However, there was an unwritten rule that one must never speak of anything that could lead to the revelation of one's identity, as there were always 'spies' planted by the speakers in this place.
"Huh? If you log out after 24 hours, you get a survival bonus."
"Fake bonus? Does Pangea look like a joke to you?"
"Our goddess doesn't understand the concept of bonuses."
"No, really, they give it. Even the throne of the People's Hall has one. Maybe surviving in this labyrinth for a long time is the goal itself?"
"I got the survival bonus too."
"What, really? What do they give?"
"Not telling."
The atmosphere suddenly became intense.
Survival bonus.
It means they give a reward just for surviving 24 hours.
From the way he spoke, it seemed to be a pretty good reward.
Many people were thinking, "Should I give it another try?"
"Ah, damn it, everyone come out. I just saw a Four Kings."
"Four Kings? What Four Kings? You don't mean the Four Kings of the North?"
"One of the masters of Kramdel?"
"Yeah. So if you don't want to die, come out. This isn't a place for just anyone. Only Transcenders should challenge it."
"How did you survive after seeing the Four Kings? Are you lying?"
"I saw the Brain Emperor Darkstar fighting the Four Kings and ran away."
"The Brain Emperor Darkstar and the Four Kings?"
The Brain Emperor Darkstar.
One of the Seven Heroes, known as 'the fastest human,' a high-ranking player who is said to have almost no rivals except for the Master and Gracia.
For him to be fighting the Four Kings.
The Four Kings are also notorious monsters.
Super Elite Raid Boss Monsters.
The King of Corpses.
The absolute ruler over all that is dead!
"Who won?"
"The Four Kings are just toying with him."
"Is he now a Six Hero?"
"Wow, is that true?"
If the Four Kings appeared in the labyrinth, this was no ordinary matter.
The Four Kings were famous even among players.
If the Brain Emperor Darkstar had become a plaything, then players below him shouldn't even think of challenging it.
Rethinking a challenge was out of the question.
"The Seven Heroes are overrated. Honestly, Mint Chocolate seems stronger than the Brain Emperor."
"Here comes the Mint Chocolate Gang again, go away."
"Will Randolph challenge this time?"
"It might be too intense for him to join."
"He's achieved incredible results so far, but wouldn't he avoid direct confrontation?"
"Given that he's been hiding so far, it seems he's deliberately avoiding direct confrontation."
"Indeed... If he participates, his identity will be revealed in no time."
"Can't we help him with our strength?"
"Don't be ridiculous. The moment you enter your name here, you'll be assassinated within 12 hours."
"6 hours."
"I can do 3 hours."
"Frankly, it could be within 1 hour."
"Still, it's a bit disappointing. If the Master is going to eat it, it would be better if Randolph did."
Everyone thought Randolph wouldn't challenge the Abyss Labyrinth.
If he did, his identity would be revealed in no time.
In a place where many players gather.
It's impossible to hide one's identity in this arena.
*
《The Golden Goblin has been eliminated.》
《Eliminating the event monster grants 30 points to the labyrinth score.》
《The Golden Goblin has been eliminated.》
《Eliminating the event monster grants 30 points to the labyrinth score.》
《The Golden Goblin has been eliminated.》
《Eliminating the event monster grants 30 points to the labyrinth score.》
...
I was currently monopolizing the Golden Goblins in the underground labyrinth.
A total of ten.
The score I obtained was 300 points.
The amount of gold coins alone was 44 million.
Including the golden statues and treasures, it was easily over 60 million!
Occasionally, useful talismans and equipment also dropped.
《The achievement 'Golden Goblin Massacre' has been granted.》
《Honor has increased by 100.》
《Eliminating 10 Golden Goblins alone connects to the 'Golden Abyss.'》
Instantly, a golden warp leading underground appeared in front of me.
It meant that jumping down there would take me to the 'Golden Abyss.'
'Golden Abyss?'
A name I've never heard before.
There was no one who could hunt ten Golden Goblins alone.
They only appear in the prime spots, and even then, finding a place with more than ten is rare.
Let alone finding and hunting all of them alone, which is impossible.
If it weren't for the souls of Hell and the Abyss Knight, it would have been impossible for me too.
《You have entered the 'Golden Abyss.'》
There was no need to hesitate.
I jumped in without delay.
When I saw the massive mountain of gold in front of me.
'...Got it.'
It must feel like this for a ginseng hunter who finds a cluster of ginseng.
The sound of treasure in front of me made me exclaim.
Moreover, among the treasures, there were things that couldn't be measured by mere gold coins.
'The Essence of Gold, the Jar of Greed...!'
These two especially caught my eye.
It couldn't be helped.
The Essence of Gold and the Jar of Greed were both materials for unique-grade equipment.
While everyone was competing fiercely in the labyrinth, I was finding treasures here alone.
Rumble!
Something buried in the mountain of gold stood up.
《The ruler of the Golden Abyss, 'Greed,' has awakened!》
...A giant golden goblin, as large as a giant.
Rewards, rewards, endless rewards
The abyss within the abyss
A place called the Overlapping Abyss or Lower Abyss.
While it's a pattern that occasionally appears, this 'Golden Abyss' was the first.
However, to leave the abyss, you must kill the 'ruler' or have the 'ruler of the abyss' allow you to leave.
The latter is almost impossible, so it ultimately means you have to face it.
【Lv.12】
The problem was the goblin's level.
Named 'Greed' for a reason.
Its level is as high as its name suggests.
A 1:1 direct confrontation is impossible from the start.
But.
-It's been a while since a bold intruder entered my treasure vault.
The giant golden goblin, Greed, spoke.
Unlike other golden goblins, it was highly intelligent, capable of speech.
Compared to most abyss rulers who attack intruders without hesitation, its personality was quite gentlemanly.
-Combat or gamble. Choose.
Moreover, it even gave me a choice.
Greed, who had approached, stroked its chin and looked at me with interest.
No matter what I chose, it was confident it would win.
"Gamble."
-Haha! Good. From now on, everything we possess will be assigned a value. We will play a game with that 'value.'
Rumble!
Suddenly, my vision shook violently.
Greed had rearranged the space.
Soon, all the treasures in front of me were assigned numbers.
A pile of about 10,000 gold coins had a value of 1.
The Essence of Gold and the Jar of Greed each had a value of 30,000.
If all the gold coins and treasures here were combined, it would easily be worth 200,000.
In contrast, the total value of all the treasures I possessed was only 7,000.
'He intends to crush me with overwhelming value?'
Greed had a reason to be confident.
The amount of value he possessed was different.
No matter how many times I went all-in, it would be like scratching a fingernail for Greed.
From the start, it was a game I couldn't win, whether in combat or gambling.
The ten Golden Goblins I killed were right here, ready to strip the spines of those who were full of themselves.
-Hahaha! Let's play a game. The first game is Odd or Even.
Rumble!
An enormous amount of gold coins surged like a tidal wave.
Dividing into two sides, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of gold coins mixed wildly.
It was breathtaking.
Just watching it was overwhelming.
Greed smiled, showing its golden teeth.
-So, odd or even?
*
Gracia clicked her tongue.
'Finally found the way.'
The surface labyrinth was a decoy from the start.
The real clue to the labyrinth was to use the labyrinth ticket to break through the wall and find the way underground.
《You are the eighth to enter the underground labyrinth among the current participants.》
《Achievement 'The Eighth Challenger to Discover the Underground Labyrinth' has been granted.》
...Eighth?
Gracia naturally frowned.
It seemed there were people who figured out this trick before her.
But it was puzzling.
The labyrinth merchants were monopolized by other heroes, so when did they get the labyrinth ticket?
When did they enter?
Seven people had already entered the underground labyrinth before her.
'If it weren't for the Four Kings, I could have entered earlier.'
The Brain Emperor Darkstar.
He sent an SOS.
He encountered one of the Four Kings, a master of the Northern Fortress City Kramdel.
He was trapped due to the Four Kings' undead army.
So Gracia cleared the way for him.
Though she didn't want to, she did it to owe him a favor.
Moreover, she was curious why such an existence as the Four Kings would enter the Abyss Labyrinth.
'Are the Northern monsters trying to expand their territory?'
In the end, she couldn't ask about it.
She didn't meet him directly.
But she could make an inference.
She had recently received intelligence that Kramdel's power was rapidly growing.
Powerful monsters were gathering in Kramdel.
A number that Kramdel and the Four Kings couldn't handle with just the cities they possessed.
Thus, they might have set their eyes on this Abyss Labyrinth.
'A land that even the Four Kings are eyeing. There's another reason I must obtain it.'
What kind of land is it that has caught the attention of the Four Kings and many other strong Pangea players?
It's definitely not an ordinary land.
'If the underground labyrinth is the main game, Laili, the Sword Saint, must be somewhere here.'
She wouldn't give up on that.
The Sword Saint Laili was her prey.
Gracia's eyes glinted coldly.
But only for a moment.
"You...?"
Seeing a woman pass by, Gracia opened her mouth in disbelief.
At first, she thought she had seen a ghost.
But the woman who had just passed by her was clearly.
"Sera, the Holy Maiden?"
Snap!
The woman stopped, turned her head, and smiled brightly.
"Oh, do you know me?"
*
Isaac and Isabella leaped and crossed each other.
A tactic to confuse and disorient the opponent by blinding their eyes.
The golden-eyed rabbit gave up its life in vain.
"We work pretty well together, don't we?"
When Isaac extended his hand, Isabella ignored it and collected the rabbit's corpse.
Isaac awkwardly cleared his throat and lowered his hand.
'Tough kid.'
They had trained and fought together, and their teamwork was quite good, but Isabella was still a difficult one for Isaac.
Rather than waiting idly for Randolph, who had disappeared into the golden warp, they decided to do something in the meantime.
After a while, Isaac said to Isabella, who had just collected a ticket from the rabbit's corpse.
"Killing event monsters drops tickets."
"It seems collecting these tickets will open the way to the Sword Saint Laili."
"Seriously, according to the explanation, we need to collect a thousand, right?"
Event monsters are hard to find.
Moreover, the drop rate of tickets is random.
It seemed they would run out of the pieces of the Golden Rate before collecting a thousand tickets.
Still, there was nothing they could do for now.
While they were hunting event monsters in the underground labyrinth for a long time.
Isaac and Isabella, who had entered a certain area, couldn't help but stop simultaneously.
"Did a war break out?"
"......!"
The space looked as if a war had just taken place.
The terrain had changed, and the smell of burning was thick everywhere.
And in the center, a woman lay collapsed.
Swish.
Isabella drew her dagger.
Everyone they had encountered in the labyrinth so far had been an enemy.
If she was alive, she intended to cut her throat.
"Wait. Don't kill her. This woman...!"
"......?"
Isaac was shocked when he approached and recognized the woman's face.
While Isabella, who had only lived in the desert, naturally didn't know her.
"It's Sera, the Holy Maiden! She wasn't dead, right?"
Just to be sure, he listened for her heartbeat.
Fortunately, she was breathing and her heart was beating.
She was alive.
But it was strange.
Sera, the Holy Maiden, was officially announced to have died in the Great Expedition.
Even if she was in Kramdel, Isaac knew this important information. The Great Expedition was quite an issue even among the monsters.
So why was Sera, the Holy Maiden, lying in the underground labyrinth, on the brink of death?
Who did she fight with?
"Let's get out of here. This place doesn't seem safe."
Isaac picked up Sera, the Holy Maiden.
The person who fought her might return.
It was a priority to leave this place before that happened.