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Chapter 243

Morrigan and Heimdall returned from their mission earlier than expected. It seemed they were both in a hurry, seeing as they were completely out of breath.

“Considering the importance of the object, we quickened our pace.” With a weary look, Morrigan handed over a large down gem in her possession.

“Indeed. Something like this will definitely attract unwanted attention.” Kim Jin-Woo shuddered at the presence of such a mighty object. It was little wonder that even such mighty summons had overextended themselves for this item. Needless to say, what was contained inside the down gem was a rare treasure in the Underworld.

Even if it had been empty inside, a highest-quality down gem alone would make most Underworld beings salivate. But inside it was a Labyrinth Core that had been active until recently. It was a Labyrinth Core that belonged to not just any ordinary labyrinth, but a Duke-level labyrinth.

[Crystal of Sin (Labyrinth Core of a masterless labyrinth)]

[The ‘Heart of Sin’ is a great artifact that governs a Level 17 labyrinth, supporting the prison of sinners that held all forms of unclean and sinful entities. Although it has lost its owner and is currently on standby, it is ready to be reactivated at any time.]

It had been a while since the Naga’s Labyrinth failed to use the Sea Dragon’s Heart and found itself stuck at Level 7. Since then, although Kim Jin-Woo had barely been able to recover the Sea Dragon’s Heart, he was unable to upgrade the Grand Labyrinth, and it had remained unable to reach Level 8.

Just by numbers alone, the Crystal of Sin was already double the level of the Naga’s Labyrinth. Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t even imagine how much of a difference in power there was between the two of them.

“If Luyang put up a proper fight, I might have actually struggled,” he remarked. The more he felt the power contained within the highest grade down gem, the greater he felt his accomplishment was.

Considering that he had overcome a whopping 10 level difference in their labyrinths and defeated a Deep Floor Duke, it was a miraculous victory. It wasn’t a pure battle between two labyrinths, but rather, a victory that could be attributed to his fortune in having the powers of a Highlord; still, that didn’t undermine the significance of the victory.

After all, the only law in the Underworld was to defeat others at all costs and survive, so who could blame him? Even if there were others who would downplay his accomplishment, he didn’t care. What was important now was that he had gained a strong source of power to fill in the power vacuum left behind by the temporary absence of the Nagas.

[After Luyang’s death, the Labyrinth’s Core, which previously stopped working, is about to imprint on a new master. Do you agree to the engraving?]

“Do I even need to consider this?” Kim Jin-Woo muttered.

[Do you agree to the engraving?]

“I agree.”

[Engraving is complete. The Labyrinth Core, which was once the source of Luyang’s power—the position of commander of the Demon Army of Sin—has received a new master.]

Before Kim Jin-Woo could even check the message window, the down gem containing the Labyrinth Core emitted a blinding flash.

[Are you sure you want to activate the new Labyrinth Core? Never before have three Labyrinth Cores existed in a single labyrinth. No one knows what changes might occur. Do you still agree to the activation of the new Labyrinth Core?]

This was an issue that Kim Jin-Woo had to ponder. The Heart of the Sea Dragon, which had been obtained by defeating the Basilisk King, Anaxtus, might have brought about beneficial gains, but there was no guarantee that the result would be the same this time as well. In the worst case scenario, the three Labyrinth Cores might clash with one another, causing an abnormality in the Grand Labyrinth.

But in the end, his path had already been decided.

The Nagas had proven their bravery by invading the 9th Floor and even the Deep Floors, but once they faced true Deep Floor summons, even they had realized how powerless they were against them. It wasn’t only the Nagas, but even the other summons of the Grand Labyrinth were no match for the Satyrs.

Now, having experienced reality firsthand, Kim Jin-Woo needed a more powerful army more than ever before. He couldn’t protect the Grand Labyrinth on his own forever. Even if that were somehow possible, if the labyrinth had to depend solely on one person to survive, it would be better for it to not exist at all.

Thus, after a short deliberation, Kim Jin-Woo came to a decision. “I agree to the synthesis.”

[The newly established Labyrinth Core has begun activation. In the process, the two preexisting Labyrinth Cores have recognized the existence of the other Labyrinth Core and begin to resonate.]

Just as when the labyrinth had transitioned from having one Labyrinth Core to two, the entire master room began to be engulfed in light.

[The Labyrinth Core has finished resonating.]

[The Grade of the new Labyrinth Core was too high, and it failed to completely connect with the existing Labyrinth Cores.]

[The connection has become extremely unstable.]

[The balance of power has broken. At this rate, even a very small collision can cause a runaway outburst of the Cores’ energies.]

Kim Jin-Woo frowned deeply as he looked at the warning windows that appeared in front of him. “Damn.”

He had a strange feeling that luck hadn’t been on his side ever since the Restoration began. However, he couldn’t keep blaming everything on bad luck forever. One wrong move and all the hard work he had put in would be gone for good.

Besides, he wasn’t too taken aback by the turn of events. He wasn’t foolish enough to gamble recklessly with the Grand Labyrinth, which was his entire base of operations in the Underworld. And he had his own reason to proceed with the activation of the new Labyrinth Core.

Kim Jin-Woo approached the Crystal of Sin that was shaking violently as it spewed out turbulent energies.

“Master!” Even the usually calm Rikshasha was frightened by the unusual waves of energy and called out to her master loudly.

“Don’t kick up a fuss.” Kim Jin-Woo spoke calmly as he lay his hand on the Core, which was shaking violently as if it were about to escape at any moment.

He had already known that the overwhelming difference between the Level 17 Labyrinth Core and the Level 7 Labyrinth Core would be a problem. And as expected, the existing two Labyrinth Cores had failed to support the exceedingly powerful Crystal of Sin.

The cause of the problem was that too much power was skewed to one side. Thus, he stepped in to rebalance the scales himself. With the power of Predation, he absorbed the energies that were being randomly released by the Level 17 Labyrinth Core.

[The incomplete connection has been stabilized.]

[There are no more signs of energy runoff.]

Although it was a rather reckless attempt, his plan worked, and the three Labyrinth Cores, which had been shaking as if they were about to somehow escape at any moment, fell silent.

“Phew.” Kim Jin-Woo belatedly sighed in relief. It had been a dangerous situation indeed, but his complexion was brighter than before. It was unsurprising, given the fact that he had absorbed a significant amount of energy from the Labyrinth Core once owned by the great Duke.

“What kind of magic did you use!?”

Belatedly, Morrigan and the other summons looked at Kim Jin-Woo with bewilderment, even as they admired his accomplishment.

“I simply de-energized the Labyrinth Core to the point that it can no longer run rampant,” Kim Jin-Woo said. Despite the lack of a detailed explanation, the summons once again exclaimed in admiration at their master’s achievement.

“Can’t see myself doing this again though,” he muttered. His physical body was completely energized, but it had taken a toll on his mental capacity.

If he had made one small mistake, the new Labyrinth Core might have been rejected by the pre-existing Labyrinth Cores, which could have led to an even greater problem.

[Naga’s Heart (Level 7—Upgrading) will remain as the main Core, and following the Heart of the Sea Dragon (Level 7), the Crystal of Sin (Level 17) will also serve as a sub-Core.]

[The levels of the pre-existing Cores and the new Core are different. The Crystal of Sin is unable to exert its full power. The sub-Core’s level has been temporarily adjusted from Level 17 to Level 7. When the rank of the labyrinth goes up, the sub-Core will be restored to its original level again.]

[The three newly coordinated Labyrinth Cores are extremely stable and efficient.]

[Relative to their level, their efficiency has risen tremendously.]

[The Grand Labyrinth can absorb an even greater amount of energy in the future. It will no longer ignore delectable feasts laid out in front of it when it is completely full, unlike what happened when the Satyrs invaded it.]

[The Crystal of Sin is itself the essence of tainted energy, and is a Crystal of Malice. There exists no energy more vile than it in the Underworld.]

[Due to the presence of the Crystal of Sin, you no longer need to filter out any tainted energies. In the future, the Grand Labyrinth will also devour energies that have been tainted with malice. This includes the Moai that have no nutritional value.]

Kim Jin-Woo briefly grabbed his head, which was throbbing from the excessive consumption of energy. But when he saw the messages in front of his eyes, he grinned widely.

[The Grand Labyrinth of Greed is the first to run on a triple-Core system.]

[When the Nagas awaken, a new summon will be added.]

***

After fully accepting the newly acquired Crystal of Sin as a part of the Grand Labyrinth, Kim Jin-Woo left shortly after. Now that Luyang, the de facto leader of the Chinese explorers, was gone, he was certain that the situation on the surface would be very different.

Now that the Chinese Underworld Nobles, who must have been raised with consideration effort, and Luyang, who had stood at the peak on top of them all, had been wiped from existence or left incapacitated, they wouldn’t be able to aggressively harass South Korea’s Underworld.

Things went exactly as he had predicted. The Chinese explorers disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, and now only the explorers from the Association were left to conduct reconnaissance activities near the gate from time to time.

However, despite how things appeared on the outside, the situation on the surface was developing at a rapid pace.

The explorers’ Underworld activity, which had been slowed down considerably due to the activities of the Moai, picked up the pace once again. They were completely unaffected by the changes that occurred in the Underworld. Rather, they were busily exploring the Underworld at random, as if they were trying to make up for lost time.

“For now, don’t neglect monitoring the Chinese explorers.” Kim Jin-Woo left several requests to Park Sung-Jin before heading to the Underworld again.

He was actively on the move, and seemed like a completely different person from before his fight with Luyang. Compared to his previous self, who had been acting out of fear of surveillance and provocation by the Usurper, he now carried a different attitude.

In the end, Angela, who had been holding back asking all sorts of questions, eventually gave in. She was curious about what kind of conversation her master had with Ariane that day, and what kind of stories he might have heard.

Kim Jin-Woo stopped right at the entrance of the Grand Labyrinth on his way out and looked at Angela, saying, “It’s because I no longer have to be wary of the Usurper.”

***

Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t sure what kind of orders Ariane had received, as she was rather cooperative, but that didn’t change her fate. He wasn’t soft enough to free the traitor who had struck him in the back several times. Dealing her the coup de grace to free her from her misery was a better act of mercy than letting her rot away from the curse.

“The Usurper can’t move. He isn’t free enough to deal with you right now.” As if in return for his unexpected act of mercy, Ariane gave him one more piece of information.

“Is that your opinion, or is that the message from your real master that you dare not speak of?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“How can a lowly servant like myself dare to think in place of these mighty Lords?” Ariane replied.

“What you’re saying sounds more like a prophecy. Did he not tell you the reason behind it?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

Ariane answered with no signs of concern, “Because the Usurper has to face another Highlord whose anger rages on right now.”

Kim Jin-Woo recalled that one person had disappeared after losing something precious. He murmured, “The Wailing Lord…”

Ariane didn’t respond. But that was already an answer in itself. “Now, please end my suffering.” She asked Kim Jin-Woo to finish her off with a peaceful expression, as if she had accomplished everything she wanted to. Kim Jin-Woo didn’t refuse her request, and absorbed her powers through his Power of Predation.

Ariane had first been sent to him as a spy for Denarion, before betraying him as a Warden. She had fled all across the Underworld before finally begging for death, but despite Kim Jin-Woo’s past impression of her, she met a relatively clean end.