CH 210

Chapter 210

#78. Remodeling

After Mimir left, the Grand Labyrinth began to change rapidly.

Kim Jin-Woo had previously restricted the number of residents in the Grand Labyrinth, but he increased the number of Big-Headed Dwarves and lifted the restrictions placed on the labyrinth.

Thanks to that, the number of residents, which had stayed constant since they were first relocated into the Grand Labyrinth, exploded.

Most of the down gems that were needed in the process were provided by Kim Jin-Woo, but of course, he distributed them mainly to the races that were even the slightest bit useful to the Grand Labyrinth itself.

[Dwarves born in the Grand Labyrinth no longer fear the cold. They have considerable resistance to cold, although not on the same level as the Nagas.]

[The Frost Dwarf Clan has been born.]

[The Frost Dwarves have once again lit up the frozen anvils and braziers in place of the existing dwarves, who withdrew due to their frozen limbs.]

[The dwarves’ forge, which was previously deactivated, is functioning once again.]

The Frost Dwarves flocked to the smithy and began making equipment for the Nagas.

[The Long-Haired Big-Tusk Wild Boars have been born. Their hides are thick and able to easily withstand the cold. Most creatures’ teeth and fangs will not be able to penetrate their thick hides.]

[New mounts have been created for the Nagas.]

[Some of the Naga Fighters have become Naga Shock Troopers.]

The appearances of the newly born races were different, but one thing they all had in common was that they had acquired strong resistance to cold.

Those races were highly obedient, as if they had been born to serve the Nagas, and one could be fooled into thinking that they had been with the Nagas right from the beginning.

Such changes weren’t limited to the assorted races that had joined the Grand Labyrinth at a later date.

[The Frost Naga Clan has been born.]

[The Frost Nagas have a cold and cruel disposition, as if even the blood in their body has frozen. They express their infinite hatred toward all beings that threaten the Great Labyrinth.]

[It is not an exaggeration to say that the Frost Nagas were born for polar combat. The stronger the cold around them, the more agile and powerful they become.]

[Enemies hit by the Frost Nagas' claws and fangs will instantly feel the blood in their bodies freeze over.]

The existing ‘Naga Warriors’ became ‘Frost Naga Warriors’, and the Fighters, Dragon Knights, and Sorcerers each got the title of ‘Frost Naga’ in their names.

“The fighting capabilities of each individual weren’t increased significantly, but in a group setting, that will be a totally different story.”

Each individual Naga wasn’t drastically stronger than before, but their power would grow exponentially the more of them were gathered together.

Regardless of which branch of the army the Nagas were from, when their total number reached one hundred, it would temporarily produce an effect similar to the ability ‘Frost Battlefield’. Thus, Kim Jin-Woo foresaw that there would be hardly any casualties in future battles.

“Reorganize the existing army composition to fit the characteristics of the Frost Nagas,” he commanded, sorting the Nagas into units of 150 troops each.

Previously, they had been separated into their respective classes, but each newly formed unit was now made up of combatants from all the different branches of the army.

Although they weren’t as swift as the previous Dragon Knight unit, nor were they as sturdy as the Warrior unit or as ferocious as the Fighter unit, as a whole they became a holistic unit that wouldn’t waver under any circumstances.

“Will this formation really work?” Kim Jin-Woo tilted his head as he looked at the seemingly less cohesive units.

“On the 9th Floor, the respective units might be as powerful as they were. However, in the future, Master will have to fight in the Deep Floors, not on the Lesser Floors like before. Considering the wide battlefields in the Deep Floors, we should tap into the synergy between the different types of troops we have so they can better support each other.” Dominique shook her head as she explained the situation to him.

“Well, considering that the 10th Floor is now just barren land, there’s no one left that would invade the 9th Floor,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

Even if somebody broke through the barren 10th Floor and attempted to invade the 9th Floor, they would first have to deal with the endless Moai. And even if they did break through the Moai to approach the Grand Labyrinth, the greedy Grand Labyrinth would never leave them alone.

“Okay, from now on, I’ll leave the organization up to you, Dominique.” After contemplating for a moment, Kim Jin-Woo finally nodded to approve the newly created units. Dominique confidently declared that she wouldn’t disappoint him.

“What about Daedalus?” Kim Jin-Woo asked. Daedalus was the name of the Big-Headed Dwarf that had been left behind by Mimir.

“He said he would be leaving to explore the Grand Labyrinth with his clan, but he has yet to return,” Dominique replied.

“That’s to be expected. He’s the only one here who has managed to successfully restore a Grand Labyrinth. With such a good sample to observe, there’s no way he’d be sitting still,” Kim Jin-Woo mused.

As was befitting of the title of ‘Labyrinth Architect’, Daedalus only focused on the structure of the Grand Labyrinth without paying attention to anything else, and that filled Kim Jin-Woo with a mixture of worry and anticipation.

“I just hope he’s not as crazy as the Naga Sorcerers…”

He already knew that the Big-Headed Dwarves were as obsessive in their work as the Naga Sorcerers, but for now, Kim Jin-Woo only prayed that they would play a positive role in the Grand Labyrinth.

But his hopes were mercilessly shattered.

***

Goaaaaaar.

One fine day, Kim Jin-Woo thought he heard the screams of the Grand Labyrinth and hurriedly led his troops to the source of the commotion, only to find Daedalus and the other Big-Headed Dwarves sitting on the edge of the labyrinth as they worked on something.

“Daedalus?” He rushed forward to see what the dwarf was doing, and saw Daedalus carving something into the outer walls of the Grand Labyrinth.

However, the presumably solid wall of the Grand Labyrinth seemed to squirm each time the dwarf laid his hands on it, which was an extremely strange sight to witness.

Goaaaaar.

In addition, each time Daedalus laid his hands on the wall, the vicious Grand Labyrinth let out a scream. The Grand Labyrinth, which had devoured thousands of mobs and countless more Moai, seemed completely helpless.

“No, no. This is wrong,” Kim Jin-Woo called out.

Even then Daedalus didn’t respond. He continued to carve something onto the wall for a while; suddenly, he stirred his hands and rubbed the wall of the Grand Labyrinth.

“Mm?”

Absurdly, the Grand Labyrinth trembled at that small, feeble touch. The boundary of the Grand Labyrinth, which had been expanding endlessly until then, suddenly started to shrink.

“What are you doing?” It was such an unusual sight that Kim Jin-Woo hurriedly approached Daedalus and blocked his view.

“Ah, the Grand Labyrinth wasn’t optimized for defense, leaving many openings and vulnerabilities, so I’m trying to fix the problem.” Daedalus’s tone was still as subdued as ever, but what he said was completely unusual, and it sounded to Kim Jin-Woo as if the dwarf wanted to change the Grand Labyrinth to his own liking.

“Explain yourself.” Kim Jin-Woo’s eyes shone as he showed interest like never before.

“The labyrinth is currently expanding at random, quite literally, and has no structural advantages or anything of that sort. If you leave it like this, later on, there will be as many entrances and exits as the size of the labyrinth, making it impossible to know who’s coming in and out of it.”

After that, Daedalus talked about the current state of the Grand Labyrinth for a long time. But just like the Naga Sorcerers, the crazy Labyrinth Architect was so intoxicated with his work that what he said might as well have been complete gibberish to Kim Jin-Woo.

However, there was one thing Kim Jin-Woo clearly understood. It was that the present labyrinth had lost its advantage as a complex structure due to its reckless expansion.

“So, what should be done?” If he left Daedalus as is, he might have continued to babble on through the night, so Kim Jin-Woo cut him short and asked what should be done next.

Thankfully, Daedalus was fearful of him, and dared not ignore his words. He replied, “We need to reduce the labyrinth to one-tenth of its current size, and slowly expand it again step by step.”

“Urgh,” Kim Jin-Woo groaned. Just because Daedalus was obedient didn’t mean that the situation was going to be any different.

“If it keeps expanding as it is now, it will become a messy labyrinth where even its residents won’t be able to find their way out, and conversely, intruders will easily be able to reach the center of the labyrinth.”

Daedalus spoke for a long time about how terribly designed the present Grand Labyrinth was.

“Such insolence…” Heimdall, who had been following Kim Jin-Woo just in case, growled at Daedalus.

For the ancient Hero-Grade summons, the Grand Labyrinth wasn’t just some trivial structure. It was the symbol of the Highlord, and it was also the hometown that they had once lost and were barely able to recover after a lot of hard work. Thus, it was only natural that they felt strongly about it.

“Leave it.” Kim Jin-Woo silenced Heimdall before speaking to Daedalus again. “Don’t create grudges with your useless babbling, and come up with a proper solution. If you suggest one more time that the labyrinth should be reduced to one-tenth of its current size, I’ll feed you to the Dawn Rooster right now.”

As Heimdall cracked his sharp beak, Daedalus’s face turned pale. He offered, “If that’s not possible, how about shrinking it to half its size instead? That way, I think we can correct the course of trajectory for the Grand Labyrinth’s growth.”

Although it was a suggestion that fulfilled his requirements, Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t pleased at all.

When Daedalus had suggested shrinking the labyrinth to one-tenth of its current size, he had seen the same crazed eyes the Naga Sorcerers had had during their experiments, which only confirmed his suspicions: This Labyrinth Architect was overstating the problem just to satisfy his own greed.

It was possible that it had been Daedalus’ original plan to shrink the labyrinth drastically so he could get his hands all over it to conduct his own experiments.

However, Kim Jin-Woo was highly experienced with the methods of the Naga Sorcerers by now, and there was no way he was going to be so easily deceived. He finally said, “If it’s half, I can accept it.”

The races that had initially been located on the outskirts of the Grand Labyrinth as it expanded were soon relocated toward the center of the labyrinth. With that, reducing the labyrinth to half its size as requested by Daedalus seemed feasible.

“Alright, I’ll shrink the labyrinth to half its size. However, if you attempt to foolishly deceive me for your own self-interest, then I’ll rip you to shreds with my own hands. Bear in mind that there are countless others who can replace you,” Kim Jin-Woo warned Daedalus.

Daedalus’ gaze slowly turned to the other Big-Headed Dwarves. Although they were only recently born and relatively inexperienced, they had also inherited the Labyrinth Architect’s blood. On top of that, as they had acquired the title of ‘Frost’, they were even more loyal to the ruler of the Grand Labyrinth than he was.

Thus, Daedalus quickly felt a sense of crisis. He said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. At least I can get through to you,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

If it had been the Naga Sorcerers that Kim Jin-Woo had to confront, they would have probably caused another ruckus instead, but thankfully, the Labyrinth Architect wasn’t as mad as the Sorcerers.

Kim Jin-Woo entrusted the reconstruction of the Grand Labyrinth to Daedalus and retreated to the master room. After all, he, the sane ruler of the Grand Labyrinth, had to be the one to kickstart the process.