The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player Novel - Chapter 177
Chapter 177: Labyrinth Forest
“Black Scythe!”
As Joo Sung-taek approached, extending his hand, Ryu Min shot him a meaningful look.
“Calm down. Even if there’s no one else around, there’s no need to show off.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Joo Sung-taek, who always showed fire in his eyes when he looked at himself, lowered his gaze like a meek dog when looked at.
Reading his thoughts, he was filled with absolute submission to his master.
“So this is what makes the duel system so good. With consent, just participating in a duel has an impact equivalent to mastery.”
Although it wasn’t originally planned to have a male slave, seeing Joo Sung-taek, he thought it was a good choice.
At least he didn’t show malice or grovel like Yamti did towards his owner.
“Joo Sung-taek.”
“Yes, master.”
“Follow me without getting lost. From here on, it’s the entrance to the labyrinth.”
“Labyrinth?”
The place where Ryu Min currently stood was the entrance to the labyrinth forest.
He intended to defeat the boss here, a Doppelganger, and obtain the Doppelganger ring that allowed for a change in nickname.
“For that, I’ll need Joo Sung-taek’s rune that increases the boss drop rate by 10 times. It’s not easy to obtain the Doppelganger ring.”
The reason Ryu Min called for Joo Sung-taek was here.
He needed Joo Sung-taek’s help to defeat the boss.
“Labyrinth? Are we talking about this forest?”
“Yes. Here is where we’re going to defeat the boss. For that, I need your help.”
“Boss? What kind of boss?”
“We cancel the advantage that male slaves are better.”
There was a disadvantage in talking to Joo Sung-taek.
He had too many questions.
“Just follow me without asking questions.”
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll follow silently.”
As he entered the forest, Ryu Min didn’t turn to look back.
Even if he didn’t look, he could more or less tell who was following him with his sharp senses.
“You entered?”
“Yes, I entered. With a guy.”
When Shi Zhikang saw Black Scythe enter the forest with a man, he smiled maliciously.
“What’s there that you didn’t even bother to hesitate and just entered?”
Black Scythe, who entered the forest as soon as his colleague appeared, seemed to know what was going to happen inside.
As if he knew what was going to appear.
“It’s suspicious, isn’t it? Are you going to follow him?”
“This far we’ve come to go back. Of course, I’ll follow. Hey, Bangz.”
“Yes.”
A Korean player who was being held as a shoulder companion looked intimidated.
“Why are you staring stupidly? Aren’t you going to guide them quickly?”
“Oh, yes. This way…”
“If you let your mind wander, you’ll die. Understood?”
“Yes…”
As the trembling Korean player advanced, Shi Zhikang’s mocking laughter stabbed at his back.
“This guy is too annoying. Tsk.”
“Hey… Shi Zhikang. But, do you really plan to confront Black Scythe? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Kid, don’t worry. Who do you think I am? I’m Shi Zhikang, third in the Black Society hierarchy.”
Originally, he planned to hide that his target was Black Scythe, but he had no choice but to reveal it after bringing a Korean guide.
Of course, he mixed truths and lies by hiding the strategy of using his subordinates as bait.
“If I can skillfully persuade him in Korean, he’ll have no choice but to let his guard down. Then, I just need to hit him from behind, right?”
“The strategy sounds good, but the opponent is the famous Black Scythe…”
“To catch a tiger, you must enter the tiger’s den. If you don’t leave the well, you’ll be trapped forever. In this life, if you’re a man, shouldn’t you play in deep waters at least once?”
“You’re right.”
“So shut up and trust me. If all goes according to plan, we might have a big hit.”
“Understood. I’ll just trust you, Mr. Shi Zhikang.”
Convincing his subordinates, Shi Zhikang followed Black Scythe’s trail with a malicious smile.
Unaware of who was following behind him.
“Boss An Sang-cheol, are we going in the right direction?”
“Yes. Black Scythe entered through here.”
Before Ma Gyeong-rok stretched out a vast forest.
It was an unusually dangerous forest, even at first glance, with a damp and threatening atmosphere.
“It’s said that Black Scythe entered through here according to the directions.”
“According to the guide, yes.”
“But did you see earlier? It seems someone else entered this forest.”
“Yes. It seems to be a group of more than ten people.”
Both saw players forming a group and entering the forest.
They couldn’t confirm if they were allies or enemies from afar, but what was certain was that, like them, they hesitated before entering the forest.
“Could it be that someone else is chasing after Black Scythe?”
Since his face and nickname were known, it wouldn’t be strange for them to be chased.
The problem was that continuing to track could lead them to encounter other players.
“Could they be guys trying to get experience by sticking close to Black Scythe like me?”
They could obtain more information if they got closer.
Perhaps they were players from another country.
“If they’re players from another country, we should observe the situation before attacking them.”
Anticipating any dangerous situation, Ma Gyeong-rok informed An Sang-cheol.
“An Sang-cheol, if you encounter players from another country, seize the opportunity to eliminate them.”
“Eliminate them? Really?”
“Of course. They must also have similar thoughts to ours. According to the rules, only the one who strikes first can survive.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Keep your scanning skills activated around you. Just in case.”
“Understood.”
Finally, the two entered the enigmatic labyrinth forest.
Unaware of how difficult it would be to get out of there.
———–
The labyrinth forest between the Kingdom of Albitz and the Kingdom of Brahm.
This place was an unknown area even to the kingdoms.
No one who entered had returned alive.
“At first, I was a little scared when I heard the NPC’s explanation. I thought entering and losing a life wouldn’t be a good thing.”
But even then, Ryu Min, who was standing out, managed to get out of the labyrinth forest unscathed.
“Although I got lost for about 5 hours in the forest.”
The labyrinth forest was known to be extremely difficult to escape from.
At first glance, it seemed like a straight path, but like a cube, it changed every 5 minutes and split according to the position of the person walking.
That is, the labyrinth forest was a place that separated people based on countless possibilities and patterns.
“Even someone following right in front could get lost in an instant after just 5 minutes.”
That’s why Ryu Min told Joo Sung-taek to follow him closely.
“Don’t come beside me, just follow me silently. Don’t let the distance between us be more than 5 meters.”
“Understood. Master.”
He knew that as long as Joo Sung-taek followed him properly, there would be no problem in becoming a separated family.
“It should only take 15 minutes to get out.”
What initially took 5 hours to escape gradually reduced with repetitions, reaching the current situation.
“It could easily take at least 5 hours, like me.”
If luck wasn’t on their side, they could be trapped for 24 hours.
At that point, the team should have accumulated many points within the labyrinth.
“I know why they came. Also, the Chinese and Ma Gyeong-rok’s group.”
But he has no intention of letting them go easily.
“They shouldn’t leave the labyrinth, you guys.”
The Chinese and Ma Gyeong-rok see them as walking points.
If allowed to leave the labyrinth, they will commit unrestricted murders.
“We intentionally lured them into the labyrinth for this reason.”
It may seem like they followed them, but in reality, Ryu Min lured them.
“I told Min Juri to stay away from Black Scythe at least in this round.”
The reason for this prophecy is obvious; they cannot afford to unnecessarily involve Min Juri or get lost in the labyrinth.
“Come chase after me if you can. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find me in this labyrinth, but try.”
With an ironic smile, Ryu Min moved even deeper.
——————
The members of the secret society followed Joo Sung-taek into the labyrinth under the leadership of Shi Zhikang.
Their confidence in him as a reliable leader allowed them to advance even deeper into the forest.
However, the confidence didn’t last long.
After entering the forest for about 5 minutes, the Korean leading the way suddenly stopped.
“Huh?”
“Why, Bangz?”
“This, this is strange, Shi Zhikang.”
“What are you saying? What’s strange?”
“The tracking… seems impossible.”
“What?”
Shi Zhikang’s expression twisted like a bad omen.
“What are you saying? Impossible?”
“This Korean says it can’t be tracked.”
“What?”
Shi Zhikang’s impression distorted like a bad signal.
“What are you saying? Impossible?”
“This Korean says it can’t be tracked.”
“What?”
Shi Zhikang’s impression distorted like a bad signal.
“What’s going on? Shi Zhikang? Is there a problem?”
“Ah, well…”
At one moment, Shi Zhikang considered telling the truth.
It didn’t take him long to decide.
“That crazy guy says we should rest a bit and then continue.”
“What are you saying?”
“It seems like Bangz is completely crazy.”
“On the subject of being captured, he makes such crazy comments too?”
“It seems like we could slice open his belly and take him out right now.”
The subordinates, with shining eyes, headed towards the Korean player.
They couldn’t communicate, which only worsened the situation, and when the atmosphere turned hostile, they had no choice but to huddle together.
“If he was telling the truth, my dignity of following Black Scythe would be ridiculed. He did well to lie.”
In his mind, Shi Zhikang smiled as he muttered in Korean.
“Just keep moving forward!”
“What?”
“Even if you can’t track them, just keep going!”
“Ah, understood.”
Although a message appeared indicating that tracking was impossible, the Korean player moved forward without a second thought.
What else could be done when told to continue?
If there’s investigating to be done, then so be it.
“What the hell just happened? Why can’t I suddenly track them?”
Shi Zhikang, just in case, tried using the tracking skill on other people.
“No signal detected. Tracking impossible.”
The person Shi Zhikang tried to track was right beside him.
“Even being right beside, can’t be tracked?”
As a precaution, he tried using scanning skills in the surrounding area.
“No signal detected. Scanning impossible.”
“What’s going on?”
Somehow, all the skills were failing.
Just a moment ago, these skills were working perfectly.
“Damn it. I entered this damn place and now I can’t track them or scan…”
After following Black Scythe, he ended up in a strange place where neither tracking nor scanning worked.
Could it be that they fell into their own trap?
“It can’t be, right?”
It’s speculation.
How could Black Scythe and his group know in advance that they would be followed?
They kept more than 500 meters away to avoid detection.
“Although the situation is bad, there’s nothing to worry about. Fortunately, it’s an unknown path, so we’ll probably find Black Scythe if we just keep going straight.”
But those thoughts of Shi Zhikang disappeared in just 5 minutes.
“Huh? What’s this?”
A Korean player who was 5 meters away suddenly disappeared amidst flashes.
Shi Zhikang tried to quickly follow, but couldn’t find any trace.
“What’s going on? Where did this guy go?”
“Shi Zhikang, where the hell did that guy go?”
“I want to know the same, damn it!”
Not even a presence could be felt, he was on the verge of going mad.
Meanwhile, his subordinates looked at him with surprise and concern.
Since they relied solely on Shi Zhikang and now found themselves in this mess, it was inevitable that discontent would arise.
“This is… so annoying.”
A sigh escaped Shi Zhikang.
The Chinese who tried to track Black Scythe ended up getting lost instead of finding him.
—
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