Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 19

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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 019

Rush(3)

I climbed to the top of the forest.

“Nice view.”

The peak of a particularly tall tree in the Labyrinth’s forest. The open vista felt liberating, and the clear air brought back old memories.

Those days when I could smile while descending from even higher altitudes, when my body was still intact.

Now my arms are trembling. Even though I climbed up using only the gloves without needing to use my muscles at all.

Grandmother once told me: you were born with a sturdy body.

Well, I suppose I was born sturdy enough to survive ‘that day.’

“…Whatever.”

There’s no time for sentimentality.

I deployed my magic power outside my body. I wove lines of magic power like a net between the tree branches.

The technique of purely manipulating magic power, [Lower Mana Manipulation].

I laid my body on the woven magic power hammock. It was comfortably cozy. From there, I observed the ground below.

According to [MoMo]’s system, I have high perception. Excellent sight and hearing. I even have the free trait 【Good Eyes, Good Ears】.

This means I can take in the situation at the Orc Village at a glance even from this distance.

“Bravo 1, 2, 3. I’ll set positions for each of you, so move to those locations.”

I spoke into the radio.

“First, get a solid grasp of the geography. Not just the differences in slope, but also where rocks and roots protrude, the direction of water flow, the density of trees – picture it all in your heads.”

Only then can you utilize the terrain as an ally.

─Yes!

─Roger that!

─Yep!

Listening to their crisp voices, I let out a quiet breath.

Whoooosh…

The forest wind flowing from somewhere, brushing against my cheek. The breath-holding wait.

The sensations of the battlefield from the not-so-distant past came flooding back.

* * *

Kang Hyeon’s class is warrior. Of course, even within the single class of warrior, there are quite detailed classifications.

‘Pure Dealer’ who focuses on attack as much as a shooter,

‘Bruiser’ who handles both offense and defense simultaneously,

‘Swordsman’ who demonstrates excellent power in duels, and so on.

In that regard, Kang Hyeon is an all-rounder. He has more destructive power than most pure dealers, durability as good as a tank, and has never lost in personal combat.

Swish-!

At the entrance of the cave where the cargo was located. Kang Hyeon’s wind-like blade cut down an orc. Simultaneously, crack-! Another orc’s neck snapped, and pierce-! A hole was drilled through the neck of an orc on the watchtower.

A momentary assault.

However, the process was extremely quiet. This was Yoon Hwa-rim’s [Wind-like Steps]. A particularly popular standardized magic specialized in infiltration.

Team A, having neutralized the entrance guards, entered the cave interior.

There were quite a few orcs on patrol, but they easily cut them down and reached the depths.

“There… it is.”

The Labyrinth’s cargo. Abundant loot was piled up on a ‘cart.’

Kang Hyeon first briefed via radio.

“Transport team. We’ve secured the cargo.”

─Ah yes-

─Confirmed.

Im Hae-jun’s voice cuts off midway, and Seol Ha-woon’s response comes back sharp as a blade.

“Let’s transport it.”

The method of transporting cargo in the Labyrinth is simple. You could call it Labyrinth standard. The Labyrinth has surprisingly considerate aspects, as cargo carts have separate driver’s seats.

“Hwa-rim.”

“Yes. I’ll get ready.”

Yoon Hwa-rim climbed into the driver’s seat.

Driving cargo is one of the main roles of a mage. Since the mission is considered failed if the cargo is destroyed, tanks generally stay close to the cargo, while warriors and shooters vary depending on the situation.

“Everyone get on!”

The three people climbed onto the back of the driver’s seat, that is, the cargo compartment.

The first destination was the grove that Seol Ha-woon mentioned.

“…Tch.”

Yoon Hwa-rim wanted to turn the wheel right now and go her own route, but she had to endure it. The viewers would handle the punishment anyway. That Seol Ha-woon or whatever, he’s just an attention seeker who wants to stand out alone.

“Hah!”

She injected magic power into the cart. The handful of magic power she poured in quickly spread through the cart’s internal circuits, and soon the wheels began rotating.

Vroooom──

The cart’s speed depends on the mage’s skill. Elite Magic School graduate Yoon Hwa-rim’s measured speed was between 40-45 km/h.

That’s definitely in the upper ranks.

“I’m starting!”

“Okay.”

Tank Lee Jong-soo raised his shield on top of the cargo. Shooter Escher also prepared for battle by loading a mana shot onto his bowstring.

Vrooooom!

The cargo cart began moving in earnest. Yoon Hwa-rim burned magic power like stepping on an accelerator.

Thump thump thump thump.

When they exited the cave with appropriate acceleration, a massive roar echoed through the Orc Village.

Graaaaaaah───-!

The chieftain’s rage vibrating the road surface.

“They’ll be coming soon.”

The moment Kang Hyeon spoke, orcs came charging down the slope. Escher shot mana arrows first. Kang Hyeon cut down the orc warriors trying to cling on. Lee Jong-soo raised his shield to block arrows from orc archers.

“Jong-soo. Take care of it.”

“Leave it to me!”

Kang Hyeon entrusted the cargo cart to Lee Jong-soo and landed on the ground. He freely swung his broadsword, cutting through the orc horde. With one vertical slash, limbs were severed, and with two horizontal slashes, torsos were separated from legs. Escher’s arrows backed him up.

The development itself was smooth. The orcs running on two legs would have difficulty catching up to the accelerating cargo cart.

“Hehe.”

Yoon Hwa-rim smiled from the driver’s seat.

“Easy.”

Should I just turn toward my route? Going into the forest will only slow down the cart’s speed. Really, because of that weird soldier-

Clank!

Suddenly something caught on the cargo. The speed also decreased. It felt like the ground beneath was wobbling.

“What, what is it?”

“What’s happening!”

Lee Jong-soo asked from atop the cargo cart.

Yoon Hwa-rim stuck her head out of the driver’s seat to look at the wheels. She also examined the ground below. The flow of magic power was strange.

The ground kept seeming to shake…

Belatedly, Yoon Hwa-rim realized.

“…Orc Shaman!”

By then it was already too late. Fireballs clustered in the air. About a dozen soccer ball-sized fireballs descended toward the cart.

“Over there!”

“Whoa, shit!”

Lee Jong-soo hastily raised his shield, and Kang Hyeon leaped up acrobatically to swing his sword down. Three of the fireballs were blocked by the shield, six were destroyed by the sword, but one stuck to the cart.

Yoon Hwa-rim raised water droplets to extinguish it.

“The cart?!”

Lee Jong-soo asked urgently.

“…The cart won’t move! There’s shamanic magic on the wheels!”

The creaking cart had already stopped at some point. Their shamanic magic had seized the wheels.

Krr-graaah!

Kraaaah!

Taking advantage of that gap, the orcs swarmed in. They attacked not only the Transport Team but the cart itself.

The cart has durability. When the durability runs out, it naturally breaks.

“Ah, get lost!”

Lee Jong-soo swung his shield and mace with both hands to strike them down, and Escher shot arrows until his arms felt like they’d tear off, but it was useless with the cart stopped in place.

If they don’t move the cargo, the orcs will respawn infinitely.

“I’ll find the shaman.”

At Kang Hyeon’s words, Yoon Hwa-rim was startled.

“Th-then what about us?”

“I’ll somehow hold out!”

Lee Jong-soo shouted while injecting magic power into his shield. Blood vessels bulged on his forehead and temples.

“Leave it to me and go!”

“I don’t think that’ll work…”

When Yoon Hwa-rim looked at Lee Jong-soo’s determination with distrust.

──That won’t be necessary.

A voice crackled through the radio. They looked at their respective waists.

──This is B Team. We’ve identified A Team’s current location.

B12 Team, Seol Ha-woon’s tone.

──We’ve assessed the situation and will begin more active escort.

A radio transmission announcing the start of escort, immediately after.

───-

The sound was faint. However, a blue, very blue straight line rushed from somewhere. It connected from the distant sky to some point on the ground in an instant, and the shamanic magic that had seized the cart’s wheels was partially released.

Yoon Hwa-rim was startled.

There’s only one reason the shamanic magic was suddenly broken.

Someone had eliminated the shaman.

* * *

30 minutes earlier.

─This is the Transport Team. We’ve secured the cargo.

“Confirmed.”

As soon as I received Kang Hyeon’s radio transmission, I prepared the team members.

“Alpha Team has started their mission. Get ready.”

─What’s Alpha Team? Over.

That was Im Hae-jun’s response.

“The cargo transport team.”

─Ah. Over. Why Alpha Team? It’s A Team. Over.

“It exists. It’s called the phonetic alphabet.”

─Oh I see. Over.

“You don’t need to say ‘over.'”

─Yes.

Orcs are quite unique monsters even in the Labyrinth. First, they’re the most representative harmful beasts that crawl out to the outside, that is, to Earth, to form villages when the Labyrinth gets full, and the difficulty of the group itself varies greatly.

Orc Chieftain, Orc Soldier, Orc Archer.

If a village is composed of just these three, it’s not that difficult.

However, if Orc Guards, Orc Shamans, Orc Giant Soldiers, and furthermore Orc ‘Mages’ that are rare even among humans get mixed in, it becomes a disaster-level threat.

Of course, Orc Mages don’t appear in the Labyrinth Exploration series. Shamans probably won’t appear either.

At least that’s how it was in the episodes I saw before my regression.

Thump thump thump thump──!

Just then, the cargo transport began in earnest. I knew because of the orcs’ frenzy. The chieftain beat drums while gathering troops, and I focused magic power on my retina again. My field of vision became much wider.

“…Found it.”

I can see the cargo cart coming out of the cave and going down the slope of the Orc Village.

The cargo speed is decent, and Kang Hyeon’s military power is excellent, so it seems quite smooth…

“What’s this.”

Suddenly the flow of magic power became strange. Cracks appeared in the ground beneath where the cart was advancing.

A clearly unnatural phenomenon.

Natural formulas without any refinement, used by non-human beings.

In other words, ‘shamanic magic.’

“What the.”

I was bewildered. There were no shamans before my regression.

Was it originally like this? Or did the Transport Team trigger something wrong?

Still, if it’s a shaman, I can understand why the Labyrinth’s total magic power is excessively large. A shaman contains the magic power equivalent to about 30 orc soldiers.

“Ah damn it.”

Anyway, the tide of battle was reversed because of the shaman.

Moreover, it seems there’s not just one shaman as quite a few formulas scattered to attack the Transport Team, and from behind, an orc army surged like a tide.

“Too far.”

The distance was too far for the Escort Team. There was still a long way to go until the promised escort starting point.

“…Will this work.”

I extended my finger. The Orc Shaman was clearly visible to my eyes. The one hiding among the warriors, waving both arms skyward as if praying. I aimed and shot a mana bullet, but it couldn’t possibly reach. The bullet disappeared in mid-air.

“It seems about 2km away…”

A pistol is precarious even at 200m, let alone 2km.

Is there no way?

While pondering, a technique suddenly flashed through my mind.

[Mana Amplification]

Well, let’s try somehow. The Transport Team is in chaos right now.

I first gathered the magic power to amplify in the 【Mystical Staff】. I’ve only used it for walking until now, but the item’s characteristics were closer to a magic staff. It should be able to serve as mana mediation.

“Haah…”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

With the magic power-filled 【Mystical Staff】 resting against my shoulder, what I’m envisioning is a sniper rifle.

The standard-issue AEM94 I used on the battlefield.

I revive the sensation of that thing I’ve touched hundreds, thousands of times as much as possible, and ‘amplify’ my magic power according to the form in my memory.

Tssssst!

A burning sensation arose in my blood vessels. All the circuits in my body contracted greatly. More than half of my magic power was drained.

Pazzt-! Pazzzzt-!

Sharp sparks opened their eyes with sound.

Blue magic power clung to the walking stick. Though translucent like a fluid, it formed a definite shape. So accurately that even I was surprised.

“….”

I momentarily forgot the situation and touched it absentmindedly.

The long barrel, smooth trigger, ergonomic stock, telescopic sight and all other details were perfect, but they don’t all need to be identical.

I minimize noise and recoil as much as possible. Same with firepower. There’s no need to waste magic power manifesting anti-tank level power against mere orcs.

I shouldered the walking stick that projected the sniper rifle. I put my eye to the scope. The clear battlefield was revealed.

The top priority elimination target is the Orc Shaman.

Even at this distance, I can definitely reach it.

I will definitely reach it.

──I’ll find the shaman.

Just then Kang Hyeon said something about holding out to the main unit.

“There’s no need for that.”

I calmly radioed while placing my finger on the trigger.

“This is B Team. We’ve identified A Team’s position.”

Click.

The sound of metal. The spring caught on my index finger.

“Now that we understand the situation, we’ll begin more active escort.”

Creak.

I pulled the trigger without hesitation. Magic power surged from the muzzle.

A convenient trajectory that doesn’t need to consider air resistance at all. A blue line clearly embroidering the air. The bullet cut through the horizon and advanced toward a single target──

It pierced through the heart of the shaman casting shamanic magic.

[ Magic Power grade increases. ]

◆ C- → C

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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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