‘Am I in…section B2-AC11? I’m farther away than I expected.’ Yeon-woo clucked his tongue when he realized where he was. The lair was at the center of the labyrinth, and he had a long way to go. ‘From here, I have to move to the right. Then left after that, take the third exit, and the second diagonal path?’
[Wind Path - Gale]
Yeon-woo moved quickly, stepping on the path Wind Path created with his Draconic Divine Eyes open. He passed through the labyrinth, which was so complicated that he never would have made it through if he didn’t know the route in advance.
Suddenly, with a bone-chilling sound, the ground that Yeon-woo was about to step on cracked.
「Confirming…intruder.」 A black-armored skeletal knight with a lance slowly rose to block his path. It was one of the Spartoi—guards born from Kalatus’ teeth. Spartoi were usually birthed from a part of a Draconic species’ body, which made them extremely skilled. The Spring Queen Waltz and the Autumn Lord Tom were Spartoi from the Summer Queen’s blood.
The labyrinth was filled with Kalatus’ Spartoi. However, they were at different levels. Those with the highest level, like Balnanta, were at five, and the one in front of him was…‘Maybe around three?’
The Spartoi’s red eyes looked Yeon-woo up and down, and it made a mechanical noise. 「Intruder. Calculating…」
Yeon-woo just watched what it was doing. Before they fought, there was something he needed to confirm. ‘Kalatus definitely said they were going to come. Who does he mean?’ He was probably the only one who knew the labyrinth’s location. Who else would be trying to enter it? He didn’t think it was going to be an ordinary player.
No one dared face Kalatus in the lower world. Even the Summer Queen hadn’t done it. But if Kalatus borrowed Edora’s eyes to warn him, it had to be urgent. How far had they come? Yeon-woo thought he’d be able to tell through the Spartoi.
He thought the protectors within the labyrinth could read the traces of a dragon on him, and perhaps only Balnanta’s programming couldn’t tell. If they could read the traces, then that meant the labyrinth was still safe from them. If not…‘It means the threat is close.’
「Calculation failure!」
Boom! The Spartoi jumped off from the ground, lance extended.
‘Just as I thought.’ Clang! Yeon-woo quickly pulled Vigrid out and smacked the lance away. ‘Although I do feel a bit heavy.’ Using the Atman System thoroughly, he took a step forward.
Although the lance was bent, the Spartoi tried to strike Yeon-woo once more, but he had already used Blink to disappear. He reappeared right behind the Spartoi and just as the black Aura in Vigrid was about to cleave it in half, two lances suddenly crossed in front of Yeon-woo and blocked Vigrid.
Ca-clang! Two more Spartoi had saved their comrade.
「Intruder level adjusted.」
「Danger level 3.」
There were five danger levels in total.
“I don’t like that.” It would be annoying to deal with them for too long, so he gripped Vigrid more tightly. Rumble! The black Aura turned even darker, and it exploded into Wave of Fire, which he hadn’t used in a while.
It was less destructive than usual because of the debuff, but it was powerful enough to destroy the three Spartoi and any hidden Spartoi or traps that lay in wait ahead. Whoosh. Even the sound of the explosion was swallowed by the flames.
When everything settled, there was only a scorched cave with melted stalactites, the ashes of the Spartoi, and the head of the first Spartoi that Yeon-woo had encountered.
