Labyrinth City -1-
Labyrinth City
Aachen.
When viewed from the sky, it looks like a giant snail.
A strange texture, the shells glowing with fluorescent colours, coiled into a swirling shape.
Above it, a colorful aurora dances.
A closer look at the Aurora reveals lofty sacred texts and profound magical characters floating around.
That’s the great labyrinth.
The snail shell, which looks like a huge mountain, is only the entrance to the Great Labyrinth.
The real thing was underground.
A sub-dimensional space where the corpses of dead gods during the War of Destruction are resurrected and roam, and the ghosts of forgotten gods still reign supreme.
As they advance as demons, the Guardians’ Alliance continues to protect the Labyrinth City and attack the Great Labyrinth.
‘It was around here?’
The most powerful organization in humanity, where you must be at least level 5 to be allowed to join.
I looked around the Guardians’ League headquarters.
Unlike the bizarre Great Labyrinth, it is a very modern building.
But that’s not my destination.
I glanced around the headquarters building and then went into the alley behind it.
‘What was the name?’
Not all guardians have deep pockets.
If money was your goal, you would have started your own business or gotten a job.
Guardians are mostly people whose goal is to level up.
We spend a lot of money and resources fighting against demons every day.
So, relatively cheap bars were densely packed in this alley.
Of course, they don’t just sell alcohol.
All kinds of pleasures could be enjoyed here.
‘Diana.’
I finally remembered.
It was a name that came to mind after walking back and forth through the red-light district alley several times.
I’ve said it many times, but the problem with Arcane Seoul is that it’s a mobile game.
There are only a few store options on one illustration, so you can’t go there even if you want to.
It’s still daytime.
Luckily, BAR Diana was open for business.
As I opened the door and went in, thick drug smoke stung my eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and skin all at once.
What kind of drug is this?
Reflexively equipped with the Unbreakable and Drug Resistance traits.
Then, my turbulent heart finally calmed down.
It must have been a very strong drug, as it was probably smoked by high-level superhumans.
“Hoooo.”
A lazy afternoon.
The madam, who had been leisurely smoking a drug cigarette, exhaled a long puff of smoke.
A scene is created where a man and a woman kiss passionately while a flash of light appears in the smoke.
“It’s my first time seeing your face. Are you looking for something?”
At first he asks in German and then switches to English.
I’m glad I can speak English.
By the way, it looks familiar.
A face I saw in the game.
However, instead of replacing both eyes with magic eyeballs, he had only devil horns embedded in his temples.
I sat down in front of Madam without hesitation.
“A cocktail. Is Belphegor diligent?”
“Of course. It seems like this is your first time here. Who told you?”
“I heard it from a friend.”
“Haha. Gentlemen are always welcome.”
The madam made a fancy cocktail and handed it to me.
A hazy blue cocktail.
As I took a gulp, a warm energy surged up inside my stomach.
Madam smiled brightly as she looked at me like that.
“You even drink properly. I really hate people who drink alcohol in slurps.”
“Aren’t cocktails originally meant to be enjoyed leisurely?”
“It’s the creator’s heart.”
“That’s true.”
I slowly looked around the bar.
The only guests are me and an old man.
Even the men were not interested in me and were just quietly talking among themselves.
The windows are dark and the lights are mostly off, making the room dark.
Almost everything matched my memory, except for one thing.
‘Sigmund is not here······’
The most remote spot.
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Originally, a drunkard was supposed to drink nonstop.
If you come in and order Belphegor’s Diligence, you’ll have to pester him to buy you a drink too.
In the game, after becoming friends with the drunkard, you complete three tasks and learn advanced training methods.
But it went wrong from the very first step.
‘It’s a bit different because it was a few years before the game started.’
I tried to recall my memories calmly.
What did the character description of Sigmund the Drunkard say?
[······Sigmund was a promising guardian and a faithful and devoted husband only a few years ago······]
[······But after a sudden misfortune takes away his wife, Sigmund becomes frustrated and spends his time drinking······]
[······If you can rehabilitate him and bring him in, Sigmund will serve you as a powerful vanguard······]
Yeah, that’s right.
It seems that this is before Sigmund lost his wife.
If that’s the case, there’s no reason for Sigmund to come here.
‘How do I find it?’
This is difficult.
All I knew about Sigmund was that he was always at this bar.
Home address?
Of course I don’t know.
Why don’t you go to the Guardians’ League and ask around?
That’s also difficult.
The Guardians’ League is so arrogant that you can’t enter without a pass. If I were a level 5, I could at least request a tour, but level 4s are definitely barred from entering.
After thinking about it, an idea came to mind.
“Do you sell anything other than alcohol?”
“Okay. What do you need? Medicine? I have something really awesome. Or······this?”
Madame winked and unzipped her chest.
Her white flesh was revealed, but I pretended not to see it.
I admit that Madame is beautiful, but I don’t have the interest in a woman with bull horns on her temples.
“I’m looking for someone. Do you also sell information?”
“We sell information and we also sell the night that ends well.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Tch. Not fun. Well, okay. Who are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for a drunkard… no, Sigmund Sigurdsson.”
“Huh? I guess you’re Norse? I see you don’t have a last name.”
“Yes. He must be a Thor believer. He’s a level 5 warrior type superhuman.”
“Huh.”
In the original world, the Norse were divided into several nations, but in this world, they still retain their old form.
It’s because of Thor, the god who is alive and well.
The Church of Thor is one of the seven major churches.
It was particularly strong in Europe and North America.
Madame smiled seductively.
“I know who it is.”
“Can you introduce me to someone? I’ll pay you a referral fee.”
“Why are you giving me an introduction fee? She’s my friend.”
“Friends?”
“Yes. Hjordis is my classmate. Do you know Hjordis?”
Did you two know each other?
Oh, so that’s why Sigmund was beating up people in this bar in the game.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“This is Sigmund’s wife. They were such a good couple… Phew.”
Madam suddenly lets out a long sigh.
“You came at a bad time of all times. Hjordis has been very sick lately.”
“Are you sick?”
“Yes. Maybe Sigmund will refuse to meet you.”
I had a gut feeling after hearing Madam’s words.
That it was that time.
The turning point where the superman Sigmund falls into a drunkard.
It feels like we’ve reached a crossroads in the fate of many characters, whether by coincidence or fate.
As if someone had thrown it in at this point on purpose.
‘That could be······’
I put my thoughts aside and looked at Madame seriously.
“What about the priest? Didn’t he take you to the temple?”
“Of course I took her. My fellow priests also visited the Sigmund couple’s house frequently to try to cure Hjordis. They all failed.”
“What kind of illness is it?”
“It’s not a disease. If it was a disease, it would have been cured a long time ago.”
There is no disease that a high-level priest cannot cure.
If there is one, it is old age.
Even dementia, stroke, and terminal cancer are treatable diseases in this world.
I remained silent.
As far as I know, Hjordis was also a superhuman and belonged to the same guardian group as Sigmund.
Well then, there is one possibility.
It was clear that he had been attacked by demons in the Great Labyrinth.
‘Huh? By any chance?’
There is one debuff that comes to mind when you think of the devil.
“Is this a stigmata?”
“······Yes. That’s right. You know.”
Stigmata.
A debuff caused by a fallen divinity wounding the soul.
One of the worst debuffs in Arcane Seoul along with Shin-yeol.
If I got caught like this, it would have been better to just change characters.
“Even if it’s just a mild stigmata, it can be cured. You can recover just by drinking nectar. Oh, did you get hit by a Demon King-level stigmata? It would be difficult if it’s a Demon King-level stigmata.”
Madame shook her head.
“It’s a mark of the level of a drinker.”
“Drinking level······”
“The Archbishop of the Thor Church and the Archbishop of the Gaia Church visited, but they couldn’t cure him either. I think it would be difficult even if the Pope came······”
I guess so.
Even if he is a dead god, he is still called a demon.
The wounds they inflicted on my soul cannot be light.
But this only applies to the main story of Arcane Seoul.
With the release of Episode 5: Hellgate, a major revolution in demonology has taken place within the game.
Among the knowledge thus revealed was a method to treat even the most severe stigmata.
‘As long as it’s not a high-end or top-class drink, it’s fine.’
Since Sigmund is level 5, Hjordis must also be level 5.
He’s a high-level superhuman outside, but he’s the lowest level in the Guardians’ League.
There is no way he would have gone down that deep into the Great Labyrinth.
In other words, the possibility of encountering a high-level or top-level demon is extremely low.
“Do you know what kind of demon it was? I have some knowledge of demonology, so I think I might have a solution.”
“Even the demonology professors at Aachen University have given up… You say you know a lot about demonology? You don’t seem to be a magician or a priest.”
“Isn’t it better to lose than to gain? If you don’t know the devil, I won’t even go to see Mr. Sigmund. Just tell me your name.”
“Whew, okay. Just in case.”
After hesitating for a while, Madame finally opened her mouth.
“It’s the pitch-black Kimaris.”
Kimaris!
Among the drinks, it was classified as the lowest level drink.
Even though it’s weak, it’s only level 8, and it would be a disaster if it crawled out of the Great Labyrinth.
“thank god.”
I said it with sincerity.
“I know how to overcome the stigmata of Kimaris.”
“What did you just say? That you can cure stigmata?”
“It’s not a cure, it’s an overcoming. After overcoming it, you’ll need to rest for a long time and perform rituals, but if a high-level priest comes, you’ll be able to completely overcome it.”
“Really, really? You’re not lying?”
“Why would I lie? I don’t lie about people’s lives. If I do, I’ll get stabbed.”
Madame gives strength to her eyes.
Starlight was swirling inside the pupil.
I don’t know what it is, but it seems to use a detection series characteristic.
Am I that unattractive?
After a long time, the strength in Madame’s eyes disappeared.
“It’s true······ I can’t believe that there is a way to cure, or rather overcome, stigmata.”
“I don’t know all of them. I only know a few, including Kimaris. I’m glad I received the stigmata of Kimaris and not another demon.”
“Thor helped me. Thank you, Thor.”
Were you a Thor believer?
Madame said a short prayer on the spot.
Then he suddenly got up and grabbed my hand.
“There’s no time! Let’s go now!”
“Shouldn’t you at least make contact before you go?”
“It’s okay! If Sigmund knew the situation, he would welcome the guest with open arms! Let’s go quickly!”
It must have been really urgent.
Madam ran to the parking lot without even closing the store door.
Sigmund’s house was not far from the store.
Even if I ran at a moderate pace, it would take me 15 minutes to get there, but I ran with the stars shining brightly in my eyes and arrived in just 5 minutes.
This isn’t the Busan taxi that appears in internet stories.
“Sigmund! Sigmund! Come out quickly!”
Beep beep beep!
Madame Whirly unlocked the door.
It seems like we’re close.
I know the house password, and I can see that even the fingerprints and magic pattern are registered.
The climate change magic circle seen at Seo Woo-jin’s house was activated, and the fairies hiding in the starflower tree planted in the garden ran away with a squeak, and a man walked out.
“Borghild? What’s going on?”
“Listen! This guy here knows how to cure Hyordis!”
“What? You brought another conman here? It’s not working! I told him to get out of here!”
“This time it feels real! I told you it felt right? Even my Eye of Truth passed through it!”
“You can fool yourself with just self-hypnosis······”
“This time it’s real!”
The man looked me over carefully and sighed deeply.
“Superman? What should I call you?”
“I’m Kim Jeonsa. Please call me Kim.”
“Yes, Mr. Kim. My wife and I have been going through painful days since the stigmata. I have tried everything to cure my wife. I made her drink nectar, and even took her to Asgard to receive the blessing of the Pope.”
“You met the Pope in person?”
“Yes. But even the Pope could not cure the stigmata. The Pope said that even if he was a fallen demon, he was on the same level as Thor, so it would be impossible to cure the stigmata. It would be different if I met Thor in person, but you know that, right? You have to be at least level 7 to face a god. That’s what the Pope said.”
The man’s face becomes distorted.
Painfully.
As if he was about to shed tears of blood at any moment.
“There’s no way. Just make lots of good memories.”
“Is that so······”
“I know you came to visit us with good intentions. But, but······”
The voice is heavy.
It sinks heavily, like a lump of lead.
“I wish you would stop bothering me and go away······”
“Sigmund······”
Madame looked almost like she was going to cry.
Sigmund turned his back.
His shoulders are slumped.
The back of a man who has been broken by the world and has given up on life.
I used to be like that too.
But there was a crucial difference between us.
That I came into a man’s world.
I know the perfect answer.
