HDAAD Chapter 140

As I placed my hand on the evergreen tree taller than a person, I felt the rough leaves.

Although my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could only see the maze made of evergreens, while everything ahead remained pitch black.

“Ten minutes.”

I took out my phone from my pocket, set a 10-minute alarm, and then started walking forward, feeling the maze with my right hand.

Although it was called a maze garden, the maze actually had a very simple structure, so it wouldn’t take much time to get out.

However, in the novel, Taeju and the Noeul Guild members kept returning to their starting points due to time-out as they walked cautiously, worried about monsters appearing.

They did manage to get through the maze quickly after understanding the full situation, but that was after spending two days.

‘It won’t be like that this time.’

I deliberately told them there were no monsters, and even offered the reward of differential purification time, so it shouldn’t take too long.

“Dead end.”

Before turning back from the dead end, I took out a glow-in-the-dark sticker from my infinite pouch and stuck it on the ground.

This was to mark it as a dead end in case I took a wrong turn again or had to go through the maze again after exceeding the 10-minute limit.

Just as I was about to place my right hand on the leaves to walk through the maze again, I heard a loud bang.

“I knew they’d do that.”

Taeju and Lee Chaewon weren’t the type to slowly navigate the maze like me; they’d rather break through it.

But there’s one thing they know and two they don’t.

“No matter what they do, it won’t break.”

The maze is impervious to any attack.

I considered telling them about the maze’s characteristics before entering to prevent them from wasting their efforts, but I decided not to, thinking they should experience it directly so they won’t make the same mistake in the Cradle later.

“If they waste time here, they definitely won’t survive in the Cradle. Tsk tsk.”

I passed through the maze, sticking glow-in-the-dark stickers on dead ends.

And one minute before the alarm went off.

I arrived at the boss room with a standing disc.

“Let’s see where everyone is.”

The disc in the center of the boss room was a map of the maze garden.

There were colored dots on the map, indicating the current positions of the people navigating the maze.

-Beep beep beep

As the alarm on my phone in my pocket went off, all the dots, whether close to the boss room or halfway there, moved back to their starting points.

“I told them the time limit and that there were no monsters, so why couldn’t anyone get through?”

Clicking my tongue, I looked at the map again.

“Oh. That’s fast.”

A yellow dot on the disc started moving quickly through the maze. Like someone running while looking at a map, the yellow dot person quickly ran without entering dead ends.

“You arrived first.”

It was Shin Sooha.

“How did you pass through the maze?”

“I memorized it from the air.”

No wonder he never entered a dead end.

“I, I came early.”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you say you’d give something if we came early?”

“……”

I nodded and took Shin Sooha’s hand, then looked back at the map.

Unlike the first one, it seemed the second person had figured out the maze, as red and blue dots were quickly running towards the boss room.

“Hyung!”

“…You were here first.”

Taeju and Yoon Seokjin arrived at the boss room with a hair’s breadth between them.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“It’s just a maze without monsters, how could I get hurt? I was just a bit confused about the path.”

I pushed away Taeju, who was pressing against me either to check for injuries or subtly asking for purification, and said to Yoon Seokjin,

“You passed through quickly.”

“Ah. The spirit guided me.”

“I see.”

I thought the spirits Yoon Seokjin summons with his ability would be useless in the maze since they have no physical form and can pass through walls. But I guess that’s not the case.

I nodded and looked back at the disc.

The remaining colors were purple, orange, green, and navy blue. Which of these four would be Mei’s color?

“What’s that? A map?”

“Yeah. I don’t know which color belongs to who.”

Michael and Lee Chaewon, being combat hunters, probably wouldn’t worry even if faced with monsters, but I was concerned about Mei, the healer, even though there were no monsters in the maze.

“What color was I?”

“Red.”

“I guess it doesn’t follow ability. Look, purple is coming.”

Just as I was about to turn my head after seeing the purple dot near the entrance of the boss room, the alarm in my pocket went off.

“Too late.”

With just one step left, the purple dot returned to the starting point.

“Purple must be feeling pretty bitter.”

Taeju snickered and put his arm on my shoulder.

“Get off.”

“Let’s stick together for a bit. You’re holding his hand too.”

I quickly let go of Shin Sooha’s hand.

Shin Sooha looked at me with dissatisfaction, but I ignored it.

“I was holding it because I said I’d give a reward. And didn’t I say I don’t like being pressed against?”

“I came in second. You should give something to second place too, right? At least let me hold your hand.”

Instead of my hand, I gave Taeju Salt, who was dozing on top of my head.

Salt, who opened its eyes with a sparkle, stared at Taeju and said,

“Peep.”

‘Oh, Salt.’

Telling him to get lost. Why is its language getting rougher day by day like a gangster?

And no matter what, how is this face a pumpkin? There’s no one as beautiful as it.

“What did Salt say?”

“It’s better for your mental health not to hear it.”

I waved my hand dismissively and looked at the disc.

Everyone seemed to have found their way, moving without hesitation.

“Fools. They should have come quickly like me.”

What’s he bragging about when he came second?

I hit the back of Taeju’s head as he was gloating, then looked at the two people standing at opposite ends of the boss room.

Shin Sooha was watching me with his arms crossed, while Yoon Seokjin had his head bowed low.

‘They’re not newlyweds, why are they standing so far apart?’

While Yoon Seokjin might have become introverted after people started avoiding him due to his awakened ability, how could Shin Sooha, as the party leader, not take care of his party members like this?

Even if one side is being shy, he should approach first and act friendly.

“I don’t like it at all.”

As I clicked my tongue looking at Shin Sooha, Taeju tapped my shoulder.

“Hm? What?”

“Orange is arriving.”

Looking at the entrance, Mei came into the boss room, breathing heavily.

“Wow. How can a maze be this complicated? I really thought I was going to die trying to get out.”

I thought purple was Mei, but if she’s orange, who are purple and green?

At that moment, as if to answer my question, purple and green arrived at the boss room entrance one after another.

“Wow. When did everyone arrive? Wasn’t the maze difficult? Was I the only one who got lost? I guess I’m weak at this kind of thing. But it was really fun. Go-woon!”

Michael, who had been quiet until now, suddenly turned into a question mark killer.

“Are there more like this? Who came in first? I want to come in first next time, is there anyone who can teach me? By the way, how did everyone get here? Hey? Tell me a bit.”

Behind Michael, who was rattling off questions without seeming to breathe, Lee Chaewon appeared.

“Michael, breathe while you talk. Was I the last one?”

“No. Baigang hasn’t come out yet.”

Baigang, who was navy blue, had chosen a dead end at the last fork and was on her way back.

There were still about 5 minutes left, and even if she went back and came again, the distance was short enough to reach the boss room.

“I was the last one. I’m sorry.”

As Baigang, who said she had difficulty because she was bad with directions, entered the boss room with an embarrassed face, a signal appeared indicating that the boss was being summoned.

“Alright, everyone gather around.”

After gathering the party members who were scattered far apart, I said,

“Now the minion monsters will be summoned.”

“What kind of monsters are the minions?”

“Insects.”

“Insects?”

Michael’s face scrunched up.

“The boss will appear after we kill the minions that are being summoned now, and the minion monsters will be golden beetles.”

“Ah.”

Lee Chaewon sighed, as if she had faced golden beetles before.

“Why? Is there a problem with golden beetles?”

“Golden beetles are tricky to deal with.”

“If they’re bugs, I can just kill them, right?”

Taeju said, thinking he could burn them with electricity like during the dungeon break, but Lee Chaewon shook her head.

“They’re insects, but electricity doesn’t work on them.”

“What about water then.”

“Water doesn’t work either, and their shell has physical defense, so swords don’t work either.”

As Lee Chaewon said, golden beetles were monsters that were almost invincible.

Not only were they immune to fire, electricity, and water, but they also had high physical defense that deflected swords.

Moreover, golden beetles were small like ordinary insects, and they sucked blood when approached, making them difficult to catch up close.

“Then how did you catch them before?”

“Back then, one of the hunters we were with used poison to catch them, but we didn’t bring any poison, did we?”

As Lee Chaewon finished speaking with a sigh, the fluttering sound of insect wings could be heard.

It wasn’t just me who heard it; everyone turned their heads to look at the entrance of the boss room. Despite there being no space for light to enter, a golden shimmer could be seen.

“Eek. What is that?”

“A swarm of golden beetles. There are more than I expected.”

Lee Chaewon frowned as if it was giving her a headache.

“Mr. Shin Sooha. Have you ever caught golden beetles?”

“No. This is my first time seeing these monsters.”

“They’re not common monsters, that’s why. I only encountered them once in Egypt.”

I clicked my tongue, realizing why Taeju had such a hard time in the novel. It was because they didn’t know how to deal with these uncommon monsters.

“Hyung, did you bring any poison by any chance?”

Taeju looked at me.

“No.”

“Is there another way to catch them?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“You have a way?”

Lee Chaewon, Taeju, and Michael asked in order at my answer.

“Did you think I would bring you here without knowing how to deal with them?”

I chuckled and took out a glass bottle from my infinite pouch.

The 1.5L glass bottle was filled with pink liquid.

I handed the glass bottle to Shin Sooha and said,

“You just need to break this over the golden beetles.”

Shin Sooha lifted the glass bottle with his telekinesis and moved it towards the boss room.

“Hyung, what is that?”

“That? Holy water.”

“Hm? The color is different though? The holy water I’ve seen wasn’t pink, it was clear.”

I nodded at Michael’s words.

“It is holy water. But, I processed it a bit.”

“Processed?”

“Yes.”

As the fluttering sound drew closer, everyone’s attention turned back to the boss room.

“Wow. Disgustingly many of them came.”

Mei seemed to dislike insects too, slightly furrowing her brow.

“Ugh. I really hate this.”

While Mei was shuddering, beetles about half the size of a palm reached the entrance of the boss room.

“Mr. Shin Sooha!”

As my voice echoed through the Tower, with a shattering sound, the spilled pink liquid turned into smoke as if vaporizing, creating a fog.

“What? How did you do that?”

And the golden beetles that touched the fog lost their golden color and fell to the ground with a thud.

“Are they dead?”

“No. They’ve just become ordinary insects that can’t fly and have no defense.”

“What?!”

Even Yoon Seokjin looked at me with surprised eyes, as if this was so amazing.

“Skills probably won’t work, but I’ve removed their physical defense, so get rid of them quickly.”

“Really? Are you sure their physical defense is gone?”

I nodded.

“Yes. It only lasts for exactly 5 minutes, so if you don’t attack quickly, you’ll be in trouble.”

At my words, Lee Chaewon rushed towards the golden beetles with her sword. Michael, Taeju, and Baigang followed suit.

As Lee Chaewon, who reached the golden beetles first, swung her sword, there was a cracking sound as the beetle’s shell split, and insect fluid sprayed into the air.

“Wow, it really works!”

“This feels good, like crushing crackers!”

“Be careful. If they bite you, they’ll never let go.”

Lee Chaewon and Michael kept talking even as they swung their swords.

In contrast, Baigang and Taeju swung their swords with tightly closed mouths, as if killing the beetles was their life’s goal.

“What is Hunter Yoon Seokjin doing? Aren’t you going?”

Unlike the four who had rushed in, Yoon Seokjin was still standing far away from us.

“I don’t use a sword.”

“What about Guild Master Shin Sooha?”

Shin Sooha raised one eyebrow.

If that facial expression was an answer, it seemed to say, “What’s it to you?”

“We need to catch them quickly and get out, right?”

As the first clear was important, it would be advantageous to catch the beetles quickly.

Shin Sooha looked at Mei and slightly moved his finger.

-Crash

There was a sound of something breaking and shattering, and the boss room suddenly became quiet.

And then,

[Shin Sooha – Contamination level 10%]

Shin Sooha’s contamination level skyrocketed.