Chapter 36

Kim Jin-Woo’s power as a dungeon master, as opposed to a dungeon baby, was incredible. He dashed across the battlefield and massacred the basilisks so quickly that even ordinary dungeon babies would have difficulty tracking his movement.

[Your power will no longer be amplified upon stepping out of the gate.]

A message appeared when Kim Jin-Woo, who had been caught in a frenzy, almost stepped out of the gate. He quickly backed away, returning to the power amplification zone, and analyzed the situation on the battlefield.

He could push the basilisks out of the gate thanks to his increased power. The basilisks continued to retreat for quite some distance. With his gaze locked on the creatures, Kim Jin-Woo kicked a basilisk’s corpse aside and shook blood and pieces of flesh off his knife.

<Master, the basilisks are intimidated. They’re retreating!> Dominique exclaimed.

“Did we win?” Ortehaga asked nervously.

“Not yet. That’s only the recon troop. Their main troop hasn’t even arrived,” Kim Jin-Woo replied. He knew the real battle had yet to begin. He adjusted the nagas’ formation and prepared for another round of combat.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who benefited from the power amplification, as most of the nagas had recovered their stamina. Even Quantus, who had been heavily injured, was completely healed thanks to the increased spellcasting power of the naga priest.

“Hmm, what’s that sound?” Ortehaga asked, while Kim Jin-Woo wondered why the basilisks were retreating so far. The latter’s eyes opened wide.

Boom, boom, boom!

The drakan was right. They heard some strange sounds.

“Wait. The ground is trembling.” Ortehaga lay flat and pressed his ear against the ground. “Something’s not right.”

Kim Jin-Woo had a bad feeling about this. He was anxiously watching Ortehaga with a frown when the ground began to shake so intensely that Dominique almost lost her balance and wobbled.

Ortehaga got up from the ground. “Something’s coming!” 

“What?” Kim Jin-Woo instinctively looked at the basilisks that were reorganizing their formation and getting ready to charge.

“No! It’s not from them!” Ortehaga bellowed and pointed at the labyrinth’s wall. “It’s there!”

“That’s—”

At that moment, the wall began to crack.

Bang! 

With a mighty explosion and a cloud of dust, one of the labyrinth walls came crumbling down.

[The labyrinth’s wall has been attacked. The labyrinth’s durability has decreased substantially due to the massive impact.]

[The wall has been destroyed. A new passage has formed in its place.]

Kim Jin-Woo was struggling to make sense of the chaos and the message when he heard a wild roar from beyond the collapsed walls.

“Fuck!” he swore upon witnessing a pair of huge eyes across the hallway. Those belonged to a colossal basilisk, the largest creature he had ever seen. Its jaws were propped open, revealing its sharp, jagged teeth.

“Did they just forcibly break the labyrinth’s wall?!” Ortehaga gasped as Kim Jin-Woo ordered the nagas to retreat.

For some reason, the colossal basilisk didn’t seem too keen to attack, and Kim Jin-Woo was soon able to figure out why. 

“Retreat! The walls are falling!” 

[The labyrinth’s wall has been attacked. The labyrinth’s durability has decreased substantially due to the massive impact.]

[The labyrinth’s wall has been attacked. The labyrinth’s durability has decreased substantially due to the massive impact.]

The basilisk swung its massive body around to create more space in the hallway. Kim Jin-Woo had to prepare the nagas for battle before he could even check the labyrinth’s durability.

Toot! Toot! Toot!

The basilisks of the recon troop began to charge again along the blares of the trumpet. At the same time, new basilisks appeared behind the gigantic basilisk.

[The main troop of Anaxtus the basilisk king has joined the battle. The labyrinth has been severely damaged by their ambush and the nagas have been thrown into confusion.]

[The nagas have quickly come to their senses under the dungeon master’s influence.]

[The nagas are awaiting orders from their master.]

“Gatekeeper, forward! Quantus, form a square bunker with the other warriors!” 

Basilisks came rushing in via the forcibly created entrance. Kim Jin-Woo clenched his teeth when he noticed that the passage behind him was in close proximity to the master room. “Ortehaga! I won’t forgive any cowardly behavior!” he yelled.

“Who’s the coward here?!” Ortehaga shouted furiously as he breathed hellfire. He too must have felt a sense of crisis this time. They couldn’t afford to retreat any further, as the passage led straight to the master room.

“Hold your ground!” Kim Jin-Woo roared and switched the grip of his knife.

At that instant, the basilisks of the recon and main troops stormed into the labyrinth. 

***

“Damn…” Kim Jin-Woo muttered.

The situation was dire. Kim Jin-Woo and the nagas were struggling to fight against hundreds of basilisks, as they could no longer rely on the narrow passage. The colossal basilisk had forcibly expanded the hallway, allowing more basilisks to participate in the battle.

<Master! We can’t resist for long at this rate! We already have casualties!>

Even the naga workers had to take part in the battle due to the desperate situation on the battlefield. However, they had been annihilated along with two of the five naga warriors, who had been shredded to pieces by the basilisks.

“Fuckers!” Kim Jin-Woo swung his knife furiously when he saw the pool of blue naga blood on the floor.

Keek! 

When he struck a basilisk’s vital spot under its chin, it collapsed limply onto the floor, unable to even let out a shriek. Kim Jin-Woo had killed almost thirty basilisks, but the situation hadn’t improved.

<At this rate...!> Dominique trembled when she pictured the worst scenario that could unfold.

“No! We can do it!” Kim Jin-Woo kept his eye on the labyrinth’s upgrade status even as he slew the basilisks.

[00 hours, 30 minutes, and 06 seconds left.]

Thirty minutes! He only had to endure for this short duration before he could summon more powerful nagas.

“Half an hour! Just hold on for another half hour!” Kim Jin-Woo cried desperately, but the situation was still dire. In the end, he had no choice but to order a retreat. “Don’t go in front of the hallway!” he commanded.

The new space created by the colossal basilisk was already half the size of the entire labyrinth. The only saving grace was that the basilisk had only destroyed passages starting from the outskirts of the labyrinth, and hadn’t headed to the master room. If it had aimed for the labyrinth’s core from the start, the naga’s labyrinth would have fallen long ago.

Kim Jin-Woo and the nagas had retreated so much, they could now see the master room. Another naga warrior had been sacrificed in the process, leaving just Ortehaga, Quantus, two naga warriors, and one magician, priest, and archer each.

The difference in strength between the two labyrinths was overwhelming. In essence, it was a critical moment.

Kim Jin-Woo, who had been observing the swarm of basilisks in the hallway, shifted his attention to the nagas.

Quantus had grown remarkably even in the midst of a battle. He could now fight the hero-grade basilisk on equal terms. Ortehaga, on the other hand, was desperately thrusting the basilisks away to make up for his previous mistake. The rest of the nagas were also contributing more than Kim Jin-Woo had expected.

However, it was all for naught. Although Kim Jin-Woo and the nagas were taking advantage of the narrow passage to resist the enemy, they were greatly outnumbered.

“Damn it,” Kim Jin-Woo swore, as he had to weave through the passage and attack every basilisk that he could find. His vision blurred from fatigue, but he could still endure thanks to the labyrinth’s power amplification. “Quantus! Don’t let any of the basilisks in!” he ordered.

“Yes, sir! I’ll guard the master room with my life!” Quantus replied with vigor despite his numerous wounds.

The hero-grade basilisks had long retreated to the rear of their main troop. They were cunningly sending their subordinates to drain Quantus’ and Ortehaga’s energy.

“Kyak! You lizards!” Ortehaga yelled in anger. He suddenly shoved the basilisks away, bent his waist backward, and inflated his cheeks.

Whoosh!

Fire erupted from the tip of his dragon-like snout, causing the basilisks to scream and flee from the sulfurous breath.

Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed as he glared earnestly, “Spells!”

Upon his command, the naga magician began to chant a spell. Its sorcery was substantially stronger than before due to its evolution and power amplification. The floor was instantly covered in ice, freezing the basilisks’ legs.

“Quantus! Ortehaga!” Kim Jin-Woo called.

The two of them pounced on the frozen basilisks.

Crack! 

With a single smash, the rock-hard legs of the basilisks were shattered into pieces. Kim Jin-Woo led Ortehaga and Quantus through the battlefield, smashing the frozen legs of the basilisks.

“Stop! Retreat!” Suddenly, Kim Jin-Woo stopped the naga warriors and gatekeeper from leaving their assigned position to join the attack. He also called Quantus and Ortehaga back. They seemed exhilarated to have launched a counterattack against the basilisks after suffering for so long. “Stop! The spell is losing its effect!” he continued.

Ortehaga and Quantus hurriedly stepped back when they noticed that the frozen legs of the basilisks were thawing. Meanwhile, the nagas formed a wall of shields. The basilisks charged again, but they moved clumsily, as their legs hadn’t fully recovered from the frostbite.

Maybe… Kim Jin-Woo noticed the significant decrease in the number of basilisks and gathered his last remaining bit of strength. Just then, he could hear the sound of the trumpet from afar.

Toooooot! Toot! 

The basilisks roared upon hearing the long and short trumpet sounds.

Kyaaak!

Not only were their fighting spirits improved, but their attacks also became more vicious. They charged recklessly at the nagas as though they had been bewitched; even the limbless basilisks crawled on the ground toward their enemy with loosely unhinged jaws.

“Hold on!” Kim Jin-Woo yelled. They had to endure for another 15 minutes.

Toooooot!

Another trumpet sound resounded in the hallway, but this time it was followed by stomping footsteps.

Flashing red messages appeared on Kim Jin-Woo’s screen the moment he discovered the gigantic silhouette behind the charging basilisks.

[Anaxtus the basilisk king has joined the fight. The stats of all the basilisks have increased, while the morale of the nagas has decreased.]

[The nagas have immediately come to their senses thanks to dungeon master Kim Jin-Woo’s charisma.]

Things had gone from bad to worse. Kim Jin-Woo mumbled to himself when the basilisk king made his surprise appearance, “Anaxtus…”

[00 hours, 13 minutes, and 33 seconds left.]

With only 13 minutes left until the completion of the labyrinth’s upgrade, Anaxtus had made his appearance. In addition, Kim Jin-Woo’s eyes blazed blue when he saw the basilisk king. “Quantus!” he called.

“I’ll try to hold out!” Quantus replied immediately, as if he had read his master’s thoughts. 

“Now, Ortehaga!” Kim Jin-Woo cried. Ortehaga ran toward Kim Jin-Woo and grabbed him with both hands. The drakan then threw him over the basilisks.

The basilisk king was riding on a gigantic basilisk’s back, which was decorated with fancy red, yellow, and blue reins. He began to swing his thorny arm when he noticed a silhouette charge at him with great vigor.

Kim Jin-Woo twisted his body in midair and howled, “Anaxtus!”

The basilisk king’s eyes opened wide in shock when he properly identified his challenger. “A human?!”