The Shut-in Vampire Does Business in the Labyrinth - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Arrival of a Supernova (1)

TL: DDTL

The Labyrinth appeared one day without warning.

At first, it started with eyewitness accounts straight out of urban legends. ‘Someone just vanished into thin air.’

Missing persons reports kept piling up endlessly, and then out of nowhere, people began to speak.

─I visited another world.

─I’m an Awakener, and I have the power to enter another world.

─This item is proof.

At first, they were treated like lunatics.

People who demanded the so-called Awakeners prove it by using their abilities, then branded them as madmen when they said their powers couldn’t be used outside.

The self-proclaimed Awakeners tried to convince everyone by vanishing right before their eyes, but that was a hard thing to believe.

Then one day, as the number of people calling themselves Awakeners continued to grow.

[A Barrier Stone will be placed in each nation’s capital.]

[As the Barrier Stone’s energy decreases, the probability of Rifts forming will increase.]

A system window appeared before every single person in the world.

And just like that, the Labyrinth became known to the world in earnest.

Here, “Rifts” referred to the system’s term for the Overflow phenomenon, where monsters from the Labyrinth appeared in the real world.

If the Barrier Stone’s energy was at 100 percent, the probability of monsters appearing converged to 0 percent.

So then, what if the Barrier Stone’s energy was at 99 percent?

The probability of monsters appearing was 1 percent.

But even that 1 percent was catastrophic.

Monsters appearing in the middle of a city were literally a disaster.

War breaking out in a city with no warning whatsoever.

Awakeners were no different from ordinary people outside the Labyrinth, so ultimately the military had to be mobilized to suppress them.

The military engaging in firefights in a city?

Since it was no different from war, nations poured everything they had into keeping their Barrier Stones at 100 percent energy.

That was why Awakeners entered the Labyrinth without rest.

To obtain Magic Stones, which served as batteries for the Barrier Stones.

And so the endless farming of items and Magic Stones continued.

But if farming kept going, wouldn’t the Labyrinth eventually be picked clean?

That was exactly why Resets existed.

“Damn. That thing’s way more intense than I’d heard.”

Enormous numbers floating in the sky.

Numbers visible from anywhere in the Labyrinth were counting down rapidly.

[02:42:11]

The remaining time was 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 11 seconds.

Anyone could tell something truly dangerous would happen in just two hours, and the numbers were shrinking fast.

“Alright, is everyone here?”

I looked around, and the goblins were staring back at me.

10 Warrior Goblins, 1 Storekeeper, and 39 regular goblins.

“…Alright then.”

A Reset was exactly what it sounded like, a reset.

It returned the Labyrinth to its initial state and regenerated items and monsters in random locations.

Of course, there was also the one guaranteed ether drop on Layer 1, but I’d set that aside for now.

What I needed to confirm right now was what happened to the outpost during a Reset.

Surely the outpost wouldn’t disappear too, right?

It was an outpost the system itself had created.

“Okay, go through one at a time.”

Starting with Gob, the goblins crossed through the door one by one into my apartment.

50 goblins.

The place would be bursting at the seams once they were all inside, but there was no helping it.

I didn’t know what would happen if they stayed in the outpost during the Reset, so for today I needed to observe it first.

The goblins filed into my apartment one by one.

Just as the last of the goblins were crossing over to the officetel.

“Hey, you. Could you come here for a second?”

“Krrk?”

I called over the 50th goblin, the very last one to become a thrall.

The goblin tilted its head curiously and followed me over.

After watching the rest of the goblins enter the officetel, I knelt down on one knee to meet the 50th goblin at eye level.

I placed a hand on the goblin’s shoulder.

“Hey there. So you’re my 50th thrall.”

“Kek kek!!”

“Number Fifty. From this moment on, I’m going to give you a very, very important mission.”

“K-kek? Krrk?!”

The goblin flinched in shock at my words and gulped hard.

It trembled as it looked up at me, as if wondering what on earth I was building up to.

The mission the goblin had to carry out was simple.

“You need to guard the house while we’re gone.”

“Kek?”

“Easy, right? All you have to do is guard the house until we come back.”

“Kek? Kek!!”

The goblin grinned as if it were a piece of cake, and I pressed a dagger into its hands.

Of course, I didn’t mention anything about the Reset.

It wouldn’t understand even if I explained, and there was no reason to.

The whole point of leaving this goblin behind was because of the Reset.

“We’ll be back in about three hours. So you need to guard this outpost until then. Got it?”

“Kek!!”

“Good boy! That’s our goblin!”

I gave the goblin a pat on the shoulder and stood up.

“Krrrk?”

The goblin tilted its head in confusion, then raised the dagger on guard and glanced around warily.

I turned away.

Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, Goblin No. 50!

Wait, if I counted No. 3 who departed to the great goblin beyond, would this one be No. 51?

Anyway, our Goblin No. 50 had taken on a truly critical mission.

“I’ll be back in a bit!”

“Kruk!”

That mission being: to take the Labyrinth Reset head-on while sitting inside the outpost.

***

“Kruk kruk?”

“Krrk!”

“Kyaaak!”

Goblins crammed together in the already-tiny officetel, packed in tight and reeking of sweat.

“Everyone shut up. Not a peep out of any of you until we go back.”

…

Say what you will, they sure were obedient.

If I just left them be and the neighbors came banging on the door, it’d be an absolute catastrophe.

In that case, I might have to start making human thralls.

Hard pass on that.

That would make me an actual monster.

Monster thralls were more than enough.

I sat down in front of the computer.

Two hours to go.

After days of testing my abilities, my initial resolve to never enter the Labyrinth had completely changed.

This could work.

I could absolutely do this.

If only to eat doenjang-jjigae with minced garlic again, I had to farm ether in the Labyrinth.

And since I’d decided to do it, I was going all in.

One step at a time.

“First, I should move.”

The current officetel was in a bad location.

I needed to think about infrastructure for food supplies going forward, a space large enough that thralls coming out into reality wouldn’t be a problem.

And security so I wouldn’t be discovered.

Everything else aside, security was the real issue.

To sell Magic Stones for cash, I’d have to use the Magic Stone Exchange run by the Association.

Awakener registration there was mandatory.

My ability was Vampire. The name alone screamed villain, and my grade was EX, something that had never appeared anywhere in the world.

Sure, Magic Stones could technically be traded between individuals, but I couldn’t keep running forever.

I was already well aware that I was special.

If I’d been born somewhere like China or North Korea, wouldn’t the government have dragged me away by now?

Normal Awakeners had no means to resist, so that’s how it would go. But I even had the means to fight back.

The power to summon thralls into reality.

If I played my cards wrong here, the government might see me not as someone to manage, but as someone to eliminate.

“Ah, damn it… What do I do? I absolutely need the Association’s help.”

And here lay another contradiction.

I needed the Association’s help just to advance to Layer 2.

My Thrall Making ability had a critical penalty far more fundamental than garlic and sunlight.

I absolutely had to get the Association’s help to solve that, but……

I opened the system window and navigated to the National Monthly Ranking.

[National Monthly Ranking]

1st: Choi Gang-hyeok – 7

2nd: Han Seol-ah – 4

3rd: Kim Chan – 3

4th: Gang Dae-ho – 3

5th: UltimateNinja-2

6th: GreenFrog – 2

7th: BlackGildong -2

.

.

.

Ranks 1 through 4 were probably real names, since their identities had been made public after contracting with the Association.

Everyone after that seemed to be deliberately using nicknames.

So where was I?

.

.

24th: ShutInVampLord – 1

Rank 24 right after Awakening.

Of course, outside the top rankers, a single ether was mostly just a lucky break.

Just like mine.

“…First place has 7. No way I’m catching that.”

At the moment, all I could do was find the ether that dropped on Layer 1 every Monday, so even if I found every single one, it was 4 per month at most.

But finding just 4 would tie me for 2nd place in the national ranking.

Hitting rank 2 right after Awakening?

“…Let’s do this.”

I could do it. With my abilities, Thrall Making and the outpost, it was absolutely possible.

A way to receive help while keeping the Association from putting a leash on me.

A way to make the Association volunteer to support me with everything they had.

I made up my mind, stood from my seat, and picked up a dagger.

“Regular goblins, come up to me one at a time.”

“Krrruuk!!”

“Kruk!”

“Kyaaak!”

“Don’t answer.”

All I had to do was sweep up ether and Magic Stones until the Association was falling over themselves.

***

“Krrruuuk?”

The goblin left alone at the outpost stood guard, waiting for its master and friends to return.

[00:00:14]

Gazing up at the mysterious symbols floating in the sky, the goblin thought.

Why did they leave only me behind?

I’m the youngest, the last one to join.

Could it be?!

“Kruk?!”

Was I chosen?

Am I a very, very special goblin?!

“Kyahaha!”

Now in an excellent mood, the goblin stood guard even more diligently.

To protect this outpost, just as its master had commanded.

Then, suddenly, the letters that had been moving across the sky came to a stop.

[00:00:00]

“Kruk..?”

Something felt wrong.

The air froze and the world seemed to stand still.

And then, the world outside the outpost.

Ssssshk.

Began to collapse.

Buildings melted away.

The ground vanished.

The sky was erased.

“Krrk?! Kek?! Kek!!!”

Everything except the outpost began to disappear.

What in the world is this?!

Did my master seriously leave me here to stop this?!

I don’t care how great a goblin I am, this is too much?!!

“KYAAAK KYAAK!!!”

Just as it was screaming and wildly swinging the dagger through the air.

Flash!

A blinding light filled the world.

The light was so overwhelmingly bright that the goblin squeezed its eyes shut.

Even with its eyes closed, it groaned from the searing pain as if its eyeballs were being scorched.

When the light faded and it opened its eyes, the world had returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened.

“…Kek?”

While it stood there dumbfounded, the door at the center of the outpost opened.

“Wow… the Reset is no joke.”

Its master clicked his tongue as he stepped back into the outpost.

“KRRRRK!!!”

“Oh, yeah, good job! Goblin No. 50!! Wait, is it 51? Whatever, No. 50!”

“Kek!”

Hearing its master’s praise, the goblin puffed out its chest with pride.

But when it saw the goblins filing in behind him, that swollen chest quickly deflated.

“Grrrk.”

“Krruk?”

“KYAAA!”

Every single goblin that had gone through the door had come back as a Warrior Goblin.

W-why was everyone a Warrior Goblin except me?

Then its master approached.

“Alright, your turn to rank up.”

“Kek?!!”

Its master took the goblin’s dagger and pricked his own finger.

A single drop of bright red blood began to bead at the fingertip.

The goblin knew instinctively.

That was treasure.

A treasure more precious to them than anything else.

Right now, its master was about to bestow that treasure upon it.

It scrambled to its knees and held up its hands, and a single drop of blood fell with a plop.

Crack, crack.

Its body twisted and its bones and muscles reassembled, but what surged through it was not pain but ecstasy.

This was the very reason it lived!

“Alright everyone. Give it up for our youngest, who guarded the house to the very end!”

Clap clap clap clap!

Clap clap!

Clap clap clap clap!

The Warrior Goblins surrounded the 49th Warrior Goblin and erupted in applause.

One Storekeeper and 49 Warrior Goblins.

“Now then… time to get to work? The goal is white orbs. And since you’re all Warrior Goblins now.”

Their master flashed a meaningful grin and pointed outside the outpost.

“Hit the central zone too and farm it! Let’s go! Move out!”

“KYAAAAA!”

“KIYAAAA!”

“KEEEK!”

The Warrior Goblins slung on their backpacks and charged ferociously outside.

And just as the youngest, the freshly promoted Warrior Goblin, slung on its own backpack and was about to sprint out after them.
It caught its master’s voice, whispering ever so quietly while watching it go.

“Wow, that little guy actually survived.”

…?

***

Wednesday morning.

Kim Min-woo, chairman of the Korean Awakener Association, was clutching his head.

Korea wasn’t leading in either Magic Stones or ether.

Granted, relative to its population, the country was mining a respectable amount of both.

“Why does our country have to be stuck in this godforsaken neighborhood!!”

The neighbors were Japan, China, and Russia.

And on top of that, the country most closely tied to Korea was the United States.

The top three ether producers were China at 1st, India at 2nd, and the U.S. at 3rd.

Numbers 1 and 3 were countries inextricably linked to Korea.

And Japan’s annual ether output was 500, while Korea hovered around 400.

Russia went without saying.

There were even rumors that the 4th SS-grade was being developed in secret by Russia.

When it came to brute-forcing things with sheer population, the Labyrinth left no room for argument.

With a relatively small population compared to other nations, Korea couldn’t help but feel outclassed.

On a global scale, their performance was perfectly respectable, so why did they always end up at the bottom of the class?

Thanks to that, the National Assembly hounded Kim Min-woo at every turn.

─Isn’t there any way to secure more ether?

─What is this Magic Stone reserve level? If monsters show up, are you going to take responsibility, Chairman Kim?

─Get it together! Our country isn’t some weak little nation!

“Those blowhards couldn’t kill a single goblin if you threw them in the Labyrinth.”

He huffed and turned his head, and there it was: a massive screen that had been converted from an entire wall of the room.

The National Weekly and Monthly Rankings, the World Annual Ranking.

And a real-time display quantifying every unit of ether mined in Korea to date.

They’d invested a whole ether to create it, so nothing could be more accurate.

Just then, something appeared on the screen.

Ding!

─Choi Gang-hyeok: 1 Ether

“That’s our man! Our hope! It’s only Wednesday and he already has one!”

Korea’s number 1 ranker.

The nation’s hope and a peerless figure, mining 7 to 8 ether every single month.

The moment the weekly ranking reset, he’d planted his name right at the top.

“If he finds a few more this time and sells us just two, I’d die happy.”

More than half of the ether coming into the Association was farmed by Choi Gang-hyeok.

And the Magic Stones?

Without him, Korea might have already crumbled to the Overflow phenomenon.

“If only Han Seol-ah could push just a little harder and match Gang-hyeok…!”

Han Seol-ah, who reliably farmed one ether every single week without fail.

She was impressive in her own right, but the gap with 1st place was so vast that her achievements went unnoticed.

Then.

Ding!

Another alert, and the rankings shifted.

[National Weekly Ranking]

1st Choi Gang-hyeok: 1 new!

2nd ShutInVampLord: 1 new!

“…What? ShutInVampLord? Beginner’s Luck?”

A nickname he’d never seen in his life had appeared on the weekly ranking.

“Lucky guy. Picked up an ether just two days after the Reset.”

Since no real name was disclosed, it seemed to be a newcomer who hadn’t even registered with the Association yet.

But just in case, he pulled up the historical records.

“…They farmed one six days ago too? That’s their second?”

There it was, sitting right on the Monthly Ranking: 2.

If they’d only farmed one, he could shrug it off.

Who buys a lottery ticket expecting to win? You buy them, and sometimes you just happen to hit.

But if the same person won the lottery jackpot two weeks in a row, that was a different story.

Sure, if it were the lottery, you could write it off as luck.

The problem was this wasn’t just a lottery. This was the Labyrinth ranking.

“No Magic Stone transaction history either. A total newbie? But…”

A crease formed between Kim Min-woo’s brows.

“They farmed two ether right after Awakening?”