Moon's Labyrinths

Did Hyunwoo pick up on Sungyoon’s gaze? He said to Sungyoon .

“What? Are you jealous of my Gems?”

“... Honestly, I am .

“I cannot imagine myself wielding such power in the future . ”

Sungyoon had worked diligently to get stronger, and he had put together a good amount of high rank Rainbow Gems . However, it was in no way a match for the power wielded by Hyunwoo .

“If the quality of your magical energy continues to increase at a steady pace and you acquire good Devices and Gems, it’ll be possible . For your information, the difference between the Rainbow rank and the Jewel rank is massive . There is a good reason why the Gems are separated into two groups . And even amongst the Jewel rank Gems, the difference in power is massive . ”

Basically, one’s power increased steeply after one started accumulating Jewel rank Gems .

“Moreover, your Gold Gem will reveal its true power when you start using other Jewel rank Gems . If I’m being honest, its ability to increase the power of Rainbow rank Gems isn’t as important as its ability to increase the power of the Jewel rank Gems . ”

When Sungyoon’s Gold Gem was used, it would increase the power of Rainbow Gems by fourfold, and for the Jewel rank Gems, the amplification was two times .

On the surface, it looked as if the Gold Gem would be more efficient when using a Rainbow rank Gem . However, one had to take into account the massive power difference between a Rainbow rank Gem and a Jewel rank Gem . Therefore, it was much more efficient to double the power of a Jewel rank Gem .

“Of course, this is assuming you continue to progress in the future . ”

Hyunwoo had said it in passing, but his words cut deep .

It was proven that Sungyoon could activate a Gold rank Gem, but the possibility that it might be his limit also existed .

Sungyoon had no idea if he could activate any of the higher Jewel rank Gems . He might become an advanced version of Kim Soobin .

However, he wiped such thoughts away .

He decided to leave this worry for when he would reach that point .

An odd look appeared in Hyunwoo’s eyes as he gazed at Sungyoon, who was worrying over his troubles .

There was some kind of expectation and desire mixed in his gaze . It wasn’t a good look .

At that moment, another light appeared, a sign that another monster was about to appear .

Of course, Hyunwoo was familiar with this phenomenon . Sungyoon was also getting used to it . They stared at the light that dyed their surroundings white .

The light soon disappeared, leaving behind a monster .

Sungyoon observed it . The first things to enter his eyes were its four legs .

It looked like a monster with the lower legs of a horse . Its muscles were powerful . One could tell this monster would be very effective as an attack-type monster with great mobility .

However, its upper body was different compared to its lower half . It had the upper body of a human . No, it had a humanoid shape .

Its skin was black . It had long protruding fangs, and hair erupted from its back like a mane . It was hard to call it a human .

“It is a Centaur . ”

It was a being from the mythology on earth, a fictional existence usually portrayed as being very wise . However, Sungyoon couldn’t see an ounce of wisdom in the monster in front of him . This monster had been named Centaur only because it kind of resembled a Centaur . But this monster held no relationship to the Centaurs in the myths .

“Mmm . What shall we do?”

Hyunwoo kept looking between Sungyoon and the Centaur . A deep conflict appeared in his eyes . Sungyoon had never seen this side of Hyunwoo before .

“Is there a problem?”

“This monster is a bit ambiguous . It is at the edge of the monsters you can handle . It truly might go either way . ”

Basically, he was wondering if he should let Sungyoon fight the Centaur or not .

Sungyoon looked at the monster once again . It possessed a weapon like the Goblins and Cyclops, but each of its four arms held a different weapon, such as a sword, a spear, a mace, and an ax .

Moreover, its red eyes were filled with killing intent . Sungyoon, who didn’t know much about this monster, felt plenty threatened by it . So he asked .

“... Are you willing to rescue me if I’m in trouble?”

Hyunwoo turned to look at Sungyoon .

“You want to attempt it?”

“Yes . ”

Hyunwoo tapped his chin with his finger .

“Alright . ”

Accompanying those words, a plate detached itself from Hyunwoo’s shield . It flew towards Sungyoon’s chest and stuck to the region where his heart should be .

“You’ll avoid the worst outcome if you keep that with you . Do as you wish . Go gain some experience . ”

Sungyoon thought he was asking for something a bit unreasonable, but Hyunwoo agreed to it without hesitation .

As thanks, Sungyoon lowered his head once, and then he stood in the path of the Centaur .

Boom!

The monster stamped its front feet . But its actions didn’t end there . It started hitting its four weapons against each other, a gesture looking similar to a gorilla pounding its chest . The Centaur was trying to intimidate Sungyoon, who dared to advance with killing intent in his eyes .

However, the man didn’t blink at all . He had fought too many monsters to this point .

Still, he didn’t underestimate his opponent . No, he was a bit more careful than normal as he assessed the monster .

It was a half-humanoid, half-animal type monster with four weapons .

‘It probably can attack me in a variety of ways . ’

As always, Sungyoon raised his shield first . However, he was ready to summon his ax at any moment .

‘Since it has so many ways to attack me, it won’t be enough with only my shield . ’

Most monsters he had faced up until now had only used their nails, claws, fists, and feet . Sometimes they would headbutt and body slam . However, their attacks were very limited . But the Centaur was different from those monsters . Therefore, the man felt the need to change his tactics against this monster .

Koo-roo-roo-roo-roo!

When it let out a low growl, Sungyoon could see the Centaur’s sharp teeth from its opened mouth .

Koo-wuhhhhhhh!

It lifted its forelegs high and then started to run toward Sungyoon . Its horse-like lower body wasn’t all for show . The Centaur was faster than any other monster he had seen up until now .

All its four weapons were terrifying . Moreover, a great momentum powered the monster’s attacks . Sungyoon felt that if he tried to block a head-on attack at full charge, he would be sent flying like a leaf caught in a storm .

In a flash, the Centaur arrived in front of Sungyoon .

Hwooong!

Exactly four sounds of clashing rang out . On the other side of the shield, the four weapons came at him in succession . Of course, the Centaur didn’t stop moving after its attack .

Tah-aht!

Sungyoon jumped to the side, trying his best to deflect those attacks .

Kwahng! Kwahng! Kah-ahng!

He felt three heavy blows on his shield . However, the attacks were almost instantaneous, so they had felt like a single attack .

“Koo-ook!”

He thought he had deflected the blows, yet his body was sent flying . Fortunately, he wouldn’t be trampled . However, the monster wasn’t done attacking . Only three blows had impacted the shield, and one was still left .

Hoo-oong!

It used its large body to stab down from above with its spear . Sungyoon had worried this would happen .

‘Tsk!’

However, he was prepared for it . He summoned his ax and immediately swung it .

Boom!

Another deafening sound rang out when the spear and ax clashed . Sungyoon had already been losing his balance prior to this, and he couldn’t stay rooted in place after the clash .

Chwahhhhhhhk!

He was pushed backward as his feet slid on the floor . He barely regained his balance .

‘As expected, it is too hard to fight it head-on . ’

He could clearly see that the Centaur was taking its time changing its direction . It moved in a leisurely manner .

It seemed the monster had made an assessment of his power and concluded that the man wasn’t much of a threat .

This treatment should’ve hurt his pride, yet it didn’t bother Sungyoon . Instead of worrying about his pride, he was thinking about how to defeat the Centaur .

Tah-daht!

It once again galloped towards Sungyoon, who extended his hand toward the approaching monster .

Twoo-hwahhhhk!

He activated his Earth magic Gem .

The Centaur was at the epicenter, and stalagmites erupted around it . They extended upwards like spears, threatening the Centaur .

Sungyoon didn’t expect to kill it or give it a serious wound . However, he expected the Centaur would stumble at the very least . But it seemed he had made a mistake in judgment .

Tah-aht!

The Centaur jumped into the air . Its four legs pushed off in an explosive manner . It used its elastic muscles and the power of its leg to jump high .

Sungyoon’s mouth fell open in surprise . However, the Centaur’s acrobatics hadn’t ended . The stalagmites were very tall, and they soon reached the midair Centaur . But it reacted in a very simple manner .

Puh-suhk!

It brought down its hooves on a stalagmite . The top of the stalagmite broke, and the monster used the rebound to jump to the next stalagmite .

Puh-suhk!

The hooves once again broke a stalagmite .

The Centaur kept jumping from one stalagmite to the next as if they were stepping-stones .

It reached the outer edge of the spell . It started running down the outermost stalagmite at an almost vertical slope .

Sungyoon felt a chill run down his spine . The monster was running straight down from up high, so the power of its charge would be on a different level than before .

Boom!

The Centaur finally reached the floor, yet it didn’t lose any momentum . It ran straight towards Sungyoon .

“Shit!”

He extended his hand once again towards the Centaur . This time he activated his Gravity magic Gem .

Too-hwahk!

Soon, the Centaur’s body was put under the spell . But strangely, its charge didn’t slow down too much .

The monster was having a harder time moving, but it was hard to think that it was operating under 16 times the normal gravity .

Koo-uhhhhhhh!

The spell just made it angrier . It let out a roar as it continued to charge towards Sungyoon . It then swung its weapons .

‘Shit!’

Sungyoon quickly raised his shield .

Kwah-ahng!

The impact couldn’t be compared to its previous attacks .

“Koo-ook!”

The hand which had been holding the shield went past the point of throbbing to numbness . Sungyoon’s body flew through the air .

Its charge had been strengthened, and all the four weapons had hit him at the same time . The Centaur’s attack was too powerful .

Tah-taht!

But the monster didn’t let up in its attack . It tracked down Sungyoon, who was still in the air, and brought down its sword, ax, and spear . This time the weapons weren’t coming from the same direction .

The Centaur was attacking from three different directions at the same time . Sungyoon knew his future outlook was dark .

He subconsciously overclocked his Gems, and he was about to activate his Gold Gem .

It happened at that moment .

The piece of shield stuck to his chest started to move . It pushed Sungyoon’s body backward .

Hoo-oong!

The three weapons whiffed, and they clashed against each other . Fortunately, Sungyoon was not wounded . The attacks had landed on empty air .

Tuhl-suhk!

The man flew for a while before he rolled across the ground in an unceremonious manner . However, he was still alert and immediately got up .

“You got smashed . ”

Sungyoon had never expected to be sent flying this far . Hyunwoo stood next to him and laughed . He made fun of Sungyoon a little bit .

“Do you want to continue?”

Hyunwoo pointed forward . It seemed the Centaur was frustrated at losing its prey . It blew steam off its nose as it looked towards their direction .

Sungyoon had taken a direct blow, so his left arm had turned numb . He massaged his left arm as he glared at the Centaur .

“... do I have a chance of winning?”

Hyunwoo had said this monster was on the edge of him being able to defeat it . However, he had been beaten too easily for that to be the case .

Of course, he became a bit suspicious of Hyunwoo’s words .

However, Hyunwoo didn’t hesitate as he gave a definite answer .

“Of course . Are you doubting my work because you were defeated so easily?”

“... . ”

Sungyoon didn’t reply . However, the silence was an answer in itself .

“I’ll be honest . In terms of abilities, the Centaur holds a slight advantage . You shouldn’t have lost so badly . The reason for your loss is your magic spells . ”

“My magic spells?”

“Yes . To be precise, you didn’t take the Magic Resistance into account . ”