Tales of the Labyrinth

Translated by: il0vecats

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Chapter 1: Encounter in the Primeval Forest

The cover page showcased eerie echoes resonating through a dim forest—a cry that could belong to either a beast or a bird.

Just as daunting as the tallest apartment buildings stood the densely packed trees, their leaves and branches forming an almost impenetrable canopy. The earthy scent, damp and raw from the piles of decaying leaves, filled the air—an aroma rarely encountered in urban settings.

In the heart of this untouched primeval forest stood Hwanin, clad in a business suit, gazing upwards. Between the leaves and branches, fanned out like an umbrella, a sliver of blue sky was visible high above him.

“……”

His attention shifted to the shimmering gold coin in his hand. Picking up the coin from where it emitted a curious glow on the ground had transported him from a concrete jungle alleyway to this lush forest in the blink of an eye.

An ordinary person would have panicked in such an inexplicably transformed environment. However, as Hwanin scanned his surroundings, he noticed strange, indistinguishable footprints in the murky soil.

The footprints were neither human nor entirely animal.

Although he was unsure of his current location, he quickly deduced that if the mysterious creature responsible for these tracks were aggressive…

Hwanin pocketed the coin and immediately began searching for something he could fashion into a weapon.

Snap!

He found a sturdy, 2-meter-long tree branch as hard as oak. Breaking off the thin, fragile end, he meticulously pruned off the smaller branches with a special alloy multi-tool, crafting it into a club.

Slice, scratch, scrape, scrape.

Using the knife blade of the multi-tool as a weapon was an option—its platinum-gold alloy was a hundred times more wear-resistant than steel. However, given the tool’s design, its joints could break easily, so Hwanin decided against using it as a weapon.

Click.

He folded the multi-tool and pocketed it, then swung the makeshift club to test it.

Whoosh—whoosh—

A solid, resonant thud echoed as he swung the club. It wasn’t elegantly crafted, but its weight distribution was toward the tip, making it a powerful, albeit crude, weapon.

Recalled with distaste was his time back at the kendo dojo his parents had enrolled him in. They had hoped that understanding objective information about pain would help him empathize with others’ suffering. Instead, he focused solely on acquiring techniques to incapacitate an opponent and was eventually expelled for it. Yet, the techniques learned over those years remained ingrained in him.

Hwanin, reminiscing about his kendo days, gripped the wooden club tightly and began making his way deeper into the forest, avoiding protruding tree roots and stepping carefully through piles of leaves.

Nothing in his knowledge explained this bizarre situation.

This was no lucid dream; he was certain of that. The sensory vividness of the forest ruled out that possibility. Nor was he hallucinating from alcohol—he’d only had a few mild cocktails while lamenting the decline of his former workplace.

His memories up to the moment he arrived here were clear.

Why or how had he ended up in this jungle?

With a furrowed brow, he parted the tall underbrush and found a faint trail. However, it didn’t seem like a path forged by human traversing.

Human trails naturally clear obstructing branches and underbrush as dozens, even hundreds, walk over them, eventually forming a discernible path.

But this wasn’t a beast trail, either. Beast trails are narrower, lower to the ground, and often barely noticeable.

Narrowing his eyes, he recalled the mysterious footprints.

Gripping his club tighter, he cautiously moved away from the trail.

The distinctive tracks resembled those of an ape but with longer toes. Unlike humans, who typically have five toes, this creature had only four.

‘Is there a four-toed ape species?’

Regardless of what the footprint’s owner might be, encountering it in the wilderness likely meant confrontation and violence.

Instinctively, Hwanin decided it would be best to avoid any contact with the unknown creatures that had obviously traversed this path many times.

Rustle—rustle—

It was then that he noticed the faint but unpleasant odor permeating the area and the sound of foliage rustling nearby.

“……”

Rustle. Rustle.

The underbrush swayed lightly multiple times. Hwanin, tensing with heightened alertness, slowly backed away. There was no wind; something must have been disturbing the vegetation.

Encountering the unknown in an unfamiliar territory would make anyone tense, even Hwanin, who was sometimes labeled a psychopath.

Leaning against a nearby tree as thick as three grown men embracing it, he readied himself. The tree would provide cover from any potential rear attacks.

That was the moment he witnessed three creatures emerge from the thicket, and he immediately darted in the opposite direction.

Shriek?

Screeaagh! Screeeek!

Kweeek-keek-keek!!

Equally startled by the unexpected encounter, the green-skinned monsters shrieked and began chasing Hwanin.

During that brief pause before fleeing, Hwanin had observed the creatures’ characteristics.

Their limbs were as thin as skewers, but their bellies obscenely bloated. They stood at a height similar to a 10-year-old child.

They resembled the ghoulish demons of hell brought to life.

Additionally, they wielded crude wooden spears and stone axes reminiscent of the Paleolithic era.

The moment he saw those weapons, Hwanin dismissed the idea of confronting them head-on.

He had no clue where he was, but it was clear he was far from civilization. Any injury sustained in a fight would sharply reduce his chances of survival.

‘They shouldn’t be able to run fast.’

Shriek!

Screeeek!!

The green monster’s speed, just as Hwanin predicted, was nothing impressive. Though it managed to pursue him with its frail-looking legs, the differences in stride and physical capabilities made the comparison in running speed laughable. Glancing back occasionally to take in the grotesque figures chasing and shrieking behind him, Hwanin thought to himself.

‘What are those? Animals? Or perhaps indigenous tribesmen of the wilderness?’

The monsters covered their lower bodies with raw, stiff leather, appearing unfamiliar even with basic tanning. Their bumpy green skin, shark-like sharp teeth, and blood-red eyes certainly didn’t belong to a human. While their horrific visages would terrorize any sane person, Hwanin was instead plotting how to kill them.

‘They aren’t human. Killing them wouldn’t get me in legal trouble.’

If caught, he might face charges like property damage or violating laws protecting rare animals.

Keek! Keeck!

Kregh! Kreaghk!

“Huff, huff. Huff.”

Among the noise of the wind rushing past his ears, the heavy breathing of the monsters was starkly audible. Though his dress shoes slightly hampered his sprint, it wasn’t a significant issue. Hwanin had always maintained basic physical conditioning and could sustain this level of running for about 20 minutes.

However, these monsters seemed unlikely to last that long. They might abandon the chase even sooner, exhausted.

‘…….’

As Hwanin ran, he kept his eyes on the ground and gripped the feel of the wooden club in his hand. He wasn’t empty-handed, and the difference in physical build and strength was clear. He had no qualms about killing the monsters that displayed murderous intent toward him. His maxim was simple: if attacked, be prepared to counterattack.

Checking the distance between him and the pursuing monsters, Hwanin observed that the largest one—to some relative degree—was leading the chase, with two others trailing behind in a line.

He made a decision.

Spotting a particularly large tree ahead, Hwanin adjusted his course naturally toward it. Pretending to evade the tree at the last moment, he swiftly hid behind it, gripping the wooden club tightly with both hands and catching his breath.

Rustle-rustle-rustle…!

Kiyaaahhh…!

The sound of the monsters’ footsteps and screams grew closer. Hwanin tensed his arms. Moments later,

Kiieeek!

“Hup!”

As soon as a green monster, drooling filth, appeared around the tree, Hwanin lunged and swung the club at its head.

Thwap—THUNK!!

The monster took the full force of the strike to its face, the impact twisting its head at a right angle. It collapsed without a sound, its eyes bulging and convulsing as it drooled copiously.

Crunch.

With an emotionless expression, Hwanin felt a strange thrill surge through his heart as he stomped on the monster’s neck, breaking it. The sensation of taking a life sent shivers across his skin, but he quickly turned his attention to the dark stone axe clutched by the dead green monster, tossing it toward the second monster that had just emerged.

Whirr-whirr-whirr…!

The unbalanced axe overshot its mark, flying past the green monster’s head and vanishing into the forest.

Kiih?

However, Hwanin was not disheartened. He immediately charged at the stunned monster, grabbing the wooden spear it awkwardly presented in defense.

Kiakyuk?!

Though the green monster reflexively gripped the spear tightly, the disparity in strength was overwhelming. The monster was pulled along with the spear, toppling to the ground as Hwanin intended. He then struck the monster’s exposed nape with the club.

CRUNCH!

The unmerciful blow crushed the monster’s occiput, leaving it deeply indented. Although the club itself cracked halfway from the strike, Hwanin wasted no time, discarding it and picking up the roughly 1-meter-long spear.

Finally, Hwanin turned his attention to the last monster.

Ki-Kiek?!

The third green monster, slower due to its weaker build, had witnessed the brutal deaths of its comrades. To it, Hwanin must have looked like a grim reaper.

Keheeek!

Dropping its makeshift wooden spear, the monster turned and fled. Hwanin’s eyes gleamed as he did not hesitate to pursue it.

Dashing up to the frantically escaping creature, Hwanin used a snap of his wrist to drive the spear into the monster’s back.

Thunk—

The wooden spear pierced cleanly through the green monster’s chest.

Gruurk…

The monster let out a gurgling groan, clutching the protruding spear as it trembled violently. Despite its desperate attempt to turn and look at its grim reaper…

“……”

Hwanin, with no mercy, flung the monster to the ground along with the spear.

Feeling excitement from having taken life, he flexed his hand and took a moment to steady his breath. Surveying the bodies of the three slain monsters with an impassive gaze, he muttered, “None of this makes any sense.”

Even someone like Hwanin, with his comparative lack of empathy, found the situation absurd.

How could picking up a gold coin in a dingy alley lead to being transported to a place inhabited by such monsters? It defied all logic. But the persistent thumping of his heart, racing from both exertion and the thrill of the kill, confirmed that everything was real.

“……”

Calming himself quickly, Hwanin assessed the situation with cold rationale. He took the tattered leather from the monsters’ bodies, sliced nearby vines to secure the leather, and began hiding the corpses in the dense underbrush.

The stench emanating from the monsters was horrendous, essentially guaranteeing they wouldn’t be discovered by scent alone any time soon.

After roughly covering the battle’s traces, Hwanin inspected the bloodied wooden spear.

“The smell of blood is going to be a problem.”

The spearhead was somewhat damaged but could be reshaped with a knife. Yet, no amount of wiping would rid it of the monster’s pungent blood, which would soon reek terribly.

Discarding the spear, Hwanin recalled the stone axe he had thrown earlier and searched the direction it flew. Finding it embedded unscathed in a large tree, he studied it closely with curiosity.

Though primitively shaped, both the dark shaft and the grey, stone-like blade were composed of materials unfamiliar to Hwanin.

With a thud, he tested the axe on a fresh tree. A wedge as long as a hand span was instantly carved out.

Yet, the axe displayed no signs of damage.

“The cord binding the shaft and blade doesn’t seem plant-based either…”

Nevertheless, it seemed useful as a weapon. Although its short reach was problematic, it wouldn’t hurt to fabricate another spear or club.

Securing the axe, Hwanin strode away from the spot, carrying the rancid, greasy leather rags.

He had no idea where to go or what might lie ahead, but staying near the site of the monster encounter was not an option.

‘They were active during the day, so they probably aren’t nocturnal. They weren’t carrying game either, meaning they were likely out for hunting or recon.’

Therefore, his immediate course of action was clear.

Resolving quickly, Hwanin began walking in the direction opposite to where the monsters had come from.