more he wanted to say. I cautiously checked my surroundings. I felt the eyes of others watching us. We needed to create a private space to talk.
All the tents were open enough to see from outside, so I knew of only one discreet location. I made a path along the side of the turtle, leading to a temporary workshop I had previously passed through, which Hongryeong had been to as well.
I led him to that spot. Setting up a table and chairs, I served him tea. Hongryeong took a sip, savoring its aroma.
“Hmm, it’s been a while since I’ve had this, and it tastes even cleaner now.”
“I’m sorry it’s just this to offer. So, may I ask what you wanted to discuss?”
Hongryeong squinted and looked at me. After a brief silence, he began speaking somewhat lighter.
“What do you think, Ebron? Where do you think the professor hid the treasure?”
His question caught me off guard. I awkwardly smiled and shook my head, indicating I didn’t know. But Hongryeong continued without caring about my reaction.
“We know nothing about the professor; we’ve never even seen his face. In fact, it was you who brought us here, Ebron. So, I can’t help but wonder if you might know where the treasure is hidden.”
Hongryeong wore a very broad grin. It was a natural suspicion. If I were in his shoes, I would have thought the same. He probably wouldn’t believe me if I claimed ignorance.
With an awkward smile, I showed him my left hand. Circulating my magic, the contract engraved on my wrist became visible. Hongryeong raised an eyebrow upon seeing it.
“I don’t really know much. I’m just a pawn under the professor’s orders. The only reason I even entered was that he told me to tag along. I have no use for what you think I do.”
I poured out my grievances. Of course, he didn’t seem overly convinced. This contract wasn’t proof of my innocence, after all.
I merely wanted to share my circumstances regarding my relationship with the professor. Noticing that, he chuckled lightly.
“Hmm, is that so.”
Hongryeong leisurely sipped his tea again. I did the same while sweat trickled down my back. I had no idea what he would say next. But he didn’t bring anything up and simply reached out for me. A ring was on his hand.
“Since I’ve kept a busy person here for tea, I should pay for it. Here, have some points.”
He showed a determined disposition that he wouldn’t accept my refusal. I cautiously placed the ring beside him. With the flow of magic, points flowed in. As I took a quick look, the score was beyond my expectation.
One thousand points. I thought I must have misread it and counted again, but it was still the same. One thousand points.
Not knowing what that meant, I stupidly stared at Hongryeong. He was just smiling. I swallowed hard. It was a ridiculously large amount for tea. This had to mean something more, right? Slowly, I began to gather my thoughts.
Should I return this? But that felt too wasteful. I cleared my throat and approached him cautiously. The professor must surely be watching all of this unfold. So, I shouldn’t speak too directly.
“Speaking of which, I did find something strange.”
Hongryeong’s eyes lit up.
“This area keeps changing. How is that possible? There weren’t any visible magical flows. In fact, when I arrived here a month ago, it was just a regular place. The professor must have transformed it into this labyrinth.”
I decided to stop there. Honestly, I had a rough idea of the treasure’s location. I’d heard a few things while preparing lectures from the professor.
But being direct about it would be far too risky. In fact, even this much information felt dangerous. Hongryeong thought for a moment and finished his tea.
“Hmm, as expected, you don’t disappoint me. It was very delicious.”
He stood up from his seat. I opened the path outside for him. As he left, I returned to my spot and plopped down.
One thousand points. He really had a big wallet. Of course, when considering the treasure’s value, it could be seen as relatively small. But since I didn’t plan on keeping any treasure, what use would it be? Eventually, this information would become meaningless after this lecture was over. Maybe selling it off before it lost value wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
But the problem lay with the professor. I was terrified of how he would torment me. The moment I uttered those words, I was bound to suffer miserably here. I would surely feel the agony slowly until the very brink of death, if not until death itself.
And I’d probably end up being dragged before the professor for falling behind. There, I’d undoubtedly take another beating as well. Knowing all this made me hesitate to speak, but the instant I saw the one thousand points, I couldn’t help myself. I realized my mouth had already opened.
Should I go back to fixing the turtle? I awkwardly stood up from my spot. I had no idea when the professor’s punishment would come. At the very least, if the turtle was still intact, I might have a chance to endure a little longer.
Suddenly, I pondered about Hongryeong. He had actually given away one thousand points. That was way more than what I had painstakingly earned up until now. So, just how many points did he have?
No, in fact, points might not mean much to him. Such is the nature of the noble household. Regardless, merely the ability to earn points was a huge plus for me.
And so, twenty hours had passed since I entered the maze.
Only four hours remain.
Satisfied with my one thousand points, I wandered through the maze once more.
Damn.
Quite a number of people had met the bitter cup of elimination during this time. The remaining students were barely half of what they started with.
I continued to do similar things during this time.
I lent out dolls that carried people and sent dolls along the paths where people had gone to collect those who were half-dead. I retrieved coffin dolls that couldn’t return after triggering a trap or encountering monsters.
And I kept getting expelled from the open field.
Thus far, it was my sixth time being chased out of the open field. Perhaps my selling of information irked the professor, because once he sensed even a hint of me lingering too long in the open field, he’d spring traps to oust me.
In the end, I had no choice but to carefully navigate the paths others had taken while avoiding traps. A broken magical circle appeared right in front of me. It looked like a swordsman had passed through as the magical circle was torn in several directions.
I quietly slipped out from the turtle to examine the half-destroyed magical circle. It was filled with incomprehensible high-level circuits.
The only circuits I could somewhat recognize were those of shocking, dismemberment, and piercing. The only reason I could recognize these at all was because I had experienced the professor’s magic before. They were etched into my body as lessons.
Having just one of these would have been excruciating, yet they were all compiled into one circuit. And it was just part of the magical circle. How did others break through things like this?
Still, it seemed handling this trap was quite difficult, as there was blood spilled all around from someone. I decided to take the path where the blood flowed toward my destination.
At the end of this path lay a coffin doll. With all of its legs broken and unable to move, it crawled toward me.
This was clearly the coffin doll of the one who had opened this path.
I quickly opened the coffin. But the person within had already vanished. Clearly, too much time had passed, causing it to be lost beyond what the coffin’s magic could contain.
Does this mean this path is now not safe either? I need to head back the way I came. With a bitter smile, I turned around.
However, this path didn’t trigger instant traps like in the open field. That was a small relief. Whether this was the professor’s consideration, I couldn’t tell.