Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 23

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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 023

Fall(3)

Yoo Yul’s [Mana Circuit Refinement] classroom was quite crowded. I thought maybe 20 out of 24 mages had chosen it, but surprisingly, warrior Lee Jun-ho was there too.

I glanced in that direction and sat down in any available chair.

“Hey there?”

A rather rough way of speaking came my way. It was Seo Ji-woo.

“I heard you were really active in the last Labyrinth… Is that all the loot you got?”

She pointed at my walking stick. The 【Chieftain’s Feather】 was hanging from the top of the stick like a keychain.

“It is cute though.”

Seo Ji-woo chuckled. I felt my pride hurt for no reason.

“This is good stuff.”

“It does look like it. Oh, right. I got this.”

She showed me her ear. Small skull-shaped earrings. I quickly appraised them.

【Skull Earrings】■ Overview: Earrings made in the shape of skulls by an elegant dark mage.■ Grade: Rare■ When worn on the wearer’s ear, increases magic power recovery speed.■ Corpse Servitude: Raises 1 corpse within range as a summoned creature.

An active accessory. High-rare among rares. Even a summoning-type accessory at that.

How could this be possible? It’s like she went to some undead Labyrinth, but that can’t be harder than the orc village with shamans…

Come to think of it, Seo Ji-woo had incredibly high luck stats.

According to [MoMo]’s character cards, that is. She appears as a unique character 2 years later. She’s definitely not an unlucky person.

“…Want to trade?”

I said while fiddling with the Chieftain’s Feather. Seo Ji-woo tilted her head.

“Hm? What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“…Whatever~”

Seo Ji-woo shrugged and sat down next to me.

“…”

“…”

I stayed silent, but Seo Ji-woo kept glancing at me. It was quite a burdensome gaze.

“Hey. You know.”

After the silence, she was the first to speak up.

“I heard about UDT.”

From my perspective, here it comes.

“Someone named Seo Ji-hyuk… I wonder if you know him.”

I kept my mouth shut.

Seo Ji-hyuk. About that bastard, no matter what I say, nothing good will come of it. The best choice is silence.

“Excuse me? Hello? Can’t you hear me?”

While Seo Ji-woo was muttering something.

The classroom door opened and Yoo Yul appeared. I naturally blocked Seo Ji-woo’s attention.

“Nice to meet you. I’m high-ranker mage Yoo Yul. It’s Yoo Yul, not Yoo Yu-ri. Some idiots keep getting it wrong.”

She introduced herself coolly.

“Let’s get straight to the point. Mana Circuit Refinement.”

The class started immediately without wasting any time.

Several mages grabbed their notebooks and pens with confused faces.

“First. You don’t need many mana circuits. Because…”

What Yoo Yul was conveying was common knowledge about mana circuits. The concept of highways and national roads.

These were the same things she had told me before.

“…That’s kind of old theory.”

Meanwhile, Seo Ji-woo crossed her arms with dissatisfaction. That was an interesting comment.

“Old theory?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded.

“There’s research showing that if you can control many circuits, it’s just as efficient as opening main circuits.”

I’ve read that too.

That if you can open 100 small branches and control them perfectly, you can achieve effects just as excellent as refinement.

No matter how I think about it, that’s bullshit. It’s already hard enough to control one main circuit, how could you simultaneously control 100 thorn-like circuits?

“The class content sucks.”

Seo Ji-woo evaluated the teacher on her own. I chuckled.

“You’re not just making excuses because you hate pain, are you?”

“…Huh? Are you picking a fight?”

Seo Ji-woo asked as if she genuinely didn’t understand. I silently leaned back in my chair.

“Just like you receive help from ‘magic magnets’ when opening circuits, there are auxiliary devices for this refinement as well.”

Mentor Yoo Yul pulled out some kind of string made of gems from her hand.

“This gem string.”

“What’s the principle?”

Seo Ji-woo raised her hand immediately. She said the content was bad, but apparently she can’t resist being curious.

Yoo Yul told her.

“It becomes a guideline that leads the circuit’s magic power. Using this string, at least you won’t die during refinement or suffer permanent disability.”

That was quite an ominous statement.

“Anyone want to go first?”

Everyone fell silent. No one raised their hand. Yoo Yul’s previous statement must have been quite scary.

Not me though.

“I’ll do it.”

I gladly raised my hand. Yoo Yul approached.

“Extend your right arm.”

I extended my right arm. She attached the gem string in a straight line from my wrist to my shoulder.

“What should I do?”

“First, close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes.

“Refining circuits means putting extreme stress on the circuits.”

The gem string felt cold to the touch. It was also like a magnet. The magic power in my body naturally clung along the string.

“So refine it however you imagine. Any method is fine. Find your own way.”

In my own way.

With my own mental visualization.

…Actually, when I heard Yoo Yul say “tear,” there was a concept that immediately came to mind.

Crystallization of magic power.

This confession is quite embarrassing, but I’ve had kidney stones before.

Literally, that pain like the urethra was being torn apart. The form of the stone, like pure concentrated evil, remains vivid in my mind.

“…Hah.”

So I recall that sharp substance.

I condense my magic power into the most vicious, most unruly crystallized stone.

On top of that…

[Mana Amplification].

Instantly the magic power grew larger, and my concept became concrete. I felt the proof of this through pain.

“!”

My arm, my arm felt like it was being cut off. I held my breath and lowered my head. I gritted my teeth.

The agony of a solid mass 4-5 times larger than my blood vessels, physically impossible to flow through them, swirling like a whirlpool through my veins.

I gasped with my back bent.

“Breathe.”

Yoo Yul said. I barely managed to breathe. I repeated inhaling and exhaling. Each time felt like my entire body was being torn apart.

It hurts.

More than I imagined.

Thud.

Yoo Yul grabbed my wrist. In that instant, the movement of magic power stopped. The pain ceased as well.

“…”

I stared up at her blankly.

“You’ve far exceeded your maximum heart rate.”

Yoo Yul said.

A drop of sweat fell from my face. The blood vessels in my arm had already turned dark red from the heat.

She shook her head.

“Going any further is dangerous.”

Grind. I clenched my teeth.

“…No.”

I couldn’t stop here.

“Not yet.”

I had grasped the feeling.

If I didn’t push through now, I wouldn’t succeed. I had to pour everything I had into this. Nothing could be achieved by backing down.

“I can still do it.”

Yoo Yul looked into my eyes. I met her gaze directly and said.

“I can do it alone.”

“…”

She quietly let go of my hand.

“Alright. Try it.”

I moved the magic crystal again. The pain had already spread from my arm to my entire body.

It hurt like I was dying, but as long as I didn’t actually die, it was fine.

As long as I didn’t die, as long as I stayed alive, I could always start over.

There was no need to fear pain. It was proof of life.

Humans who fear pain actually die young.

“Gah, gaaahhh!”

I still remember the comrades who fell before my eyes.

I remember the countless people I killed.

“Seol Ha-woon. Don’t faint from the pain. The moment you lose consciousness, your magic power dies. Magic power is the strength of your will.”

Death in battle. Meaningless deaths covered up by the euphemism of dying in the line of duty.

The families didn’t know how mangled the bodies in those coffins were.

Murder. The faces of countless humans I killed.

They could have been terrorists, collaborators, or simple civilians.

“Grrrrr…”

Having experienced all those deaths, having delivered all those deaths, on the battlefield I had only one feeling.

I want to live.

Even if everyone else dies, I want to live.

“Endure the pain. Don’t choose the easy path.”

There was no easy path in my life.

The road I walked was never easy, not even once.

“…Keep going. Push through.”

I was born without even knowing my parents’ faces, and Grandmother died when I was 6. The year I turned 14, I was kicked out of the orphanage. I lived fighting in back alleys until I met an old man by chance who helped me become a soldier.

That’s when the real hell began.

“———!”

An inhuman scream burst from my mouth. Rage and pain poured out like a lump. It felt like my teeth had fallen out. That must be my imagination, right?

“…Stop.”

Yoo Yul placed her hand on my shoulder. I gasped for breath and looked at the desk.

Blood, saliva. The debris that came from within me was thick. Fortunately, there were no teeth among it.

“Stop.”

Yoo Yul forcibly made me stop. Her magic power halted mine.

“Hah, hah…”

I leaned back, breathing roughly. My senses returned belatedly. Every gaze in the classroom was focused on me.

Then, Yoo Yul lifted my blood-covered arm. She wiped away the blood with a handkerchief and said.

“This is refinement.”

The circuit was glowing blue. Much thicker and much longer than before.

My body trembled. Saliva kept flowing.

“…I’d like to try too.”

Someone raised their hand, seemingly impressed. It was the white-haired mage Ryu Yeon-hwa. Yoo Yul approached her and similarly placed the gem string on her right arm.

Ryu Yeon-hwa closed her eyes.

For 3 seconds.

“Gah! Wait, wait a minute!”

She flailed like a shrimp and knocked away the gem string.

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

Ryu Yeon-hwa asked with a shocked face.

“Ah. There’s something I didn’t mention.”

Yoo Yul held up the gem string.

“This gem string amplifies the movement, size, and frequency of magic power itself. It means it’ll hurt much more than ordinary refinement.”

“…?”

I found those words absurd.

So I had amplification multiplied by amplification? You could have told me earlier. If I’d known it was squared, I wouldn’t have done it either.

“But still…”

Ryu Yeon-hwa looked at me. Her eyes seemed to ask what kind of freak I was.

I buried my face in the desk.

I couldn’t think anymore.

[ ‘Seol Ha-woon’ has crossed the wall of magic power for the first time. ]

[ Magic Power increases by 0.3. ]

[ You have acquired the trait 【First Refinement】. ]

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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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