MDPS 11

Chapter 11

Labyrinth (2)

A few minutes before the Nightmare Mode commotion.

《You have entered the Berserker’s Labyrinth (Rare).》
《Summon your familiars to proceed with the dungeon.》
《You can use escape warps placed throughout the labyrinth to exit.》
《Managing fatigue is important in the labyrinth. Low fatigue will negatively affect your familiars.》

In the labyrinth, there’s a special resource called Fatigue.

It drops with every action you take, and as it decreases, you receive debuffs.

That was one of the reasons beginners avoided labyrinths.

They didn’t give you anything amazing, but they were annoyingly tricky.

So when you run a labyrinth, finding the optimal route is key.

The top priority is finding a path to the boss room that uses as little fatigue as possible.

Hmm… let’s see.

I looked around my position and the entrance area.

I think I’ve got the general layout.

Call it muscle memory.

Just from glancing around, old memories started resurfacing.

Like visiting your childhood neighborhood — even if it’s been ten years, the map just draws itself in your head.

Once I had the route, I immediately summoned Hertia and Caligo.

“You called, Master.”

“Oh-ho, Sage! And where is this place now? The stench of beasts and blood! Smells exactly like my laboratory! Kuhahaha—”

“Maybe your nose has finally gone bad, Caligo?”

“I believe this gorilla woman can be dismissed at once!”

The two of them started a staring contest the moment they appeared.

My head was already starting to hurt.

“This is a battlefield. If you’re not going to take it seriously, I’ll dismiss you both.”

“…My apologies.”

“I was short-sighted, Sage.”

Phew. A bit of early intimidation, and they stopped going at each other openly.

I guess I’ve grown too — even the cringey speech pattern is starting to feel natural.

“This place… it’s a labyrinth. The stench of beasts tainted by madness fills the air.”

“You’ve recognized it. Yes — this is the domain of the Berserker Ogre.”

The Berserker’s Labyrinth.

A labyrinth with an Ogre as the boss.

It’s infamous as one of the trickiest among labyrinths.

Ogres… they’re the type that overpower you with high HP and defense.

They’re huge, insanely strong, and more numerous than enemies in most other dungeons.

That means the rewards are good, but the difficulty is brutal.

Still… there are ways to deal with them.

“I’ll take the lead.”

“What? No, Master, you should stay back! Let me take on such danger!”

“No. This is a labyrinth, is it not? I’ll be faster.”

“….”

“Pfft.”

Caligo chuckled from the side.

I knew that laugh. Hertia’s one and only weakness…

She has no sense of direction. At all.

Not that Caligo is any better. From what I’ve seen, they’re equally bad.

“Caligo.”

“—! My apologies.”

I lightly warned him, and he clamped his mouth shut with both hands.

Seeing that, Hertia smirked faintly.

Both of them seemed too conscious of me to start another fight, so I sighed inwardly and started walking.

Just as I was about to step out of the safe zone into the labyrinth—

“…Hm?”

The atmosphere of the labyrinth suddenly changed.

A system alert popped up.

《Nightmare Mode has been activated.》
《Labyrinth difficulty will increase.》
《In Nightmare Mode, the labyrinth map changes in real-time.》
《You cannot forfeit in a Nightmare Mode labyrinth.》

…The hell is this crap?

Nightmare Mode.

Separate from the usual six difficulty tiers, it’s an extra system that piles on restrictions to make things harder.

And not just a bit harder.

Enemies become visibly stronger, and the maze changes in real time.

Even veteran players back in the game days found it burdensome.

And Nightmare Mode never showed up in rare-tier labyrinths.

It was something you’d encounter only after hitting level 60 or so…

What do you mean, Nightmare Mode in a rare-tier dungeon?

Well, since the Great Cataclysm, the game systems have changed in big and small ways, so maybe I just got unlucky.

But…

This might not be bad.

《Clear rewards for Nightmare Mode labyrinths include special items depending on your clear grade.》

The whole reason I was running this labyrinth was for gear.

Nightmare Mode has noticeably higher drop rates for equipment.

If I’m lucky, I could even get artifacts that only drop in Nightmare Mode.

If it drops, getting Nightmare Mode in a rare-tier dungeon could actually be lucky.

They say opportunity comes with crisis — but only for those ready to seize it.

And me?

No need to even say it.

In the world of Legend Seven, there’s no one more prepared than me.

Let the map change in real time.

You think the unofficial rank #1 can’t find one little boss room?

The only hitch is the fatigue system…

[Fatigue]
Description: Low fatigue causes a “Helplessness” debuff, lowering familiar stats.

• Fatigue 70: Familiar stats -10%

• Fatigue 50: Familiar stats -20%

• Fatigue 30: Familiar stats -40%

• Fatigue 20: Familiar stats -60%

• Fatigue 10: Familiar stats -80%

• Fatigue 0: Summoner and familiars die.

My original plan was to reach the boss room with over 50 fatigue.

Even with a 10% stat drop, I figured I could handle the Ogre.

But the conditions had changed.

With the current team, in rare-tier Nightmare Mode…

I’d need at least 70 fatigue — meaning no debuff at all.

Even then, it’s only a 50/50 chance.

I’d have to adjust my plan.

I erased the shortest route in my head and started thinking of the longest possible route to the boss room.

Why take the long way with the risk of dying from debuffs?

Well…

“…Why are you looking at me like that, Sage?”

Because with Caligo’s skill, Law of Exchange, I could turn this crisis into an opportunity.

Hoo…

Time to do some math.

The labyrinth’s timer doesn’t start until you step away from the start zone.

So I could sit here and draw out the longest path possible.

A few things to keep in mind, though:

It had to be a detour without traps or obstacles — those would waste resources and lower my success rate.

Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about monster encounters. Hertia could avoid those.

Step! Step! Step!

The labyrinth began shifting before my eyes in real time.

Maps I’d memorized in the past unfolded in my mind.

(The scene shifts to Hertia & Caligo watching)

They’d been watching Oh Hyun-woo — Lucifer — sit in thought for over ten minutes now.

But neither dared to speak first.

Interrupting his thoughts could bring down wrath neither wanted.

What could he be thinking so hard about? He’s usually so decisive.

Lucifer’s combat style was bold and unrestrained.

Even from the strategies he used in battle, you could tell.

Putting a low-HP rogue familiar in the front line, or running a party entirely of archers.

He actively used dangerous strategies others wouldn’t dare.

If he was thinking this long, there was only one reason:

When he was planning for perfect victory.

Yes… Lucifer always cared for us — especially when using familiars from Pandemonium.

He didn’t fear sacrificing a familiar if it meant winning.

But the familiars from Pandemonium were exceptions.

Pandemonium.

The dwelling of the familiars Lucifer took as his lieutenants — the grandest and most dangerous palace in the world.

There, the Seven Deadly Sins familiars and many other powerful beings grew strong through rivalry and cooperation.

He always sought more than perfection when commanding us.

The reason the Seven Deadly Sins and other greats of the era followed him was his overwhelming strategy and perfection.

If he’d shown weakness even once, their loyalty might have shattered.

But he never wavered.

He achieved flawless victories that none in the demon palace could complain about.

Repeated enough times, this bred an unshakable belief among the Pandemonium familiars:

Lucifer does not lose.

Even if he falls in a battle, it’s only part of a greater plan for victory.

“Caligo.”

Hertia called to the man staring intently at Lucifer’s back.

Caligo turned a sharp gaze on her.

“The Master’s thinking deeply. You know why, don’t you?”

At that, Caligo smirked and nodded, gesturing between himself and Hertia — understanding that Lucifer was crafting a perfect strategy.

“Not going to say it out loud?”

Caligo gestured and mimed that miracles require certain sacrifices.

“Whether you speak or not, the Master will work that miracle.”

“Right?!”

The moment he opened his mouth, Lucifer stood up.

Caligo froze, then quickly shut his mouth and clasped his hands in apology.

But Oh Hyun-woo didn’t care.

“Get ready. In 10 seconds, we sprint straight ahead.”

“What?”

“Anyone who’s late will be unsummoned and removed from the raid.”

Ten seconds of silence and tension passed.

Then—

“Now!”

Planning the longest Nightmare Mode route wasn’t too hard.

You just had to account for dozens of patterns and hundreds of variables.

The tricky part was this:

Keep fatigue in single digits. Higher than that lowers success rate; hit zero and the gimmick kills you.

So I had to balance taking the longest path with keeping my fatigue dangerously low — on purpose.

It took time to factor in all the variables.

Nightmare Mode labyrinths may change in real time, but they still follow rules.

They’re meant to be cleared, so you’ll never see an impossible layout.

For example:

• Monsters and traps will never appear back-to-back.

That means squares near monsters or traps are either empty or contain item chests.

After enough playtime, you pick this up naturally.

And with enough experience, you can tell from the first room what type of labyrinth it is and how its paths will shift.

First room: three paths — left empty, center monster, right chest. That’s Pattern C. Left blocked first, so C-3 pattern.

Following my mental map through the shifting labyrinth…

《Distance to boss room: 300m》
《Distance to boss room: 200m》
…
《Distance to boss room: 100m》

Fatigue check:

Current Fatigue: 62

This is the branching point.

At this rate, I’d reach the boss with ~50 fatigue.

Not what I want.

“Stop!”

“Yes!”
“Yes, Sage!”

A plain stone floor lay ahead.

But between the cracks, tiny monsters squirmed.

Tired Mold.

Their “Overwork” debuff doesn’t damage you directly but massively lowers familiar fatigue.

Worse, triggering one causes a chain reaction that can drop fatigue to zero instantly — killing you.

Plenty of adventurers have died to these things.

But this was the only route that would get me to the boss with single-digit fatigue.

The trick is dropping fatigue to exactly where I want it…

These molds only release spores under certain conditions:

[Less Sensitive Mushroom Cap]
Description: This fungus is unusually dull for a mushroom! It only releases overwork spores when its HP drops below 50% or when enough pressure is applied.

Such an annoying trait.

I had to check their density before moving.

If they were sparse, I could step on them one by one to adjust.

If they were clustered, I’d have to run straight through quickly.

I bent down to examine them.

They were less than 1cm tall — my eyes were straining.

Seeing me stare, Caligo joined in.

“Oh-ho. Tired Mold! Haven’t seen these in ages.”

“Get a good look. You’ll be breathing them in soon enough.”

From the distribution every four tiles, I figured I could just walk and end up around 20 fatigue.

Past me, with all my obsessive tendencies, had memorized details like this as if they were formulas.

“Let’s go. I’ll set the pace, match me.”

“Yes!”
“I’ll savor the overwork spores slowly!”

The first step made a sound like a deflating ball—

Pshhh

Spores rising.

A few steps later—

《Exposed to Tired Mold spores. Fatigue drops by 3.》
《Fatigue drops by 7.》
…
《Fatigue drops by 4.》

Everything was going smoothly… until—

Click!

Figures my luck wouldn’t let me pass easily.

But I’d accounted for this.

“Duck! Roll right once, jump forward once, then straight through!”

Whish!
Whip!
Shhhk!

Three arrows whistled through the spores.

But following my orders, we avoided every one.

“Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve heard the Sage’s emergency commands!”

“The Master understands the laws of the world. Such arrows wouldn’t trouble him.”

“As expected!”

I kept my face neutral — no need for them to know I’d been nervous.

After that close call, my fatigue was exactly where I wanted it:

Current Fatigue: 17

Perfect, just as calculated.

From here, it was a straight sprint to the boss room.

By the time we passed the mold zone—

Current Fatigue: 8

We finally reached the boss door.

A massive gate bearing the face of a black-skinned, red-eyed Ogre.

Caligo’s fighting spirit flared.

“Hertia. I’ll take charge of this fight.”

“You? Can you?”

“Of course! My poison is lethal enough to make even the World Tree scream!”

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day. When the next World Tree grows, I’ll call you — I want to hear that scream.”

It had been a while since they got along like this.

“Then I’m counting on you, Caligo.”

“Yes, Sage! I’ll show you how much I’ve grown!”

《Entering the boss room.》
《Defeat the Bloodthirsty Berserker Ogre.》