Conquering the Labyrinth with a Trash-Tier Trait - Chapter 51

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 51
“That woman has been hiring hitmen from the Black Market. And it seems her target is you, Char.”
“What?”
What kind of absurd claim was this?
Even if Cha Hye-ryeon were completely unhinged, she wouldn’t hire assassins over a mere clash like that.
That arrogant woman?
“If a third-class wanted to dispose of me, she could simply come at me directly.”
In this savage world, I’d take some flak for a duel or whatever else, but it’s not as though I lack the means to handle her myself.
‘Of course, she won’t find me easy prey.’
There’s no way that woman doesn’t know it.
More than that, though.
“How did you find out about this, Ruda?”
Information about the Black Market, Cha Hye-ryeon’s target—everything?
I’ve even registered her voice, and I haven’t heard a single word from her.
“…I have a separate information network of my own.”
“An information network?”
“It’s nothing grandiose. I’m simply reconnecting the ties and relationships that have carried over from my predecessor’s time.”
“Your predecessor’s time?”
Ruda hesitated a moment, then offered a rueful smile.
“I’m a descendant of the Asran Family, once renowned as merchant nobility. Though the family fell during my grandfather’s era.”
“What?”
Where was this sudden introduction coming from?
“I intend to restore my family to prominence. And that’s also why I entered into a contract with you, Char.”
“Ah. Yes. Well…”
I gave a vague response, and Ruda tilted her head quizzically.
“Did you already know?”
“I, well…”
I did know.
But since it had been so long, I couldn’t quite recall whether I’d heard it directly from her or gleaned it from some trait—it was all muddled.
From the way she was asking, it seemed I hadn’t told her myself.
“…Yes. I’ve heard of the Asran Family before.”
Her face brightened a little at my evasion.
“Ah, so that’s why you agreed to contract with me so readily when we first met…”
That wasn’t it at all, but let’s go with that.
“The truth is, to restore my family, I need many things. Success as a merchant goes without saying, martial strength as well, and…”
The glance she threw my way at that moment was no accident.
“…many other conditions besides. Fortunately, before my father passed, he managed to cultivate something of an organization. Well, it’s not quite an organization yet—more like threads of connection woven from his predecessors’ relationships. We share news when something favorable or interesting surfaces, that sort of thing…”
Ruda’s explanation had grown unnecessarily long.
“An information organization?”
“…Yes. As a merchant pursuing success, I needed an organization that could reliably handle information.”
“So your organization learned that Cha Hye-ryeon hired assassins from the Black Market?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hm.”
I couldn’t bring myself to fully believe it, but given how elaborately she’d laid it out, I couldn’t simply dismiss it either.
“However, there was something rather unusual that troubled us.”
“Unusual?”
“Yes. The woman hired second-class hitmen. Despite having sparred with you several times, and being a prominent summoner at the Royal Palace where money shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Hm.”
That was genuinely odd.
‘Even if she underestimates me, if she really wanted me dead, hiring third-class assassins or higher would be the logical choice.’
What was her angle?
“I went back and forth on whether to tell you this. But in the end, I decided to place my bet on you, Char.”
“Because of what happened yesterday?”
“Honestly, yes. Before, I had vague hopes for you, but the strength you demonstrated yesterday and today proved you’re a rookie worth paying attention to.”
“Should I say thank you?”
“I’m satisfied simply maintaining our exclusive contract. And if any information surfaces that could pose a threat to you, I’ll let you know. Like today.”
“…It feels like you’re giving too much.”
“If you feel that way, then someday when I ask something of you, just grant that one favor.”
In that moment, I couldn’t help but hesitate.
—Because a trustworthy merchant is something that doesn’t make sense, like being filthy rich yet a good person.
The moment Jerik’s words flashed through my mind.
“Ah, of course, if it doesn’t suit you, there’s no need to grant the favor.”
I couldn’t be sure if I should trust her.
But it was true that Ruda had never done me any harm so far.
‘Besides, whether I accept the favor or not is entirely up to me?’
Well, once I’ve taken the information, that’s that.
Good deal.
“Alright then, let’s do it that way. In any case, I’m counting on you for the Ability Stone.”
“Of course. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready. It shouldn’t take long.”
With that, I ended the meeting with Ruda.
But on my way back to the Martial Arts Hall.
The earring chimed.
Ting.
‘Hmm?’
—Yeah. Just as you predicted, it failed.
It was Lee Jin-sung’s voice.
Near the Labyrinth monument.
—Ah. I was hoping, you know, but what’s the use of having a good friend.
—Why do you keep doing this?
Naturally, I couldn’t hear the other person’s voice.
But from the pauses between words and Lee Jin-sung’s responses alone, it wasn’t hard to guess who he was talking to.
—I thought we were good friends. I was trying to help in good faith with this too……
—Tch. Yeah, I can’t say there was no good intention behind it. But if it had worked out, that would’ve been good for both of us anyway.
—……Yeah. Why are you beating up adventurers and running around? It’s setting an example.
—My thoughts? Hmm. Well. I haven’t seen his power yet, but he seems stubborn. And there’s some lingering resentment toward the Royal Palace. That’s about it.
—Such childish schemes. Are you really going to try that? It’ll backfire if he catches on.
—Hmm. I already warned you. Cha Hye-ryeon.
Oh ho.
More miscellaneous talk followed after that, but there wasn’t much else worth noting.
Besides, it seemed he’d gone into a soundproofed place—the Royal Palace perhaps—because his voice soon cut off.
But with just this much, I could be certain.
‘So Cha Hye-ryeon is up to something. But… childish schemes?’
Combining what I’d heard with the information from Ruda, I had a rough idea of what was going on.
Honestly, I’d have said impossible, but I couldn’t imagine anything else.
‘I’m going to have to keep my guard up in all directions for a while. Ugh.’
Anyway, I wasn’t planning to go back into the Labyrinth until I’d purchased the Ability Stone from Ruda.
So I’d have to put up with it for a few days.
Only thing was.
‘I’m probably going to run into that woman again.’
Whether I won or lost, things were sure to get messy.
‘I need to figure out a strategy.’
That was my only concern.
* * *
From the next day onward.
I summoned spirits to constantly monitor all directions around me.
Downgrading four spirits to lower-tier rank consumed less mana and allowed me to survey 100 meters rather than 50.
On top of that, there was an option that came with my Ability Stone when it received forced promotion through Multiple Spirit Dominance.
—Spirit Command Range +100m
With this added on, the lower-tier spirits hiding in air, earth, heat, and moisture within a 200-meter radius fed me information about everyone approaching me.
Of course there were some side effects.
‘Ugh. My head hurts.’
Given the situation, it seemed I’d have to endure it for a while.
And fortunately.
Before that evening, Ruda sent someone to me.
“As you requested, I’ve gathered Obsolete Orange Ability Stones. There weren’t many available, so I only have four, but if you give me more time, I should be able to get more.”
“Ah, thank you. In just one day, too. This is more than enough.”
Ruda seemed to feel it was insufficient, but for me it was plenty.
‘It’s overkill for the Labyrinth anyway right now, so I’m better off just slotting stones into one spirit.’
If I thought about the cost when upgrading with other Ability Stones later, wasting orange-tier stones on all of them would be a waste.
And anything beyond that doesn’t match my rank anyway, so slotting them in is impossible to begin with.
[Pain Sharing]
—Strength +17, Vitality +19, Agility +16, Mana +20, Physical Resistance +18, Magic Resistance +17
—When the Innate Ability activates, Physical and Magic Resistance each increase by 10 (Mana/s).
—When the Innate Ability activates, damage received by the selected target (mandatory) is instead received by you, up to 20 per second.
* If the target receives damage exceeding 20, both parties take an additional 20 damage.
[Last Ditch Effort]
—Strength +20, Vitality +15, Agility +19, Mana +16, Physical Resistance +17, Magic Resistance +18
—When Life Force is 1 or below, all Stats increase by 20.
* If Life Force exceeds 1, the effect immediately deactivates.
[Blood Self-Destruct]
—Strength +18, Vitality +16, Agility +19, Mana +19, Physical Resistance +17, Magic Resistance +19
—Use Mana to stimulate the source of life and self-destruct.
(Damage – sum of all Stats)
* Using this ability causes death.
[Physical Immunity]
—Strength +19, Vitality +20, Agility +14, Mana +20, Physical Resistance +20, Magic Resistance +15
—When the Innate Ability activates, Physical Resistance and Vitality each increase by 20 (Mana/s).
* After activation, you cannot use Mana for (Mana/d) hours.
“…These are splendid obsolete stones. Really.”
Physical Immunity could at least be deployed once in an emergency, but Blood Self-Destruct—that’s just suicide the moment you use it.
‘Wait. If I synthesize Pain Sharing or Physical Immunity properly and strip away the penalties, I could sell them for a decent price… No, that’s a terrible idea.’
If I bought these and then immediately sold off penalty-free Ability Stones, I’d wake up in the dungeon beneath the Royal Palace the very next day.
‘Even if Ruda doesn’t say anything, if I sell those right after Ruda buys them… it’s obvious what happened.’
Once I pushed away that foolish notion, a viable combination occurred to me instead.
‘Orange Ability Stones have two Innate Ability effects as standard, or three effects with one Penalty attached.’
My current Ability Stone, Multiple Spirit Dominance, follows the same pattern.
Multiple Consciousness, Multiple Spirit, Summon Distance—three effects, with a single Penalty: “Lower-tier Spirit Restriction.”
Working through the logic that way, I could extrapolate the synthesis result.
‘It should be pretty decent.’
The math checked out.
“I’ll take Physical Immunity, Blood Self-Destruct, and Last Ditch Effort.”
“…I understand the others, but Blood Self-Destruct?”
“Yes. I won’t be using it myself, so don’t worry.”
“Ah, you mentioned using it for Artifact crafting, didn’t you?”
I never said anything so specific.
‘And so another lie stacks onto the pile.’
The Penalty of Blood Self-Destruct is essentially one with the ability itself—it can’t be stripped away.
So regardless of what I synthesize, no one could actually use it.
‘But I’m not using it, so.’
Thanks to that, the result of synthesizing those three Ability Stones was already transparent to me.
Once I saw it.
‘If I slot this into a Fire Spirit… I think there’ll be Synergy. Good. Let’s do it.’
So the three Ability Stones went straight into the Goblin Pouch.
The next day.
They were reborn as a single Ability Stone.
“Wow.”
[Extreme Self-Destruct]
—Strength +20, Vitality +20, Agility +19, Mana +20, Physical Resistance +20, Magic Resistance +19
—Use Mana to stimulate the source of life, amplify power dramatically (all Physical Stats increase by 20), and detonate with that force (Damage: sum of all Stats).
* Using this ability causes death.
‘An Innate Ability for one shot only. Perfect.’
There was one thing I worried about.
‘I really hope this doesn’t vanish after being used once.’
But if it does, I’d just have to accept that forty Gold went down the drain.
My pride might smart a little.
‘Let’s find out.’
All I could do was hope otherwise.
Whoooosh.
[Name: Bul Cheol-woo]
[Race: Fire Spirit (Lower-tier)]
[Level: 18]
[Stats]
Spirit: 38
[Mana Skills]
Flash (Advanced—Lv. 10), Explosion (Advanced—Lv. 10), Fire Starting (Advanced—Lv. 10), Warming (Advanced……), and more.
[Innate Ability Slots (Full)]
Extreme Self-Destruct.
[Traits]
—Additional information available.
And only then did I notice something odd.
‘Wait. Where are Bul Cheol-woo’s physical stats?’
No Strength. No Stamina. No Agility.
There was only one stat.
Spirit Stat: 38.
“……Did I mess this up?”
A chill ran through me. I used the trait to review the spirit’s stats and Innate Abilities once more.
[Additional Information]
When an Ability Stone is equipped, the highest stat value applies to the Spirit Stat.
Innate Abilities that require physical stats are integrated and applied to match the spirit’s single-stat structure.
<Extreme Self-Destruct>
—Overload the spirit core with Mana, increasing the Spirit Stat by 118.
Self-destruct with that force (Damage: Spirit Stat).
* Upon use, Bul Cheol-woo disappears and cannot be resummoned for 1 hour.
“Ah.”
Then the situation changed.
‘Thirty-eight plus one hundred eighteen. That’s one hundred fifty-six.’
Respectable.
But.
‘If I think of it as a one-shot finishing move with a one-hour cooldown…….’
It felt slightly underwhelming.
The World Tree Wooden Spear alone has a base attack power of forty.
Add my Strength, Mana, and spearmanship to that.
A properly executed crushing thrust couldn’t be guaranteed to fall short of one hundred fifty-six.
‘For a forty-Gold finisher with a one-hour cooldown, it’s a bit lacking.’
But then.
No, wait.
Bul Cheol-woo has skills.
<Explosion (Advanced—Lv. 10)>
—Detonate flames instantaneously.
—Explosion Damage +20
“That’s right. If I use this together…….”
The Labyrinth’s system doesn’t display synergy between skills as numerical values.
But it undoubtedly exists.
Just as a spear’s attack power is amplified many times over through spearmanship.
‘Extreme Self-Destruct combined with Explosion…….’
It won’t simply add twenty to the damage.
‘And since it’s an area attack, how effective could it be.’
The moment that thought struck me, a genuine smile finally spread across my face.
‘Let me test it.’
And that very night.
Boom—a deafening roar tore through the air.
A small mountain south of Bartus trembled with the blast.
I had gotten a result worth being satisfied with.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————