Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 134
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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 134
There Are No Rainbows(3)
The Hailford Residence is deep and silent. A quietude born from wealth accumulated over centuries. Stained glass reaching to the ceiling controls the light, and external noise is blocked by barriers, unable to flow in.
In the vast corridors, marble pillars extend endlessly. Between them, servants appear like ghosts only when needed, then disappear again.
Thus, Hailford’s power was manifested not in ostentation, but in the form of isolation and control. It was a different dimension of aloofness that distinguished them from the outside world.
“…Elder.”
Cautiously, a voice calling to someone’s back settles heavily.
“Butler Maeve has delivered the information.”
Power and authority are built on listening.
Perceiving the outside from within, and bending it into the desired form – deception.
The Hailford Elder was someone skilled in such schemes.
The eighty-nine-year-old serpent had maintained the sharpness of his youth while accumulating only experience.
“That child will only accept as much as I want him to.”
The Elder recalls Percival.
He was a foolish child. He wore clothes that didn’t suit him and was buried in petty emotions.
In the end, he was buried by an even more destructive child.
The Elder still remembers that child’s appearance.
The child standing in the middle of the ruins.
The child born of the battlefield, who annihilated the existence called Percival.
‘Yes. I killed him.’
The child had answered his question with blazing clarity. Every part of his heart was upright. The Elder had looked with amazement at that firmness, which had been rare even in his eighty-odd years.
That was why he didn’t kill him. It was a miracle that he dared to murder a direct descendant of Hailford and yet still lived and breathed.
However, the disposition of that time and the judgment of now are different.
From now on, it’s not the Elder’s portion, but that of direct descendant Kate.
“Truth is nothing but belief. When beliefs gather, they become truth, and when they scatter, they become lies.”
Before the name of Hailford, precedence and causality are unimportant.
The distinction between black and white, right and wrong is also meaningless.
Not irrationality, but the law of the jungle.
Even the concept of ‘justice’ that forms the foundation of society is ultimately nothing but a system for the power brokers behind the scenes to cloud the eyes of the ignorant masses.
We are real, and they are fake.
“It’s a test that will be given to the children.”
One child killed Percival. The other child loved Percival.
Truth was prepared that way.
Only one facet was laid out.
The remaining choice is theirs.
* * *
There’s a need for change.
Lee Jun-ho said he wanted me to become a consistent person, but even that was something he said because he didn’t know my past.
I turned people who could have been allies into acquaintances, and people who could have remained acquaintances into enemies.
I was a mess.
It wasn’t a belief that only I was right.
It was because I couldn’t trust others.
Then I slowly changed after meeting a certain guy, but the already ruined relationships couldn’t be reversed. When I most desperately needed help, I couldn’t receive it.
So, I want to try living well now too.
I want to try making some allies.
It’s a realization I gained late, after suddenly becoming terminally ill.
Fortunately, flattery turned out to be easy when I tried it. Maybe it’s because I heard so much bullshit from soldiers serving their superiors.
〔 The Night of the Exposé Incident 〕
Anyway, the live broadcast of Mitamnan is still ongoing. These days the episodes are basically over 150 minutes, so they’re quite long. How does a 3-hour broadcast get 30% viewership ratings?
─Seol Ha-woon : ….
Seol Ha-woon leaves the dormitory. It’s the day he received leave during the school violence and military bullying exposé incident.
-Wow, even then he came out without backing down
-Really, those malicious commenters back then should vote for the right side if they have any conscience
-Are those bastards who wrote the exposé posts still alive and breathing?
While I’m waiting for the bus at the bus stop, Seo Ji-woo comes to find me.
─Seo Ji-woo : Are you okay?
Seo Ji-woo on screen asks.
Right now, I’m getting slight goosebumps on the back of my neck.
─Seol Ha-woon : …It’s none of your business.
─Seo Ji-woo : Well, it’s not really my business, but… I’m sorry.
It’s a scene we coordinated in advance, but it’s too cringeworthy.
─Seo Ji-woo : I’m sorry.
─Seol Ha-woon : For what.
I’m considering turning off the TV.
─Seo Ji-woo : For not being able to contact you. I guess… I was scared too. I guess I couldn’t trust you. I thought you wouldn’t be that kind of person, but…
─Seol Ha-woon : …It’s okay. I’m used to it.
-Looks like Seo Ji-woo comforted him
-Seo Ji-woo knows how to comfort people;; I thought her personality was kind of rough
-Rough my ass, isn’t the rough one just Seol Ha-woon?
-But do those two really have something going on?;; That’s so awkward
-The atmosphere is weird
-You’re absolutely right, it’s so sad.. It seems like they were really hurt back then ㅠㅠ
Just as the chat window was getting quite lively, Seol Ha-woon gets on the bus. Seo Ji-woo watches the departing bus for a long time.
And… the interview scene begins.
─Is there a particular reason you went to find Ha-woon at that time?
The PD throws a question at Seo Ji-woo.
─Seo Ji-woo: …Actually.
She fidgets with her earlobe as if pondering, then lifts the corners of her mouth mischievously as she answers.
─Seo Ji-woo: Seol Ha-woon and my older brother were in the same unit.
I was momentarily stunned.
Meanwhile, SilTalk became incredibly fast.
-For real?
-?
-Wow
-??? Really?
-?? Is this real?
-Wow shit really?
-Seol Ha-woon is also UDT so I had my suspicions;
-There were theories going around but I guess it was true
Something feels like the promise is changing.
─Seo Ji-woo: I am concerned about it, but that’s just… because he strangely resembles my brother. That’s all.
When did she say she’d help draw aggro.
─Do you perhaps have any personal romantic feelings…
─Seo Ji-woo: Come on. How could there be such feelings? I’m busy enough dying from studying magic and training.
Seo Jiwoo snorts derisively, “ㅋㅋㅋㅋ” appears in the chat, and I let out a hollow laugh.
She was planning to backstab me like this from the beginning.
How cute.
Ding. A text message arrived.
[Lim Hae-jun: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Boss got dumped ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
It’s Im Hae-jun.
[Lim Hae-jun: hahahahahahahahahaha]
[Lim Hae-jun: hahahahahahahahahahaha]
He keeps laughing.
I moved the Truck I had left outside. I went to find Im Hae-jun’s dormitory and knocked hard.
Bang!
[Im Hae-jun: What the hell]
[Im Hae-jun: Master, someone just knocked on my door;;]
Seo Ji-woo’s interview continues.
─Seo Ji-woo: He probably doesn’t have those kinds of feelings either? He knows I’m his comrade’s younger sister too.
She grins wickedly as she says this.
-Wow this is a plot twist
-Ah.. so that’s why Malok only looked after Seo Ji-woo;;
-It’s cold outside. So that’s the story behind that fucking old man-like line ㅋㅋ
-Shit now the puzzle pieces fit together.
-Right, if your comrade’s sister was shopping around brainlessly, you’d feel pretty frustrated
-These idiots keep saying “no brain no brain” and it’s fucking annoying lol
Ding. A text from Seo Ji-woo also arrived.
[Seo Jiw: Sorry lol I had some malicious intent back then lolol I was originally planning to backstab even harder but it seems like it got edited out lol sorry]
She’s honest. Still, the result isn’t bad so I’ll let it slide.
“…Whatever.”
I’m on track now too, so I can stop this fake act.
However, I’m still anxious.
Seo Ji-woo, who still harbors suspicions that ‘I might be Seo Ji-hyuk’s friend,’ will definitely make it to the Debut Team if the broadcast continues like this.
If she, who should have voluntarily left around this time originally, debuts, what will happen to that Black Call…
The live broadcast flowed by smoothly.
─Yoo Ji-in: I will announce the first tally results.
Already the first tally. Yoo Ji-in begins the roll call with a stern face.
1st place. Lee Jun-ho
2nd place. Kang Hyeon
3rd place. Kate
4th place. Seo Ji-woo…
-Lee Junho defending 1st place lol
-ㅋㅋㅋ The first count is useless. That’s from a month ago lol
-Wow, Lee Junho kept his 1st place lol
-Yeah he’s about to get overtaken by Kang Hyeon soon~
-These brainless idiots are in denial about reality lol…
I skimmed through SilTalk with bleary eyes and then turned it off.
“Shouldn’t this be dealt with somehow?”
These days it feels like the entire internet is getting polluted.
14th place. Seol Ha-woon
I quickly turned SilTalk back on.
-You’re absolutely right, 14th place is such a joke hahaha
-Wow he climbed all the way here from 96th place for real
-Crawled up from rock bottom for real
-Honestly, his narrative is just top-tier level lol
-The only thing he loses to Kang Jun-ho in is looks
-Honestly, he doesn’t even lose in looks;; It’s just that Mal-ok doesn’t look like a sculpture, but he’s incredibly unique in his own way. Among billions of people, he’s the only one who looks like him.
-Cut the damn nonsense lol For real, why are you crawling up here lately asking to get smacked on the head;;
-Mal-ok is a kid favorite lol Can’t help it
I’m popular with kids? That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.
─Yoo Ji-in : It’s a Defense Labyrinth!
Anyway, we enter the Defense Labyrinth after that.
Yoo Ji-in explains the rules of the Defense Labyrinth first.
[ Please decide on offense and defense. ]
Everyone sits in chairs and thinks for a long time. The sight of explorers each contemplating their roles looks quite impressive.
Then, the time for choice.
─Kang Hyeon : I’ll choose Offense.
─Lee Jun-ho : Offense.
─Seo Ji-woo : Um… Offense!
─Jo Woon : Defense. I’ll show you how I protect.
─Ryu Yeon-hwa : Offense. I’ll do it.
─Lee Jong-soo : Warriors are offense, right? I think mages will usually choose defense a lot, and archers-
Lee Jong-soo was cut off mid-sentence because he talks too much.
─Im Hae-jun : Offense~
─Kate : Defense.
Everyone chooses their role, and then interviews with the offense team members are shown.
──About the reason for choosing the offense team.
So they filmed these interviews too.
Well, the waiting time was quite long while the defense team was setting up their base.
─Kang Hyeon : Rather than meaning that offense is easy…
─Lee Jun-ho : Well, offense looked fun too.
It’s cross-edited one by one.
─Im Hae-jun : Honestly. Honestly, I did think offense had less to do than defense, but more than that.
─Jin Ho-jong : Since all 50 people were choosing simultaneously, exchanging opinions about roles was impossible. So I thought about it quite a lot, but.
─Ryu Yeon-hwa : At first I thought about defense, but I seemed like a mage suited for offense. Also.
After going around once, back to Kang Hyeon.
─Kang Hyeon : I recognized that this was a team battle with 50 people together. I had to choose a role where the team would win rather than the individual. In that regard…
As Kang Hyeon was speaking seriously,
─Lee Jun-ho : When I thought about it, there was one definite defender, you know?
Lee Jun-ho appears with a smile full across his face.
─Lee Jun-ho : Well, first of all, his abilities seem like he’s naturally gifted for defense…
Im Hae-jun follows right after.
─Im Hae-jun : Since that hyung would definitely be the defender, I could trust him and join the attack team.
Simultaneous shout-outs from the offense team members about ‘someone’.
─Im Hae-jun : Yes. I trusted him. Because he’s someone trustworthy.
─Ryu Yeon-hwa : If that person does defense, let’s choose offense with peace of mind…
While the SilTalk reactions are gradually building up.
Thud—.
A walking stick touches the ground.
The camera shows the back view of a man walking with a limp. Though it’s about half of what it was during his active days, fortunately his back still looks quite impressive.
─Seol Ha-woon : I.
He didn’t agonize over his role. He just spoke as if he was prepared for it.
─Seol Ha-woon : I’ll choose Defense.
Seol Ha-woon’s face fills the entire screen.
Strangely, it seems like I have particularly many close-up shots. According to Kim A-rang, it’s because I have good skin…
-Fuck, Mal-ok appeared lololol
-If it’s defense, isn’t that totally Mal-ok’s specialty? His talent is weapons lol
-He’s just a mage whose Mental Visualization went beyond modern weapons specialization to being completely fixed in that direction lol Obviously
-Ah, this is thrilling lololololol
-Look. They’re pushing only him so hard with the editing, damn.
-The inferiority complex above is fucked
-Wow, look how reliable Mal-ok is..
Chat messages flood up.
Though the editing is quite burdensome, still, to be a little honest.
No matter how I think about it, I’m the protagonist of this Defense Labyrinth.
Please send us your stories. If you have any abnormal phenomena concerns that you hope Mitamnan explorers will solve, please send them along with your stories.
“…Oh. It’s over.”
The live broadcast ended with the segment asking people to send their stories.
Wait, then I was the ending?
“Hmm.”
That’s kind of burdensome.
I stretched and snapped my fingers.
Swish.
The sensation of space slightly crumpling, then I entered subspace.
“Aro. How have you been?”
1st floor of the Astroal Merchandise New Building. Aro was standing in front of the counter.
〔Hello.〕
“Good. But, looking around here…”
Should I say it had human fingerprints on it? Or should I say it smelled like people?
The building had many such traces.
“Looks like quite a few customers came by?”
〔We regularly received one team per day.〕
That’s good. Of course, I’m taking profits bordering on exploitation, but it’s also rescue work at the same time.
“How are the sales?”
〔Currently a total of 35,692 diamond coins.〕
In terms of exchange rate, 10,000 diamonds equals 100 million. Aro earned almost 400 million, minus the money she takes for herself.
“Aww, how lovely. What do the customers say?”
〔Everyone was satisfied.〕
“Of course they were satisfied. They’d get kicked out if they weren’t. Well then, shall we spend some coins now?”
〔Yes. I’ll show you the catalog.〕
Aro projected the catalog from her panel. There were many items, and all the formats were familiar.
It was definitely 〔MoMo〕.
“Hmm…”
As I smoothly browsed through the catalog, I found an item packed with various functions.
【Ink-Black Journey】■ Grade: Epic■ Description: A coat made from ancient guardian’s special fiber. Grants the wearer considerable magic power resistance.■ Particlization: The coat can be particlized at the wearer’s will. When reconstructed, the coat restores to its most ideal state, removing all contamination and damage.■ Devour: Once per 48 hours, invest 100 diamond coins to increase the wearer’s magic power stat by 0.01. (Maximum increase: 1.5)■ Adaptive Shell: The coat’s properties change according to the environment the wearer faces.■ Wearable Catalyst: The coat’s fibers act as a catalyst when casting formulas or shamanic magic.
“This is it.”
Absolutely. In addition to ‘considerable’ magic power resistance, it even raises magic power stats. I’d have to invest coins regularly, but that’s nothing compared to magic power.
“Let’s go with this. How much?”
〔35,000 diamond coins.〕
“…It is expensive.”
Still, considering my magic coefficient, it does feel like an endgame item.
“Give it to me.”
〔Understood.〕
Whirr-
Aro blinked her eyes.
〔Order has been requested. It will be delivered after one business day.〕
“Can’t get it right away, I guess.”
Even one day is precious. It’s 0.01 magic power.
Then Aro looked down at my feet.
〔Master. What is this?〕
She showed interest in Truck.
Suddenly my heart felt at ease.
“As expected, you recognize it. Let me introduce. It’s my number 1 familiar.”
Truck is useful. That’s not a lie, it’s sincere.
When connected through magic coefficient, I can share senses without any side effects and move it like my own limbs.
It’s a legendary familiar. You could never get a familiar like this anywhere else.
Aro stared at me intently, then suddenly handed me a laptop.
“Why?”
〔Download. Please.〕
“…Download? What, dramas?”
〔There are dramas and movies too. I’ve checked the products that need downloading.〕
“Oh, right. There’s no internet here, is there?”
Internet can’t be used inside here.
Instead, the explorer community can be used even in subspace. That’s because the medium is magic power, not internet.
I should teach Aro how to use it later too.
“Was it fun?”
〔It’s not for fun but for learning purposes.〕
“How funny. Anyway, I’ll bring it to you.”
〔Yes.〕
Aro’s panel flickered. I smiled at the sight of her moving both arms back and forth as if she was happy.
“You worked hard. You did a good job.”
〔Yes. Thank you, Master.〕
Like this, let’s try building something called affection between us…
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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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