Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 140
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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 140
Spear Ghost(3)
While explorers were dying in Wolryeong Village, the peaceful new building of Astroal Merchandise was the complete opposite.
“…You’re selling random boxes?”
〔Yes, that’s correct.〕
The group of explorers who had been chased by monsters and coincidentally received rescue and an invitation were offered a special product just before leaving.
〔A special product for our model customers, random boxes.〕
Astroal brought out twenty boxes.
Clatter clatter. They were small packaging boxes with lids bubbling like boiling kettles.
“What are these things.”
The two men and one woman were lukewarm about it.
“What’s inside them?”
The female swordsman showed interest.
〔Yes. These are random boxes where you can obtain very rare items…〕
Beep. Astroal’s eyes recalled the past.
“…So this can be recreated.”
〔Beep.〕
Seol Ha-woon placed the random box on the table.
〔Master. What is the manufacturing process for this box?〕
“Intuition.”
〔Intuition. The persimmon you eat.〕
“No. Intuition. Divine intuition.”
When you open a random box, an item pops up with special effects. Like in games.
The actual motif was indeed that random box from 「MoMo」.
At first, he thought of random boxes as just game items, but thanks to Astroal, he broke that mental framework and through effort managed to ‘formulate’ it into a spell.
“Amazing, right?”
The so-called Seol Ha-woon special random box.
〔That’s right. Moreover, mystery doubles the price.〕
“Exactly. Anyone would think there are rare items inside, right?”
〔Should I put the random products inside the box?〕
“No. I’ll put the items in this box.”
Seol Ha-woon placed a much larger, rectangular-shaped box on the counter.
“I tried to guess the principle behind random boxes. This is my conclusion.”
Inside a massive system, a cloud, countless items are stored, and the moment you open a random box, one of them comes out.
“For us, this is our cloud. This box and the random boxes are linked.”
He tapped the box with his walking stick.
“If you put items in the box, the moment someone opens a random box, an item gets randomly transmitted. So unless you open the random box, you can never know what’s inside…”
〔Beep. Will you purchase?〕
“Ye-rin. Arthur. You’re going to get ripped off.”
Some man interfered with the business. A stupid-looking human. Actually seemed very low in intelligence. His physiognomy suggested so.
“Don’t buy it. Let’s go.”
“Mmm…”
Aro quickly added words.
〔Special discount benefit: First 1 item C- grade loot.〕
“Huh? Ah, if it’s C- grade…”
Swordsman Ye-rin nodded. It was worth it if she thought of it as buying one slightly expensive lottery ticket.
“Then I’ll buy it.”
〔Transaction complete.〕
Aro exchanged the C- loot for a random box.
“I just open it?
〔Yes. Just infuse it with magic power.〕
She infused magic power into the random box.
Thump thump thump… Whiiii!
With flashy effects, the box opened and an item flew up into the air.
“Amazing…”
Amazing.
Her lips trying to speak froze. Her eyes and nose swelled like balloons.
〔Congratulations.〕
Aro’s panel sparkled with a beep.
〔Rare item. ‘Dreaming of Astroal Snow Globe’.〕
“…”
“…”
“…”
All the explorers were speechless.
Aro explained about the item.
〔Inside the round glass sphere is contained an amazingly intricate miniature world. In the center stands a crystal-like shining penguin tower, with a small village spread around it. A faint blue light spreads from the tower, gently illuminating the interior.〕
Swordsman Ye-rin picked up the snow globe with enchanted eyes.
〔When you shake the globe, sparkling silver and blue snowflakes slowly settle down, creating a magical whirlwind of light. Sometimes the snowflakes gather like constellations to draw mysterious patterns.〕
“…Wow.”
〔The glass sphere base is made of antique precious metal, with ancient letters and constellation symbols intricately carved. On the edge of the base, the abbreviation ‘SSR─Super Super Rare’ is carved in elegant handwriting.〕
“Super Super Rare…”
She muttered blankly. The explorers who had said not to get ripped off also gathered around before they knew it.
“What is… this?”
〔Beep.〕
Aro rewound time again…
“…This is broadly speaking Seol Ha-woon goods. It’s literally taking my ‘insides’ – the things I possess – and putting them in.”
At Seol Ha-woon’s words, Aro stirred the【Witch’s Cauldron】and asked back.
〔Containing the insides.〕
“Right. I’m going to put my ‘dream bubbles’ into this snow globe. Is the cauldron ready?”
〔Yes. The solution has been synthesized.〕
The C-grade loot had melted into liquid. The solution imbued with the talented mage’s magic power was brilliantly blue.
“Good.”
Seol Ha-woon closed his eyes.
He skillfully remembered the ‘skills’ that had grown in his body through direct use. Each repeated use naturally learned and reproduced them.
This was the power of a very important tech tree he had learned as a mage—[Intermediate Mana Memory].
Therefore, he would formulate the dream bubbles remembered by Seol Ha-woon’s magic power into a spell and infuse it into this solution…
Tssss!
Geometric patterns were carved into the solution, then it rapidly shrank. It had been basket-sized, but concentrated to just about a cup’s worth.
“Now if I put this into the pre-prepared snow globe.”
He poured the solution into the empty glass sphere. The internal miniatures were made directly by Seol Ha-woon with a C+ grade carving knife.
“Once I engrave it up to SSR… complete.”
I checked the Item Information with my eyes.
[Dreaming of Snow Globe]■ Grade: Rare■ Overview: A beautiful snow globe. It deserves to be called a luxury item.■ Small Dream Bubble: Emits soft and gentle light and waves. This energy stabilizes the mind and body of living beings within a 3.3m³ radius and helps with deep sleep.■ Astroal Series SSR
“It’s Rare.”
In MoMo terms, a character had just crafted a Rare item. It was both shocking and fortunate, but the much more valuable part was ‘■ Astroal Series SSR’.
This is called a ‘Named Series’, and as the name Astroal becomes more famous, the effects of early works also increase exponentially. It’s almost the same principle as the Trading Cards I explained before.
“The effect itself would be about one-tenth of a real Dream Bubble. How many pieces of loot did we melt down?”
〔You melted down 5 C-grade items.〕
“…Crazy. So this is almost 100 million? With this cauldron, it’s almost 200 million?”
【Witch’s Cauldron】■ Grade: Rare■ Overview: A cauldron that melts everything. It perfectly preserves even magic power that cannot be extracted with ordinary containers and decomposes materials.■ Witch’s Intuition: Extraction efficiency increases, and when materials are melted in optimal condition, the cauldron surface glows with a subtle green light.
This Witch’s Cauldron I bought through the 「MoMo」 network was quite expensive too, so I need to get my money’s worth.
“Aro. This snow globe is currently the rarest, right?”
〔Yes. That’s correct.〕
Couldn’t I sell it for more if I just put it up for auction?
No.
First, the scarcity of being purchasable only at ‘Astroal Merchandise’ would disappear, and it took a full three days to make this one item.
I can’t just sell one and twiddle my thumbs. I’m not even an alchemist by profession.
It’s a business strategy for more perfect premiumization.
“We’re going to give this to customers as a select.”
〔Select?〕
“Yeah. We put it in. Not random but…”
〔This item has a 3% chance of appearing. However, specific items may be obtained regardless of probability according to terms and conditions. This is called select.〕
Aro whispered the terms very quietly. The explorers weren’t interested in Aro’s words.
“Wow… this is an object type, crazy. Robot. Is this real?”
〔I don’t tell lies.〕
“…Uh, how much for the box?”
One white warrior rushed over.
〔C-grade loot. Currently 19 remaining.〕
“What? Ye-rin’s was C- grade.”
〔That was limited to the first product.〕
“Then one… no, five, no, six!”
“Hey. Shit. Are you crazy? Just buy three!”
“You buy just three…”
While the explorers were bickering, Ye-rin, who had already drawn SSR, also raised her hand.
“I, I want to buy 3 more too.”
“What? Ye-rin, you already drew one.”
“…But I can still buy more.”
“Ah, so greedy. Just back off.”
After fighting for a while, the remaining 19 Random Boxes were completely sold out.
Of course, most of the 19 were duds but…
‘But this is important. Even if all the Random Boxes are duds, when you draw at least 5-6, one should be worth the price. Even if you got ripped off, the buyer’s feelings matter. If they get completely ripped off and kicked out without any decent items, only bad rumors will spread. We need word of mouth, right? Word of mouth needs to spread for item performance to improve too.’
“…Still, I got a fountain pen. Look. It writes well.”
Swish. The white warrior spun the fountain pen and raised his eyebrows. It was quite good loot, about third place.
The effect was improved writing ability.
“I got completely ripped off, but I got two C- grade items.”
The black archer scratched his head and smacked his lips. The white man glanced at Ye-rin.
“Ye-rin. What are you going to do with that?”
“I’ll use it for a bit, then get it appraised and put it up for auction. Don’t touch it.”
She slapped away the hand trying to touch the snow globe.
“It’s not like it’ll wear out from touching… Ah shit, I’m jealous. Are you Seo Ji-woo or something…”
Seo Ji-woo had somehow become synonymous with lucky people.
“…Robot. You only sell 20 per day, right?”
Ye-rin asked.
〔So far, yes. You now have 3 minutes left of stay time.〕
“Okay. If I have a chance to come later, I’ll definitely buy more. Should you make more boxes?”
〔Yes.〕
Whoosh. The four people whose stay time ended disappeared into thin air.
Aro calculated while making the panel flicker.
Income: 19 C-grade loot items. 1 C- grade loot item.
Investment principal: 5 C-grade loot items, 3 C- grade loot items, 3 D-grade loot items.
Equipment cost: Witch’s Cauldron.
Special notes: Not yet massive profit, but very good results as a first step.
〔Beep.〕
Aro’s eyes drew sparkling arcs.
* * *
The threshold of Wolryeong Bridge.
In the darkness where ghostly energy still rippled and spirits clung thickly.
──Thump! Thump!
Seol Ha-woon tapped his walking stick a couple more times.
However, the presence on the bridge, as if refusing to give up, rose with joint-cracking sounds, creaking and groaning.
The vengeful spirit revived.
A massive shadow flickered right before their eyes.
“──Go back. This is not where you belong.”
A magnificent voice filled with magic power tore through the air.
Seol Ha-woon’s long hair blazed up like blue torchfire. Behind his back, stake-like formulas materialized.
“Go back.”
A threat that he would fire if it didn’t retreat.
A human’s ultimatum to a ghost, a threat.
Crrrrrack.
Was it the sound of grinding teeth? Or the sound of twisting and breaking joints?
Either way, the shadow slowly, slowly retreated.
Psssssss…
Soon, it completely disappeared with a sound like grass rustling.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The three people looked at Seol Ha-woon.
A person who seemed particularly trustworthy today.
In Lee Jun-ho’s eyes, he now looked like a guardian spirit—among them, a jangseung that particularly resembled a lighthouse.
“…Follow me.”
Seol Ha-woon said while gathering his magic power.
His expression wasn’t good. It was a knee problem. He limped while smoking a cigarette.
Awoooooo──
Whether wolf or owl, some unknown beast howled.
The group followed behind Seol Ha-woon with anxious steps.
“…It’s awkward to say this, but. Is Ha-woon hyung really himself right now? They say the best thing at driving away ghosts is a ghost.”
Suddenly, Kang Hyeon brought it up. Very quietly. It was his version of whispering.
“I’m suspicious too.”
Kate agreed as if she’d been waiting for this.
“I think he’s real.”
Lee Jun-ho disagreed.
“Jemallot is hard to imitate. You saw just now.”
“…Then, wait a minute.”
Ahem. Kang Hyeon cleared his throat and asked probingly.
“Hyung. Did you see the ghost on the bridge?”
“Yeah. I saw it.”
Seol Ha-woon answered while walking.
At that moment, a strange emotion churned in Kate’s heart.
“…How did you endure it? It was such a strong illusion.”
“I was outside the bridge. I just managed to endure it.”
Wolryeong Bridge reflects precious people.
You too had someone precious. That person killed Percival…
Kate’s reason was still sending signals that ‘certainty is premature,’ but the appeal was much stronger on the emotional side.
Much more so.
Thud.
Seol Ha-woon stopped. The group stopped as well. There was a sign in front of some building.
[Explorer Base Camp]Lodging fee: 1 nyang yeop-jeonOne meal: 1 nyang yeop-jeon
“Do you guys have yeop-jeon?”
Kang Hyeon shook his head while glancing at Lee Jun-ho. Lee Jun-ho passed it to Kate.
“Yeop-jeon… I have a little.”
“Where’d you get it?”
“I picked some up by chance, and among the items I bought, there was a yeop-jeon bundle.”
She was scared so she bought everything she could get her hands on.
“Let’s see.”
Kate took out a yeop-jeon bundle from her backpack. There were exactly eight.
“Eight is exactly enough for four people’s lodging and meal costs. Hand them over.”
“…What are you talking about.”
Kate quickly put the yeop-jeon back in her backpack. She didn’t know what yeop-jeon were, but instinctively recognized their value.
“Then are you going to sleep outside?”
“…A chance to test your morality.”
“What are you… Fine. I’ll tell you. Those yeop-jeon are quite important currency. Residents you shouldn’t make eye contact with sell precious items. The only currency that can buy those is yeop-jeon. It’s loot we can take from this labyrinth.”
Then it seemed even more like she shouldn’t give them away.
When Kate stuffed the yeop-jeon deep into her backpack, Seol Ha-woon opened the door of the used bookstore.
A delicious smell pierced their noses.
“Ah.”
Lee Jun-ho’s eyes watered painfully. He spoke with a half-dazed expression.
“Kate. You sleep outside. Instead, lend me, lend me just 2. I’ll definitely pay you back.”
“Me too.”
Lee Jun-ho and Kang Hyeon were already entranced. Seol Ha-woon waved the bookstore door like a fan. Whoosh. Whoosh. The smell grew thicker.
Kate swallowed her saliva too.
“…Fine. You have to pay me back. Contracts are important.”
“That’s obvious.”
“Should we at least pinky promise?”
When the three people’s lips were wet with saliva, Seol Ha-woon spoke.
“Instead. I’ll waive the meal cost for one person who works with me.”
Flash. All three raised their hands.
“You have to do it outside. You might encounter ghosts.”
Kate and Lee Jun-ho lowered their hands, while Kang Hyeon raised his even higher.
“Okay. So, six nyang then.”
Seol Ha-woon held out his hand to Kate. Kate only gave him five nyang.
“Where’s the other one?”
“The kid on his back. He can’t eat.”
She gestured toward the unconscious Im Hae-jun on Kang Hyeon’s back.
“Calculations should be accurate.”
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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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