Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 114

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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 114

 

In the house(1)

 

“Everyone, please follow me.”

 

Yoo Ji-in led us. She walked through the corridor of the space station, and gates opened in sync with her footsteps.

 

Hiss!

 

It’s a scene I saw in a movie once.

 

“This is so amazing.”

 

Im Hae-jun exclaimed with a goofy grin. Not only Lee Jun-ho and Seo Ji-woo, but even Kate seemed to be experiencing this for the first time, her eyes wide with wonder.

 

“Now. This is the starting point.”

 

We reached a spacious area.

 

The hibernation room of the space station, lined with several oval-shaped capsules.

 

“This is the life support zone.”

 

Yoo Ji-in explained.

 

“These capsules are hibernation capsules. You might have seen them a lot in SF movies and such.”

 

They’re just the right size for one person to enter. Usually in SF, they’re associated with aliens.

 

“You’ll all be entering the Labyrinth from inside the capsules.”

 

“Whew. I’m getting nervous, hyung.”

 

Im Hae-jun said.

 

The hyung isn’t me. It’s Kang Hyeon. Usually in situations like this, my title would be master.

 

“I know.”

 

Kang Hyeon relayed the words to me.

 

“How about you, hyung.”

 

I looked at Kang Hyeon quietly.

 

I forced a smile.

 

“Should be fun.”

 

“Everyone, please change into hibernation suits in the individual changing rooms and enter the capsules~”

 

Yoo Ji-in pointed to the male and female changing rooms on the right and left. The explorers entered their individual changing rooms, changed clothes, and came out. They were all wearing identical spaceship living suits.

 

“Wow~ Ji-woo, how do you look so good even wearing something like that~?”

 

“Really~? Hwa-rim, you look gorgeous right now too~”

 

Yoon Hwa-rim and Seo Ji-woo are having a fashion show,

 

“Oh~ Lee Jong-soo, that fit is amazing~ You look like a Tom Gray model~”

 

“Ahem. No, no, I’ve gained some weight~ Won’t this tear the clothes~ You be careful too. Your back might burst.”

 

“No, no~ Mine are just lean muscles…”

 

Lee Jong-soo and Kim Dong-ha are also putting on a show. They say the other looks better while actually flexing their own muscles hard.

 

Meanwhile, Kate keeps tugging at her sleeves as if the clothes bother her, and Im Hae-jun tilts his head while looking at his arms and legs.

 

“Master. Even so, isn’t this too big?”

 

“Just wear it…”

 

Now that I look at it, it really is too big. There’s almost two hand spans left over.

 

“Did you get switched with someone?”

 

“Maybe…”

 

Im Hae-jun dragged his pants and frowned.

 

“Don’t space suits have automatic stretching or something?”

 

“…Huh? Hey, you must have switched with that guy.”

 

I pointed to Ryu Yeon-hwa. Ryu Yeon-hwa had suddenly appeared in skin-tight clothes, awkwardly pulling down her hem.

 

“Oh! Yeon-hwa hyung!”

 

Im Hae-jun ran over. Ryu Yeon-hwa also let out a sigh of relief as if thankful.

 

“Everyone, please return your personal belongings. Personal items cannot be used in this Labyrinth.”

 

Suddenly, Yoo Ji-in made a fatal declaration. I flinched and turned to look at her. Our eyes met. Both our gazes soon fell on the walking stick.

 

“…Don’t worry. You’ll each be given an equipment box with suitable gear inside.”

 

“Phew.”

 

That’s a relief.

 

Before I knew it, Im Hae-jun had changed clothes and returned.

 

“Whew~ Now this looks proper.”

 

He strikes an astronaut pose while looking in the mirror, seemingly satisfied.

 

“Everyone, please enter the capsules. We’ll be departing soon.”

 

At Yoo Ji-in’s words, everyone stood in front of their capsules with tense faces.

 

Hisss!

 

The hibernation capsule opened. I entered what somehow felt like a coffin and lay down.

 

「 Beginning hibernation. 30, 29, 28… 」

 

Warm water slowly rises in the capsule. It doesn’t feel bad. Rather, it’s warm and cozy.

 

“Oh…”

 

They say taking a warm shower in the middle of winter releases some oxytocin, and this feels about ten times better than that.

 

Sleep comes.

 

I activated the dream bubble without delay. A very small bubble bloomed inside the capsule.

 

* * *

 

I opened my eyes.

 

“Heoeoeoek…!”

 

I gasped for air urgently. I clutched my chest and panted.

 

“Haa, haa, haa…”

 

I looked around in a daze.

 

I was wearing a space suit and was still inside the capsule.

 

「 Hibernation is ending. Please remain calm 」

 

「 Opening capsule in 30 seconds… 」

 

Hissssss.

 

The capsule opened.

 

I tried to step on the ground with both legs but fell over.

 

“Ugh!”

 

My left leg. Severe pain spreads from my knee.

 

“Argh… damn…”

 

Is this a side effect of hibernation?

 

After rolling around for a while, I managed to get up.

 

“…Where is it.”

 

You said you prepared a walking stick.

 

There was an equipment box right next to the capsule. It required fingerprint recognition.

 

「Explorer: Seol Ha-woon confirmed 」

 

Inside the box were cold weapons like swords, spears, bows, as well as a pistol and walking stick.

 

I instinctively grabbed the pistol first, then took out the walking stick.

 

【Adaptive Basic Pistol】■ Grade: Rare■ Overview: Ordinary cosmic fiber pistol■ Excellent environmental adaptability, and has no durability limit.

 

“It’s not bullet-type.”

 

The pistol is magic-charged. A pistol that refines magic power into bullet form when you inject magic into the pistol’s cylinder. That’s actually better.

 

Only then did I survey my surroundings.

 

In a workshop-like space, only a hibernation capsule was sitting alone. In other words, I was by myself.

 

Clearly 50 people had entered together.

 

“You’re awake.”

 

Suddenly there was a presence. I raised my pistol and aimed it in that direction. I saw a woman in work clothes.

 

“Quite a violent explorer.”

 

“…Who are you?”

 

“Julione. The supervisor who accepted you.”

 

She has a somewhat irritable impression. Her age seems to be between late twenties and early thirties. Unlike Kate, her unkempt blonde hair is frizzy like dog fur, and the wrinkles around her eyes are deep, making her look quite tired.

 

“Take this. It’s a terminal.”

 

She handed me a terminal. I put it in my pocket for now and asked.

 

“Where is this place?”

 

“Where else. Romulus M31 Galaxy Cluster A2199 Sector, right ascension 0h 45m, declination 41.3 degrees.”

 

“I have no idea what that means.”

 

“Looks like you haven’t downloaded yet.”

 

I don’t even know what downloading is.

 

I found a laptop in the corner. It was placed on a shelf.

 

“This kind of thing is also a clue.”

 

I walked while leaning on my walking stick. Julione seemed dissatisfied with my legs.

 

Click.

 

I turned on the laptop.

 

「Worker’s Record」1st year aboard. Things are finally becoming familiar. There’s really a lot to do on a residential ship. It’s tough though…-2348 / 09 /15

 

Sometimes I envy the tourists who buy tickets to board. I feel sorry for my wife too. With the employee discount, the ship park is practically free, but she came with me and I’m just working without enjoying it.-2348 / 09 /25

 

We collided with a meteorite. It was a very small meteorite, but it cracked the hull. That was a close call. Escosis’s reply: Holy shit that was close lololol -2348/11/13

 

A cold is going around. Tina seems to have caught it too, but it’s not spreading to me. I wish I could be sick instead of her.-2348/12/17

 

Tina is coughing too severely. The medical office says it’s just a simple cold. But something feels strange. Escosis’s reply: It could be pneumonia. Take her to the medical office first. I’ll talk to Yoko first.-2348/12/23

 

Today someone collapsed in the corridor. I carried him to the medical office. His body temperature was too low.-2348/12/24

 

An unknown disease is spreading in the civilian quarters. Everyone just calls it a cold. Did Tina catch that disease too? Escosis’s reply: Shit, something’s weird. The patients’ aggression is getting fucking high.-2348/12/28

 

The Esmos ship has been designated as a quarantine zone. Movement between ships has been blocked. Tina is still coughing.-2349/01/07

 

Tina’s skin is turning gray. She mustn’t be found out. If discovered, she’ll be trapped in the quarantine zone.-2349/01/13

 

Screams were heard from the medical office. Three medical staff are said to have died. No one talks about how they died.-2349/01/20

 

Tina isn’t moving. But she’s breathing. A body that’s only cold. Even unconscious, her teeth are chattering. She wants to live too. She’s desperately trying to live. I will save her too.-2349/01/23

 

Tina died. It’s my fault for bringing her here. She should have stayed in her hometown. I should have experienced this hell alone.-2349/02/01

 

There’s a scratching sound coming from the morgue…-2349/02/15

 

Scratch scratch. That kind of sound.-2349/02/16

 

Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.Scratchscratch.-2349/02/17

 

Tina is looking at me. But that’s not Tina, Tina, please…-2349/02/20

 

How can dead people walk-2349/02/20

 

Cosmos is already contaminated. Everything is ruined. We will all die here.2349/02/21

 

“…I knew this would happen.”

 

I knew this would happen, I knew it.

 

SF space is always space horror…

 

* * *

 

Tap. Tap. I followed Julione while leaning on my walking stick. In this regard, Julione was someone lacking in consideration.

 

Her pace is too fast.

 

“…This is the supervisor’s office.”

 

She pointed to a door that looked extremely solid.

 

“I don’t go outside of this.”

 

“Why not.”

 

“Because I’m the supervisor.”

 

She gives off quite a stubborn atmosphere.

 

“Then I can’t enter either?”

 

“You can enter. With my permission.”

 

Hiss. She opened the door. I tried to enter too, but bang!

 

She closed it right away.

 

“Excuse me? Isn’t there any other, like, guidance or something?”

 

─My job ends with waking you up.

 

“…Ah, yes. Then. You want me to go there alone?”

 

I pointed to the dark corridor.

 

There’s nothing there. It’s a space where monsters and zombies seem ready to jump out at any moment.

 

“…”

 

No answer.

 

I guess she wants me to go alone.

 

I walked down the corridor for now. Actually, darkness itself isn’t scary. My eyesight is so good that if I concentrate just a little magic power on my optic nerves, they become extremely activated and absorb even the faintest light.

 

Which means I can see very well.

 

「 A7 Crew Quarters 」

 

“Crew quarters…”

 

There might be something here.

 

I went in. It was a dormitory-like space, but as expected, there were no people. Instead, there was a computer on the desk.

 

Not a laptop.

 

「Desktop」

 

Desktop. It’s emitting some kind of special light.

 

I stared at it intently. Whirr- A status window appeared.

 

「Knowledge download is possible.」

 

A blue cable protruded from the desktop. The front part looked like USB, but it was soft.

 

It’s an aggregate made of magic power.

 

“Should I plug it into my head.”

 

After thinking about it, my wrist.

 

NaN’s information window can be activated by tapping the wrist twice.

 

Then this too?

 

I plugged the cable into my wrist. It connected smoothly.

 

Click.

 

「Starting download…」「Current Location: Cosmos Ship D Sector-Asmos Ship Crew Quarters」■ Cosmos is a colony ship formed by combining numerous spaceships.■ Currently, communication networks between ships are severed and separated■ Major facility list·Biological Preservation Zone (human embryo storage/research)·Resource Regeneration System·Central Control Room·Residential Zone·Medical Facility·Power Core…■ Current Status: Severe damage has disconnected inter-hull connections※ Warning: Automatic defense systems and security robots operating in some areas

 

Cosmos is a colony ship.

 

In other words, it was a hull composed of countless spaceships. However, for some reason, the connections between hulls were severed, and it became a dead fleet.

 

I had fallen into one of the ships in that Cosmos fleet.

 

The objective was….

 

“You are the support team.”

 

“Your objective is to recover the ‘substance’ from deep within the ship and return.”

 

Recovering some substance from inside the ship.

 

I understood clearly.

 

「 Download Successful : Special skill selection available. 」□ Lv.1 Terminal Enhancement□ Lv.1 Hacking□ Lv.1 Mini Map

 

“…Skills?”

 

They were Labyrinth skills. If I played my cards right, I might be able to take these skills as loot.

 

I read through the descriptions.

 

Lv.1 Hacking■ Can infiltrate the system core of specific targets through neural circuits.■ Performance varies according to individual magic power performance and nervous system level.

 

Lv.1 Terminal Enhancement■ Enhances terminal performance.

 

Lv.1 Mini Map■ Opens the mini map.

 

Hacking looked good. It said performance changes according to ‘nervous system level.’

 

Honestly, my nervous system trained through sequences would probably be overwhelming even among all explorers.

 

“Acquiring Lv.1 Hacking.”

 

“Please implant the chip.”

 

Some chip came out of the desktop. I roughly shoved it into my wrist.

 

“Implantation Complete”

 

The usage method seemed to have been downloaded as well, naturally coming to mind. I just needed to use mental visualization.

 

Well then, let’s go.

 

I walked while tapping my walking stick. Tap. Tap.

 

Had I walked for several dozen minutes?

 

“Lobby”

 

Finally, a passage leading to the lobby appeared. The gate was firmly locked.

 

“Hacking.”

 

I visualized hacking. A blue cable flowed out from my wrist. I plugged the connector into the gate.

 

“Hacking Successful”

 

Whirrrrr.

 

The door slowly rising.

 

I was about to step forward but hesitated. The corridor itself was covered in blood. Especially on the wall right where I turned my head, all sorts of letters, handprints, and nail marks were carved in bright red blood.

 

R U N

 

YOU THE NEXT

 

DIE ! ! !

 

WE ALL DIE ^０^

 

THANKS FOR YOUR NEGLIGENCE…

—————
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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