REAPER SCANS

Monopolizing Skills to the 666th Floor

[Translator –  Darkraider 2.0 ]

[Proofreader – Nine ]

Chapter 26 - The 30th Floor of the Labyrinth

On his flight back home, Joshua gazed at the Korean peninsula from a distance, melancholic.

‘I’ll get a chance to come back in future, right?’

The food he had in Korea fit his preferences perfectly, especially the grilled pork belly. He could still remember how it tasted.

‘Yet he claims that there’s still something even more delicious out there?’

Before he had departed, Tae-seong had told him, “Next time you come, I’ll buy you my favorite food.”

A dish that Tae-seong liked even more than pork belly… Joshua looked forward to seeing him again.

‘Not to mention, he gave me such a valuable present…’

Joshua stared at the spear in his inventory silently.

[Worn-out Spear (F)]  

― Category: Weapon  

― Durability: 72/100  

― Effect: None

— Restriction: Must be an acolyte that has at least cleared the 1st floor of the Labyrinth.

― Description: It’s extremely worn-out. Its functionality is questionable.

The item description confirmed that it was a weapon.

‘A weapon from the Labyrinth. I’ve been clearing it just as hard as the next guy, yet I’ve never even seen anything like it before…’ 

Even after making it all the way to the 16th floor, he still had yet to see a proper item drop. The best that he had gotten were miscellaneous trash drops.

‘That’s why I’ve had to resort to using a hobgoblin’s machete…’

Now, however, that was no longer necessary. Thanks to Amon, he now had a proper weapon.

However…

‘He’ll be really happy once I give him this.’

Joshua had no intention of using the spear himself. He knew someone who would suit it much better. 

‘Now I’m really indebted to Tae-seong.’

Not only did he agree to spar with him, he even gave Joshua an incredibly valuable present. Also, it touched Joshua how Tae-seong personally took it upon himself to be Joshua’s tour guide. 

‘Of course, I tried to refuse. I haven’t done anything worthy of such a gift.’

When Tae-seong had nonchalantly handed Joshua the spear, he had tried to refuse it.

“Y-you don’t have to give me this,” he had said.

“Take it,” Tae-seong had insisted. “You said you didn’t have a weapon.”

“But what will you use if you give me this…?”

“I have another weapon.”

“You do?”

“Yes. So, please take it. I don’t need it anymore.”

Joshua couldn’t believe Tae-seong had another weapon, but he couldn’t possibly prod any further because it was such a shocking gift.

‘I wish I could’ve given him a proper gift in return…’

He gave Tae-seong some miscellaneous items that had been in his inventory, but they were just that. Miscellaneous junk. They couldn’t hold a handle against a weapon.

‘Next time I find a useful item, I’ll have to set it aside as a gift for Tae-seong.’

With that thought in mind, he landed in his motherland.

The moment he turned on his phone, he sent a text. 

Who was the first person that Joshua contacted? It was none other than his friend Jason.

“Yo, Joshua! What’s wrong?” Jason asked. “You said it was urgent.”

“I have something to give you.”

“What…?” Jason shot him a look of disapproval. “You called me over in such a hurry just for that? I thought it was some sort of emergency!”

“That’s not what you’ll be saying once you lay your eyes on it.”

“Well, what is it?”

Joshua gave him a huge grin as he opened his inventory. Meanwhile, Jason watched with a slight scowl. 

However, his expression quickly morphed into shock once he caught sight of the long weapon. “What the—is that a spear?”

“Yeah.”

“From the Labyrinth…?”

“Yep.”

Jason saw it come out of Joshua’s inventory with his own two eyes. Without a doubt, it had to have been obtained within the Labyrinth. 

It looked old, but it was still a weapon. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, especially when weapons still weren’t dropping even after reaching as far as the 16th floor like Joshua did.

Joshua handed the weapon over. “Here, take a closer look.” 

Jason thoroughly inspected the spear. He read the item description, and fiddled with it in his hands. He wondered if Joshua had been using it because its durability wasn’t at its max, but it still looked more than serviceable.

“That’s your gift,” Joshua said.

“You’re giving this…? To me?”

“Yeah.”

Jason looked like he could hug Joshua.

“Hey, stay back. Don’t be cringe,” Joshua warned him.

“Th-thanks man.”

“It’s nothing.”

Despite having the Spear Master as his patron spirit, he had yet to obtain a suitable spear. That was why he had to go through the trouble of crafting a makeshift spear each time he entered the Labyrinth.

Now, that would no longer be necessary.

“Wait. When did you obtain this?” Jason asked. “I don’t remember you mentioning anything about it. Judging by the durability, it looks like it’s already seen some use.”

“I wasn’t the one who got it.”

“Huh?” 

Joshua hesitated for a moment. He was torn about whether or not he should confess that it had been Amon who had given it to him.

‘I should probably tell him.’

Although Tae-seong didn’t explicitly ask for secrecy, he was a tactful guy. Joshua knew that it would be troublesome for Tae-seong if word got out that he was Amon.

“I have a new business partner who’s also an acolyte,” Joshua eventually explained. “He gave it to me as a gift.”

“A business partner? Ah… You mean the vendor that you were texting?”

“Yeah. That’s him.”

“Damn. I thought you had gotten yourself a girl or something… It actually was just a vendor?”

“When would I have the time to get a girlfriend?”

“I guess. Your schedule’s just full of work, Labyrinth clearing, and sparring.”

“Oh, since you brought it up, let’s spar.”

Jason groaned. He blamed himself for mentioning it. 

“Don’t you want to test that spear out?”

Those words quickly changed Jason’s mind. “Hmm… I guess.”

“Awesome. Give a moment to unpack first, though.”

“By the way...” Suddenly, Jason blocked Joshua’s path, and a barrage of questions began to pour out of him. “Who gave you this spear? Where did he get it? Has he gone deeper into the Labyrinth than you? Is he ex-special ops like you? Is he even American?”

Joshua refused to answer any of the questions. Instead, he adopted a faint smile.

“It’s a secret,” he said.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Darkraider 2.0

Proofreader - Nine

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* * *

On my way home, I checked the items that Joshua gave me.

[Random Orb Shard 2/8]

—Category: Misc

—Description: An extremely small shard of an orb. Once eight pieces are combined, a single fragment is created. 

[Mana Leaf (F)]

—Category: Misc

—Description: A leaf imbued with mana. It’s indistinguishable from a normal leaf.

‘He didn’t have to give me these.’ 

Maybe he felt bad about getting something for free because he had insisted I take these. Although they were miscellaneous items, they were still useful materials.  

‘That makes 5 shards now.’

Since shards could be used to form a Random Orb Fragment, which could eventually form a Random Orb, it was a pretty important item. However, right now, a weapon was much more valuable to him.

I obtained the weapon because it had been offered as part of the first clear reward, but weapons were generally extremely uncommon as normal clear rewards. People would only gain regular access to equipment items later on.

‘People won’t be able to purchase equipment until the 160th floor when the Orb of Darkness becomes more widespread.’

In other words, equipment was hard to come by outside of the Dimension Shop. It was only natural for Joshua to react like he did.

“I never saw him use a spear in my past life, but I’m sure it’ll still help,” I said to myself.

Considering everything he had done for me back then, I didn’t feel an ounce of regret giving him such a valuable item. 

After all, I had only been able to overcome the restrictions of Skill Duplication thanks to the information that Joshua had shared with me. Also, even if they were just miscellaneous items, he had still given me something in return. 

After arriving home and showering, I checked the computer. 

‘Time to set up Viewtube.’

I wanted to start my own Viewtube channel to explain clear strategies that were too hard to convey in written form. Videos would be a thousand times easier to comprehend.

Many people had already uploaded Labyrinth-related videos. Some explained acolyte skills while others were guides. 

‘I need to start my own before it's too late.’

I had already purchased an action cam to record videos with. The next step was making the channel itself.

‘I’ll use “Amon” as my nickname, and the channel name will be “Amon’s Labyrinth Guide”.’

Next, I needed to upload a video. 

Fortunately, I had the perfect thing for my first video: the footage I had recorded where I had exposed Dopal as the fake Amon. 

‘I need to clear my name.’

[Video has been uploaded.]

Perfect. Now, it was time to clear the 30th floor.

* * *

Here was what the people knew about the Labyrinth so far:

1. You could enter the Labyrinth from any sinkhole.

2. Normal humans could also enter the Labyrinth.

3. You could enter with normal belongings like cellphones and action cameras.

4. You could not bring in objects that could be classified as weapons.

5. There was no internet or cell service inside the Labyrinth.

6. Once you entered, you could not exit until you cleared the floor. 

7. People with the same floor progress could meet up if they entered the same sinkhole. 

This information was widely known. 

‘However, they have no idea that there are floors where #7 doesn’t apply.’

Some floors couldn’t be entered and cleared with others.

[You have entered the 30th floor of the Labyrinth.] 

《Type: Trap》

《Condition: Solo without the help of others.>

《Mission: Find the exit》

[You may not exit until you clear the mission.]

It was a simple mission where you had to find the exit without the help of others. However, the fact that it was a solo mission meant that you couldn’t enter with another person even if you wanted to.

‘Which is why this place becomes a grave for many.’

In my previous life, most people began using Transcendent Net right away. 

‘It was filled to the brim with people with the same clear progress asking to meet up.’

By forming parties, they cleared even difficult floors with ease. It didn’t take long for people to realize the advantage of clearing with others. 

‘But that ends on the 30th floor.’

Because you had to face this mission alone, many people died out. It might have sounded easy, but finding the exit was far from it. 

Not only were there a lot of different doors, the patterns changed every time. 

‘It wasn’t that different from the mission inside the Abyss, though.’

Among the countless doors in front of me, only one was the correct answer. The rest were all booby-trapped.

‘And when you finally find the correct door, you’re just put into a room with even more doors.’

In this mission, you had to find the correct door again and again until you reached the final exit. 

However, the biggest difference that set it apart from the secret dungeon was that although the pattern would change, you were given unlimited time and attempts.

‘Of course, you always risk death if you take too long.’

You could accidentally trigger a trap or simply starve to death. That was the true terror of trap missions. The best course of action was finding the exit and escaping as fast as possible. 

That was why I was going through the trouble of recording a clear guide. The changing locations and the shifting patterns of the doors was something that was hard to explain through text.

‘Among all these doors, there is one that is ever-so-slightly different. That’s the correct answer.’

It was like playing a game of spot the difference. I could show the ways the doors could differ in the video.

Because this is a record-tracking floor, I could potentially lose my title by sharing this guide... but that wasn’t a real concern since I planned to upload the video once the ten-day title defense period was over. 

‘The achievement will permanently be mine by then. It wouldn’t matter even if someone beats my record.’

However, it was unlikely that anyone could beat my record even with my guide. Figuring out the differences could take longer than you would think. 

‘It’s pretty difficult unless you have an incredible memory like when I use Crystal Clear Tranquility.’

Because there were countless permutations of the door patterns, my guide still wasn’t going to be the be-all, end-all. However, knowing how it could differ would still be a useful reference.

‘All right. It’s finally time to start recording my 30th floor clear.’

Beep—

I turned on my action cam and looked forward. 

Countless doors dotted a white void. An absolute maze that anyone would get lost in.

But of course, I knew how to discern which door was correct. 

‘On this one, the door knob is a different shape.’

Click—

After opening the first door, I entered another space. If I had picked any of the other doors, I would have faced a trap.

‘On this one, the surface is made of a different material.’

Click—

I had no trouble with the second door as well.

‘This door is the only one with a tiny stain.’

Click—click—

I quickly opened the third door, followed by the fourth. I made my way through as if I had already known the answers. 

Despite going through a number of doors, not once did I fall for a trap.

As a result…

[30th Floor Clear Time: 11 minutes, 12 seconds]

[You cleared the floor in record time!]

[You have unlocked an achievement as a reward for setting a new record.]

…I set an incredible record.

[You have unlocked the ‘My Way is the Correct Way (F)’ achievement.]

[You will lose the achievement if a new record is set within 10 days.]

[If no one sets a new record, you will permanently obtain the effect of the achievement.]

▶ My Way is the Correct Way (F)

—Acquisition Source: 30th Floor of the Labyrinth

—Effects: When at a crossroad, you are able to instinctively feel the correct path.

—Time Until Permanent Acquisition: 9 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds

I was rewarded with an achievement that was helpful for trap missions like this one. With this, my clear speed should increase.

‘I guess I’ll use this momentum to clear all the way to the 39th floor.’

____

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