Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

“Grraaah.”

“Grrr.”

The clones, or more accurately, the summoned creatures, didn’t seem to have much intelligence. They were shaking their bodies and growling.

Soon, they started running towards the adventurers and swinging their daggers.

‘Faster than I expected.’

While the clones had the same appearance as the original, their stats wouldn’t necessarily be the same.

However, judging by their running speed, their agility was at least E or higher.

Kang. Kaang.

The same was true for their strength.

Chwaak!

After clashing swords a few times to gauge their strength, I determined that they were manageable and deflected the dagger before slicing through their bodies.

“Geurgh…”

At this rate, we should be able to take them down without much trouble.

“Pierce Stone, let the sharp rock pierce my enemies.”

Haynes, who was leading the rear group, fired rocks at the summoned creatures.

“Don’t get in my way!”

[Leesia casts ‘True Perception’.]

Kwoong!

“Ghek.”

“Grrr.”

[Victor casts ‘Barbaric Roar’.]

“Waaaah─!”

Kwaaaah!

Leesia and Victor, who were at the forefront, were formidable adventurers, to say the least.

[Benny casts ‘Double Shot’.]

[Cantar casts ‘Quick Stab’.]

“Take this!”

Pew. Pft.

“Hup.”

Kwaak.

Even the adventurers who could easily pass through the first floor seemed to be doing fine.

…But.

“Ugh, too fast!”

“Kkeuk.”

The ones with E-rated stats looked like they were about to die under the swarm of summoned creatures.

“Sa, sa, save me…”

Damn it. I couldn’t just stand by and watch an adventurer die before my eyes.

In a way, they were caught up in this because of Isaac’s death.

‘Lightning.’

Kwaang!

Ignoring the headache, I used lightning to save an adventurer who was about to be stabbed by a dagger.

“Grrr!”

Shudder.

“W, wh, what’s going on… Ugh, die!”

Puhak!

‘Good. Now, let’s not get distracted and stay close to the leaders.’

“Get out of my way!”

[Victor casts ‘Sweep’.]

Chwaaak!

With his unstoppable attack, he cleared a path.

“…Face the unstoppable violence. Giant’s Footsteps!”

Kkung! Kuung!

[Leesia casts ‘Iron Mountain Strike’.]

Pwaang─

The adventurers overturned the ground and blew away the oncoming creatures.

‘I can’t lose either.’

Sgek. Segek. Chwaak!

I slashed and slashed again.

Pure slaughter.

The dark gray sword, enhanced by accumulated killing intent and the Violent Sword Technique, was too much for the E-rated summoned creatures to handle.

Occasionally, when six or seven of them rushed at me, I would clash my sword with their overlapping trajectories and sweep them away, slicing through them in between.

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Seraph of the Beginning’.]

The laser attack didn’t affect me. Why? Because I could see and dodge it.

The buffs and new traits made my body even faster, making all my actions more effortless.

“Good, don’t stop! Fight with the thought that even if you die, you’ll take one more step forward!”

As all the adventurers fought fiercely towards Ephusio, something happened.

“Persistent creatures. Good. I need to change my approach.”

‘What do you mean by changing?’

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Summoning of Hesmana’.]

Hwaak!

We had been making steady progress, taking down the summoned creatures as we advanced.

But as soon as Ephusio spoke, the pattern changed completely.

“Ugh, damn it. Let go!”

Kkwak.

“Shit! Someone help me!”

The summoned creatures, summoned from the flickering light in the air, threw themselves at the weaker adventurers, restraining them.

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Seraph of the Beginning’.]

Ziiing─

[Ephusio of the Beginning absorbs Daniel’s traits.]

The summoned creatures, like a stacked hamburger, pressed down on the adventurers, crushing them.

Ephusio fired lasers at the restrained adventurers, unable to move, absorbing their traits.

Ssik, the headache made it difficult to use lightning continuously.

Even if I did, the adventurers and the creatures were entangled, making it impossible to target them.

‘I can’t use lightning to kill them before they absorb the adventurers’ traits.’

The mages in the rear were probably in the same predicament.

[Ephusio of the Beginning absorbs Hamilton’s traits.]

“Kkeuk… Aak!”

[Ephusio of the Beginning absorbs Katie’s traits.]

“Kyaaak!”

──────

[Held Traits] (Locked)

Prison of Gathering
Seraph of the Beginning
Summoning of Hesmana
Oblivion
Basic Dagger Technique
Sensitive Smell
Basic Sword Blocking Technique
Endurance
Sprint

──────

“Don’t pay attention to the weak ones! Adventurers always risk their lives every moment. Just focus on taking down that thing as quickly as possible!”

Since the summoned creatures were concentrated in certain areas, attacking the weaker adventurers, it meant that the obstacles in our way were reduced.

Pew! Kwajik. Kwajik.

Hwang─ Chwaak!

Although the summoned creatures became stronger as Ephusio absorbed more traits, they were no match for the fierce adventurers.

As we used various techniques to clear the way, we soon reached Ephusio.

“Take this!”

[Victor casts ‘Rock Breaking’.]

Hwaang─

Victor, a muscular giant, swung his huge greatsword with all his might.

The brown magic-infused sword seemed to shatter everything in its path, and Ephusio raised his shield in response.

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Endurance’.]

Kwaaang!

“Keukh!”

With a loud noise, Ephusio was pushed back.

The Tier Lord’s usually calm demeanor was shaken.

However… Victor, who had attacked with all his might, also looked unsteady.

Victor, who had attacked without thinking, stepped back and adjusted his stance, muttering.

“Damn, something’s off. I hit him with a Rock Breaking filled with magic power, and all he does is move back?”

Taking advantage of the gap created by Ephusio’s retreat, Leesia, who had fallen slightly behind while clearing the way, rushed forward.

“Haaa!”

[Leesia casts ‘Chain Strike’.]

She didn’t stop for a moment, punching with blazing eyes.

Kwangk! Kwangk kwangk! Kwangk kwangk!

Leesia’s fast and heavy chain attack made her fists look blurry.

“Go down gracefully!”

[Leesia casts ‘Tiger Strike’.]

Tukwang─!

Ephusio was knocked down by Leesia’s punch.

Did some damage get through?

“Kheukh. Even if the damage is small, constantly taking hits is disgusting.”

“…Why is that?”

Leesia was surprised to see that Ephusio had taken little damage despite her barrage of attacks.

“Is this all you’ve got─.”

“Flame Wave, let the flames engulf the monster before you!”

“Pierce Stone, let the sharp rock pierce my enemies.”

Hwaruk! Kwangk!

The mages who arrived shortly after unleashed their spells.

“Bu, kyaak! How dare you─!”

As the smoke cleared, the creature stood there with its head bowed.

Judging by its condition, Victor and Leesia’s attacks seemed to have been more effective.

[Chaos speculates that the creature is not in a fully physical state, which reduces the damage it takes from physical attacks.]

“Hehe… Haha! Sacrificial lambs like you dare to push me this far?”

Ephusio, who had been bowing his head, straightened up and stretched out his arms, spreading his hands wide.

“I’ve decided. I’ll have to permanently lose some strength, but it’s worth it. I’ll make you regret your futile dreams.”

…Woong.

A light barrier formed around Ephusio’s body.

Could this be the sign of Oblivion, his last trait?

If it’s oblivion, does it seal traits? Or could it be a form of mind control?

I wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, I had to stop it immediately.

Before I could finish my thoughts, Victor and Leesia, who had already sensed something amiss, were running towards him.

‘Lightning─!’

Tteoraang!

‘Damn it. I shot it as strongly as possible without knocking me out, and it still didn’t break through the barrier?’

Jjing─

“Kkeung…”

A strong headache made me kneel and clutch my head.

Like me, the two who had run ahead couldn’t break through the barrier.

“Behold. Despair!”

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Oblivion’.]

Dong. Dong.

Dwoong─

A huge, intangible wave spread from Ephusio’s body, sweeping through the entire central area.

“Keup!”

“Kyaaa!”

I held my arms in front of me to block the attack and maintain my balance.

[Chaos negates Oblivion.]

…

Is it over?

“Kkeuk…”

“Haa, haak.”

The strained voices of Victor and Leesia, who had run ahead, could be heard.

I hurriedly looked around.

“Teeng.”

“Tteu, tteu tteya…”

“Where am I? Who am I?”

Damn it.

‘It’s not just intelligence and memory that it’s messing with. Will it be possible to restore them once we defeat it? Or will they be permanently lost?’

I thought oblivion would just seal traits, but it seems it works like this.

The area was filled with idiots and amnesiacs.

‘We’re screwed.’

There’s no hope in this situation.

‘If it summons the summoned creatures again, the adventurers in this state won’t be able to resist and will just get beaten to death.’

[Ephusio of the Beginning absorbs random traits from those affected by Oblivion.]

…What?

[Absorbs the trait ‘Charge Rush’.]

[Absorbs the trait ‘Piercing Stab’.]

[Absorbs the trait ‘Basic Sword Blocking Technique’.]

[Absorbs the trait…]

Tr…

…

…

Haha.

The strength in my sword-wielding hand involuntarily weakened.

This is… the Tier Lord.

[Chaos urgently tells you not to give up.]

‘You see that and still want to give up? Are you serious?’

For a moment, various thoughts swirled in my head.

…Damn it.

You idiot, snap out of it! Are you going to just die because the enemy suddenly got stronger?

Some might laugh and say that I expected to be mentally prepared after just one trip to the dungeon.

But…

I’ve also struggled at the crossroads of life and death, even if it was for a short time.

Kkwak─

I clenched my sword and gritted my teeth.

[Chaos urgently points to the creature’s body.]

Its body, Ephusio’s body?

“…”

The creature’s pure white body, which had been glowing with a white light, had lost most of its light and was cracked.

‘That’s not all.’

Ephusio’s body was wriggling in various places.

New arms were growing, holding various weapons, and its legs were repeatedly swelling and shrinking.

──────

[Ephusio of the Beginning]

The consciousness that had been asleep in the Great Labyrinth for a long time.

Currently, it is in the process of settling into a new body, having partially escaped from its consciousness.

The price of the trait ‘Oblivion’ and the backlash from absorbing too many traits at once have combined to temporarily weaken its unstable state.

[Held Traits] (Locked)

Prison of Gathering
■■■ ■■■ (Inactive)
■■■ ■■■■ (Inactive)
■■■■■ (Inactive)
Basic Dagger Technique
Sensitive Smell
Endurance
Sprint
…
…
…
──────

Damn, how many traits does it have?

But… the most difficult traits are inactive, and its body is weakened?

“This is unexpected. The cost is greater than I anticipated, and it will take some time to assimilate what I’ve absorbed.”

Jeobuk.

“Well, compared to the time I’ve been asleep, this is nothing. Now, no one can stop me.”

Jeobuk. Jeobuk.

“First, the martial artist. I’ll finish off the most annoying one first. Anyway, he won’t understand what I’m saying.”

“Haa, haaak.”

The creature, with half the light gone from its eyes, was clutching its head.

It was simply hunched over, panting. Leesia was walking towards it.

“I’ll kill you for resisting Oblivion. So, goodbye.”

Hwoong─

Yes, I have no choice. I have to try.

Chaeng!

“Hmm?”

I gathered my thoughts and rushed forward, blocking the creature’s sword with one of its arms.

“Do you want to kill her?”

Kwaang!

“Kkeuk.”

Ephusio was pushed back by the Violent Sword Technique.

As stated in the status window, its body was weakened.

“If you want to kill someone, you have to get past me first.”

Most of the traits it originally possessed were inactive, and its body was weakened after absorbing various other traits?

‘If the most difficult summoning and absorption traits are blocked…’

The opportunity is now.