CH 187

The 10th Floor was a living hell.

Judging from how there were only destroyed labyrinths and torn-apart corpses of summons all across it, it seemed the entirety of the 10th Floor had already been occupied by the Moai. Indeed, not even a single tunnel had been spared from the Moai’s grasp, and there was nowhere free from the traces of battle.

The 10th Floor was in a complete state of chaos, and yet, Kim Jin-Woo walked leisurely through it as if he were out for a stroll. The Moai acted as if he were invisible, and when one occasionally met his gaze, it would be completely terrified and do its best to run as far from him as possible.

“Tsk,” Kim Jin-Woo muttered. It was by no means a pleasant sight to see the vicious Moai acting so weak and scared in front of him. He frowned as he continued to plow through the herd of Moai.

“Am I too late?” he mused. All he could see were the remains of destroyed labyrinths, with not a single intact one to be seen. Kim Jin-Woo started to wonder if the 10th Floor had truly been destroyed beyond recovery.

But his worries were merely based on what he could see at that moment, and after almost a week of wandering, he was able to find a labyrinth. Its broken gate appeared to have been forcibly ripped off, and its broken passageway was as much in shambles as any other 10th Floor labyrinth.

At first glance, just the sight of it would have convinced anybody else that the labyrinth was just a ruin left in the aftermath of a Moai invasion, but Kim Jin-Woo could feel it.

He could feel that the labyrinth was alive.

“Mm.” He frowned at the labyrinth’s faint vitality, rather than rejoicing. With such a level of vitality remaining, it should have been discovered not just by him, but by the Moai as well. However, there were no signs of any living beings present in the vicinity of the labyrinth. It had fallen unnaturally silent to the point of being eerie. 

Even Kim Jin-Woo found himself subconsciously coming to a stop due to that unusual feeling. The warrior’s instinct within him, which had traversed into the realm of the dead multiple times,  stopped him.

Come to think of it, he could see the ruins of the labyrinth, but not a single corpse belonging to those responsible for its condition could be seen. The moment he realized that, he was convinced.

There were deadly traps that even the bloodthirsty Moai were reluctant to risk their lives for. Otherwise, there was no way that the Moai would have passed up on this delicious labyrinth.

[The mystic parasite has detected danger.]

[At first glance, there seems to be no threat, but beyond that peaceful darkness lurks a terrifying danger.]

The mystic parasite belatedly warned him of the danger, but it was ten steps too late. The dark, narrow passageway started to flash bright red. Faced with the dizzying red flashes, Kim Jin-Woo quietly took a step back.

[You have found a hunting ground for an Ant Ghost, a terrible monster that devours all existences. This large, greedy beast is a tricky opponent that not even the Deep Floor Nobles are willing to deal with.]

[It is unclear why this gigantic monster that can usually only be found on the 12th Floor is on the 10th Floor. However, what is clear is that the Ant Ghost is not a humble monster that a lone Baron can deal with.]

Apparently, a monster that had been wandering in search of food had unfortunately settled down near the labyrinth. Thanks to that, the labyrinth was able to survive against the Moai, but at that moment, the same monster protecting the labyrinth was also an obstacle holding Kim Jin-Woo back.

Kim Jin-Woo fell briefly into thought before disappearing. When he returned, he had in his possession a half-conscious Moai.

Keeeeeek!

The Moai, having been caught from nearby, seemed to know what was beyond that darkness, as it suddenly struggled with its entire body and kicked up a fuss.

Kim Jin-Woo looked at the Moai indifferently before throwing it into the darkness.

“Kuk!” The Moai lost consciousness for a moment as it fumbled around, before realizing the situation it was in and starting to shriek. It struggled in an unsightly manner despite its broken legs, trying its best to escape the hunting grounds of the Ant Ghost.

Whoooosh!

As Kim Jin-Woo silently watched the Moai, he narrowed his eyes at the sudden sound of sweeping sand.

Along the passageway, a thin gap appeared in the hard floor, which began to crack along its trajectory. The gap grew bigger; in an instant, the entire length of the passageway became one massive crevice, and the screaming Moai was swallowed into an unknown darkness.

As the Moai fell screaming, Kim Jin-Woo saw sharp objects protruding through the crack. The objects, resembling irregular protruding teeth, ripped the Moai’s body to shreds before swallowing it whole.

Kim Jin-Woo watched the scene unfold before him and came to a realization: The Ant Ghost was part of the Underworld itself. The entire length of the passageway formed the giant monster’s jaws and served as its hunting ground. Anyone who stepped on that soft ground would fall into the Ant Ghost’s throat.

Most normal people would have turned away just from encountering the monster. Even the Moai didn’t dare approach the delicious labyrinth in front of their eyes due to its presence.

But unfortunately, from the labyrinth’s point of view, Kim Jin-Woo was no normal person. He was the 9th Floor Conqueror and the Undefeated Commander, and a Highlord. And he knew of a beast that was even more terrifying than an Ant Ghost.

He had witnessed for himself the terrible monster called a Grand Labyrinth, that had devoured thousands of mobs and monsters and even tried to swallow its own master whole. Seeing the Ant Ghost didn’t even excite Kim Jin-Woo one bit.

“It’s annoying, though,” he muttered.

There was no way to reach the labyrinth without getting through the Ant Ghost’s hunting grounds. The solid-looking floor of the passageway was the mouth of the monster itself. Unless he had wings, it didn’t seem easy to pass through the huge trap.

Perhaps I should go somewhere else? Kim Jin-Woo wondered. He hesitated for a brief moment, before aggressively shaking his head. He had already wasted a week finding this place. Turning back now would be wasting even more time.

After much deliberation, he decided to break through the hell created by the Ant Ghost by force. And thus, in his quest to find a solution, the suffering of the Moai began.

***

“Kaaaaaaaaargh!” Another Moai plunged into the monster’s jaws with an ear-piercing scream.

Kim Jin-Woo eyed the Moai as he measured the distance between it and himself. He remarked, “What a big fella.”

The Grand Labyrinth had a gatekeeper as well. It was the giant Water Dragon guarding the center of the labyrinth. But even the water dragon was easily dwarfed by the Ant Ghost. The nearly 200-meter long tunnel was the main body of the monster, as well as its hunting ground,

“Krrrrrr.”

Kim Jin-Woo’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Moai moaning. He turned to look in the direction of the sound and saw dozens of Moai moping around on the floor, their limbs all severed. They all looked terrified, but Kim Jin-Woo barely entertained them as he quickly looked back at the Ant Ghost.

“I think I can roughly estimate its size,” he muttered. The floor he stood on, from the spot right in front of him up to the labyrinth, was the body of the Ant Ghost.

“Krgh.” The Moai seemed to be crying pitifully with hasty anticipation on their faces, as if they were asking if Kim Jin-Woo was done with them.

He looked at them and smirked. “Now that we know its size, we should find out its depth, don’t we?”

The Moai started screaming again.

And thus, Kim Jin-Woo spent a long time trying to figure out the monster’s behavior, using the Moai as bait. But the results weren’t good. If it were any other monster, he would have it fall to his knees at once, but given its size, that wasn’t such an easy task. Even if he swung hard with his sword, it would be nothing but a scratch from the point of view of the giant monster.

He thought about avoiding the monster by traveling along the walls or the ceiling, but based on the mystic parasite’s reconnaissance, even the walls and the ceiling glowed red. Even if he had wings, it wouldn’t be easy bypassing the Ant Ghost.

“Phew.” Kim Jin-Woo finally emerged from his thoughts and gazed into the darkness. He murmured, as if his worries were finally over, “If you came all the way to the 10th Floor to look for food because you were that starved, then allow me to fill you up.”

With that, he disappeared for a while before returning with an immeasurable horde of the Moai. They seemed terrified, as if they were being chased by something, and were herded toward the hunting grounds of the Ant Ghost without even knowing where they were headed.

Goaaaaaaar.

The cornered Moai fell into the Ant Ghost’s open jaws, like sheep driven over the edge of a cliff by a wolf.

Crunch. Crunch.

With a few final shrieks, the Moai were torn apart and became food for the monster.

Pheeeeeeew.

The Ant Ghost chewed on the Moai for a long time, filling its stomach to its heart’s content. It let out a strange sound in response to the unexpected dinner, seemingly feeling satisfied with the meal.

“There’s more, you idiot.” Kim Jin-Woo continued to corral the Moai into the mouth of the Ant Ghost, as if he were pouring cereal into a bowl.

The Moai tried their best to resist the Highlord, but they were easily terror-stricken and slowly stepped away from him, falling right into the monster’s belly. Thanks to Kim Jin-Woo’s efforts, the monster continued its meal despite likely eating more than it could handle.

“More!” Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed.

The food just kept coming. At that point, the monster seemed to start feeling the pain of overconsumption, letting out a painful moan.

But Kim Jin-Woo didn’t stop. He continued to herd more Moai.

Finally, the monster began to vomit out the Moai it had swallowed. The Moai had turned into nothing more than pieces of meat that were spat out all over the passageway.

Pfffffffft!

The monster didn’t seem to be done with just vomiting out its food. It seemed as if it had eaten to the point of damaging its innards, perhaps from consuming the Moai whole without even chewing them. It let out a scream that sounded as if it were letting off wind.

Either way, it wasn’t a bad result for Kim Jin-Woo. He stared at the hell he had created indifferently before beginning to move.

The herded Moai had been all but entirely consumed, but the presence of the Highlord remained. Even the Ant Ghost was affected by his presence; it held its breath and kept its mouth shut as Kim Jin-Woo passed by it.

“Be still and wait for me.” Kim Jin-Woo turned back as he reached the end of the passageway and said, “I still have matters to settle with you.”

There was a reason why he had put in more effort than necessary to get past this one monster. A Noble’s Seal was quite important in itself, but with the monster having such an ability to devour hundreds of Moai, it would certainly be a great fit for the greedy Grand Labyrinth.

A mad look of possessiveness took over Kim Jin-Woo’s eyes for a split second before disappearing.