CLWU 10

Chapter 10

“Even if you evolve your cultivation method, it would be best to decide on a direction that suits you to some extent.”

“Huh?”

“Bartus Body Tempering is a mana cultivation method specializing in physical enhancement that stays true to the basics without any particular weaknesses. If you evolve it without giving it much thought, it will probably become an advanced Body Tempering technique of the same type. But would that really be the cultivation method that suits you best?”

“Ah!”

“You must have felt something during battle. I think it would be better to analyze the Bartus cultivation method carefully, adjust the flow of mana in a direction that suits you, and then evolve it.”

“That’s true. Thank you, Master!”

“You don’t have to thank me. Most Summoners wouldn’t have benefited from hearing something like this, but you have talent. I’m just telling you to keep it in mind.”

“I think that will help me a lot.”

“Then that’s good. Go ahead and begin. If it seems like the flow of mana is going awry, I’ll help you.”

“Yes. Then I won’t hesitate to ask.”

The concept was already clear to me. There was no reason to waste time.

Right there, I began circulating my mana according to the principles of Bartus Body Tempering.

At the same time, I swung my spear.

Fwoom!

‘It really is a stable cultivation method that raises physical abilities evenly.’

But after experiencing that chaotic battle in the labyrinth and gradually becoming accustomed to Pendulum Spearmanship, what I had come to realize was that my needs were slightly different.

‘My reaction speed needs to be higher. Stamina is obviously important, but strength isn’t nearly as important as I thought.’

The difference in what I needed based on my spear technique and fighting style.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could modify the Bartus cultivation method itself.

All I could do was slightly adjust the flow of mana, changing the flow that strengthened my physical strength toward improving my reaction speed and agility.

Vwoooong.

Fwoooosh!

‘Oh. It’s subtle, but there’s definitely a difference.’

Perhaps if I dug deeper into this difference and researched it for a long time, I might even be able to evolve the cultivation method without spending level-up points.

However.

‘But I have no idea how long that would take.’

If so, saving time would ultimately mean saving resources.

Fwoosh!

Bang!

While maintaining that subtle difference in the flow of mana—

‘Evolve Bartus Cultivation Method.’

[Would you like to evolve the skill?]

‘Yes.’

[2 Level-Up Points will be consumed.]

Flash!

At that moment, the stable flow of mana within the cultivation method began to change rapidly.

The mana transformed into a grander and more refined flow, gradually settling into my body.

Fortunately, it seemed to be changing in the direction I had guided it, and I naturally smiled.

[You have mastered Iron-Woo Cultivation Method (Advanced—Lv. 1).]

‘Hmm.’

I wasn’t particularly thrilled that the cultivation method had been given a name that sounded so sturdy and powerful, completely different from its essence.

But my name was Cheol-Woo.

There was nothing I could do about that.

Two days later.

After becoming accustomed to my new cultivation method, I immediately set out on my second labyrinth expedition.

[Name: Go Cheol-Woo]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 8]

[Stats]

Strength: 14 (+0.7)

Vitality: 15 (+1.4)

Agility: 10 (+2.1)

Mana: 13

Physical Resistance: 3

Magic Resistance: 4

[Mana Skills]

Pendulum Spearmanship (Common—Lv. 10), Iron-Woo Cultivation Method (Advanced—Lv. 1), Volante Footwork 1st Stage (Common—Lv. 5)

[Level-Up Points: 6]

[Ability Slots (Full)]

Multiple Spirit Contract.

[Traits]

• Check Additional Information.

‘Good. Very good.’

If Bartus Cultivation Method had raised Strength, Vitality, and Agility evenly—

Iron-Woo Cultivation Method seemed to increase Strength by about half as much as Bartus, Vitality by a similar amount, and Agility by nearly twice as much.

‘If I raise an Advanced skill to its limit, will I get a 10%, 20%, and 30% bonus relative to my mana? Perfect.’

The lower Strength bonus was a little disappointing, but for me, who was severely lacking in Agility, this was the best cultivation method possible.

My very own cultivation method, evolved exactly as I intended.

‘It feels pretty satisfying.’

Heh.

During the time I spent training Iron-Woo Cultivation Method, my Mana stat had also increased by one for free.

‘Bartus Body Tempering didn’t show any sign of increasing my mana.’

In every respect, the result was optimal.

Most importantly, I had saved my level-up points.

“Are you sure you don’t want to evolve your spear technique as well?”

“I think I’m starting to see the path. I should be able to confirm it through actual combat.”

“……Hmm. I understand that you achieved great results on the first floor, but it would be troublesome if that led to overconfidence. Char.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. That’s why I’ll only explore the second floor this time before coming back out.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. Alone.”

Jerick seemed to have a lot he wanted to say, but eventually nodded as if he understood.

The level 8 I had reached after encountering the Hobgoblins and Goblin Warriors was normally the highest level one could reach on the third floor.

On top of that, the newly equipped gear, including the artifact boots, had greatly increased my combat power.

I had also learned the Volante family’s footwork and even evolved my cultivation method to suit me.

How could he possibly stop me?

“Still, don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good. Then go.”

“Yes!”

Of course, if Jerick had known what I was really thinking, he might have tried to stop me.

‘Perfect Clear. It would be dangerous to share this with anyone else. So I absolutely have to do it alone.’

With that single thought in mind, I threw myself into the labyrinth alone.

Flash!

As soon as I entered the labyrinth, the first thing I saw was the portal I had registered at the end of the first floor.

I placed my hand against the portal.

‘To the second floor.’

Flash!

I entered a new labyrinth.

‘Hmm.’

As the light faded from my vision, the first thing I saw was a snow-covered mountain path completely different from the cave on the first floor.

A completely different world.

That was why some people claimed that the labyrinth didn’t actually descend underground, but instead transported adventurers to increasingly distant worlds the deeper they went.

‘Some people even say that since these are other worlds, you should be careful not to cause trouble while exploring.’

But there was always some mechanism accompanying adventurers that made it impossible not to recognize the labyrinth as a labyrinth.

[You have entered the second floor of the labyrinth.]

[Second Floor Quest]

[Escort the merchant caravan in the forest to its destination.]

[The caravan leader must remain unharmed. No more than 30% of the cargo may be damaged.]

‘An escort mission. Is this one of the easier types?’

It was already well known that the second floor was another continent covered in heavy snowfall.

However, the quests were so varied that it was enough to call it another continent.

In most cases, they consisted of subjugating low-level monsters or escort missions.

Exactly fitting the difficulty of the second floor.

That was something most Novice-grade labyrinths had in common.

Except for the fifth and tenth floors.

‘Where’s the caravan?’

I searched the snowy path and selected ‘Check Additional Information’ on the quest window.

[Perfect Clear Conditions]

[All caravan members, excluding the escort party, must survive (12/12). Eliminate the Elite Monster, Demon-Human (0/1).]

“Hmm.”

I couldn’t gauge the difficulty from this alone.

‘A Demon-Human should be someone who forcibly absorbed Ability Stones beyond the limit of their Ability Slots and turned into a monster.’

In the labyrinth city, where the system clearly informed everyone of their limits, there were almost no lunatics like that.

But I had heard that they were monsters occasionally encountered inside labyrinths.

‘How strong could it be? Still, this is only the second floor. It shouldn’t be some ridiculously powerful monster, right?’

I moved along the snowy path, imagining various possibilities.

Along the way, I once again realized that the artifact boots not only felt extremely comfortable but also provided insulation against the cold.

‘If I were wearing steel boots or leather shoes, I might have been worrying about frostbite already.’

Just as I was once again thinking that I had made a good choice buying these boots, I spotted a group gathered around a fire in the middle of a clearing in the forest.

It appeared to be a fairly large merchant caravan, with more than twenty people who looked like armed combatants.

“Stop! Who are you?!”

A sentry immediately approached me, showing that this was a well-disciplined group.

“I’m a traveler passing through. I’m heading toward the nearest city. Would it be all right if I traveled with you for a while?”

I answered just as Jerick had instructed me, and the sentry turned around hesitantly.

Then a plump, middle-aged man sitting closest to the campfire in the clearing spoke.

“A mercenary? What’s your level?”

“Eight.”

“An eight-level spearman. Captain Kane, can we trust him?”

“Well, we’ll find out if we put him to work.”

The scar-faced mercenary captain answered with a shrug, and the middle-aged man who appeared to be the caravan leader looked back at me.

“You’ll have to take the lead when combat breaks out, and since we’re almost at Edelin, you’ll only receive half the usual pay. Will you still join us?”

It was the answer I had expected, so I simply nodded.

However, I couldn’t help but stiffen my expression.

It wasn’t the treatment that bothered me.

‘Damn. This isn’t going to be easy, is it?’

The fact that there were more than twenty people who appeared to be guards was actually the problem.

There were so many swordsmen, yet keeping the caravan members alive was one of the Perfect Clear conditions.

‘……This might be harder than I thought.’

The fact that there were so many swordsmen, while the lives of the escort party didn’t matter at all, made me even more uneasy.

Even after joining the escort party, I didn’t immediately go to sleep.

I volunteered to take the night watch, but was rejected.

“How could we entrust the night watch to someone who just joined us today? If something happens, we’ll wake you up, so go sleep over there on the outskirts.”

Instead, another member of the escort party was assigned beside me to keep an eye on me while I slept.

Naturally, I couldn’t fall asleep.

A quest appearing meant that something was about to happen.

‘With escort missions, something usually happens within a day.’

I lay down with my eyes closed, but my nerves remained taut.

And before even an hour had passed—

“Multiple yellow eyes ahead! Wild beasts are attacking!”

“New guy! Get up!”

I had already risen before the lookout could even finish speaking.

“Now, prove your—”

“Yes!”

I ran straight to the barricade made from the wagons and took the very front position among the escort party.

Only then—

Bark!

Bark! Bark!

The barking reached my ears, and the identities of the creatures with bright yellow eyes shining in the darkness were revealed under the light.

Bark!

Bark!

Wolves.

None of them were particularly large individually, but there were far too many of them.

There were easily more than thirty that I could see.

“New guy! Forward!”

Before another shout could come from behind, I had already stepped forward.

Back when I was still on Earth, I would have been unable to do anything but tremble.

But by now, as a Summoner and an adventurer, I had adapted remarkably well to this savage world.

Bark!

Two wolves leaped at me the moment they saw me.

Stab!

I pierced the throat of the first wolf as it leaped for my neck, immediately pulled the spear back, stepped half a pace backward, and pierced the throat of the second.

‘This is it!’

As Pendulum Spearmanship had become thoroughly ingrained in my body, the movements of thrusting and withdrawing the spear flowed naturally into the footwork that followed as I retreated.

Stab!

“Whoa! New guy! You’re pretty good!”

“Seriously! That’s great!”

The pack of wolves hesitated for a moment.

But—

Awooooooooo!

The moment a chilling howl erupted from deeper within the forest, the look in the wolves’ eyes completely changed.

Bark!

Bark-bark!

The wolves charged all at once, as if they had gone mad.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

I moved my feet rapidly and slaughtered the wolves, but even as their fellow wolves continued to die, the remaining wolves attacked as if they had lost their minds.

“What the hell? Why are the wolves acting like this?!”

“Are these things crazy?!”

Eventually, the other members of the escort party had to step in to deal with the wolves I had allowed past.

Only after all thirty-two wolves had become corpses did the attack finally stop.

[Combat has ended.]

[32 wolves defeated. Contribution: 22%.]

[The enemy’s level is too low.]

[You did not gain any experience.]

“Captain, don’t you think these things are a little strange?”

“Yeah. They are strange. But this is the Beast Forest, after all.”

“Is that so?”

The escort party seemed to accept the explanation for some unknown reason.

But—

‘There’s no way this is the end.’

As an adventurer in the labyrinth, I couldn’t help tilting my head at the strange premonition.

And then—

The spirits I had released at the start of the battle to enhance my senses detected movement in the rear.

KRAAAAAASH!

“Behind us?!”

I sensed the spirits and moved at the same time.

But at that very moment, one of the wagons surrounding us exploded completely, and a gigantic monster emerged from within.