Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 110

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 110

 

BIRDS OF A FEATHER(3)

 

The synergy between Penguin and my subspace was perfect.

 

I didn’t know it at first, but now I was certain.

 

This compatibility was probably thanks to luck too. In MoMo’s system, temporary amplification of luck works much more powerfully than ordinary luck.

 

“A hotel… so you’re saying you want to run a safe house business?”

 

〔Safe houses are merely part of the service. The essence is commerce.〕

 

“Right.”

 

Among the loot Penguin brought, there was nothing useful for me. Usually, anything below C-grade is just melted down to obtain magic stones or to extract special effects.

 

〔Master does not accurately recognize the value of this subspace. The potential possibilities of subspace are very excellent.〕

 

“Hm. I guess that seems right.”

 

Broadly speaking, subspace is part of a rift.

 

For reference, not all rifts are labyrinths.

 

〔Master’s potential is also remarkable.〕

 

“…Hmm.”

 

I crossed my arms.

 

This guy even knows how to give lip service.

 

“Anyway, you’re saying we need houses for customers to stay in?”

 

〔Yes.〕

 

“Then… oh right.”

 

I pointed to the two scarecrows in the subspace.

 

Yoonsooabi, Kesooabi.

 

“Think of these as friends and guards. I’ll call them in occasionally when I need them.”

 

They gained quite a lot of experience during the Defense Labyrinth, so they’re completely elite scarecrows. It’s proof that practical experience is important.

 

〔Understood.〕

 

“And… it won’t be like a hotel.”

 

No matter what, I’m not skilled enough as a construction worker to build structures by myself.

 

So I took out a crystal fragment from the loot.

 

I had been wondering what to use it for, but if Aro’s skills were this good, it was definitely worth investing in.

 

“House, come out with a bang!”

 

〔…;〕

 

I rolled the fragment while imagining a modern house I saw in a magazine.

 

Whiiiii——-

 

Blue light rippled and grew larger. It rose up in neat squares and stopped at about 3 stories high.

 

Swooooo——-

 

The magic membrane gradually lifted, revealing the new Astroal Merchandise building.

 

“Oh~”

 

〔Beep.〕

 

The interior was just as I had imagined. I liked the spatial layout too.

 

1st floor was the counter. 2nd-3rd floors were dormitories.

 

“How is it?”

 

〔Beep beep. Satisfactory.〕

 

“We just need to bring in furniture. How many people usually stay?”

 

〔Four people.〕

 

Exactly a formal party.

 

“Hmm…”

 

But I don’t have money to buy furniture. Should I ask the old man for help again?

 

No, the broadcasting station seems to be raking in money but won’t give me appearance fees.

 

“Aro. You know that if we put this loot on the market, we could be identified, right?”

 

〔I am aware of that.〕

 

The world isn’t easy. Explorers remember their loot. If I tried to sell these items, they would definitely recognize them.

 

Even if we melt them down, melting without verification of origin is also illegal.

 

〔Through my network, bartering with these loots is possible.〕

 

“Network?”

 

〔Yes.〕

 

Oh right.

 

I checked Aro’s information window again.

 

■ Special Notes: Astroal193 can procure rare items through its dealer network and actively adjusts prices according to market conditions. 10% of daily revenue is automatically deducted as maintenance costs.

 

Can procure rare items through dealer network. 10% of daily revenue automatically deducted as maintenance costs.

 

“What do you use the 10% maintenance cost for?”

 

[I upgrade my body and network. If more costs are invested, I can upgrade at a faster rate.]

 

“…Just use 10% for now. But where is this network?”

 

〔MoMo.〕

 

MoMo.

 

MoMo?

 

I thought I might have misheard for a moment.

 

“…Say that again.”

 

〔MoMo.〕

 

“MoMo… That MoMo isn’t your mom or dad’s name, is it?”

 

〔M-O-M-O. MoMo.〕

 

“…”

 

My lips flapped like a fish. My eyes became fish eyes too.

 

This penguin knows about MoMo.

 

How?

 

Aro seemed to misunderstand my expression and explained how to use the network.

 

〔I tokenize the loot and transmit it through the network, then receive coins and products.〕

 

“Hey. Do you know who made you?”

 

〔I am Astroal193. I was manufactured in Merchandise Galaxy.〕

 

“…”

 

Aro probably doesn’t know anything beyond this anyway. It’s just a robot after all.

 

“Right. Got it. For now… use that to furnish the place.”

 

I sat in the chair. I searched for penguin in the explorer community.

 

Some weird robot penguin saved my life….

 

It was all in English, but roughly translating:

 

I was saved thanks to some weird penguin.

 

Does anyone know about the penguin? What are the conditions to go to this penguin’s space?

 

The penguin’s space might be a small labyrinth.

 

The penguin seems to be someone’s pet.

 

I checked all pets registered with the association, but there was no such penguin.

 

Don’t try to find the penguin. Be grateful that there’s a rescuer in dangerous fields.

 

As expected, there was quite a bit about Penguin. After skimming through, I glanced at Aro again.

 

“Aro. I’m leaving. You can watch various things on that laptop… you’re already watching something.”

 

I thought she was just standing there blankly, but she had already turned on a drama.

 

〔Master. I need products to sell.〕

 

“I’ll buy various things at home first and send them as snacks.”

 

〔Yes.〕

 

Snap.

 

I flicked my finger and returned home. I ordered tons of delivery food – pizza, chicken, pig’s trotters, naengmyeon, and more.

 

“Since 1.5 servings of pig’s trotters became 100 million won…”

 

Actually, considering black market prices, it’s not 100 million but 1-2 thousand. Even selling through official routes instead of the black market, after taxes and fees, it’s 4-5 thousand.

 

“She’ll earn a lot anyway.”

 

Whether it’s tokens or coins or whatever. If I just stock up on goods and wait, Aro will handle everything.

 

* * *

 

The next day.

 

I returned to the dormitory from the morning. I still had some vacation left, but I couldn’t sleep properly.

 

Sure enough, my back was killing me. The dormitory bed was so good that I couldn’t use the cheap bed in my studio apartment anymore.

 

…Actually, my body was more damaged compared to before the regression.

 

My current physical condition as an explorer was much worse than when I was holed up at home just playing games.

 

It was natural.

 

If I hadn’t obtained the ‘Dream Bubble’, I might have retired midway.

 

Tap. Tap.

 

I walked while leaning on my walking stick.

 

“…Now I can’t even walk without you.”

 

My left leg had similarly worsened. Before the regression, I only limped, but now without the walking stick, I drag it along.

 

Anyway.

 

I stopped and looked at the staff building.

 

The building inside the premises that combined the editing room, duty room, and cafeteria. This premises was also broadly speaking a subspace, and also a rift.

 

In other words, not all rifts were labyrinths.

 

However, there was one hypothesis I hadn’t been able to confirm.

 

‘Do labyrinths that aren’t rifts exist?’

 

There was still much I didn’t know.

 

The cause of regression. The relationship between MoMo and Labyrinth Exploration NaN.

 

Above all, the foundation of this broadcasting station.

 

Aro said she used MoMo’s network, but MoMo was ultimately a game based on the Labyrinth Exploration series. The official release was still months away.

 

“…Come to think of it.”

 

The foundation of Labyrinth Exploration MoMo was ‘the entire Earth’.

 

In MoMo, not only the cast of the Labyrinth Exploration series, but all explorers registered with association licenses appeared as characters.

 

MoMo’s system was composing the current me, Mage Seol Ha-woon…

 

“Seol Ha-woon?”

 

Someone called me. I turned around with a start.

 

It was Kim Yoon-jun.

 

“Ah, Mentor.”

 

I bowed my head. He tilted his head and asked.

 

“Isn’t your return from vacation three days away? There shouldn’t be anyone at the dormitory right now.”

 

He seemed to have brought snacks for the staff.

 

“I know. But I’m not used to the studio apartment anymore. I almost broke my back while sleeping.”

 

Dream Bubble only helped with sleep efficiency and natural recovery, it couldn’t protect me from the cheap bed trying to break my back.

 

“Hmm~ Ah, right. Seol Ha-woon.”

 

Kim Yoon-jun looked at me and smiled.

 

“You did well with defense. I enjoyed watching it. You always show more than expected.”

 

“Haha… Thank you.”

 

“Did you use the loot well?”

 

“…Yes. I used it for a good cause.”

 

For Penguin’s personal gain.

 

“But…”

 

I scratched the back of my neck while gauging Kim Yoon-jun’s reaction.

 

Before and now, he seemed to know something.

 

Should I probe a little?

 

“…Strangely, I sometimes think this lately.”

 

Kim Yoon-jun quietly looked at me. His face said to continue.

 

“The labyrinths we enter might not be fake but real…”

 

Suddenly Kim Yoon-jun’s complexion turned cold as ice. I pretended not to notice and continued.

 

“I mean, the labyrinths we enter are actually very small parts of a much larger, unimaginably huge labyrinth…”

 

I shrugged my shoulders.

 

“It’s such a delusion.”

 

Kim Yoon-jun quickly managed his expression. He smiled again with his usual kind face.

 

“As expected, being a mage makes your thinking different in scale.”

 

Then he took out his smartphone.

 

“Ha-woon. Shall we exchange numbers? You don’t have Instagram.”

 

“Ah yes.”

 

I was thinking of making an Instagram. SNS increases recognition acquisition rate, but I hadn’t had time.

 

Since I thought of it, I should make one today.

 

“Let’s talk over a meal later.”

 

“Yes. That sounds good to me.”

 

“Tomorrow at 1 PM, I’ll text you the location.”

 

This soon?

 

I was slightly flustered. Wasn’t “let’s have a meal sometime” synonymous with “meaningless words” according to the South Korean constitution?

 

“Uh… yes.”

 

“So.”

 

Suddenly, Kim Yoon-jun’s voice became seriously subdued.

 

He placed his hand on my shoulder.

 

“Until then, don’t dig too deep into details.”

 

He muttered strange words, then smiled brightly again.

 

“See you later then.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Take care. Fighting.”

 

Kim Yoon-jun entered the broadcasting station building. I blankly stared at the cakes and coffee filling both his arms.

 

He knew some fact I didn’t know. However, he wasn’t telling me.

 

The reason was probably… because it was dangerous.

 

Kim Yoon-jun was a good person. I didn’t sense any suspicious mask or hypocrisy.

 

If possible, sharing information with each other wouldn’t be bad.

 

“…Ah right.”

 

I sent a text to Kim A-rang.

 

[ PD. Can I make an Instagram account? ]

 

A reply came immediately.

 

[ Kim A-rang : (rabbit emoticon looking smug) ]

 

[ Kim A-rang : Upload this as your first feed ]

 

Along with my three best shots.

 

I fiddled with my smartphone, signed up for Instagram, and immediately uploaded the three best shots.

 

* * *

 

“Haaaam….”

 

After completing my 10th viewing of the Labyrinth Exploration Episode 9 theatrical release, I yawned as I walked out.

 

“Mmm… huh?!”

 

Lee Si-ah’s eyes widened at her smartphone notification.

 

[ Holy shit Seol Ha-woon opened an Insta ]

 

[ Fuck fuck I waited a million years and finally;; ]

 

[ Ha-woonie opened an Instagram!! ]

 

Posts were going up simultaneously from all the accounts she followed. Lee Si-ah also accessed Instagram with trembling hands. She searched for the account as she saw it.

 

@Seolhaun

 

Seol Ha-woon had opened an account!

 

It even had a verification checkmark, and it was a genuine account that posted four photos of Seol Ha-woon himself that had never been released anywhere else.

 

@Seolhaun This is Seol Ha-woon. This is my first feed. I’d like to share various daily moments with fans going forward. #SeolHaWoon #LabyrinthExplorationNaN #Mitamnan #Jemallot #Mage

 

Lee Si-ah quickly hit follow and like. She saved the photos separately.

 

Each and every one of these was precious. Explorers don’t do much external activities.

 

“More, post more….”

 

Lee Si-ah muttered with a grin as she walked down the roadside.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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