The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

The group arrived in the city called Buckshawn State. It was a huge city under the territory of the Gyunar Republic.

This city couldn't be less than Granmr City.

Why?

Because of the hundreds of Mercenary Guilds in this city. Most of the Mercenaries' headquarters were situated in this city. It earned its nickname as "The Base of the Mercenaries".

Almost half of the people who were living in this place were mercenaries. That's why this city could match the capital of the Gyunar Republic, the Granmr.

The mercenary guilds in this place were extraordinary. They were the top powerhouses in the world.

In short, Souta and Alice could find all sorts of things in this place. Since it could rival the capital, maybe they could find intel in this place that they could only find in the capital.

"Why are mercenaries staying in this city?" Souta asked Gyun, who was standing beside him.

They were in a line to enter the city. Since they've explained their circumstances to Gyun's group, they understand why the two of them don't have an Identification Card.

An Identification Card was needed if someone wanted to enter a big city. It will be hard to enter a city if a person doesn't have one.

So Gyun recommended that they register in the Mercenary Agency as mercenaries. That way, they would have a card to prove their identities.

It was easy to register, so they don't have a problem with it.

"Well, mercenaries could easily find work in this place," Gyun replied to his question.

"What do you mean by that?" Souta was confused, as he could understand why mercenaries could easily find a job in this place.

From his understanding, the mercenaries of this world were the same as the adventurers back in the Imperium.

"Have you heard the term living labyrinth?" Gyun asked him.

"...what...?!" Souta opened his eyes widely when he heard Gyun's question.

'Living labyrinth...? It can't be...' Even Saya couldn't hide her shock as she perhaps realized what Gyun was talking about.

"Can you explain it to me?" Souta asked Gyun.

Gyun nodded, and he slowly explained the living labyrinth to Souta. At the end of the explanation, the living labyrinth was the same as the one that Souta knew.

It has the same description as the Great Labyrinth. The Great Labyrinth was situated in the southeast of True God's Holy Kingdom and the northeast of Rhent Country. There were hundreds of living labyrinths in the Imperium, but the greatest of all was the Great Labyrinth near the True God's Holy Kingdom, as no one managed to conquer it.

Living Labyrinth: As the name suggests, this labyrinth was like a living being. This type of labyrinth was created by a god-level powerhouse to leave their legacy for future generations.

It depends on the god if they will leave a living labyrinth behind or not, but most of the gods leave a labyrinth before they die. Anyone can enter this type of labyrinth, but anyone who dies inside it will be consumed by the labyrinth.

The more people die, the stronger the labyrinth gets.

The one who clears it will receive God's legacy.

Souta didn't know any more than this. He wasn't a god, and this knowledge wasn't circulated publicly. He only learned about this when he became the commander of the mechanic army in the game. The other players were oblivious to this information.

But the minimum requirement to clear the weakest living labyrinth was S-rank. People wouldn't be able to clear the last floor of the labyrinth without the power of an S-rank. If they weren't S-rank, then they were only seeking death by trying to clear the living labyrinth.

Souta rubbed his chin as he recalled the living labyrinth that he cleared in the game. The one reason he didn't try to clear those labyrinths was that he was too weak. Even his current strength wasn't enough to clear the labyrinth that he cleared in the game.

He needed to reach his third evolution first. Since he was a special monster, he could guess that his strength after he evolved could be compared to the high-level third evolution monster.

Souta glanced at Gyun and asked, "This living labyrinth... when did the people of this place find it?"

"Hmm...? Around a thousand years ago... From what I've heard, the Buckshawn State was still gone at that time, so there's a possibility that the living labyrinth dated back further than what was written in the books," Gyun answered him.

"I see..." Souta nodded. If that's the case, then this living labyrinth wasn't ordinary. Countless creatures must've died inside it, and the creatures that the labyrinth produced became powerful.

...

The group finally entered Buckshawn State. This city was the only one with a living labyrinth below it. It was famous throughout the entire continent, so a lot of people were visiting this place.

Gyun's group visited this place in the past, so they experienced a lot of what this city could offer.

They found that there was a festival the next day, so Souta asked Gyun if they had something to do. Gyun and his comrades replied by saying that they weren't busy and weren't rushing towards the Granmr so they could stay here for a few days.

Souta wanted to experience the festivals of this city. He wanted to tell about it to Lumilia and the rest who were in the other world. If there's not a problem, he wants to explore this universe with them.

First, they went out to find an inn. After that, Souta and Alice left the group to see what this city could offer for travelers like them.

'You should mark this place. After you've grown stronger, you can come back and clear the living labyrinth so that you could gain the legacy of the god.' Saya's voice sounded in his mind.

'Well, that's true. With my strength, I wouldn't be able to clear this labyrinth. Even if I work together with Yuko and Alive,' Souta replied to her.

A god's legacy. Other gods would want to get a hold of this treasure. Anyone could enter this place, and God would have a high possibility of clearing the labyrinth, especially if the god was stronger than the one who created the labyrinth.

Anyone could enter the labyrinth. This was the reason why most of the living labyrinth in the Imperium was cleared.

Souta, Alice, and Yuko arrived in front of the living labyrinth.

In front of them was a huge hole with a diameter of thirty meters. There were stairs at the side that led underground. Various stalls stood at the side of the floor, and a three-story building was built beside each stair of the huge hole.

These buildings were provided by the mercenary agency. They were the ones who handled the people who entered and exited the labyrinth. They were also the ones who prevented people from recklessly entering the labyrinth.

Souta could see a lot of people going down the labyrinth. All of them were mercenaries. They were one of the people that were permitted to enter, so Souta, Alice, and Yuko wouldn't have any problem entering this place, as they were mercenaries.

"This labyrinth has a lot of strong monsters..." Alice commented from the side.

"Yes, the mana from it gives off a dangerous vibe." Souta glanced at her before he replied.

The cold aura was enveloping the whole place. Judging from the people's expressions, it seems that they couldn't feel it. They were oblivious to the powerful creatures underground.

The people here were still discovering the depths of the labyrinth. Currently, they've only gone to the thirty-fifth floor of the labyrinth. The top guilds were the ones responsible for exploring the labyrinth. The other mercenaries only go down to hunt monsters and earn money.

Only in the living labyrinth is monster hunting different. The monsters in this labyrinth would turn into dust, leaving only a stone filled with mana when they died.

The living labyrinth could create various creatures. They could even create humans and demis, but all the creatures that came from the labyrinth could leave the place. Throughout the time, some of them gained intelligence and protected the labyrinth, knowing that if someone cleared it, all of them would die.

After observing the labyrinth for a while, Souta decided to go back.

"Let's go, we have a few days here so we will not miss entering that labyrinth," Souta said as he turned around.

"Yeah, there's the festival too." Alice gave the labyrinth one more glance before she followed Souta.

She saw several living labyrinths in her homeland, but this one was different. Since no one cleared it for a very long time, this labyrinth must have birthed countless powerful creatures.

"Yeah, I wanted to taste the delicacy in this world..." Souta said as he placed his hand in his pocket. 'Well, I should look around to see if there are brothels in this place. It's been a long time since I did it,' he thought.