Moon’s Labyrinths (Web Novel)

The pool of magical energy was manifesting all across the country, and monsters could appear from any of these locations. So the government had put the Connectors on standby in multiple locations all around the country. This plan would allow them to quickly deploy the Connectors to troublesome spots.

The government did their best to listen to the wishes of the Connectors, but the competition to be stationed at popular locations were too fierce. In the end, they had to use a lottery system. Sungyoon had been stationed near his house. He was put on standby close to Seoul as a sign of respect from the Korean government.

Usually, four Connectors were assigned to a single standby location. Two Connectors manned the day shift, and the other two manned the night shift.

If a monster appeared, the nearest two Connectors had to go out and kill it.

Sungyoon’s shift was thirty minutes away from ending, yet the monster had appeared now.

He kept cursing as he gathered his Devices and Gems. Then he ran straight up to the roof.

The helicopter was still.

It seemed the pilot wasn't here. Sungyoon waited next to the helicopter.

It didn’t take long for the pilot to arrive on the roof. However, someone had arrived alongside the pilot.

“What are you doing here, Mr. Jinsoo?”

“I want to go with you.”

Jinsoo shook his Device.

“It isn’t Mr. Jinsoo’s shift right now.”

“It's only a thirty-minute difference. I spoke with the Connector who is on the night shift with you. He said I can take his place.”

Jinsoo was putting himself in harm's way to attack the monster. It was his choice, so Sungyoon had nothing more to say.

Soon, the two of them entered the helicopter and flew toward the place where the monster had appeared.

***

They arrived at a location near a little town nestled near the foot of a mountain in Gyeonggi Province. The helicopter slowly decelerated and hovered in midair.

“Great. At least, we won’t have to search for this monster.”

Jinsoo spoke while looking down.

He could see a dense forest at the foot of the mountain. The forest was so dense that one couldn’t see the ground from above. Yet, Jinsoo easily spotted a monster within these dense trees. Its head was protruding above the trees.

Since only Sungyoon and Jinsoo had come here to fight the monster, the massive body of the monster wasn’t a good sign. However, it also allowed them to get an accurate location of the monster.

Boom! Boom!

“It's a Giant.”

Jinsoo told Sungyoon.

“Let’s do this!”

He then let out an energetic shout as he imbued his Gems with magical energy. Soon, his body became covered in armor.

“I’ll be going first!”

Jinsoo jumped out even though the ground was still very far away.

All the Connectors who were put on standby were skilled. Heights of this magnitude weren’t an obstacle to them.

‘He is full of energy. Is it because he is young?’

Sungyoon couldn't see an open spot where the helicopter could land, so he signaled the pilot and also jumped off the helicopter.

Boom!

A normal person would suffer life-threatening injuries if they fell from that height, and that was the case if they were lucky. However, Sungyoon’s armor absorbed all the shock. His gaze immediately moved forward.

Ggoo-uhhhhhhhhh!

The Giant made two big swings with its fists.

Kwah-jeek! Kwah-jee-jeek!

The tall trees broke like straws. However, Jinsoo’s movements were smooth as he pushed past the chaos and swung his spear.

Suh-guhk!

The spear blade made a deep wound in the Giant’s wrist, and blood gushed out.

Ggoo-ahhhhhhh!

“This is easy! You should just stay back and watch, Mr. Sungyoon! I’ll kill it by myself.”

Jinsoo shouted as he gripped his spear with his hands. He stabbed the Giant’s side and left a big wound.

‘Will he be ok?’

Sungyoon had been about to enter the battle from the rear, but he stopped when Jinsoo shouted those words at him.

Sungyoon hesitated. He wondered if it was really ok to just stay back and watch. However, Jinsoo was starting to corner the Giant, so Sungyoon decided to take the back seat.

‘Look! Am I not amazing!’

Jinsoo turned backward to glance at Sungyoon.

Sungyoon's appearance, his stylish silver armor, and his red cape, they all were exactly the same as what Jinsoo had seen on the TV. Sungyoon had even received the nickname of ‘Silver Knight’ in England and Korea. People went nuts for an image of him, and rumors had it that his figurines were also going to hit the markets soon.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Woo Sungyoon was the greatest star that had turned out amongst the Connectors.

‘Who cares about that? He just barely entered the Great Labyrinth!’

Sungyoon was on the same level as Jinsoo. However, Jinsoo had traveled far deeper into the Great Labyrinth than Sungyoon. A part of Jinsoo knew that his progress in the Great Labyrinth had been possible only due to the support given by Fabion. However, that didn’t matter. At the end of the day, he was ahead of Sungyoon.

‘I’m amazing too!’

There was no way he was inferior to Woo Sungyoon. The proof was in the pudding. He was beating back the Giant.

‘Look! Look at me! I’m pushing it so hard that the Giant can’t even put up a fight! I can be as good as ‘The Connector’! There is no way I’ll be shoved to the side by ‘The Connector’!’

Poo-oohk!

The spear pierced through the monster's thigh.

Jinsoo saw the Giant go mad with pain. He let out a bloody smile as he tried to extract his spear.

‘What the hell!’

He found that the Giant’s muscle had great elasticity, and it flexed to keep the spear in place. Jinsoo placed his feet on the Giant’s thigh as he pulled with all his might.

Slip!

‘Blood!’

Jinsoo hadn’t noticed it, but the Giant’s blood was coating the shaft of the spear. It was the price for not keeping all of his attention on the monster and just gazing at Sungyoon even in the middle of the fight.

Hoo-oong!

“Koohk!”

The Giant’s massive fist flew toward him. Left with no other choice, Jinsoo unsummoned his spear and jumped off from the Giant’s thigh.

‘Hurry! Hurry up!’

He imbued his magical energy into the Gem to summon his spear once again. However, he needed time to activate his Gem. The only problem was the fact that the Giant wouldn’t stand still and wait for him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Giant’s fists kept attacking Jinsoo. He could barely dodge the fists, but a chill ran down his spine when he saw the craters the Giant’s fists left on the ground.

‘Shit! I have to do something!’

Kwahng!

At that moment, a shield blocked the fist that was about to hit Jinsoo.

The angel-like wings slowly receded to form the red cape once again.

“I’ll take over from here.”

Sungyoon didn’t even glance at Jinsoo. He immediately stabbed his sword into the Giant’s hand.

Kyahhhhhhhhhk!

The monster screamed in pain and desperately retracted its hand. Sungyoon felt his sword being dragged away, so he let go of the hilt.

The sword’s electrical attack would continue to attack the Giant even if Sungyoon wasn't touching the weapon. The Giant's muscles convulsed in the area surrounding the weapon, and its arm started to move in an erratic manner.

‘It isn’t that tough.’

The monster kept trying to pull out the sword that was attacking it with electricity. If it were a tough monster, it would have ignored the pain and tried to squash Sungyoon. In some ways, the Giant's actions were very cute.

Sungyoon summoned his halberd and activated his earth magic.

Puh-uhk! Puh-uhk!

Stalagmites shot up from the ground. Of course, the number of stalagmites that appeared was lower, and their height and destructive capability were lessened compared to that on the Moon. Obviously, it couldn’t damage the Giant. However, the stalagmites were useful as stepping stones. They allowed Sungyoon to jump atop the monster's head. Sungyoon could also use the trees around him, but he didn’t use them as he didn't know how sturdy they were.

The Giant was still trying to desperately pull out the sword. Sungyoon had already landed on its head, and he took a firm grip of his halberd.

Puh-uh-uhk!

He brought it down straight into its skull. Before the monster could even react, Sungyoon summoned his hammer and hit the handle of the halberd with all his strength.

Kwah-jee-jeek!

The halberd pierced deep into the Giant's head, and the monster stopped moving in an instant.

Boom!

It slumped over the stalagmites summoned by Sungyoon, and Sungyoon jumped down from its head.

‘The fight against the Behemoth allowed me to gain experience of fighting against large monsters. It was a big help in this fight.’

In the past, Sungyoon would have had a much harder time defeating this monster. However, his experience and the fact that the halberd was a Jewel rank weapon now had immensely helped him this time.

His halberd didn’t have any special ability like the lightning attack of the sword. It was just as sharp and sturdy as a Gem one rank above it, and in these aspects, it outshined those weapons with abilities that were at the same rank. The same applied to the hammer too.

Ssssk!

When the stalagmites disappeared, the Giant’s body fell to the ground. The fall crushed several trees, and the Giant’s enormous body created an open space in the dense forest.

“Amazing!”

Jinsoo approached Sungyoon. His eyes kept alternating between the Giant and his fellow Connector.

“As expected of the Knight praised by the world!”

“You praise me too much.”

Sungyoon downplayed his achievement as he picked up the communication device and reported the situation.

Jinsoo had a bright smile on his face as he watched it all. However, his eyes, they were burning with an ugly light.

***

After he ended his two-month mandatory duty, Sungyoon had to go back to the Moon. As always, it was sad to say goodbye to Shinhae. As he left for the Moon, Shinhae and Jimin watched the spaceship from the ground.

“Let’s head back. Ok?”

It seemed Shinhae was somewhat used to this now. She no longer cried. In fact, she was quite mature in how she acted as she said goodbye to Sungyoon.

However, the sadness felt by the child remained. She nodded at Jimin's words with red eyes. When Jimin saw this, she lovingly embraced the little girl.

Jimin returned to Seoul with Shinhae in her car. Her company was still busy with an increased workload, but it was getting its feet under itself. It was a bit more stable now.

That was why she had decided to spend the whole day with Shinhae. But as they were about to enter Sungyoon’s house, they saw someone.

“… Why are you here?”

Jimin’s eyes turned sharp, and she asked in a cold and low voice. Jimin was already a charismatic and cold person, and this action made her appear more threatening.

However, her opponent wasn’t a pushover.

“You are the president of Jungbum? Hahn Jimin? You know about me. That will speed up the conversation. I’m her mother, and I’m here to see my daughter. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this.”

Miyun laughed as she looked at Shinhae.

“It’s been a while, Shinhae.”

Shinhae quickly hid behind Jimin when she saw Miyun. Shinhae's actions didn't resemble that of a six-year-old child who missed the touch of her mother.

“I said why are you here?”

“Why do you think I’m here? I’m here to see my daughter. I don’t see anything wrong with me doing that. Do you?”

“You aren’t my mom!”

Shinhae yelled out loud. The little girl trembled as she continued speaking.

“You aren’t my mom…”

“If I’m not your mother, who am I, Shinhae?”

Miyun spoke to Shinhae in a kind voice. However, Jimin didn’t miss that split second when Miyun’s eyes turned sharp.

This woman was being nice to Shinhae, but she was like the devil trying to lure its victim.

No, she was the devil.

“She said you aren’t her mother.”

Jimin tried to get on Miyun’s nerves, but Miyun remained calm and brazen-faced.

Jimin knew that even her own mother couldn't compare to Miyun in shamelessness.

“You abandoned your child, but now you want to take her?”

“Oh my! Did my ex-husband tell you that? Do you really believe his words?”

Miyun put on an aggrieved expression. She spoke as if Sungyoon had spoken badly about her without any basis.

“I can’t believe you believed his words. I thought you looked smart, but it seems you are lacking experience since you are still young. You should try hearing both sides of the story before making such a proclamation.”

“I can tell who is right and who is wrong by looking at Shinhae’s behavior.”

“Children are immature. They easily trust the words spoken by adults. I can guess what kind of nonsense my ex-husband told this child about me. It is obvious. As expected, I should've taken custody of the child… Whenever he goes to the Moon, the child is alone here. It seems he doesn’t even care about that. Jeez.”

Miyun really was shameless.

Jimin already knew this, but her opinion about Miyun solidified.

This woman was her enemy.

‘I was planning on letting her off easy, but….’

Jimin didn’t care about Sungyoon’s past. She only wished to make a happy future for Shinhae. She respected Sungyoon’s opinions when it came to his past, but it was a completely different story if the past came back to bite them. It was a problem if it was trying to prevent future happiness for both of them.

‘Alright. I don’t like you, and you're giving me a reason to act.’

Miyun had the perfect family in Sungyoon and Shinhae, yet she had thrown away everything for her desire and selfishness.

Jimin had already received permission from Sungyoon. She could use any tool in her arsenal, by fair means or foul. Once Miyun targeted Shinhae, Miyun had automatically become Jimin’s enemy. She no longer needed to hold back. A quiet murderous intent smoldered within Jimin.