If he didn't tell him the Goddess's location, he would live the rest of his life in despair. He would disappear, never finding what he desired until the very end. If he did tell him, Ainzhar would find Revinenof.
He would feel a great debt to Taesan and would likely try to do anything for him. But what would happen after that was unknown. There was a chance Ainzhar would become hostile upon finding Revinenof.
It was also entirely possible that the Goddess would dislike him. It was obvious which one the fanatic would prioritize between the Goddess and Taesan. He might even attack Taesan, suspecting him of being the one who killed the Goddess.
All possibilities were open. A man stronger than Lee Tae-yeon. An NPC that even his former self could not guarantee victory against.
If he became his enemy, it would create major difficulties in clearing the Labyrinth. After a moment of deliberation, Taesan opened his mouth. Ainzhar had done a lot for him.
Airak Martial Arts. The ring of Attack Power. They were far too excessive to bestow upon a stranger he had just met.
He had to repay him for it.
“Revinenof. Do you wish to know the location of your beloved Goddess?”
“Yes. Finding her is my life’s wish.”
“I know her location.”
“What?”
Ainzhar’s face wavered.
“I know where Revinenof is.”
“... That’s a bad joke.”
Ainzhar’s face contorted in displeasure. He clearly did not believe Taesan’s words.
“I, too, have wandered the entire Labyrinth but could not find her. How would you, who are only on the First Floor, know her location?”
The trust from moments ago vanished, and displeasure settled on his face. It was a natural reaction. In Ainzhar’s eyes, Taesan was a newcomer who had just entered the Labyrinth.
It would be unbelievable if he claimed to have found what Ainzhar himself hadn't found even a trace of over long years. Taesan had already thought about that.
“It’s because my world has an Item related to the Labyrinth.”
“Nonsense. There are no such things as maps in the Labyrinth.”
“You must know. Not a map of the entire Labyrinth, but there are maps for specific beings.”
At Taesan’s unwavering eyes, Ainzhar closed his mouth. Soon, his pupils dilated.
“... The Flute that Calls Gods? That is in your world?”
“Yes.”
In reality, it was different, but Taesan nodded.
“An Item that tells the location of each god. It’s an Item that can be obtained in the Labyrinth.”
“How did you...”
“My family possessed information about it. We had already identified the locations of the gods written on it.”
Of course, it was a lie. His world had no information whatsoever about the Labyrinth. What he was talking about was information that Lee Tae-yeon had told him.
The Flute that Calls Gods. Its effect was to identify the location of a god. It was an Item Lee Tae-yeon had obtained on the 89th floor.
But she hadn't been able to use it. Most of the gods were too busy mocking and laughing at her to try and help. As a result, the Flute that Calls Gods became an Item stashed away in her Inventory.
Because she had complained that all the gods were jerks, Taesan also knew of the flute's existence. He had thought it was meaningless information and had tucked it into a corner of his mind, not knowing he would end up using it like this.
“78th Floor. The Library of All Things. Its 24th secret room.”
Ainzhar’s eyes trembled.
“Revinenof is inside.”
“... Right. The Library of All Things is there. I haven't checked there yet…”
As he mentioned the floor and what was there, Ainzhar seemed to gain confidence in Taesan's words. A look of elation filled his eyes.
“Yes! That was the place!”
“I believe this should be a sufficient reward.”
“Haha! It’s sufficient! It’s more than enough!”
Ainzhar burst into a crazed laugh and grabbed Taesan’s shoulders.
“Thank you so much! I have never felt such gratitude toward anyone before! You are my benefactor!”
There was a madness in his eyes. Taesan deflected the fanatical feeling and said.
“My shoulder hurts.”
“Ah, my apologies. I lost control of my emotions for a moment.”
Ainzhar stepped back, smiling brightly.
“Are you planning to go right away?”
“Hmm… that might be difficult. The 78th floor is in The Depths. It is a dangerous place even for me, so I must prepare thoroughly before I go.”
Still, Ainzhar’s face was full of energy. He could now find his goal. That in itself must be a joy.
“Once again, I sincerely thank you. No. It's hard to express this with just words. I want to repay you somehow…”
Ainzhar racked his brain. He couldn't give something too good. It would increase the chances of him becoming lazy and arrogant, and losing his life.
But giving something insignificant, something of no value to him, felt wrong after receiving so much from Taesan. After desperate deliberation, Ainzhar made a decision.
“A person of your skill should be fine. Take this.”
There was no reason to refuse the gift. Taesan obediently accepted an old ring.
[Bronze Ring] [Health +2] [It seems to be a ring distributed to priests of a certain Order. Now that the Order is destroyed, only one person possesses it.]
‘Oh.’
Taesan was inwardly impressed. A single ring raised his Health by 20. In Easy Mode, it was a ring one could luckily obtain around the 30th floor.
“Normally, I would have no intention of giving this to an Adventurer on the First Floor… but I believe you are an Adventurer who will not become lazy. I pray my judgment isn’t wrong.”
“It will be fine.”
Taesan had already seen the end. There was no time to become lazy. Ainzhar smiled faintly.
“That’s a relief. Thank you, truly.”
“Are you heading down now?”
“I have to prepare as well. I can’t stay on the First Floor any longer, can I?”
As if he didn't want to delay any longer, Ainzhar hurried toward the door. Before leaving, he turned and waved his hand.
“Thank you! Let’s meet again!”
“Go in peace.”
“Hahahaha! Goddess! I am coming! The only one who remembers you is coming to you!”
With a laugh full of madness, Ainzhar left. Would he be able to find the Goddess? If he did find her, would she be a dead Goddess or a living one?
Whatever the case, Ainzhar’s journey had begun. It would probably be a very long time before he met Taesan again. Taesan picked up his shield.
He had rested enough and began his Labyrinth clearing. Taesan started wandering the First Floor again. Big Rats attacked him, but they were no longer a problem.
The reason they had been tricky was due to his lack of the Agility Stat, which prevented him from following their movements. Now, Taesan’s Agility was 22. He could react with plenty of leeway. He caught Big Rats and absorbed their Agility.
Just as he raised his Agility by about 3 more, a System Window appeared.
[Your Soul Rank Ascension has been activated. The gap in Soul Rank between you and your opponent is too large. You have gained nothing from the opponent.]
“Hmm?”
Taesan paused and checked the message. And he realized.
“So the increase stops when the gap is too large.”
From now on, no matter how many Big Rats he caught, his Agility would not rise. It was a shame, but it was something he had somewhat expected. If he could gain stats forever without a gap, it would mean that near-infinite grinding was possible.
He could have raised his Agility to a thousand just on the First Floor. The creator of the Labyrinth would have naturally prevented that. But even with this restriction, it was still an absurdly powerful Skill.
To think his Stat would increase every time he caught a Monster. Honestly, it was better than any other Skill he had obtained. As long as he had this Skill, no matter how hard the others in Alone Mode tried, they would never be able to catch up to him.
But now, his growth on the First Floor had stopped. The amount of Experience gained had also come to a standstill at some point. It was about time to head to the 2nd Floor.
But instead of looking for the way down, Taesan began to go through the First Floor again. He meticulously examined rooms and searched through passages. In the Labyrinth, there are places called secret rooms.
Usually, there is one hidden on each floor, and a great Reward follows for the one who discovers it. A magic staff, a ring of levitation, permanent Stat increase potions, and so on. They were Items that gave great power for clearing the Labyrinth.
Competition was fierce because only one person could enter. Taesan had missed many secret rooms before. It was unavoidable as it relied more on luck and experience than skill.
‘I only managed to enter twenty of them.’
But this was Alone Mode. There were no other Players except for him. Here, he could get all the secret rooms.
“Will it be the same here?”
The Labyrinth map was naturally different for each difficulty, but the basic structure was the same. There were certain characteristics of rooms where secret rooms were hidden.
“Here it is.”
While wandering around, Taesan arrived at a room. The room was strangely disconnected. There was only the one door he came through, and the inside was an empty room with nothing in it.
A room with no reason to exist. A room that everyone ignores and passes by. In a place like this, there was a secret room.
Taesan examined the wall. They were mossy bricks, no different from other rooms. The floor and ceiling were also not very different.
In this case, it was highly likely that it was a room found by touching the bricks.
“Time to grind.”
Taesan, with no change in expression, began to check the nearby bricks. Pushing, turning, pulling out. And if there was no change, he moved on to the next brick.
This took at least 10 seconds. There are hundreds of bricks in the room. He had to check each and every one like this.
It was a mind-numbingly boring task, but Taesan was enjoying it.
“This is quite decent.”
In the Labyrinth, actions have consequences. Grinding wasn't much different. Among the secret rooms he had found, there was one where he had to endure for a week with nothing.
Thinking back to that time, this was heaven. The same motion was repeated countless times. Taesan checked each brick one by one without any change in his expression.
And when he was about halfway through.
“Found it.”
[Proficiency for Insight has increased by 5%.]
Drrrrk.
A brick sank deep inside. The surrounding bricks followed in response, disappearing from view one after another. What appeared next was a single small passage.
This was the secret room.
[You have discovered a secret room.]
[You have received the Title [Adventurer].]
[You are the first to discover a secret room. Intelligence has permanently increased by 3.] The Adventurer Title, which gives 1 Intelligence, plus the first discovery bonus.
It was a total increase of 4. This alone made the grind worth it. And the main dish was separate. As Taesan entered the secret room, a moderately long passage appeared.
At its end, a single treasure chest was placed. That was the Reward. There was nothing in the passage, so it looked like he could just run and get it.
‘No way.’
Even Lee Tae-yeon hadn't figured out the secret room on the First Floor, so no one knew the information about this place. He had to find it out for himself, and Taesan was extremely skilled at such things. Taesan went back outside.
After wandering the Labyrinth for a short while, he was able to find a Big Rat.
“Kkik, kkik!”
He stomped on the charging Big Rat to subdue it. His Agility was now 25. Catching a Big Rat was no big deal anymore. Taesan took the subdued Big Rat and returned to the secret room.
And he threw it toward the empty passage.
Click.
With a pressing sound, an arrow cut through the air.
“Kkiiik!”
The Big Rat screamed and collapsed. Its twitching body soon stopped moving.
“An arrow trap, I see.”
It was a very standard trap, fitting for the First Floor. It was a trap that activated when the floor was stepped on, and since only one arrow flew out, it didn't seem to be a very difficult trap. Taesan stepped on the spot where the Big Rat had died.
Click.
An arrow flew toward Taesan’s chest. Taesan quickly moved his hand.
Thwack.
The arrow was in Taesan’s hand. He can catch one. He walks again.
Swoosh!
He simultaneously catches two arrows aiming for his head and chest. Two is not a big problem either. He puts the arrows in his Inventory and takes another step, and this time, three arrows fly at him.
He catches two and dodges one by tilting his head back.
“It's getting tougher.”
The distance to the chest was about ten steps. At the end, ten arrows would fly at him simultaneously. The closer the distance, the harder it would be to dodge.
But that was by a normal Player’s standards. Right now, Taesan’s Agility was 25. He could catch normally fired arrows. Even ten arrows were not impossible if he used his Skills and focused solely on evasion.
So, he intended to grab what he could before that.