Chapter 348

“That was how I spent years on the bottom while growing up. A person’s life is fragile, but it's resilient at the same time. It's hard to end it. Anyway, I continued to live my life as a lowly insect, but then, something life-changing happened. I awakened as a Connector.”

Hyunwoo looked at the ceiling. It seemed he was back in his feelings again.

Sungyoon thought about Hyunwoo’s mother. Her entire body was draped with luxury items. She was a woman who openly boasted her extravagant lifestyle.

“Then, I met Jungbum.”

Sungyoon's pain subsided a little, and he put strength into his legs to stand up. Hyunwoo didn’t stop him; he sounded drunk on his own words.

“He became my friend, a very close friend. We hit it off as soon as we met. Above all else, we were a duo. We were the aces of our company. At the time, our company was small, and we helped it grow.”

When his pain completely subsided, Sungyoon once again attacked Hyunwoo.

‘Something is off with him!’

Something was changing within Hyunwoo. Sungyoon didn’t think it would be advantageous for him to let Hyunwoo go through with this change. He stabbed at him with his sword. Shockingly, Hyunwoo grabbed the sword with his hands once again. It seemed the last time hadn't been a fluke.

Sssk!

However, Sungyoon was ready. As soon as Hyunwoo grabbed the sword, Sungyoon unsummoned it. Hyunwoo’s hands became empty.

This time, Sungyoon swung his halberd.

Tuh-uhk!

However, Hyunwoo caught it again. Sungyoon’s eyebrows twitched, and he once again unsummoned his weapon. Now, he held his ax in his right hand and his hammer in his left.

Hoo-oohng!

He attacked with both weapons at the same time, thinking Hyunwoo would probably be unable to grab both the weapons.

But, it had been too simple of an idea.

Tah-ahng! Tah-ahng!

Hyunwoo’s hands deflected the ax and the hammer.

Kwahng!

The hammer caused an explosion, but Hyunwoo didn’t receive any damage from it.

Hyunwoo lifted his foot.

Puh-uh-uhk!

Sungyoon once again received a kick in the stomach. He felt as if his internal organs had been crushed.

“Kuh-huhk!”

He screamed and felt as if he were out of breath at the same time. The kick had sent him flying backward again. Unlike before, he didn’t roll across the ground. He just staggered to a halt. However, the pain he felt wasn’t any weaker than before.

When he touched his stomach, he found another location where his armor had caved in.

‘What strength!’

If Hyunwoo had swung his sword, Sungyoon felt as if it would've cut him in half.

“If I think about it, it was my golden age.”

Hyunwoo continued to speak. He didn’t seem interested in the blows that they had exchanged.

“At that time, I had already erased my dark past from my mind. I always thought I would continue to ascend. I was supposed to be in my glory days.”

The excitement was apparent in Hyunwoo's voice. However, in the next moment, that excitement disappeared, and his voice fell. Sungyoon could sometimes get a glimpse of Hyunwoo’s eyes through the visor of Hyunwoo's helmet. He clearly saw Hyunwoo's eyes turn red.

“I was mistaken.”

Hyunwoo's voice sounded human as he croaked out his words.

“You asked me before. You asked me what Gen I was.”

“I did.”

“At the time, I said I was a 2nd Gen. Honestly, I’m not.”

Hyunwoo’s gloomy voice spoke the truth.

“I'm like you, a 1st Gen Connector.”

This surprised Sungyoon.

“First Gen? I thought you said your father was a 1st Gen? That means...”

The first thing Sungyoon thought about was infidelity, and it seemed Hyunwoo realized what Sungyoon was thinking.

“My mother wasn’t unfaithful. Well, it can’t be called infidelity since she only copulated with Connectors to acquire their seed. She never married or dated any of the Connectors.”

The relationships between Connectors and Hyunwoo’s mother had strictly been those of desire and selfishness.

“My mother only needed Connector children. This was why she always went after Connectors. I'm sure my father was a Connector.”

“Are you saying a 1st Gen was born from a 1st Gen?”

“It is understandable why you can’t comprehend it. I’m a very special case. Let me lay out an example.”

Hyunwoo raised his finger.

“Your daughter was born before you were awakened, right? Then I guess she won’t make a good example. Let’s take Jimin for example. Jimin’s father was Jungbum, and Jungbum was a 2nd Gen. Woosang and Woosung, who were born as Connectors, naturally, become 3rd Gen Connectors. However, not all children become Connectors like Jimin. ”

Jimin wasn’t a Connector, so to find traces of her missing father, she had to set up a company to search for her missing father. It was an inefficient venture.

“Jimin is a normal child born from a Connector, but what would happen if she awakened as a Connector?”

“…basically, she would be treated as a 1st Gen despite having a Connector as a parent?”

“It isn’t about being treated like one. She would really be a 1st Gen.

She would be different from 2nd and 3rd Gen, because they hold the characteristics of the 1st Gen.”

A normal person born from a Connector parent awakened newly as a Connector.

“It must be a very rare occurrence.”

It was understandable as to why this information wasn’t well known.

“Yes, I am rare. However, I defied the odds to become what I am.”

Hyunwoo laughed.

It was clear that he wasn’t laughing out of joy.

His voice no longer sounded human, so his laughter sounded very creepy.

“I first found out the truth through the Great Labyrinth. You’ve experienced it before, right? Do you remember the feeling when you first saw the Great Labyrinth?”

Sungyoon had seen the Great Labyrinth for the first time with Jimin. He had felt fear and pressure.

It was mild compared to the other Connectors, who either fell to their knees or butt.

“My party members initially felt fear in the beginning. However, they shed this fear once they advanced in their power to a certain point. They all boasted about wanting to clear the Great Labyrinth. I laughed and went along with it. However, I never got used to the fear. It made me realize that I was a 1st Gen Connector.”

It was a brutal truth that could destroy his future.

“When I found this out, I despaired. First Gen was synonymous with hopelessness.”

Hyunwoo’s tone of voice turned rougher.

“When my mother beat us, she told us that 1st Gen blood was bad. She said a 1st Gen wasn’t a proper Connector. A 1st Gen was basically trash. She said that was why we didn’t awaken as Connectors.”

However, it wouldn’t be the last time 1st Gens were derided.

“Then there was the mocking laughter of my comrades! First Gens were ignored by 2nd Gens and 3rd Gens. This class warfare was exacerbated in Fabion. Most of their members were 3rd Gens or they were 1st Gens like me, who had a bad relationship with their parents. Moreover, the one that stood at the top of the 2nd and 3rd Gens was Hahn Jungbum!”

Anger. Hate. A loathsome despair swirled around his body.

“That is why I couldn’t tell anyone despite knowing the fact that I was a 1st Gen. Jungbum and the other guys mocked 1st GEns as being useless studs. I couldn’t say a word when they said such things!”

He hated himself for being a 1st Gen. Moreover, it could ultimately lead to losing his friendship with a close friend. He also feared losing his current lifestyle.

All those reasons weighed Hyunwoo down.

“Still, I was fine with it at the time. I was much more talented compared to the other 1st Gens. No one suspected I was a 1st Gen, but in the end, the time of reckoning came.”

Hyunwoo reflected on another turning point in his life.

“It was time for us to attempt the Great Labyrinth!”

His first turning point was becoming a Connector, which allowed him to soar into the blue skies. The second turning point plummeted him towards the ground.

“You know what happens to 1st Gens in the Great Labyrinth.”

There were two reasons why other Connectors looked down on 1st Gens. They reached their potential really quickly, and they went insane in the Great Labyrinth.

“I had to find a way. If I went mad from fear, everything I’ve achieved until that moment would crumble in front of my eyes.”

Hyunwoo’s eyes were clearly red. The red light from his eyes could now clearly be seen through his helmet.

‘He’s like a monster.’

Sungyoon felt an ominous feeling wash over him.

However, he couldn’t attack recklessly.

Currently, Hyunwoo’s power was on a different level from before. Sungyoon tried to see if there were any openings. He also paid attention to Hyunwoo’s words. It might give him hints on how to defeat him.

“In the end, I found a method. It was a special ability Gem that lessened one’s fear. It steadied one’s mind and soul in battle. However, this was only a temporary solution. Of course, the Gem’s abilities started tapering off the deeper I went into the Great Labyrinth. Moreover, I reached the limit of my abilities. Even if I was an outstanding 1st Gen, I could never become like you.”

Hyunwoo’s voice was filled with envy.

“Every day was filled with anxiety and a feeling of inadequacy. It was driving me crazy. However, there was something that made me lose it.”

Ooh-doohk! Ooh-doohk!

A hair-raising sound started to ring out from within Hyunwoo’s armor.

Cold sweat dripped down Sungyoon’s cheek.

“It was a normal day. We went into the Great Labyrinth, and we harvested moonstone by killing monsters. It was like every other day, but I wasn’t feeling good. I made several mistakes, and it was clear that I was holding back my party members. My party members didn’t mind. They bought me alcohol several times to cheer me up.”

Hyunwoo continued to recall those memories. Then he arrived when everything came to an end.

“We were drinking heavily. You know how good Connectors are at drinking alcohol. We were drinking cases of hard liquor, and it might be why I had a moment of weakness. That is why I asked such a terrible question.”

His eyes had lost focus, and he remembered asking this question to his party members.

“What would you do if you found out that one of your comrades was a 1st Gem?”

Kwah-doo-doohk!

He could clearly hear bones breaking. It sounded like bone grinding against bone.

Something was occurring within Hyunwoo’s full body armor, and Sungyoon became nervous.

“After receiving my question, it was clear that they were weirded out by my question. However, they soon burst out laughing. Afterward, it was a barrage of insults. They said how could a stud become their comrade? How could cowards, who wet themselves at the sight of monsters in the Great Labyrinth, keep up with them? They said all kinds of disparaging words. I’m actually surprised that I endured such abuse. Let me tell you this, Sungyoon. The most shocking part came when Jungbum spoke.”

[There is no way such useless beings can be our comrade. They should know their place. If someone like that tries to enter my party, I’ll beat them up.]

Hyunwoo unsummoned his armor.