Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 20

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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 020

Rush(4)

In the sky of the Labyrinth, silent support continues from an unknown distant position.

Sharp bullets that eliminate only the qualitatively superior individuals even within the orc horde.

───-

There is not a single error in the sniping. Any orc with even slightly special attire gets hit between the eyes and dies instantly.

───-

Each time a straight line is completed, one shamanic spell disappears.

The magic power and shamanic magic holding the cart also vanish simultaneously, and Yoon Hwa-rim comes to her senses and sits in the driver’s seat.

───-

Kang Hyeon blankly looks up at the sky.

Still, meteor shower-like tails are being carved. Blue trajectories cutting through the indigo that hasn’t yet broken into dawn.

───-

A mage’s mental visualization is the life the mage has lived.

Even if you try to hide it, it cannot be hidden, and rather remains like a fingerprint, revealing oneself more clearly—evidence of the self.

───-

Therefore, this is a formula he casts as a soldier.

A technique built up on the most brutal battlefields.

But for allies, could there be another scenery this beautiful?

“Cart’s ready!”

Yoon Hwa-rim shouted. Kang Hyeon, who came to his senses, gripped his broadsword.

The main unit is already surrounded because of the shamanic mage, but now there’s no need to worry about the shamanic mage. They just need to focus on transporting the cargo.

The reason is simple.

They’re receiving escort.

──For smooth transport progress, we will deploy the turret forward.

Turret. Probably referring to gunner Im Hae-jun.

“Yes.”

Kang Hyeon answered briefly while swinging his sword. An orc’s head flew over the snow.

* * *

─Bravo 1, Alpha Team is surrounded. Advance 500m and prepare fire support.

“Yes sir!”

Im Hae-jun followed the command of Seol Ha-woon, who was giving orders with the command authority he had delegated. He dashed through the forest like a flying squirrel with a swooshing sound. The transport team was visible not far away. Their cart was surrounded by orcs.

A chance to shine!

Im Hae-jun nocked a split arrow to his bowstring. It was his first time using this type of spell arrow, but he already understood how to use it.

The point Im Hae-jun was aiming at wasn’t the orcs but the road surface—the ground.

He consumed 4 split arrows in just 2 seconds. It was rapid fire, practically a basic requirement for gunners.

Swoooooosh!

The split arrows that touched the ground shot up like rain. Countless orcs were skewered by the arrow splits.

“Hyah!”

After that, he fired two explosive arrows at the rear of the orc group.

KABOOM!

“Huh.”

He was startled by the impact that was much stronger than expected. The terrain was even gouged out like a crater. Thanks to this, the orcs’ advance speed slowed significantly, and the encirclement was broken.

“Wow. The feel is killer.”

Im Hae-jun clenched and unclenched his hand in admiration.

Not only the destructive power of the arrows themselves, but also their usability—the tactile sensation in his hands was extraordinary. Usually spell arrows feel heavy or dull when shot, but why are his so nimble?

─Bravo 1, return to original position.

Since he had backed up due to an unexpected situation, he needed to return to his original position and prepare for escort.

“Yes!”

Im Hae-jun looked at his quiver while returning. There were still 2 split arrows and 2 explosive arrows left.

“This is really awesome.”

I should ask him to make more later…

* * *

Seol Ha-woon’s sniping and Im Hae-jun’s fire support. Thanks to the backup poured from long and medium range, the cargo main unit barely escaped from the slope.

Simply put, they caught their breath.

“…Durability is almost gone.”

Yoon Hwa-rim looked at the durability displayed on the cargo cart’s dashboard.

[ 3 / 100 ]

There really isn’t much durability left. At a level where the circuits would collapse with just a slight bump. It’s because those orc bastards hammered it so much.

“Is everyone okay?”

Yoon Hwa-rim looked at the team members in the cargo compartment. They all looked haggard, but nodded as if they were fine.

Fortunately, the cargo transport itself is now in safe territory. The orcs have fallen far behind, and the cart has gained sufficient acceleration.

“Entering the forest.”

Just as Yoon Hwa-rim said that, escort team warrior Jin Yoon-hwa happened to be at the forest entrance. He climbed onto the cargo cart.

“Our escort team is positioned throughout the forest. You can leave the orcs entering from this side to us.”

Bang.

A gunshot rang out. Due to the dense trees, the location of the sound couldn’t be distinguished, but the escort had begun.

“Well then. I’ll be going too.”

Jin Yoon-hwa got off the cart.

Clatter clatter. The cart went down through the forest. It was very peaceful, unlike the war zone from before.

“…They’re good. Those guys.”

Lee Jong-soo scratched the back of his neck. Yoon Hwa-rim silently agreed.

Seol Ha-woon’s team was organized to an embarrassing degree. Honestly, they were incredibly unreliable, but they seemed much more elite than expected.

Of course, there was someone even more impressive than them.

“Hey Kang Hyeon, what the hell are you really?”

Lee Jong-soo gave Kang Hyeon a hollow laugh.

“It’s nothing special.”

“Nothing special my ass… What the hell. You just sliced through orcs like radishes. Even the orcs’ armor just went flying, didn’t it?”

They leisurely chatted and occasionally leaned against the cargo to rest in the gentle breeze.

Yoon Hwa-rim also let out a yawn from the driver’s seat.

“Haaaam~”

──Grrrk!

Occasionally orc sounds could be heard faintly in the distance, but no orcs were approaching. The escort was proceeding smoothly.

“…Ah, I’m sleepy.”

Yoon Hwa-rim pressed her hand to her forehead.

She felt drowsy, probably from using quite a bit of magic power. Her eyelids felt heavy.

“Haaaam…”

She yawned and lowered her head, then drowsily lifted it again…

Thud!

She opened her eyes at some ominous sound.

“…”

The side wheel was stuck between trees.

Gulp. Yoon Hwa-rim swallowed while gripping the steering wheel. The team members in back turned around.

“What, what was that? What just happened?”

“Uh, um… it’s nothing…”

Yoon Hwa-rim first tried injecting magic power back into the cart. To reverse.

But it didn’t work.

The cart wouldn’t move.

Magic power itself wouldn’t enter the cart.

“…!”

Chills ran eerily down Yoon Hwa-rim’s spine. An ominous feeling violently shook her mind.

She looked at the cart’s durability dashboard, hoping it wasn’t what she feared.

[ 0 / 100 ]

The cart was broken.

“Um… Kang Hyeon, Mr. Kang Hyeon?”

Yoon Hwa-rim called out to Kang Hyeon. Kang Hyeon looked up.

“Yes?”

“This…”

She pointed at the dashboard. Kang Hyeon also looked at it.

Durability 0.

“When I just crashed—”

Yoon Hwa-rim’s words stopped mid-sentence. Kang Hyeon’s eyes were completely empty.

A gaze containing no emotion whatsoever. Pupils tinted like murky gray. Not contempt or anger, but something that made it much harder to breathe…

Kang Hyeon closed his eyes and opened them again. They had returned to their usual light.

“It’s fine.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Lee Jong-soo asked. Kang Hyeon answered briefly.

“The cart is broken.”

“…What?!”

Lee Jong-soo’s eyes widened in shock.

“Then, then. Is the Labyrinth a failure?!”

“Fxxx. What’s wrong with you!”

Escher also cursed in English.

“No. Calm down. We just need to transport the cargo, not the cart.”

Kang Hyeon drew his sword.

“Remove the cart parts.”

He cut away the unnecessary weight of the cart including the driver’s seat, leaving only the wheels, and attached handles so people could pull it.

“We’ll pull it with our bodies.”

“With, with our bodies? We’re not oxen…”

“We have no choice.”

“…Sigh.”

Lee Jong-soo let out a sigh. Yoon Hwa-rim dejectedly covered her face with her hands.

“I’m sorry.”

“No no, I’m not blaming you, Hwa-rim. It’ll be fine. Look, it’s me.”

Lee Jong-soo showed off his forearm, acting tough. There was something like a basketball there.

“Wow. Amazing.”

Yoon Hwa-rim casually touched the watermelon-sized bicep. The corners of Lee Jong-soo’s mouth twitched.

“Well~ this is just a minor incident. Watch this.”

Lee Jong-soo confidently pounded his chest and became the ox for the cargo. He grabbed the handle at the front of the cargo and put strength into pushing it forward.

“…Huh.”

It was bewildering. It did move when pushed, but the weight was much heavier than expected.

“It’s… pretty heavy?”

“It’s probably because of the cargo’s protection formula.”

Kang Hyeon answered.

Simply put, it was a weight formula. To prevent people from abandoning the cart and just making off with the cargo.

“Let’s work in pairs, taking turns. One person pushes from behind, one pushes from the front.”

“…Uh, yeah. But this. I think we should probably call a warrior from the escort team too? Hwa-rim can’t do this.”

Kang Hyeon nodded and picked up the radio.

“This is the transport team. We have a problem and need one more warrior.”

──Confirmed. Warrior Jin Yoon-hwa will head there shortly.

* * *

─Ah seriously! Why did she drive drowsy, so annoying!

The radio conveyed Im Hae-jun’s complaints. I was still in the tallest tree, listening to his voice.

“Who knows.”

─That mage really…

Im Hae-jun blamed Yoon Hwa-rim, but my feelings were ambiguous. Because I had seen the recent incident with my own eyes.

The cause wasn’t drowsy driving.

─Argh! Really! There are so many orcs!

“Bravo 1. Stop complaining and work harder.”

Our role was escorting the transport team. In other words, moving through the forest to shoot or cut down orcs to prevent them from approaching at all.

However, the longer the transport was delayed, the more overloaded the escort team became.

Im Hae-jun had already eliminated over 100 orcs while rolling through the forest like a squirrel, and warrior Ichigo got cramps in his forearms from cutting orc necks.

─I’m almost out of magic power. Used up all my split arrows too.

“You have wire arrows.”

I was equally short on magic power. I didn’t have enough magic power to maintain the sniper rifle, so it was back to fingers.

The reason I could hold out until now was purely thanks to the mana breathing Yoo Yul had taught me.

The difference in magic power before and after mana breathing felt like almost double.

─Wire arrows? Wire arrows aren’t much help when fighting orcs.

“Fight until you’re about to die, then run away.”

While saying that, I ate an MRE.

It was canned combat rations. I got them during distribution before the operation started, and they’re surprisingly tasty.

─What! Who’s eating something!

Im Hae-jun asked in a clear, ringing voice.

His hearing is sharp too.

“I’m not eating it because I want to.”

─It was you, hyung? This is really ridiculous!

Formulas are like that. Rather than creating something from complete nothingness, it’s much more efficient to amplify something from something that already exists.

In other words, I’m forcing myself to supplement nutrition in order to imbue formulas into the physical entity called a can.

“I need the cans.”

─Someone’s rolling on the ground while!@#!@()#)!

I turned off the radio.

I forced myself to eat the combat rations. There were still about 7 canned combat rations left, and I planned to eat them all.

Now it’s 1km to the destination.

Not much left, but for them it would be a grueling march.

* * *

“Ugh…”

Sweat flows like rain. As if taking a shower in the dry grove, moisture from my entire body leaks out through my skin in streams.

Lee Jong-soo, Kang Hyeon, and Escher took turns carrying the cargo, and later Jin Yoon-hwa from the escort team joined in, but now everyone had reached their physical limits.

“Huff, huff-“

Lee Jong-soo’s leg strength gave out. He trembled only in his lower body while gripping the cargo handle.

“…I’ll do it now.”

Kang Hyeon grabbed the cargo in place of Lee Jong-soo.

Rustle-

The sound of rustling through bushes wasn’t far away. It was the movement of orcs.

The escort team had also reached their limit. The transport team’s current speed was below walking pace no matter how generously you judged it. They couldn’t block the orcs’ approach indefinitely.

──The remaining distance is 500m.

Seol Ha-woon spoke through the radio. 500m. Normally a distance where your nose would touch if you fell, but now it seemed so far away.

Grrrrr-!

The orcs’ breathing echoed from close range.

“Ah… I don’t know anymore.”

Lee Jong-soo stopped while leaning against a tree. Jin Yoon-hwa’s complexion was already pale. Both warriors were in a state where even walking was difficult.

Yoon Hwa-rim carefully placed her hand on Lee Jong-soo’s shoulder.

“Ch-cheer up.”

“Cheer up? Hey. Are you kidding me?”

Lee Jong-soo glared at Yoon Hwa-rim. Yoon Hwa-rim flinched and trembled.

“Sorry…”

“Damn it, how many people are suffering because of drowsy driving.”

Grrrrrrr!

The orcs’ roars shook the forest. Their numbers were many. Not at a level where you could count the presence.

Graaaaa──!

A different kind of battle cry surged in. The orc horde had detected this direction.

Soon, they would be surrounded by orcs again.

Crackle.

The radio activated.

──Kang Hyeon. From now on, focus only on my voice.

Thud thud thud thud thud thud. The countless footsteps of orcs pounded the forest. Lee Jong-soo closed his eyes as if giving up. Yoon Hwa-rim, whose mental state had already broken, shed tears.

From the air, some metallic objects poured down.

“Huh!”

“Ahhh!”

The group, mistaking them for bombs, quickly crouched down, but.

Hissssss──

They were cylindrical cans. They spun on the road surface and scattered smoke. Thick gray currents rose up everywhere.

“Huh, huh?”

The smoke spread wider and denser between the trees. In the blink of an eye, it filled the forest.

Kang Hyeon belatedly understood Seol Ha-woon’s intention.

“Everyone grab the cargo!”

“Ah, yes!”

“Huh!”

The group placed their hands on the cargo. Kang Hyeon pulled the cart like an ox.

The radio continued.

──Orcs rely on sight. You should be able to make it.

Orcs have excellent night vision and quite good eyesight, but as a trade-off, their hearing isn’t good. When their sight disappears, they quickly lose their sense of direction. Severely enough that they can’t distinguish friend from foe.

──Go straight.

On the other hand, the eyes guiding the transport team now are not on the ground. They survey the earth from much ‘higher’ and see through the fog.

──Turn right 35 degrees.

Kang Hyeon walked through the winding forest as instructed.

──Turn left 25 degrees.

He had already closed his eyes. He left the direction entirely to Seol Ha-woon.

──Turn right 30 degrees.

How many steps had they walked like this?

──Turn right 45 degrees.

How far had they advanced in this damn forest?

──Go straight from now on. 100m left.

“100m. Straight.”

Kang Hyeon muttered as if coughing up blood.

“100m!”

“100m!”

The team members echoed Kang Hyeon’s words like an echo. From that moment, Kang Hyeon’s burden also lessened a bit. Everyone remaining began to squeeze out their last strength to push the cargo.

“Ugh… urgh.”

“Haaaah.”

Amidst the dying groans, the smoke screen gradually lifted, and the trees grew shorter.

“There it… is!”

A cry announcing the end. Kang Hyeon raised his gaze to look across. There was the cluster of light from the portal, the exit.

They had reached their destination.

“…It’s over.”

The Transport Team all collapsed. They had gone beyond exhausted to completely drained.

Following that, Im Hae-jun and Ichigo from the Escort Team, who looked equally terrible, returned. They too collapsed beside the Transport Team, only gasping for breath.

“Haa, haa, haa…”

“Ah, I’m dying, I’m dying…”

“Kueeo…”

Even reproaching why he had driven while drowsy was too much effort right now.

Tap. Tap.

Just then, the sound of a walking stick came from somewhere. Everyone’s gaze flowed toward that direction.

It was Seol Ha-woon, limping more severely than usual.

“Mm…”

All the team members looked at him. The distrust and suspicion from before entering the Labyrinth were gone now.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

Seol Ha-woon nodded first with indifference. Then he approached Kang Hyeon and extended his hand. Kang Hyeon gladly grasped his hand.

“It’s thanks to the Escort Team.”

Kang Hyeon acknowledged Seol Ha-woon. However, Seol Ha-woon moved one step further. He pulled Kang Hyeon close to his body and whispered in his ear.

─Why did you do that.

Whoosh. The wind of the Forest blew. Leaves rustled bleakly. Shadows fell across each other’s faces. Spider web-like patterns were etched.

Seol Ha-woon changed his question differently.

─The Cart. Why did you break it.

At that moment, Kang Hyeon’s eyes sank coldly.

—————
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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