Chapter 42 …
I Pulled an EX-Rank Past Life
Chapter 042
“Another mutant gate?”
Ye Jiram clicked her tongue in irritation as she checked the gate notification.
‘A labyrinth…….’
Meanwhile, I was focusing on the gate’s name—“Labyrinth.”
That was because the labyrinth guidebook I had just obtained clearly had that word written on it.
‘As I thought—’
Seeing this confirmed it for me.
‘The rewards from quests…’
They were always things that would help with what was about to happen.
‘…But how do they know?’
How did it know what would happen, or what kind of gate would appear, and give out rewards like this in advance? That was the strange part.
‘The very existence of the War God is weird.’
Even if it was my past life, the fact that it was EX-rank was odd enough.
Not to mention that it gave out something called “quests,” which I’d never heard any other superhumans talk about…
‘It even interferes with the system.’
It directly meddled with the system itself. No matter how I looked at it, it was abnormal.
‘What does it want from me?’
It clearly seemed to have its own will, yet it never plainly said what it wanted from me.
It only pointed me in directions that benefited me, so I simply followed.
While I was thinking about the War God—
[■ This gate is a Party Gate.]
[■ Please enter in pairs of two.]
The explanation for the labyrinth gate continued. A two-person party?
‘I’ve done a party gate before.’
I’d once entered a gate related to the Rogue Warrior as part of a four-person party. But this time, it was just two.
As I found that interesting—
“Well, this works out nicely.”
Ye Jiram, who was standing in front, spoke up.
“Yes?”
Before I could even react—
“Let’s go.”
Her hand wrapped around my wrist.
[■ A party has been created.]
[■ Would you like to join?]
“Huh? Wait—”
[■ ‘Uh.’ Accepted.]
“What? No, what—!”
“So, shall we take a look?”
[■ The party leader has approved gate entry.]
[■ Entering Labyrinth Manifestation (A) Gate.]
Before I could say anything else, my vision flickered.
Kuuuuung—!!!
A rough, thunderous sound rang in my ears as I opened my eyes.
Pitch black.
‘What the hell? Why is it so dark?’
It was intensely dark. Darkness so deep I couldn’t see an inch ahead. The discomfort was rising—
[The Hero’s Hyper-Senses have activated.]
The skill activated on its own. My vision didn’t brighten, but I could clearly sense what lay ahead.
There was nothing special. Just a passageway. A corridor whose depth I couldn’t even properly gauge.
‘This place…’
Was this the labyrinth?
As I was checking the situation—
“Why can’t I see anything?”
A sharp voice echoed through the darkness.
Ye Jiram.
“Are you there?”
It sounded like she was calling for me, and I was about to respond immediately—
‘…Wait.’
I hesitated. There was a problem.
‘What state am I in right now?’
Whenever I entered a gate, there was always an issue: I became the War God, wore a mask, and my voice changed.
I hurriedly felt my face with my hands.
‘Huh?’
There was no mask.
What? Why isn’t it here? It should be on me. As I was puzzling over it, a system message appeared.
[You are carrying the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.]
[The War God’s trait is deactivated, and the state of Heavenly Demon (SS) is applied.]
Only then did I realize—there was a sword hanging at my waist.
‘Because I’m holding a sword, the Heavenly Demon’s power is applied instead of the War God’s…’
“What, can’t you hear me? Are you even there?”
“I’m right here.”
My voice was normal.
“What the hell. If you’re there, say something.”
“…Sorry. This situation is new to me, so I panicked.”
“New? Oh, right. You said you awakened not long ago, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Tch. Come to think of it, you’re a newbie.”
Ye Jiram spoke with clear annoyance.
Unbelievable—she was the one who dragged me in here.
Whoosh—!
With a burning sound, the surroundings suddenly brightened. Ye Jiram had conjured flames in her hand.
The fire floated slowly before settling in midair like a lantern.
As she walked forward, now clearly visible, she spoke to me.
“Follow me. And don’t slow me down.”
“…Yes.”
I followed after her.
[■ Labyrinth 10F]
[■ You have entered the Maze of the Dead.]
An ominous notification greeted us, as if it had been waiting.
When recalling what was known about Ye Jiram, the Black Night Witch, the first thing that came to mind was simple:
She was beautiful.
Black hair, black eyes, pale white skin, and strikingly elegant features.
Because she possessed a high-grade past life, Ye Jiram was one of the most famous figures among top-tier superhumans.
As in any world, beauty alone could be power. Thanks to that, she received countless advertisements and sponsorships.
However—
There was also a very negative public opinion about her.
That was—
‘Her personality is absolutely fucked.’
Her personality itself was notoriously foul.
Just looking at her infamous quotes made that clear.
“Why do you keep hitting on me? Want me to burn your balls off? You filthy-looking bastard, know your place before throwing yourself at me again.”
Something she said to a male superhuman who had shown interest in her.
“Why does he talk like complete shit? Did all his hair fall out along with his common sense? Maybe I should pluck out whatever’s left so he comes to his senses.”
Something she said about a politician who proposed laws restricting superhuman authority.
For reference, the politician was almost completely bald.
She’d also called a Japanese superhuman who badmouthed Korea a “red-nosed monkey,” and her feud with Russia’s Kamila Lirias was famous worldwide.
‘…Kamila said she’d kill Ye Jiram the moment she stepped foot in Korea.’
But she couldn’t—Kamila was banned from both leaving her country and entering Korea. Russia itself was in chaos due to disasters, preventing superhumans from traveling abroad.
Anyway, thanks to stories like these, a slang term was born:
‘Jiram-like.’
A meme referring to Ye Jiram’s foul-mouthed personality.
Some people found her refreshing for saying whatever she wanted.
Others found her unbearable for lacking any filter.
But Ye Jiram clearly didn’t care at all.
And yet—
‘Somehow…’
Despite the rumors—
“So, when you enter a vision-restricted area like this, the first thing you should do is assess the terrain. It’s best if you can make light like me, but kid, you can’t do that, right? Then the first thing you should do is close your eyes and get used to the darkness—hey, are you listening?”
“…Yes. I’m listening carefully.”
She almost seemed… kind.
Despite openly calling me a newbie earlier.
“Listen closely. You won’t hear this anywhere else. This is a golden opportunity, so don’t waste it. Got it?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“At least you answer well. Anyway… judging by the structure, it looks like a maze-type terrain. And that usually means traps, right?”
Ye Jiram scanned the surroundings.
At the same time—
Sssss—!!
Black energy spread out from her body, sweeping through the area.
“Doesn’t seem like there’s anything yet.”
“What did you just do?”
“Recon. I used mana to check the surroundings. I don’t feel anything in particular. So if we keep going like this—”
Just as she was about to move forward, I saw something and grabbed her.
“What?”
“Just a moment.”
I picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it ahead.
Thud.
As it hit the floor—
Kraaaaash—!!!!
“…Oh my?”
Spikes shot up from the ground, blocking the path.
If we had gone forward, our bodies would have been riddled with holes.
“…What? How did you know?”
Ye Jiram asked, staring at the trap.
I replied awkwardly.
“I saw something on the floor, so I thought maybe.”
“…You could see that?”
“Yes. I have good eyesight.”
“There was nothing detectable through mana… Is there some kind of barrier?”
She frowned, glancing between me and the path ahead.
“…Well, good job.”
It was an awkward compliment.
‘…I said I had good eyesight.’
And that wasn’t entirely wrong.
‘Because I really could see everything.’
[■ Labyrinth Guidebook]
The guidebook I received as a quest reward.
Just as described, the moment we entered the labyrinth, notifications appeared.
[■ The Labyrinth Guidebook has been applied.]
[■ The guidebook for Labyrinth 10F has been activated.]
Along with that message, a semi-transparent holographic window appeared before my eyes.
‘It’s a map.’
A map of the labyrinth itself, showing exactly where to go.
‘…Even the traps are marked.’
Every single trap was displayed.
A literal walkthrough guide.
‘With this…’
Clearing the labyrinth wouldn’t be very hard.
“Alright, traps aside, next—”
“There seems to be a path over there.”
“Huh? A path?”
Ye Jiram looked to the side. At a glance, it was just darkness.
“Could you send some fire that way?”
At my request, she hesitantly sent a flame.
“Huh?”
There really was a path there.
“Looks like that’s the way, right?”
I said.
“…Yeah. Looks like it.”
She replied, sounding oddly pride-bruised.
Some time after the labyrinth gate appeared—
“…Another mutant gate, they say. Don’t you guys think something’s off?”
Kim Hyuk-cheol, a B-rank superhuman classified as an information broker, spoke while broadcasting from inside a gate.
“Normally, you’d get one or two a year at most. But this is already the how-many-th one since the New Year? At this rate, the country might collapse.”
fr lol, wouldn’t be surprised if we end up like Russia
what if it actually collapses? Disaster contamination isn’t far off
just pray it doesn’t happen. And even if it does, Irene-chan is in Korea, so we’re good. At least Korea’s safe
facts
two SS-ranks in Korea? lol nothing to fear
Just knowing that Irene was in Korea gave people peace of mind.
That was what it meant to be the world’s strongest.
Glancing at the chat, Kim Hyuk-cheol used a skill.
There was a channel he had already identified.
“Since we’re talking about it, how about we check on Irene?”
This A-rank gate, “Labyrinth,” surprisingly had Hail Irene participating. Normally, she didn’t bother entering gates, so this was unexpected.
The moment Kim Hyuk-cheol opened the channel—
Kraaaaash—!!!! Kuuuuung—!!!
huh?
what is that? earthquake? why’s it shaking?
The screen shook violently.
Was there a system error? As Kim Hyuk-cheol panicked—
…Isn’t Irene just breaking the maze?
yeah, she’s smashing everything
Irene was pulverizing the labyrinth walls with magic.
What kind of barbaric method was that?
As everyone stared in disbelief—
[…Annoying.]
Irene glanced at the screen and snapped her fingers.
Beep—!!
“…Holy shit.”
The channel was forcibly terminated.
She had noticed she was being watched.
As Kim Hyuk-cheol marveled at her absurd detection ability—
then doesn’t Irene have the highest breakthrough rate?
yeah obviously, she’s just smashing her way down
Breakthrough rate.
That system had appeared along with the labyrinth gate.
The rankings were displayed in order of highest progress.
huh? what?
it’s not Irene?
Contrary to expectations, Irene wasn’t first.
Channel 122 was Irene’s—and it was in second place.
First place was—
‘Channel 328?’
Someone from another party.
Seeing that, Kim Hyuk-cheol immediately spoke.
“A channel beating Irene? Let’s take a look.”
Who was it? Another SS-rank? Eugene? No—he wasn’t on that channel.
Then who?
As Kim Hyuk-cheol checked—
[No, I said next to it! A bit more to the side, like this!]
[Like this?]
A familiar woman appeared on screen.
“…Huh?”
isn’t that Ye Jiram?
yeah, that’s the Black Night Witch
wait, she’s in first place? how?
Ye Jiram, the Black Night Witch, was crouched on the ground.
And beside her—
[No—! Just a little more to the side…! That’s not it! Move, I’ll show you!]
A young man with a somewhat youthful face was scolding Ye Jiram with an exasperated expression.
