Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 135
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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 135
There Is No Rainbow(4)
I entered the set stage following the camera’s guidance.
Not alone, but with four people: Im Hae-jun, Ryu Yeon-hwa, Seo Ji-woo, and me.
Ryu Yeon-hwa spoke to Seo Ji-woo.
“Ji-woo. It looks like you came out wearing only pajamas.”
“What nonsense are you talking about. Don’t you know what a crop tee is?”
Ignoring the two, I looked at the set stage. Trading card packs were stacked on a long table.
My heart trembled slightly.
I like these kinds of collectibles.
It’s been one of my few hobbies since my active days.
Trading cards in particular are more practical and expensive than you’d think.
“All four of you are here, right?”
PD Kim A-rang appeared.
“Today we’re only filming this one thing. A YouTube exclusive video. It’ll be uploaded in about two days.”
She seems to have become my dedicated PD, as Kim A-rang is always wherever I am. Is this why I’m getting called a PD pick?
“You all know about Explorer Trading Cards, right? Our Labyrinth Exploration NaN collaborated with the Association to release NaN Packs. We’re also planning to hold fan meetings through lottery for purchasers.”
Explorer card packs.
It’s a marketing strategy using fan meetings as bait, but probably no one person will be able to buy many. They’re scheduled to sell out as soon as they’re released.
“You see those 20 trading card packs over there? Each pack contains 5 explorer cards. Each of you just needs to open five packs at your seat.”
“It’s casual filming~? I like this kind of thing.”
Im Hae-jun smiled brightly and tried to pick up a card pack.
“Stop.”
I stopped him. I pointed at the hasty Im Hae-jun and furrowed my brow.
“Freeze.”
“…What is it, master.”
I’ve seen this scene before. Trading cards are expensive. 100,000 won per pack, but much more than that.
The rookie gold card with Kang Hyeon’s autograph was auctioned for 2 billion won.
No wait, it was 2 million dollars, so in Korean currency that’s about 2.8-2.9 billion.
“Wait, Ryu Yeon-hwa.”
Ryu Yeon-hwa also hesitated while trying to pick one up.
Seo Ji-woo crossed her arms.
“What now? What is it?”
“Trust me. These card packs are important.”
“…Mr. Right. I haven’t been able to trust people since that day.”
Ryu Yeon-hwa suddenly muttered like she was rambling.
When I wondered what day she meant, it was Kim Du-gyeom.
“That’s nonsense. Don’t trust other people, don’t trust yourself.”
“…What?”
“Whatever. Let’s go with rock-paper-scissors.”
The four of us put our hands together.
Rock, paper, scissors!
Im Hae-jun rock. Seo Ji-woo rock. Ryu Yeon-hwa rock. Seol Ha-woon wrapping cloth.
I’m first place.
The other three also decided their order among themselves with rock-paper-scissors.
“Okay. Since I’m first place…”
No wait. I shouldn’t be happy about this. The reason I’m first place is because me being first place benefits Seo Ji-woo. I’m half certain of it.
I turned to look at Seo Ji-woo.
“Seo Ji-woo. You choose first.”
“…What? Why?”
Seo Ji-woo frowned.
“Think of it as first place privilege.”
“What.”
“Just do it. When I tell you to.”
I gently pushed Seo Ji-woo. Seo Ji-woo grumbled and picked up 5 packs.
“Good. Now give those to me.”
I held out my hand. Seo Ji-woo tilted her head.
“Why?”
“Don’t want to?”
This answer is also important.
“No. It’s not that.”
I carefully received the card packs imbued with Seo Ji-woo’s luck.
“I’m second place so I’ll choose.”
Then, the moment Seo Ji-woo picked up other cards.
I pondered.
The card packs Seo Ji-woo just chose, and the card packs Seo Ji-woo returned to me.
Which one would her luck have been applied to?
If it’s one-dimensional luck, then my card packs are the real deal.
But.
If luck ultimately works in a way that benefits Seo Ji-woo?
The card packs Seo Ji-woo chose ‘now’ are the real deal.
“Wait.”
“…Ah, what now.”
Even if it’s tedious, it can’t be helped. Rather, I need to be tedious before the cards are revealed. Before revealing cards it’s skill and bluffing, but after revealing them it’s cheating.
“Why?”
Seo Ji-woo’s lips became crooked. I said to her.
“Switch chance?”
“Hey, what are you two doing? I’m third place.”
“Don’t talk to me. Figure it out yourself.”
“…What.”
Im Hae-jun glared narrowly, picked up his card packs and opened them refreshingly.
“What. Not even one rare card.”
“I knew you’d be like that.”
Next, Ryu Yeon-hwa also opened hers.
Looking at her expression, she has no idea what anything is. Well, there’s no way a refined gentleman would know about cards.
“Answer quickly. Switch chance?”
I focused both eyes on Seo Ji-woo again.
“Ah whatever. Do what you want.”
Do what I want.
That’s too difficult an answer.
The reason I’m being this intense is because in the packs opened by Mitamnan explorers before regression, Lee Jun-ho’s rookie gold card came out.
That future probably won’t change easily. It must be a card the Association selected and inserted for promotional purposes.
And if one of the explorers is going to draw Lee Jun-ho’s rookie card, it’s definitely Seo Ji-woo.
“I don’t care. Go ahead and switch.”
Seo Ji-woo held out her card packs. I pondered. I rolled through possibilities until my frontal lobe ached.
“…Alright. Let’s switch.”
Luck will be applied at a higher dimensional level.
I asked Seo Ji-woo to make a choice, but the result itself was manipulated by my will. Therefore, Seo Ji-woo’s luck didn’t take effect.
The real luck lies in the ‘second’ choice she made with her free will!
“…Here I go.”
“Master, what are you dueling?”
“Won’t you be quiet?”
In the tension that made my skin tremble, I tore open the card pack.
Jun-ho. Come out to me.
Rip!
First pack.
Swish swish. Swish swish. Swish. Swish.
I flipped through five cards in an instant. All duds.
Second pack.
Swish. Swish swish. Swish. Swish. Swish swish.
Similarly all duds.
Then the third pack, fourth pack, and on the card border of the last fifth pack, golden color!
Gold Rookie!
“!”
My hands trembled.
“As expected.”
I defeated fate. I won against luck.
“Phew…”
I calmed my mind with deep breaths. Staying as composed as possible, I pulled out the card.
“Nice to see you Jun-ho… Huh? Ah, what the, this bastard, what?”
The face embedded in the card is someone completely unexpected.
It’s far more bewildering than surprising.
“This isn’t right.”
I picked up the card and held it up to the camera.
“This bastard, no, why is this son of a bitch here?”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
Im Hae-jun and Ryu Yeon-hwa, and PD Kim A-rang who were watching from the side also looked at the card with bewildered faces.
“Hah… That’s right.”
Kim A-rang let out a hollow laugh.
“I guess it’s because we did a collaboration when Kim Du-gyeom was around…”
2024 ROOKIEKIM DU GYUM#GOLD1 of 3
It’s a Kim Du-gyeom Gold Rookie Card.
Why won’t this bastard leave me alone.
“Wait a minute. Let me contact the Association.”
Kim A-rang, who briefly stepped away, made a phone call somewhere.
“Ah geez~ What the hell.”
Then, Seo Ji-woo muttered as if annoyed.
“Why is Lee Jun-ho here.”
“…”
I whipped around.
Lee Jun-ho Rookie Gold Card clutched in Seo Ji-woo’s hand. He’s smiling in the golden card, wearing a splendid martial arts uniform with a long sword resting on his shoulder.
Jun-ho, why did you go there.
You were originally supposed to be in my hands.
“Ooh~ Congratulations. That must be incredibly expensive.”
“As expected, Ji-woo has good luck~”
The staff congratulated Seo Ji-woo.
I felt bankrupt.
But you never know. Kim Du-gyeom could become expensive too. Even though his face makes me furious just looking at it, it should be quite rare.
Now I need to earn a lot of money too. If I buy loot with cash and give it to Aro, she can convert it back to Diamond Coins.
“Um. Wouldn’t this also sell for a high price if put up for auction?”
When I grabbed one of the staff members and asked.
“Ha-woon?”
Kim A-rang returned.
“Sorry sorry. Legally, criminal portrait rights can’t be used for trading cards. Sales are also illegal so it looks like we’ll have to dispose of it.”
“…”
I glared at the face in the card. Even here he’s smiling pretending to be nice. Kim Du-gyeom you son of a bitch-
“Um. Want to trade?”
Seo Ji-woo said in a sympathetic tone.
“You seem to like cards. This was originally Malolham’s anyway.”
“…No.”
I shook my head.
“Once a pack is opened, there’s no going back to before. The world has confirmed what’s inside…”
This is the principle of the human called Seol Ha-woon, and the belief that straightens my core.
“Why are you saying it so dramatically?”
“That’s expensive so keep it. 1 of 3. It means it’s the first of only three cards that exist.”
Even if sold at the end of this year, it’ll probably fetch hundreds of millions.
“Oh~ Really? I hate looking at Lee Jun-ho’s face so I should sell it right away then.”
Tap tap tap.
Footsteps arose toward our set stage. Several staff members came over from elsewhere.
“Um, Ha-woon! Kate pulled a Jemallot Rookie Card!”
“…What?”
I was dumbfounded.
“But it’s not even Gold, it’s Prism!”
Kim A-rang and I simultaneously furrowed our brows.
* * *
2024 ROOKIESEOL HA UN#PRISM1 of 1
Kate looked at the card clutched in her hand.
Seol Ha-woon standing with a walking stick, showing his profile with long hair flowing. The card surface with his handwritten signature sparkles dazzlingly. The radiance is as brilliant as a rainbow.
“Seol Ha-woon… Prism 1 of 1?”
“Wow! Wow! Wow!”
Lee Jong-soo keeps shouting from the side.
“Wow! Wow! Wow!”
“Ah, stop it.”
Kate frowned. She almost hit his mouth with her elbow.
“Congratulations.”
This time it was Kang Hyeon. He also looked at the card as if he coveted it.
Kate lifted the card up smoothly.
“Should I give it to you?”
“No. Then I’d have to pay a huge gift tax. I don’t have money right now.”
Kang Hyeon smiled gently while fidgeting with his pocket.
PD Yoon Sa-hyuk sighed.
“…This is really something. If a Prism comes out here, there’s going to be some controversy.”
“You can put it back. I’m fine with that.”
“No. Then it would be rigged. That makes it even more serious… A lottery jackpot came out right from the start.”
If a lottery first prize comes out on the first day, no matter how many more first prizes remain, sales are bound to plummet.
Yoon Sa-hyuk scratched the back of his neck.
“Keep it for now. Store it well too. Even if you let it sit for a few years, it’ll be worth tens of billions. If Ha-woon becomes a mage, it could really reach a hundred billion.”
It’s an amount that would make ordinary people’s eyes roll back, but Kate looks completely uninterested.
Yoon Sa-hyuk let out a hollow laugh.
“Of course, you probably don’t care about money at all.”
“Wow, I’m really jealous of you, Kate…”
Lee Jong-soo butted in again.
“Is this what they mean by money calling money, wow… If it’s a Jemallot Prism Card, this… I’ve done some card collecting so I know, the former winner Lee Je-hoon’s Prism Rookie Card is estimated to be worth about 2 billion, but this is way more than that—”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Kate quickly cut him off.
“Kate, I’m really jealous, really… Ah damn, what is this supposed to be.”
Lee Jong-soo picked up his own cards. Out of 25 cards, there wasn’t a single Mitamnan member, and they were all people he didn’t know.
“Who the hell is Yu Tong-hwang anyway. How can someone’s name be Yu Tong-hwang.”
“Maybe he’s good at distribution business.”
At Kang Hyeon’s joke, Lee Jong-soo paused. He looked at Kang Tong-i with shocked eyes.
Kang Tong-i tilted his head.
“Why?”
“No… Hyeon. What did you get?”
“I’m curious about this person. Moon Moon-moon.”
“Moon Moon-moon?”
“The explorer’s name is Moon Moon-moon.”
Kang Hyeon held out his card. Lee Jong-soo also saw that name.
It really was Moon Moon-moon.
“It is… Rare though.”
Moon Moon-moon.
Yu Tong-hwang.
This might sound a bit harsh, but both of them should consider changing their names…
“What! Who got a Prism!”
Suddenly Lee Jun-ho appeared with a loud shout.
Lee Jong-soo smiled and whispered to Kate.
“Jun-ho really loves cards too. He’s even more of an otaku than me.”
“Damn, is it real?! It’s, it’s even Jemallot?!”
Lee Jun-ho recognized the card Kate was holding from far away. He approached with big steps and asked with trembling hands.
“C-can I just take a look?”
Gulp. He even swallowed his saliva.
“Yes. Take a look.”
Kate handed over the card. Lee Jun-ho turned the Prism Card front and back while saying.
“Wow damn, look at this texture… Ah, you might not know so let me explain a bit, this Prism is the highest grade. No Tier, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Prism at the very top.”
“….”
“But what’s important is, the Association doesn’t give out Prisms easily. Among explorers, you have to be somewhat of a big name to get a Prism released. But also, Rookie Cards only come out once per explorer at year 0. Once in a lifetime.”
He’s casually speaking informally again. Kate is annoyed, but since he seems to be enjoying himself, she decides to endure it.
“Then what do you think. What is a Rookie Prism?”
“….”
“What is it?”
“…Rare?”
“It’s not just rare. Let me say it again. Prisms are only given to big names, but explorers who are big names from rookie year are really rare. Less than 50 people a year. Do you understand? That’s why Rookie Prisms are rare times rare. And this is the quantity released worldwide…”
Lee Jun-ho is also getting talkative. Does this card have some kind of magic power?
Kate let it go in one ear and out the other while extracting only keywords.
Jemallot Prism… really jealous… money isn’t the issue… collecting the history of exploration…
Should I just punch him in the throat?
“Phew.”
Finally the talking ended.
Lee Jun-ho fiddled with his own cards. Kate also became curious for a moment.
“Who did you get?”
“I got one Silver of our members. Kim Woo-hyeon. He and I must have some connection.”
Ah, I don’t want to talk. He keeps speaking informally.
Kate immediately turned around, but there was someone right behind her.
Seol Ha-woon.
Kate’s entire body froze.
“I heard you drew my card.”
He asked as if curious. He looked the same as always, casual.
Suddenly Kate felt some kind of impulse, but she didn’t show it.
“…Yes. I drew it.”
There’s nothing more foolish than revealing your hostility to someone who might be an enemy.
“….”
Then Seol Ha-woon also looked at her silently. It was a piercing stare.
“I also drew one.”
He held out a card right in front of her nose.
“Kim Du-gyeom.”
What was she supposed to do with this? Was he bragging about Kim Du-gyeom? Or was he testing her?
Kate nodded.
“Yes. I’m jealous.”
“…Are you jealous?”
Seol Ha-woon asked back. Without changing his expression at all, calmly. Like looking at a sparrow flying far away.
“Of course. I’ll be going now.”
Kate left the set stage. Seol Ha-woon stood still and watched her retreating figure.
He thinks.
The Kate I know isn’t someone who says just anything.
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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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