Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 216

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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 216

Child of Beginning (5)

Eteu kept his mouth tightly shut for a while. He only made wheezing sounds without saying anything. I sensed the churning waves of emotion from him.

Gulp.

He swallowed his saliva.

“Do you know who I’m currently working under?”

He suddenly changed to a tone like scolding a child. I chuckled.

“One of the top figures in this maze-“

“I don’t care who you’re under, and time is passing even while we’re doing this.”

“…”

These guys are probably the type that hunt newbies who first enter this maze. In technical terms, there are newbie cutters, newbie crushers, and such.

“Let’s say I accept your proposal. How can I trust you?”

Eteu seems to be weighing my trustworthiness. It’s an understandable reaction.

“I promise. I’ll spare your life. I always keep my word.”

“So what exactly should I believe-“

“3.”

However, there’s no need to beg for trust. The current situational order and mutual hierarchy are completely different to begin with.

“No-“

“2.”

“Ah, fine!”

Before I could even count to 1, Eteu raised both hands.

“You’ll spare me if I just guide you?”

“Yes.”

“How far… how far are you planning to go?”

He quickly changed his tone.

“To the end of this maze.”

“…Let’s not talk crazy here.”

“Is it impossible?”

“Because no one has ever been there. The best record is probably the 5th Zone or something. There’s no reason to go beyond that. I can guide you to the 2nd~3rd Zone somehow.”

“Yes. Good. Just to the 3rd Zone.”

Eteu nodded while gritting his teeth.

I had obtained a kind guide.

“However, there’s one more thing you should know. My magic power discerns your authenticity.”

“Authenticity…?”

“Yes.”

By assigning sequences to the adhered magic power, I detect the target’s biological responses including heart rate and body temperature. Based on those physiological changes, I determine the truth or falsehood of their words and actions.

It’s determining the truth or falsehood of words and actions based on those physiological changes.

“If you lie, you’ll explode.”

Of course, it wouldn’t work on an Eldia-level psychopath, but Eteu wasn’t that skilled.

“No-“

“Don’t worry. If you don’t know something, just say you don’t know. It’s simple.”

If you lie, you’ll explode.

It’s an ethically problematic method.

But this maze somehow resembles a battlefield in texture and smell.

On the battlefield, I don’t care about ethics and morals. I don’t hold back.

The mental visualization I harbor is this efficient at killing people.

“I… I understand.”

Eteu’s face turned deathly pale. His tone became perfectly polite too.

“First, this maze is clearly divided into areas that are mazes and areas that are not. And initially, that… box thing, anyway, most newbies start there, but most reach a maximum of the 2nd~3rd Zone. They hunt mobs to make money and then return to their original dwelling.”

“Original dwelling?”

“Literally their original dwelling. Portals appear at random intervals. When you find a portal, you can buy a round-trip ticket with experience points.”

“Is a one-way ticket impossible?”

“It’s possible, but then you can never return to this maze again. So most people always buy round-trip tickets. You can make money just by staying attached to this maze…”

While saying this, Eteu cleverly guides me somewhere. The way he pretends to lead while watching my reactions is quite amusing, but I can accept this much as endearing.

It’s beneficial for me anyway.

As everyone knows, in RPGs where PK is allowed, the best farming is human farming.

I’m going to farm people.

──Just then.

A flash flickered from around the mid-slope of a distant mountain. Dozens of magic arrows shot in straight lines. Their speed was near sonic, and their trajectory was fixed precisely on me.

Shwaaaack!

The sequence bloomed. The world’s time decelerated. Their arrows became slow as if suspended in mid-air.

I deployed an interception network. I constructed bullets in the void and struck the arrows.

Clang─!

Magic power collided with magic power. However, the caliber was different. My refined magic power shattered their crude magic power.

I accepted the arrows’ flight paths, firing angles, atmospheric resistance and other factors through sequences. I calculated all those variables in an instant and captured the enemy’s position.

It felt like unknown information was being shoved into my brain.

The space before my eyes was reinterpreted in three dimensions, clearly revealing the enemies’ coordinates. The precision was no different from a military satellite.

“Watch carefully.”

I spoke to Eteu while gripping my staff. I drew up magic power.

Whoooosh─

Blue currents emanating from my entire body converge and compress toward the distant sky. They condense while twisting the atmosphere.

Thus, an air strike is manifested.

Kiiiiiiing───!

Ultra-high frequency sounds echo as if crushing the air. The concentrated magic power transforms into dozens of missiles and pours down on the mid-slope where the enemies are ambushed.

Kwaaaaaa───!

A tremendous explosion. The entire mountain range shakes, and trees and rocks are torn apart like paper. Blue flames incinerate the entire area.

Whiiiii…

Annihilation that didn’t even last a minute. Ash and dust flutter in the blowing wind.

“Huh.”

Eteu staggers backward in a daze.

“…”

In moments like this, I suddenly realize.

The magic power particles now grasped in my hands. The rippling of formulas surging in the circuits within my body.

Such things, reaching me more clearly than ever before, are telling me something. Strongly asserting something.

I have reached a new realm.

I have reached a place I couldn’t even imagine in the past, and there’s still a path ahead to advance.

I would be forever changed as a mage.

* * *

Abandoned Hospital

Lee Tae-young: This abandoned hospital has been without power for a long time. But surprisingly, like many people’s testimonies, the elevator was operating. What secrets could this abandoned hospital hold? We’ll go up to the 2nd floor first.

Ding.

Lee Tae-young: 2nd Floor. The first thing we see is the dining hall, ahhh!

Still in the viewfinder that Seol Ha-woon is watching, Seo Ji-woo runs over and searches inside.

Lee Tae-young: Ah, hey! Please let me film!

Seo Ji-woo: Please, some food… Oh? Oh! Look at this!

It’s the lunchbox that Seol Ha-woon sent. Lee Si-ah smiles warmly for no reason.

He’s the type who always takes care of others while pretending not to, like a real older brother.

Lee Tae-young: …Wait a moment. Let me film this.

Seo Ji-woo: I’ll eat the lunchbox first.

Lee Tae-young: Look at this. This is a lunchbox presumably left behind by a YouTuber group…

Lee Tae-young is filming, and Seo Ji-woo is devouring the lunch box.

Filming Director: …You, you eat well.

The filming director who had finished work at some point asks Seo Ji-woo.

Seo Ji-woo: Yes. I’ve been starving for almost two days… But how much is that worth?

Filming Director: Oh, this camera?

Seo Ji-woo: Yes, that one.

Filming Director: It’s incredibly expensive. If this breaks, I’d be held hostage by the company…

Seo Ji-woo: About 73 million won, I’d guess?

Filming Director: Well. I don’t know the details… Anyway. We’re filming again tomorrow, would you like to come to the dormitory with us?

The conversation feels strangely off somehow.

-Is this foreshadowing?

-The background music playing doesn’t seem normal

-Hmm. No matter how I think about it, the absence of the other kids is suspicious. The whole party was definitely trapped.

-Don’t worry, Seol Ha-woon will handle everything himself

Seo Ji-woo: That’s because I can’t get back.

Filming Director: Ah… Yes… Then see you tomorrow. Take care until then.

Seo Ji-woo: Yes. Come by tomorrow.

Lee Tae-young: Yu-seon!

Reporter Lee Tae-young calls the filming director’s name.

Lee Tae-young: Yu-seon, what are you doing? Jin Yu-seon! Hey Jin Yu-seon!

Tap. When Lee Tae-young shakes Jin Yu-seon’s shoulder, the filming director finally asks back.

Jin Yu-seon: …Ah, did you call me?

Lee Tae-young: Then what, did I call a ghost? Come on. Let’s go.

This whole thing is a massive chunk of foreshadowing. That’s how it feels somehow.

Lee Si-ah quickly skimmed through the community posts.

Lee Tae-young: See you tomorrow, then.

Seo Ji-woo: Not tomorrow, you’ll be back soon.

Lee Tae-young: …Ah yes.

The filming team leaves the abandoned hospital.

They try to drive down the forest road to get away from the hospital, but keep going in circles and returning to the same place.

Lee Tae-young: Damn, it’s that hospital again. Ugh! Fucking hell.

Eventually the filming team gets out of the car and enters the abandoned hospital again.

Seo Ji-woo greets them with a bright smile.

Seo Ji-woo: I told you so. That you can’t get out.

Lee Tae-young: Why, why can’t we get out?

Seo Ji-woo: If I knew, I would have left too. I also went in circles here. We’re trapped, completely. Come inside for now.

Everyone sits in a circle inside the hospital.

Lee Tae-young: Then, Ms. Seo Ji-woo, you’ve been going in circles around here for two days?

Seo Ji-woo: About a day. I gave up because there was no hope. I was afraid I’d waste stamina and starve to death.

While watching the scene of them talking, a sense of unease is suddenly felt.

“…?”

Something feels awkward to Lee Si-ah.

─Seol Ha-woon: One, two, three.

Seol Ha-woon voices that unease for her. He counts the numbers on screen.

─Seol Ha-woon: Three women, three men.

He stops speaking there.

According to the scraped article fragments, the filming team is five people. Seo Ji-woo is one person.

It should be six people total.

─Seol Ha-woon: …Who is filming this video.

-Holy shit

-shivering

-But Seol Haun is really handsome when you look at him again lol

-For real, it has a texture that matches abandoned hospitals lmaooooo

-Chills

-Fucking chills

-Including the person filming, it should be seven

-It’s a horror cliché lol

Lee Tae-young: Let’s go up to the 4th floor for now. We’ll film too. There’s nothing to do here anyway, right? We’d be grateful if Ms. Seo Ji-woo could lead the way.

Seo Ji-woo: Of course.

Seo Ji-woo tries pressing the elevator button, but no matter how long they wait, there’s no response.

Seo Ji-woo: …It’s not working again.

Jin Yu-seon: Really?

This time Jin Yu-seon presses the button. The elevator operates.

-Ah I think I know something hahahaha

-What is it?

-Is there something?

-Hmm.

Community posts are springing up like bamboo shoots. Quite a few popular posts are being created too.

Seo Ji-woo: There must be some condition… Let’s go for now.

[4th Floor Operating Room]

The filming team and Seo Ji-woo go up to the 4th floor operating room.

Lee Tae-young: This is the 4th floor operating room. This abandoned hospital has a total of four operating rooms-

Seo Ji-woo: Oh! Look at this.

Seo Ji-woo discovers evidence, and the camera films it.

Seol Ha-woon’s expression looking through the viewfinder becomes serious.

Research Subject: Red Garment Technique

Judged to be a modified form of ancient East Asian shamanic magic. The subject delicately separates the facial tissue of victims, followed by ritual acts of reciting specific incantations…

Constant wearing of red clothing is recommended to maintain transformation stability even during normal times.

Lee Tae-young: …Delicately separating facial tissue… What is this?

Jin Yu-seon: Wait. The serial disappearance case… The serial disappearance case. What if… the culprit used this kind of Human-Skin Masked Ghost technique?

Lee Tae-young: What are you talking about.

Jin Yu-seon: Think about it! If you could fool everyone with this kind of Human-Skin Masked Ghost technique, of course you wouldn’t get caught!

Lee Tae-young: …Are you crazy?

Seo Ji-woo: No. That makes sense.

Just then.

???: There. Who are you.

Swish. Swish. A man approaches wearing slippers.

???: Hmm. You all have beautiful faces.

Surgical mask, surgical cap, rimless glasses. A vengeful spirit gripping a scalpel and drill in both hands.

???: Would it be alright if I opened up your faces?

-Wow chills

-Wow he looks brutally scary

-But the atmosphere is really fucking terrifying

-I think Ji-woo is…

Lee Si-ah deliberately narrowed her eyes to blur them.

She’s curious, but she shouldn’t read spoilers for no reason.

Seo Ji-woo: Run!

Seo Ji-woo and the filming team run away, and Seol Ha-woon also limps with his walking stick toward the 4th floor.

Hehehehehehehe

Just then the Dokkaebi Fire appears again.

─Seol Ha-woon: Hey. You. Follow me.

Seol Ha-woon waves his walking stick and gestures. The dokkaebi fire flinches and trembles.

─Seol Ha-woon: I said follow me.

Earlier he told it to disappear, now he’s threatening it to follow him.

The purple dokkaebi fire seems flustered but soon smiles and follows behind.

Hihehehehehehe

─Seol Ha-woon: Good. Let’s go. I’ll make you my companion.

Then the dokkaebi fire settles on Seol Ha-woon’s shoulder.

-This guy’s even bringing ghosts along

-Hahaha looks like a lackey

-Yeah, better to be friends than fight..

-That dokkaebi fire is kind of cute

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You’re so right, honestly the more you look at it the more adorable it is…

* * *

Whiiiiiing─

Wind and rain swirl like a typhoon inside the screen.

Bookstore Attic

A cozy attic room with candles lit.

─Yoon Hwa-rim: I heard this story somewhere. It supposedly happened in the military.

Yoon Hwa-rim tells a horror story.

─Yoon Hwa-rim: Some soldier went out late at night to smoke, and then! He witnessed someone in military uniform stabbing another person to death with a sword.

Tae-woo watches from Magician Tae-woo’s Bar, listening to stories about serial killers and soldiers. He swirls his whiskey and quietly falls into thought.

Clink.

Just then, the bar door opened.

“Ah. You were here first.”

Kim Se-jin. He came and sat in the seat next to him.

“I’ll have the same as this person, please.”

Kim Se-jin placed his order first, then followed Tae-woo’s gaze.

Labyrinth Exploration NaN.

“Haha. It’s interesting, isn’t it, Mage-nim?”

A puppy-like smile appeared on his lips.

“But don’t you already know all the results, Mage-nim~?”

“Who knows.”

As expected, Tae-woo doesn’t give even the slightest hint. It’s one of the beliefs he’s established.

‘Never spoil the future.’

Krrrrrack!

Lightning strikes in the attic room on screen. The radio starts working on its own, making whirring sounds.

Kim Se-jin and Tae-woo, as well as everyone else in the bar, focused their attention on the TV.

─What, what is it?

─Hey, turn on the lights, the lights!

─Ah, I thought my heart was going to burst.

Commotion breaks out inside the bookstore.

─Kang Hyeon: Let’s go downstairs.

─Lee Jun-ho: Yeah.

The attic room aces come down to the 1st floor.

─Kim Woo-hyeon: The lights suddenly went out! Hyung, hyung!

─Lee Seok-ho: Hey, hey, mental power check first-

─Yoon Hwa-rim: It’s okay. Everyone calm down.

Yoon Hwa-rim illuminates the interior with blue light, and before long the electricity is restored.

“Hwa-rim is handling things quite composedly too. My friend praised her a lot.”

Kim Se-jin glanced at Tae-woo.

Tae-woo and Seol Ha-woon.

Compared to Tae-woo, Seol Ha-woon’s skills are still at ant level, but somehow the two have similar aspects.

Especially their atmosphere.

“Eterna 68-year vintage.

Just then the bartender brought out the whiskey. Kim Se-jin was flustered.

“Eterna 68-year… isn’t this several thousand per glass? You’re treating me, right?”

Eterna. Even the name openly suggests whiskey imbued with magic power. It actually has the effect of purifying a mage’s circuits.

“Drink as much as you want.”

Tae-woo nodded lightly.

“Oh yeah.”

As expected, a cool mage who buys good drinks.

Whoooooosh───

The sound of rain is tremendous in the live broadcast.

─Kim Woo-hyeon: Wow, look outside. Isn’t the bookstore going to collapse at this rate?

The explorers huddled together, trembling with anxiety.

─Im Hae-jun: …Mmmmph.

“Wow. Hae-jun finally woke up.”

Kim Se-jin grinned and took a sip of Eterna.

“Actually, Hae-jun is my pick. He somehow reminds me of my old self.”

“You do resemble him.”

“What did you say?”

Kim Se-jin’s brow furrowed. He seemed displeased to actually be told he resembled him.

─Kang Hyeon: Are you awake?

─Im Hae-jun: Huh? Hyeon hyung….

At that moment, with chilling BGM, right outside the glass window next to Im Hae-jun.

Some hair ghost appears and glares at Im Hae-jun.

─Kang Hyeon: …Hae-jun. Listen carefully.

─Im Hae-jun: Why?

─Kang Hyeon: Don’t look to the side-

─Im Hae-jun: What’s on the side, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

─Kang Hyeon: No.

─Im Hae-jun: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.”

─Kang Hyeon: Quiet.

─Im Hae-jun: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Laughter grew louder in the bar. Kim Se-jin also chuckled, and only Tae-woo remained frighteningly expressionless.

─Kang Hyeon: …Now I’m scared too.

─Im Hae-jun: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

─Kang Hyeon: I’m scared of you being scared.

─Im Hae-jun: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA─-

Im Hae-jun screamed for a long time before finally fainting.

─Yoon Hwa-rim: …Everyone! Absolutely don’t go outside. Don’t even open the door!”

Krrrrrumble!

With Yoon Hwa-rim’s words as the last, it’s commercial break time.

“…Isn’t it interesting?”

Kim Se-jin glanced at Tae-woo.

“….”

Judging by his reaction, he’s someone who has already seen all of Mitamnan.

“What are you thinking about?”

“…How ignorant the current me is, thoughts like that.”

It’s sudden self-deprecation, but the ‘current me’ that Tae-woo is talking about now is not himself.

He’s talking about Tae-woo in his mid-thirties.

“This mage seems to be an elder.”

Tae-woo exists in multiple timelines. However, there is no change in his appearance. He is literally ‘a being who has deviated from the timeline.’

Time cannot age him.

“It’s fascinating every time I see it. How can a person not get even a single wrinkle?”

He is the only change that occurred from the concept of time. Therefore, Tae-woo’s beginning was the world’s upheaval, and when he was born, the world changed forever.

“What do you think about Seol Ha-woon? He’s a mage candidate.”

Kim Se-jin asked casually while swirling his whiskey glass.

“I have this premonition.”

Tae-woo continued while looking at Seol Ha-woon in the commercial break.

“I will someday share his end.”

At that moment, Kim Se-jin became incredibly curious.

What kind of future did this mage see, and what did he experience?

“If I trace back the past, I’ll be able to see his beginning too.”

Tae-woo’s face reflected like a sculpture in the glass cup.

He turned to look at Kim Se-jin.

“By the way, is that woman still going around like that?”

“Hmm… There’s no change.”

Tae-woo willingly devoted himself to the stability of the world line. It was self-discipline and dedication, and perhaps an infinitely continuing path of a seeker.

However, Tae-yul chose a completely different path. She indulged in personal amusement rather than the whole, wandering while treating the world like her playground. She turned away from order and rather enjoyed chaos.

The two were destined to despise each other.

“…”

Tae-woo looked at his wristwatch. Kim Se-jin quietly asked.

“Do you need to go?”

“Not yet.”

Just then, Mitamnan’s commercial break ended.

“I can watch for about 30 more minutes.”

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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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