Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 12

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

Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 012

I AM(4)

I spent a considerable amount of time conducting Stealth Operations, eliminating fifteen Goblins through pure manual work. It wasn’t particularly difficult. This was a situation I had already carried out several times in the Military.

“…Is this the place.”

A large door I reached after passing the Goblin corpses. It was the Treasure Room where the flow of Magic Power continued.

However, you can’t just open it because it looks good.

One common knowledge about Labyrinths: ‘Treasure Rooms only contain Loot.’

But sometimes situations occur that break common knowledge.

In other words, it means another monster lurks inside.

How do I know?

Because I watched it live.

I installed a Formula at the very bottom of the Treasure Room door. At ankle height. It was a trap similar to a landmine.

One law of Formulas established by Tae Hyeok, South Korea’s first magician: ‘Static Formulas have stronger power compared to dynamic Formulas for the same Magic Power.’

Simply put, a landmine that the opponent ‘has to come and step on’ has much greater firepower than a Mana Bullet that I directly ‘shoot out.’

“Preparation complete.”

After setting the Formula, I lightly touched the door.

Immediately, it swung wide open with a bang!

Grrrrowl──.

Inside was a Goblin that looked like it had been injected with steroids.

Its height easily exceeded 2 meters, and its weight was probably around 300kg. It was much heavier than David Magic Bookstore Owner, like some kind of bear.

A guard protecting the Loot. A mutant much stronger than the average monster in the Labyrinth.

Kraaaah──!

The creature let out a roar and charged at me.

“What a surprise.”

I stepped back a couple of paces.

Krrrrrr──!

Thud thud thud thud thud. What on earth was it so angry about.

It was a thunderous noise that shook the entire Labyrinth, but at some point.

A faint resistance caught the ankle of the creature charging excitedly.

Snap snap snap.

A very thin Line. A Booby Trap Spell composed of my Magic Power. It’s called a Tripwire, which gets pushed into the ankle and triggers the trap.

I quickly hid behind the wall.

───!

An explosion occurred. First, the creature’s two legs were blown apart, and blood and flesh scattered in all directions.

I only poked my head out slightly.

Kyaaaak──!

The Goblin guard was struggling with only its upper body remaining.

Phew.

Only then did I walk forward.

“Don’t think it’s unfair. It’s common on the Battlefield.”

You always have to be careful of what’s under your feet. The same goes for above. The Battlefield has death lurking in every place you step. If you move losing your reason like you did, getting your upper and lower body separated is getting off cheap.

Kaaaaaaak─!

The Goblin guard stretched out its thick arms. With only the upper body left doing this, it was quite grotesque.

I shot a Mana Bullet into its distorted forehead.

Bang.

Only then did it become quiet. I checked the system.

[ 3: 13 : 21 ]

3 hours and 13 minutes.

It seems like it took too long. Am I going to get edited out completely?

“Ugh…”

I entered the Treasure Room for now. A Jeweled Chalice was placed on the altar.

It was Loot.

I was about to quickly pick it up and leave, when suddenly.

“…?”

The door.

The door I had just entered through suddenly seemed suspicious.

“…What is it.”

Something’s strange.

Why do I feel this way. I sense an odd discomfort.

“Hmm.”

If that’s the case, let me trace back my memories from before the regression.

In the live broadcast, almost all participants entered the same Treasure Room and exited through the same door.

The next scene was…

‘Aaaahhh!’

‘Kyaaaaaaak!’

They screamed and fell down below. Like some kind of water slide.

“…Hmm.”

My suspicion isn’t just because of that memory.

Magic Power that wasn’t visible when I entered is now flickering near the door. Very faintly but definitely.

I examined the inside of the Treasure Room.

If this is a trap, what would be the trigger. What caused the trap to activate.

I thoroughly examined the ceiling, floor, and walls while pondering, but there was no part that caught my attention.

“What the hell is it.”

Grumbling, I unconsciously looked at the Loot. A small cup that could be held in one hand. A thought suddenly spreading from its smooth surface.

“Wait.”

What I did after entering the Treasure Room was ‘kill the guard and pick up the Loot.’

The only difference between before and after me is this Loot.

“…”

I put the Loot back in its original place, on the altar. Then the faint Magic Power that had appeared on the door disappeared.

I smiled slightly.

“Confirmed.”

When you retrieve the Loot, that door turns into a trap.

I scraped the ground with my Military Dagger and dug out a stone. I carved it to have similar weight to the Loot cup and placed it on the altar.

“…That’s not it.”

The door’s trap remained the same. That means it’s not about mass.

There’s only one answer left.

The Magic Power contained in this cup.

I’ve never once in my life measured the Magic Power amount of an object, but somehow I naturally know just by looking at it with my eyes. It’s probably the harmony between Magic Power level 11.5 and 【Good Ears, Good Eyes】.

I extracted exactly the same amount of Magic Power as the Loot and infused it into the stone. Then I placed it on the altar.

Thud.

I looked back at the exit.

The Loot is in my hand, but the Magic Power surrounding the door─that is, the trap─has disappeared.

“Correct.”

I nodded with satisfaction and walked out majestically. I just raised an eyebrow as I crossed the threshold.

Of course, nothing happened.

* * *

Kim A-rang in the Monitoring Room examined the footage focusing on the top performers. For 2 hours, she analyzed them while taking notes and identified editing points.

“Ugh, so annoying. The mentors won’t even watch all of this anyway.”

The level test is ‘officially’ the mentors’ responsibility. Right now they’re probably ranking while watching these videos too. Or pretending to rank.

However, due to time constraints, they can’t observe all 96 participants thoroughly. While they naturally examine the top performers, those who take over 2 hours to clear will be pushed to the back.

So, the staff need to point out specific parts and time periods to deliver feedback.

Of course, Kim A-rang also puts the lower ranks on the back burner. Now that she’s gained experience, she has no intention of taking on those burdensome ones she sees every time.

“Well then…”

Should I go eat? Kim A-rang got up from her seat and suddenly became curious. She casually looked at the monitor.

What happened to that limping guy?

[ Seol Ha-woon Escape Complete ]

Just then, an escape completion message appeared.

“…Huh? Did he just finish?”

The record was 3 hours and 22 minutes.

The Labyrinth that Lee Jun-ho cleared in 17 minutes and Kang Hyeon finished in 25 minutes, he completed over a full 3 hours.

Naturally last place. An overwhelming last place with a 40-minute gap from even 95th place.

“I thought he might be a dark horse.”

He even boldly sat next to Kang Hyeon. Acting all high and mighty by himself.

Really now.

Kim A-rang snorted as if dumbfounded and leaned back in her chair to check Seol Ha-woon’s record.

“He was nothing special after all…”

Her words stopped. Her narrow eyes widened slightly. She stared blankly at the screen then straightened her posture.

[ Hits Taken: 0 ]

“What?”

Zero hits taken could be possible. If you move carefully enough, it’s possible to not get hit even once.

But.

[ Trap Exposure: 0 ]

Seol Ha-woon didn’t fall for a single trap.

According to Yoon Sa-hyuk, he even bypassed traps that were impossible not to trigger.

“…This is.”

Kim A-rang hurriedly checked other participants’ records.

[ Hits Taken: 9 ] [ Trap Exposure: 2 ]

[ Hits Taken: 3 ] [ Trap Exposure: 3 ]

[ Hits Taken: 4 ] [ Trap Exposure: 3 ]

[ Hits Taken: 2 ] [ Trap Exposure: 4 ]

[ Hits Taken: 2 ] [ Trap Exposure: 3 ]

[ Hits Taken: 1 ] [ Trap Exposure: 5 ]

The participants’ [Hits Taken] were all over the place, but there weren’t no participants with 0 hits.

However, for [Trap Exposure], no matter how much she scrolled down, and down, and down, she couldn’t see a 0.

In other words, the only person who didn’t trigger a single trap was ‘Seol Ha-woon’.

“What the hell?”

Kim A-rang hurriedly brought up Seol Ha-woon’s footage on the monitor. She rewound to the very beginning and played it.

“Wow… so damn slow.”

From the start when he reached the Labyrinth, his entire process was long and slow. Impressively so.

Naturally, because he was limping. Since his mobility was hopeless, his preparations were thorough.

First point.

Seol Ha-woon identified enemies from a distance first and killed three goblins. Then he used his Formula like a wire to climb to high ground.

With eyes that seemed to read Magic Power, he methodically surveyed the entire Labyrinth, then came back down to ground level and limped through the Labyrinth.

His movement was chillingly accurate.

At positions with enemies, he stopped behind walls. He killed goblins from a distance first, and didn’t even glance at traps. He ignored fake rooms that boasted ‘loot here~’ as if they didn’t exist.

Then came the passage right before the Treasure Room.

A space where combat was unavoidable due to fifteen goblin entities patrolling.

“…”

That’s when Kim A-rang was left speechless.

Seol Ha-woon first extinguished the torches with his Formula. Then he melted into the darkness and began Stealth Operation. Limping, he muttered.

‘Intent Concealment.’

With a Military Dagger in one hand and a Walking Stick in the other, no sound flowed from him. Not even the slightest presence stirred. As if the very phenomenon of noise had been deleted from his actions.

This unbelievable silence was probably Seol Ha-woon’s Formula.

The goblins stabbed by his dagger died like gentle sheep. They couldn’t even let out death cries. The group of fifteen goblins was slowly but surely annihilated.

After clearing the area, Seol Ha-woon reached the door of the Treasure Room. While he could have just opened it, he meticulously set up traps first.

Inside the Treasure Room was a goblin guard, and the guard let out a shriek and threw itself at Seol Ha-woon’s Booby Trap.

Bang──

The power was astounding.

The goblin guard’s legs were blown off in one shot.

“…Special Forces.”

Kim A-rang let out a hollow laugh.

To people these days, soldiers feel somewhat distant. However, they perform missions more dangerous than even explorers. They deal with remnants of Labyrinths, or humans who went mad in Labyrinths── villains.

Especially UDT is a Special Forces unit deployed to fronts caused by villains around the world in the Middle East, Manchuria, Northern Korean Peninsula, Central Asia, etc.

Come to think of it, such a person couldn’t be ordinary. His movements had no hesitation. No fear. Every action had basis.

These were the gestures of a soldier who had always walked on thin ice. The intuition of a specialist who had endured for years on Battlefields where losing confidence in yourself for even a moment meant losing yourself, still remained in him.

Kim A-rang wrote comments in her notebook.

[ Seol Ha-woon ]

She scribbled about a line then stopped.

If she gave this feedback to the mentors, they would leave comments about Seol Ha-woon. His level test ranking might rise considerably too.

“…No.”

That shouldn’t happen.

According to Yoon Sa-hyuk, dark horses greatly influence the program’s qualitative catharsis. Therefore, dark horses must always be underdogs. They must be underdogs.

In other words, Seol Ha-woon should be 96th place.

3 hours and 22 minutes was enough to bury him in 96th place.

It wasn’t personal grudge, but instinct as a PD.

Even if she delivered this feedback to the mentors, the time taken was too long so he’d ambiguously rank between 60-70th place. Rather than being buried in such an ambiguous ranking, starting from 96th place would be better for the program’s success and for Seol Ha-woon himself.

Definitely.

“This season… will be interesting.”

A deep smile appeared on Kim A-rang’s lips.

Both someone like me editing in a Small Room, and viewers who will encounter the finished product on TV or Cell Phone outside.

This Season 3 looks like it’ll be quite entertaining to watch.

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