Monster Heavenly King - Chapter 14



Only Noblemtl

14. Labyrinth City (3)

A skeleton covered entirely in a robe, Hyunseong was heading towards the portal leading to the second floor.

As the circular labyrinthine city structure progressed towards the center, Awakened people of various races, not just Koreans, began to appear.

Rather, the proportion of Koreans is small.

“If you look at it this way, it just seems like a fantasy world.”

Each person carries a weapon and wears equipment, and the nearby shop sells items for conquering the labyrinth.

It was like a landscape straight out of a fantasy world, except there were no other species besides humans.

The only thing that looks modern is the smartphone we sometimes hold in our hands.

‘There are more awakened people than I thought.’

Considering that only the Awakened can enter the labyrinth, it was said that all the people selling items were Awakened.

I walked for a while with that thought in mind.

“Is that a portal?”

A portal appeared in the spacious plaza at the center of the labyrinth city.

However, if there is a problem-

“What is that?”

A long line extending from in front of the portal.

Armed men were lined up, being questioned by the person in front of the portal, and then allowed to enter.

The sound of conversation coming from a long line.

In a conversation that was being heard in several languages, I listened to Korean.

“Damn, what the heck is this sudden inspection? There’s usually no one here.”

“You only do that when something happens. Isn’t there something going on upstairs? Look at the Awakened Community.”

“There hasn’t been any news lately. Other than the fact that there’s a strange guy running around on the first floor.”

“There’s no need to do it on the first floor… Ugh.”

It seemed like they weren’t doing regular checks.

Whether it’s finding a criminal, a missing person, or whoever it is, they’ll have to use the portal on the first floor, so they’ll be checking this place.

He stroked his chin as he watched the Awakened being questioned and taken to the next floor.

“Hmm…”

The thought of waiting a bit crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

We can’t just wait around when we don’t know how long the checkpoint will last, right?

However, it did not seem easy to force a breakthrough.

‘Those guys look pretty strong.’

Inside the robe, Hyunseong’s crimson eyes were carefully examining the Awakened One.

I didn’t think I would lose based purely on skill.

However, the system is a different matter from skill.

‘Because the basic physical differences according to ability are inevitable.’

If there is an Awakened player who has conquered the 3rd floor or higher, wouldn’t it be difficult for me to deal with them right now?

If you avoid the body, it won’t be a problem.

‘furthermore…’

If you cause a fuss, you will naturally attract attention.

If it was revealed that he was a skeleton, he would have to deal with not only those two, but all the Awakened people in this square.

So what’s left then?

‘I have no choice but to turn my attention elsewhere.’

Of course, you shouldn’t be the object of that attention.

Seongdonggyeokseo (Scream in the east, strike in the west).

It wouldn’t be that difficult if you just hide in the portal instead of diverting their attention and taking advantage of the gap to attack the enemy.

‘The problem is-‘

Is it impossible to divert the attention of the searchers unless the scale is relatively large?

Hyunseong began to look around to see if there was anything that might catch his eye.

Various buildings and Awakened Persons were visible, but nothing particularly stood out.

‘Is there a good way… huh?’

What caught my eye was a building that was several times larger than the other buildings.

Hyunseong headed towards the building, blending in with the Awakened.

A large building built in oriental style.

“What is this place?”

It was difficult to tell exactly what the place did just by looking at it from the outside.

As we headed toward the entrance, the letters written on a huge sign caught our eye.

“It’s a fighting arena… .”

By the way, I think it was said that the boss’s spawn occurs in a fixed location.

A thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

Hyunseong hides his presence and heads inside the arena to check.

“It’s wide.”

The inside of the arena was incredibly spacious.

If I were to see the Colosseum in person, which I had seen on TV in my hazy memory, I would wonder if it was this big.

It seemed even bigger than that.

‘It seems like there is no boss…’

I was planning on luring the area boss out of the arena and causing chaos, but that plan fell through.

As he was trying to think of another way to proceed, Hyunseong hid his body at the sound of approaching footsteps.

A man’s voice is heard along with the sound of approaching footsteps.

“So what did you fight about today?”

Hyunseong let out a sigh of relief at the sound of Chinese being spoken.

At least it was a language he could understand.

What appeared was a man and a woman.

Hyunseong killed his presence and chased after the two people.

“They said they were fighting lizardmen and orcs.”

“They’re the ones coming out on the second floor. It’s just like they’re trying to get rid of whatever’s left, so it’s not fun.”

“I just watch them fight for fun.”

“Hey, when did you guys fight last time you came in?”

“You have to have an opponent to fight. Do you think big matches are common? Then you go to the 5th floor and catch them.”

“Will it work?”

“If I continue to have no one to marry, I’ll probably be sold to a rich man’s house. I wonder how much it’ll cost.”

“He’s on the 5th floor, so it’s worth at least hundreds of billions.”

Hyunseong listens to the story and combines the information.

It seemed that not only the area boss would be there, but there were other monsters as well.

“What are the betting odds?”

“I guess Orcs are stronger. If you look at pure combat power, Orcs are stronger. What if the arena is a swamp? Why are you betting against them?”

In response to the woman’s question, the man opened his mouth with a smirk as if an interesting thought had occurred to him.

“Hey, wanna do some work on the orcs?”

“Are you crazy? If you get caught, you’ll lose your balls.”

“You just have to make sure it doesn’t get noticed. I just looked it up and the amount of money for the reverse transfer is enormous.”

A man holding out his smartphone as if to show off.

The woman also looked around cautiously, perhaps taken aback by the numbers written on the LCD.

“Can you not get caught?”

If they get caught, not only will the bet itself be void, but their position will also be at risk.

That’s why it was most important not to get caught.

The man smiled confidently, as if to tell her not to worry.

“There is a method that my senior taught me.”

“Really? Then let’s go.”

So the two headed underground.

Not even knowing that a skeleton was chasing after them.

.

.

.

“Heh heh.”

“Slurp… .”

“Shaat…!”

“Crunch!”

Hyunseong burst into laughter as if he was dumbfounded by the sight he saw upon arriving at the basement.

I had heard a bit about it and had expected it, but I never thought it would be this large-scale.

‘Is that an orc? Is that a lizardman? Is that a goblin with a spiny boar? What’s that over there?’

What was before his eyes were none other than a variety of monsters.

There were a lot of monsters that he had seen so far, as well as monsters that he had never seen before.

The only thing they have in common is that they are all in prison.

‘So this is how the arena is run.’

Crack.

The hand, made of only bones, made a cracking sound.

When I first went to Murim, my situation was no different from that of the monsters here.

When the demon lords gave me martial arts for experimentation, I learned them.

And –

‘They fought as if they were joking.’

In front of Cheonma.

Hyunseong shakes his head from side to side, shaking off the memories that come to mind.

While I was looking around the prison, I heard a voice from next to me.

“You… are not human.”

When I looked towards where the voice came from, I saw ‘Flame’ chained up inside the prison.

Hyunseong tilted his head.

Because the flames continued to burn even though there was nothing to burn.

“What are you?”

Looking back now, prison was a bit special.

The prison was thick with white steam, as if it were dry ice, and the chains that bound the flames were thickly covered in frost.

“I am Ifrit, the spirit of fire.”

“indeed.”

“What are you doing? I don’t feel any signs of life.”

“me?”

Instead of answering, Hyunseong pulled back the hood he had been wearing.

Then a smooth skull is revealed.

“… It’s a skeleton. Did it escape?”

“They didn’t escape, they came from outside.”

“Outside?”

Hyunseong looked around and clenched his teeth as he looked at Ifrit as if he had made up his mind.

“Hey, are you strong?”

“How dare you ask such a question to the spirit of fire.”

“You talk like you’re strong, but you’re being held captive.”

“Ugh, this is because I was fooled by the humans’ trap! If we fight again, this kind of thing will happen…!”

It’s just sad to hear such loser-like excuses.

Hyunseong pushed his skull toward the prison, his jaw rattling.

“Should I let you go?”

Even though he’s been captured, he looks like an unusual guy at first glance.

If you use this guy, you will be able to easily move to the next floor.

However, the voice of Ifrit that was heard was full of doubt.

“Are you saying you can break this prison?”

“Well, this is fine. But it’s difficult to do it bare-faced.”

The basics of negotiation is to start by hiding your cards.

You could achieve your goal by just letting them loose and running wild, but wouldn’t that be a shame?

Hyunseong looked at Ifrit to see if there was anything more he could draw out.

“What do you wish for?”

“No, I wonder if there is any compensation. Is it too much to expect from a guy who is locked up?”

“Ugh, if you let me go… .”

“If you give it to me?”

“I will swear on my name and repay your kindness.”

“……end?”

“This isn’t the 5th floor and this is all I can give you right now!”

Indeed, was it not only the area boss but also the guy on the 5th floor?

It seemed like I had chosen correctly.

If just one of these guys runs wild, this place will become a battlefield.

“Then, should I go to the 5th floor and receive the favor later?”

At that moment, while muttering like that, he drew his sword.

“Who are you!”

“S, a skeleton?! Why is a skeleton here?”

An urgent voice is heard.

When he looked in that direction, he saw the two Awakened ones he had been chasing just now.

The man drew his sword and rushed at her without a second thought.

“Haat!”

A sword swung with spirit.

Hyunseong, who was avoiding the sword, tilted his head.

“huh?”

The sight of him holding and swinging the sword, or rather the movements of it, were very familiar.

It was not certain because the skill of the caster performing the ritual was not high, but it was a ritual that remained in his memory.

but,

‘There are more than one or two herbivores that I know.’

It didn’t come to mind right away.

Hyunseong, who was wandering through the fog, recalling memories from his head.

After thinking about it for a while, a vague memory came to mind and I let out an exclamation.

“ah.”

This was not a martial art that he had properly mastered, but rather one that was mainly used by the opponent he had fought.

It was the Black Wolf Sword Technique practiced by the Black Wolf Squad, one of the many organizations that exist in the Cheonmasingyo.

‘The pursuit of those guys was relentless.’

Among the many pursuit groups, the Black Wolf Group was particularly tenacious, so it came to mind more quickly than expected.

Who would have thought that I would see the Black Wolf’s martial arts here again?

At first, I was surprised that the lineage of the Cheonmasingyo was still continuing, but I soon nodded and became convinced.

‘Those crazy guys won’t go away easily.’

The madness of the group that he felt as he ascended to the position of Cheonma.

Because it was never something that would easily disappear.

It would have changed a lot since it was there, but it would definitely remain.

‘Well, what happens to the Cheonmasingyo has nothing to do with me now.’

Because he himself abandoned his position as the Heavenly Horse and returned.

It didn’t matter what happened to Cheonmasingyo after that.

but,

‘I feel a little uneasy.’

To be honest, there were almost no good things that came out of being involved with the Cheonmasin Church.

He was forcibly summoned and started out as a test subject, and after escaping, he suffered from the persistent pursuit of the Cheonma Sect.

After going through many twists and turns, I finally defeated the Heavenly Horse and sat down there, feeling like I could find some peace.

‘After that, I thought I just had to find a way to get back by teasing the Magnolia guys…’

However, as if they were waiting for Cheonma to die, the Murim Alliance started to provoke trouble, and then the Blood Cult appeared.

I couldn’t just sit still when all kinds of guys kept picking on me.

‘It’s frustrating when I think about it.’

If you were going to pick a fight, you should have walked quickly and fought with the old man.

Because the timing was off, all the hardships were written by himself.

No, maybe he came forward because he heard that the leader of the martial arts world or the blood horse was scared of the heavenly horse and died quietly.

Anyway, whether you sit on the throne of the Heavenly Demon or not, if you are entangled with the Heavenly Demon Sect, something is bound to happen.

but,

‘I can’t back out from here.’

It’s spilt milk.

There was no other way, and since I had already done it, there was nothing I could do.

Hyunseong sighs softly.

“This kid just keeps avoiding everything…!”

The Black Wolf Sword Technique that he used wasn’t even able to cut through Hyeonseong’s robe.

With this level of skill, he wasn’t even qualified to be called a member of the Black Wolf.

The guys chasing him in the martial arts world must have been more skilled.

‘however….’

Hyunseong, who was avoiding the attack, tilted his head.

I didn’t notice it when I first saw it, but seeing it like this made me feel uneasy.

It was different from the Black Wolf Sword Technique he remembered.

More precisely-

‘This is a herbivore before I improved it?’

After ascending to the throne of the Heavenly Horse, he improved upon the shortcomings of the Black Wolf Sword Technique.

However, the Black Wolf Sword Technique that the guy was using right now was a supernatural technique that revealed all the shortcomings that existed before.

“It’s not that we’re progressing, but rather that we’re regressing.”

I had high hopes but was disappointed.

Here, as a senior, I will teach you a lesson.

“Look carefully. And-”

Inside Hyunseong’s skull, dark red eyes sparkled.

“Don’t go anywhere and tell anyone!”