Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 133

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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 133

 

There is No Rainbow(2)

 

Former 707 Special Task Force specialist, current Seoul branch head of the Zephyrell School, Kim Jeong-wook feels like his temples are about to burst. His head hurts terribly.

 

Probably, today’s Mitamnan broadcast will feature Zephyrell-related content.

 

No, it will definitely air.

 

He received confirmation from the PDs over there.

 

That’s why the back of his neck feels even hotter. Because…

 

“My daughter and grandchildren are quite fond of it, you see.”

 

A dignified voice. English, not Korean.

 

Kim Jeong-wook looked at the head of the school, Zephyrell.

 

“I happened to watch it too, and before I knew it, I was hooked.”

 

“Ah… Is that so. Haha. That’s understandable.”

 

“I’m looking forward to it. How you, how we will appear.”

 

Currently, Kim Jeong-wook’s office has the TV on. It’s the live broadcast of Labyrinth Exploration NaN. Real-time English subtitles are also showing.

 

Damn, which bastard made those subtitles.

 

“Hahaha… I don’t think… you need to worry. Hahahaha.”

 

If he had known this would happen, he should have somehow pressured them to get an advance copy of the broadcast.

 

“What’s your schedule for today?”

 

“Hmm. I’m thinking of meeting some Korean mages.”

 

You mean Mr. Tae?”

 

“Yes. Could you make a restaurant reservation?”

 

“Of course. I’ll contact that 3-Star Restaurant you went to last time…”

 

[ Stage 1 Golem ]

 

Just then, Monster Hunting began.

 

The opponent was a Stage 1 Golem. Seol Ha-woon faced quite a difficult monster as a mage, but destroyed its core with a single Aimed Shot. Kim Jeong-wook glanced at KakaoTalk on his smartphone placed on the stand.

 

-So funny hahahaha

 

-As expected, god-tier accuracy

 

-How does a golem die instantly? Mana Bullets should normally bounce off

 

-The bullets are accurate so they don’t bounce off. Still doubting?-

 

-Are you in elementary school?

 

-Honestly, his mage skills seem to be top tier

 

-He’s just pure skill top tier. Kim Se-jin already acknowledged it

 

-Stop talking nonsense, Seo Ji-woo’s low and high points are way higher.

 

Right after, Seo Ji-woo appears, and she’s quite excellent too. The talent called Line indeed has high potential.

 

Mage Kim Se-jin said Seol Ha-woon’s peak potential is infinite, but in Kim Jeong-wook’s view, there was actually no difference in peak potential between Seo Ji-woo and Seol Ha-woon.

 

Nevertheless, the reason Seol Ha-woon’s growth potential seems higher is because his mindset is on a different dimension.

 

Zephyrell also has no interest in Seo Ji-woo. Physical Lines and intangible wind are incompatible.

 

[ Stage 2: Gargoyle ]

 

Seol Ha-woon’s Bullet Barrage shooting down the gargoyle. Zephyrell nodded with satisfaction.

 

“He could be a candidate.”

 

“Yes. His recent nickname is Peak Seol Ha-woon.”

 

“I’ve heard of it. AR, they say.”

 

AR. Short for Always Right. He heard there’s been quite a reaction from English-speaking countries lately, and it seems certain. If even this elder knows about it.

 

“However, he’s using Sequence.”

 

The mage’s eyes changed. Kim Jeong-wook also smiled bitterly.

 

“…Yes. You see it that way too.”

 

Sequence is a saw blade beyond a regular blade. All mages who have reached a certain level know this fact.

 

Most get intoxicated by the ridiculous output and try to challenge it, only to retreat from the brain-splitting pain.

 

“He won’t live long.”

 

“That’s what makes it more surprising. So far, there seems to be no problem at all. He appears to be using it quite appropriately…”

 

After that, Kim Jeong-wook and Zephyrell focused on the live broadcast.

 

Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5. The cross-editing technique of the explorers was amazing, making them just watch silently without speaking.

 

Among them, Seol Ha-woon was particularly outstanding. Leaning on his walking stick, not moving a single step, facing monsters – he truly displayed the aspect of a pure mage.

 

-Seol Ha-woon is really a glass cannon.

 

-Wow, seriously right, didn’t move an inch from where I was standing lol

 

-His character is definitely clear..

 

-But when will Kang Hyeon and Lee Jun-ho stop fighting?

 

“What are you looking at so intently?”

 

Zephyrell asked curiously.

 

“Ah~ This is called real-time chat-”

 

Just as he was about to answer.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook (Zephyrell School Korea Branch Head): Yes. I’ve been keeping an eye on him.

 

The full-scale on-camera scouting begins.

 

Kim Jeong-wook appeared filling the screen.

 

“…Oh.”

 

His appearance on camera has quite a presence. The entrance scene itself is satisfactory.

 

Kim Jeong-wook himself straightened his back, and Zephyrell also corrected his posture.

 

-Huk shit Kim Jeong-wook

 

-Wow

 

-Who is he?

 

-Wow shit

 

-Oh Kim Jeong-wook;

 

-Oh and Kim Jeong-wook is in it too lolololololol

 

-Their networking skills are insane for real ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

-Even a nearly triple-digit ranker is appearing here

 

Kim Jeong-wook tried hard to suppress his twitching lips.

 

Yes, young people. Is the casting really amazing?

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: Seol Ha-woon. He has good talent. Though we’ll have to see more to be sure.

 

After briefly touching on Seol Ha-woon in a preliminary interview, the scene transitions.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: …Mage Seol Ha-woon. Our Zephyrell School holds your talent in high regard.

 

Interview room. Kim Jeong-wook and Seol Ha-woon sit facing each other. Both Kim Jeong-wook and Seol Ha-woon are serious.

 

This will be edited appropriately here.

 

The real scouting talk will be cut entirely, edited to a stance of ‘we’re keeping an eye on you.’

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: The main point is, the Zephyrell School wants to scout you.

 

“….”

 

I’m going to kill those PD bastards. Just wait. Clean your necks and wait.

 

You broke the promise first.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: I’ll be honest. I saw fragments of a mage in you.

 

It would be good to stop here moderately.

 

If you take just one more step from here.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: Of course, you might think it’s difficult at your age in the mid-to-late twenties. But what if you grow with Zephyrell’s support in the Zephyrell School’s workshop, at the university? It’s not without possibility.

 

If you take just two more steps.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: Opportunities like this are rare. We don’t usually take new recruits these days, but it’s possible because the Zephyral Mage’s daughter is a Mitamnan fan.

 

If you take just three more steps.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: If what you said about being a seven-month mage is true. So tell me, that’s not a lie, right?

 

Please stop.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: …Yes. It’s true.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: Really? What were you doing before that?

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I was in rehabilitation.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: What kind of rehabilitation?

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I was completely paralyzed.

 

Kim Jeong-wook’s face turned red.

 

Both the on-air Kim Jeong-wook and the real Kim Jeong-wook.

 

The content they promised to edit keeps coming out.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: So, what’s your answer?

 

─Seol Ha-woon: …I’m sorry.

 

Even the scene where Seol Ha-woon refuses, all of it.

 

Zephyrell’s prestige was damaged.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

Both are silent.

 

The silence is chilling.

 

Kim Jeong-wook calculated even the sentence he would receive when he turned the PD into a corpse, but he might die at Zephyrell’s hands before that.

 

Just then.

 

─You rejected the Zephyrell School’s proposal.

 

An interview appears.

 

Seol Ha-woon sitting alone in a dark room. He answers as if sighing.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: Yes.

 

Zephyrell’s eyes narrowed. He glared at Kim Jeong-wook with the whites of his eyes, but Kim Jeong-wook desperately ignored it. He buried his face in the TV.

 

─May I ask the reason?

 

“Haha. That guy. Haha.”

 

He deliberately smiled leisurely. He picked up his teacup as if to say don’t worry.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: The Zephyrell School is….

 

His fingers trembled so much that his mouth came out to meet them.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I think it’s a great school.

 

A great school.

 

Kim Jeong-wook swallowed.

 

Depending on what Seol Ha-woon says now, Zephyrell’s mood will change. Maybe even Kim Jeong-wook’s lifespan.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: As a mage, I know.

 

Everyone in the school knows. That Zephyrell likes attention and praise.

 

That’s why he built the school headquarters in the huge city of New York, spending hundreds of billions.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: Because I’m a mage, I know even better.

 

Lacking gravitas unlike a mage?

 

No. Rather, mages like Zephyrell are more comfortable to deal with and more human.

 

It’s tiring to even exchange a few words with snake-like mages like Tae-woo or Tae-yul who hide their true feelings.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I know that Zephyral Mage is the master of a school that will remain in this era, directly writing history.

 

Something sparked beneath Kim Jeong-wook’s chest.

 

This guy really knows how to stroke someone’s ego!

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I know the life he has walked, his trajectory as well. As a mage, I received great inspiration.

 

More, more, more.

 

It’s still not enough.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I’ve also read the magic formula book ‘Dynamics of Wind and Magic’ that Zephyral Mage personally authored. I obtained it with difficulty.

 

This is about Zephyrell’s favorite original text.

 

“Ahem.”

 

The reaction comes immediately.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: It contained so much. The formulas flowed so cleanly and clearly. I could feel the thoughtful heart of the Zephyral Mage who considered the young mages who would read this book. I was amazed while reading it.

 

It’s not the kind of social skills you’d expect from a soldier.

 

In fact, it’s the most soldier-like social skills—the kind that can earn you stars.

 

They say he wasn’t originally this type of person.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I held respect for the level of knowledge and found the organized formulas wondrous.

 

Kim Jeong-wook knows, of course.

 

It’s all nonsense and fake.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I briefly wondered whether I could truly follow that person’s path…

 

But the broadcast is real.

 

This broadcast being transmitted worldwide is real.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I felt that I still lack the qualifications.

 

Seol Ha-woon definitely knows how to make allies.

 

The Zephyrell School, the organization itself, doesn’t matter. He needs to praise Zephyrell the person.

 

—Seol Ha-woon: The great school of Zephyrell… I didn’t want to gain entry through fame to a place where other mages couldn’t even get a chance despite lifelong effort.

 

Zephyrell had propped his chin on his hand. He crossed his legs comfortably.

 

—Seol Ha-woon: I felt I was still too weak to support the weight of Zephyrell with just one leg.

 

One leg. He even adds self-deprecation as he continues speaking.

 

—Seol Ha-woon: Of course, I might regret it someday. No, I definitely will. But.

 

Kim Jeong-wook secretly clenched his fist. He held back the laughter that wanted to come out.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: I want to endure myself first.

 

He glanced at Zephyrell. His face had become very kind.

 

In Kim Jeong-wook’s opinion, it’s in the TOP3 of happiest faces in the past 10 years.

 

“…Haha. That guy really.”

 

Finally Kim Jeong-wook understood. So this is why you aired the broadcast like that.

 

Magic should be left to mages, broadcasting should be left to broadcasters.

 

I was too hasty.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: Zephyrell is too much for me. Perhaps Branch Manager Kim Jeong-wook knew this fact too.

 

Seol Ha-woon placed something on the table. It was Kim Jeong-wook’s business card.

 

─Seol Ha-woon: That’s why you gave me this business card.

 

Then he smiles. His face is so pretty. If only it were possible, I’d just want to put my hands on both his cheeks and squish them like steamed buns.

 

The very next scene, this time it’s Kim Jeong-wook’s interview.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: Yes. Mage Seol Ha-woon’s current skills are still lacking compared to Zephyrell. But still, he’s different from other mages.

 

Kim Jeong-wook in the screen grins. At the time it was a forced smile because he was pissed off from being rejected, but the editing makes it look very natural.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: There are many mages who would jump at Zephyrell’s proposal without regard for fire or water, their eyes lighting up immediately. If Mage Seol Ha-woon had come with the same attitude as them, I would have been disappointed.

 

Then the PD asked why he gave Seol Ha-woon the business card.

 

Kim Jeong-wook answered leisurely.

 

─Kim Jeong-wook: It meant to strive harder. It was encouragement meaning that Zephyrell is watching. Zephyrell isn’t a place you can enter so easily, right?

 

Hahaha. Kim Jeong-wook bursts into hearty laughter.

 

Even Kim Jeong-wook himself thinks he looks very hearty and like a cheerful man.

 

“Hmm~”

 

Kim Jeong-wook elevates Seol Ha-woon, Seol Ha-woon elevates Zephyrell, and in the end Kim Jeong-wook and Seol Ha-woon respect each other, resulting in everyone benefiting.

 

These broadcasting station guys, their editing is absolutely amazing?

 

[ Get OS cashback every time you shop~ ]

 

Just then, it switched to a commercial break.

 

“…Good grief. Making an old man this embarrassed. My daughter and grandchildren are all watching too, I’m so embarrassed. How am I supposed to face them?”

 

Zephyrell cleared his throat.

 

Contrary to his words, both his cheeks were already flushed as if he’d fallen for Seol Ha-woon.

 

Kim Jeong-wook delivered the final blow.

 

“Netflix #1. The viewership rate exceeds 30% in Korea alone, and globally at least close to 300 million people are following the live broadcast. There might be quite a few articles today about Seol Ha-woon being a fan of Zephyrell…”

 

I might receive a bonus today.

 

* * *

 

─Seol Ha-woon: Zephyrell is still too much for me…

 

While Seol Ha-woon’s interview about Zephyrell was playing, Kate read the materials delivered by butler Maeve.

 

She tried to maintain her composure as much as possible, but her hands kept trembling. It was psychological agitation she hadn’t felt in a long time.

 

“…Is this true.”

 

Seol Ha-woon, former UDT BLACK agent.

 

A file containing records related to him.

 

─Yes.

 

Kate exhaled deeply. Something Seol Ha-woon had once said whispered in her ear.

 

‘I served together with Colonel Percival.’

 

She gripped the document in her hand. Crackle. Sparks ignited from the crumpled edges.

 

‘The Colonel often talked about his niece. It must have been you, Kate.’

 

Seol Ha-woon. He had participated in Percival’s final operation. He had been in that labyrinth where Percival died, where only one person survived out of 103 unit members.

 

“I see.”

 

Watching the slowly burning paper fragments, Kate thinks.

 

Why, and how, did Seol Ha-woon alone survive?

 

─Also… after performing an autopsy on the bodies of the squad members recovered from the Labyrinth.

 

Kate’s eyes curved like crescents.

 

─Suspicious signs of murder were found on all of them.

 

The corners of her mouth trembled.

 

She struggled to suppress herself. Thoroughly hiding her rising emotions, she pushed the ashes into the trash can.

 

“You did well, Maeve.”

—————
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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