Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 239

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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 239

Dangerously(5)

I came outside riding the camel.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

I walked along the asphalt road looking for a suitable site, but no matter how much I looked around, the shantytown area was the most appropriate.

There were many potential customers to attract, and the nearby open ground was very spacious.

I connected with Truck again and spoke to the young boy in the shantytown.

“Come outside.”

─…Right now?

“Yes.”

Jin came out of his shabby house. I greeted him while still mounted on the camel.

“Huh.”

Jin was startled but there was a strange longing mixed in his eyes as he looked at me.

“Wow… Is that really you, Truck? You’re riding a camel…”

The camel seems cool.

I nodded and continued speaking.

“To build a building, do I need separate land documents or any legal procedures?”

“No. The murderers don’t care about land documents anyway. But are you really going to do it?”

I took out a bundle of experience orbs and loot.

【Haunted Tool Set】.

A pretty good item I brought from the Moon Phase Labyrinth.

“It’s almost time for the murderers to start roaming around.”

“It’ll be finished quickly.”

I first threw the experience orbs onto the ground. They emitted blue light and seeped into the ground.

Tssssssss!

Soon the ground was leveled and the foundation was laid, and gray concrete walls rose up from underground as if being molded.

The building framework I had envisioned was erected, including the interior, structure, and plumbing of each goshiwon room.

Tens of thousands of experience points were consumed.

Next was the 【Haunted Tool Set】’s turn.

I opened the tool set box.

All kinds of tools like hammers, saws, screwdrivers, and wrenches poured out like a swarm of insects.

Bang-clang-bang-clang!

Hammers flew through the air on their own to nail the steel structures, and invisible hands connected electrical wires.

Saw blades cut wood on their own to make bed frames and place them in room corners, and as an option, they also made small desks.

“Wow… Truck, are you a mage?”

Jin muttered with a dazed expression.

A 5-story tin can building completed in just dozens of minutes, incongruous with the bleak shantytown scenery.

One entrance. A counter on the 1st floor, with identically structured rooms packed above it.

I said to Jin.

“…Want to move in?”

“Yes!”

Jin’s eyes sparkled.

“The payment method is monthly rent. One month, 200,000 won prepaid though.”

Earning 10,000 won per day wouldn’t be enough time. I need to collect monthly rent and head to the platform.

“If you become an employee of this goshiwon, it’s free.”

Since I’ll be leaving soon anyway, I need someone to attract customers and manage the goshiwon.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kang Hyeon joined up with Yoon Hwa-rim’s party.

“Wow… So Mal-ol-haem made this place too?”

Whoooosh.

Yoon Hwa-rim’s magic cart automatically parked on the temple grounds, and she looked around admiringly at the barrier surrounding the temple and the installed turrets.

“They left behind a whole fortress!”

“Yeah. It seems like Ha-woon hyung deliberately left it for us.”

“Then Jun-ho and Jong-su went out to get supplies?”

Yoon Hwa-rim pointed to the portal rippling in the center of the temple. It was dyed red, seemingly meaning it was full.

“Yeah. They’ll be back soon.”

“Oh, Hyeon, do you know this? We also discovered a portal on our way here, but each portal has different sizes and characteristics.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Slightly larger portals can fit 2-3 people, but small portals only allow one person, and the larger ones can carry more luggage too.”

Yoon Hwa-rim sighed.

“We found a really tiny portal, so Woo-hyeon went out and barely managed to bring back a few water containers. We almost died if it wasn’t for the Mal-ol-haem Shelter.”

“…Did you happen to find a Kang Jun-su Shelter?”

“Kang Jun-su Shelter? What’s that? Who’s Kang Jun-su?”

“Um… it’s nothing.”

Bang!

Then some kind of firing sound was heard. Yoon Hwa-rim and Kang Hyeon turned to look in that direction.

“Whoa.”

It was Kim Woo-hyeon. He was fiddling with a turret with wide eyes.

“Noona, hyung! The circuits inside are still connected. I think we can use them too if we inject magic power!”

“Really?”

Yoon Hwa-rim also quickly ran over and infused magic power into the turret. She definitely felt it click into place.

It was a complex but precisely crafted, well-made magical object.

The moment Yoon Hwa-rim held the mental visualization of firing, bang! A mana stake was launched.

“Whoa!”

Ryu Yeon-hwa, who was watching, also nodded.

“Definitely. They said her mental visualization is the battlefield.”

A mage who holds the battlefield is naturally advantageous in combat.

Kang Hyeon gestured toward the center of the temple.

“Then, once Jun-ho and Jong-su arrive, let’s knock on that door.”

“…What door?”

Yoon Hwa-rim tilted her head.

“Next to the portal over there.”

The party members looked in the direction he pointed and blinked. They seemed to see nothing.

“There’s only a portal?”

Kang Hyeon thought for a moment then nodded.

“Ah… I guess sleeping is the condition.”

“Sleep?”

He pointed inside the temple.

“Aren’t you all tired? Let’s take a nap inside there. Then maybe…”

He stopped mid-sentence and shook his head.

“No. If I tell you, that could work against us as a weakness.”

“Hmm… okay for now.”

The party members took out bedding from Yoon Hwa-rim’s cart. Ryu Yeon-hwa even formed a natural fan magic technique.

Kang Hyeon watched them with envious eyes.

Indeed, as Jun-ho said, having a mage in the party is convenient.

Everyone climbed onto the temple’s wooden floor and laid out sleeping bags and blankets. Yoon Hwa-rim asked.

“Do we just need to sleep?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Hyeon waited outside the temple.

“What’s that? A blue candlestick.”

Ryu Yeon-hwa seems concerned about the candlestick with blue flames burning in one corner of the temple. Well, mages are sensitive to the flow of magic power.

Kang Hyeon said.

“Ha-woon hyung left it behind.”

A flame that never goes out. It’s quite mysterious, but it’s a stubborn flame that somehow resembles Seol Ha-woon.

“You just need to trust that flame. Ha-woon hyung arranged it.”

This much advice should be enough.

“Yeah. Then… good night.”

The four people entered their sleeping bags one by one, starting with Yoon Hwa-rim.

Haaaam──-

The sound of yawning could be heard, and everyone quietly fell asleep.

Kang Hyeon sat alone on the stone steps of the temple, keeping watch over the misty forest.

* * *

“Wow…”

Jin brought his older sister Yen and seated her at the counter. She still couldn’t believe the scene before her eyes, continuously touching the clean counter and sparkling desk.

“So this 1st floor belongs to us?”

“That’s right. But do your job well.”

Not far away, there are many people watching this building. They’re residents of the shantytown.

They peek at this strange building through the gaps in their shabby house doors or hiding behind garbage piles, but they don’t dare approach carelessly.

Their faces are filled with suspicion and wariness.

However, a goshiwon with these kinds of options would be hard to find even in Seoul, Korea. Perfect soundproofing, drainage facilities, common areas.

It’s essentially a charitable project that I invested quite a lot of experience points to create.

Customer attraction is just a matter of time.

“But… isn’t there security?”

Yen asked cautiously.

I asked them back.

“How does security stop murderers?”

Jin answered.

“They just block them with their bodies so they can’t enter. Murderers don’t antagonize NPCs. It’s like a kind of rule.”

I nodded. From the moment Jin mentioned ‘NPCs’ as security, I had one thought.

I pointed to the camel standing beside me.

“This one is also an NPC.”

“…What?”

The camel, who had been chewing on grass placed as decoration, turned to look at me.

“This one has a bigger body than other camels.”

Camels are actually openly gigantic animals. Average body length 3m, height 1.8∼2.1m, weight 450∼600kg.

But this camel’s body is even larger than average, matching its high intelligence.

This means it can sufficiently block humanoid murderers with just body checking.

“Camel. I’m giving you a position.”

I said while stroking the camel’s cheek.

“From now on, you’re the building owner.”

Then the camel turned around to look at the building. Its large eyes sparkled beneath long eyelashes.

It looked very satisfied for some reason.

“This one? How can it protect this place?”

Jin asked incredulously. At that moment, the camel glared at Jin and clicked- lowered the stake launcher on its saddle. It was a threatening mechanical sound.

Jin startled and raised both hands. I made him recognize the hierarchy.

“It’s not ‘this one,’ it’s your superior.”

This camel has active fighting spirit and belongs to the meticulous type of personality.

Originally, meticulous friends do good work.

“Yes, yes… Camel sir. I’ll serve you well.”

Only then did the camel lower its gun barrel.

Pihihi. The fox that had climbed onto my shoulder laughed.

“So, this building’s name is…”

I looked up at the building. The plain gray exterior walls weren’t particularly appealing, but the practicality was certain.

“Let’s call it Camel Building.”

* * *

This week, Lee Si-ah has a broadcast she needs to watch. But her mood is unpleasant. Because whenever she goes online these days, damn rumors are spreading everywhere.

“…Seol Ha-woon becomes a villain.”

There were tons of such stories on communities, SNS, and other places.

Since the preview for the main broadcast, it had covered almost the entire internet. The whole world was full of crazy fortune tellers and Nostradamuses.

│Isn’t this episode’s Seol Ha-woon somewhat precarious?│

This apocalypse labyrinth clone Seol Ha-woon, I really don’t know what he’ll do.. Can’t even imagine. The rumors going around are like that too..

─What rumors are going around?

─Aren’t you tired of always making a fuss with rumors only you guys see?

└Just look at social media for a bit and you’ll see it lol

└└There are so many people these days who brag about living their real life on social media haha

│What if the cloned Je Mal-ol turns evil? What if he betrays his principles to protect his own life?│

What if clone Ha-woon abandons all his beliefs just to save himself?

It’s almost certain that Kate is the protagonist of this labyrinth, and the rumor about clone Seol Ha-woon being the final boss isn’t coming out for nothing.

─Wow… that’s scary when you think about it.

─If Seol Ha-woon becomes a villain;;;

─I agree… In the end, the problem is whether the clone realizes he’s a clone or not. If I knew I was fake, I’d probably do anything to survive too.

└If it’s a premium clone that’s 99.9% identical to Seol Ha-woon, the problem is that he’ll definitely realize he’s a clone.

│Honestly, it would be interesting if clone Ha-woon played the villain role│

The clone Seol Ha-woon is fighting with Kate to save himself, and the original Seol Ha-woon is also trying to kill him lol

─You crazy bastard, don’t say such things

─The production team portraying clone Ha-woon positively makes me even more anxious.. These are guys who backstab as a daily routine

─Then Je Mal-ol’s entire story gets ruined

└Actually good lol Seolhaun gets too much unnecessary screen time lol

└└Talking bullshit, these kinds of bastards are the problem

─It would be intense though

─Je Mal-ol who became a villain,, It would be really scary and the story itself would become thrilling, but then Je Mal-ol would just become an ordinary person too,,

└Then what makes Seol Ha-woon special? Everyone equally doesn’t want to die, and Seol Ha-woon is also an ordinary human.

└Why is Seol Ha-woon ordinary? There isn’t a single ordinary person among the labyrinth explorers.

│Je Mal-ol is not an ordinary person.│

Seol Ha-woon is not an ordinary person. Kang Hyeon, Lee Jun-ho, Kate, Seo Ji-woo, etc., none of them are ordinary people, but Je Mal-ol is even more so.

What’s the reason Je Mal-ol is in 1st place right now?

Ability? Story? Looks?

No. If you look closely, it’s ultimately because he’s too different from modern people.

He’s someone who always keeps his principles. Someone who prioritizes labyrinth conquest over himself and carries out his own righteousness.

He doesn’t feel envy or jealousy at all, and if it benefits the operation, he’s someone who would even embrace traitors.

But think about it.

What if a clone perfectly identical to Seol Ha-woon abandons all his beliefs to save himself?

Then wouldn’t Seol Ha-woon also ultimately become the same as everyone else when faced with ‘death’?

This might be too strict and harsh an evaluation for Seol Ha-woon himself, but I’ll say it again.

Seol Ha-woon is not an ordinary person.

And he shouldn’t be an ordinary person. He shouldn’t fall to being an ordinary person.

He’s currently in 1st place because he’s not an ordinary person…

─What about the original Seol Ha-woon’s mental state seeing someone who looks exactly like him breaking all his principles?

─But this is more realistic.

─Well, anyone would become desperate when faced with death… but Ha-woon is a somewhat unique character so it’s complicated.

─So what the fuck, Seol Ha-woon should just die quietly then?

└I hope the clone makes a choice worthy of Jemal-ol too, but that might be difficult. Why are you cursing without even understanding.

Lee Si-ah pressed her throbbing temples and closed her laptop.

“Haah.”

She sighed and looked at the TV.

In the final segment of South Korea’s top talk show program, PD Yoon Sa-hyuk and PD Kim A-rang finally appear.

A: Are there any of you whose hearts start racing every Friday evening, making you rush to the TV?

B: Hyung! Me! Me! It’s become the joy of my life these days! “I am right!”

A: That’s right. The people we’re welcoming today are those who have truly conquered Friday dawn, morning, afternoon, evening, and night all around the world. They’ve gone beyond a simple program to create a ‘syndrome,’ a ‘cultural wave.’

Highlight scenes from Labyrinth Exploration NaN flash by quickly.

Seol Ha-woon’s famous lines, Kang Hyeon’s smile, Lee Jun-ho’s action, sleeping Im Hae-jun, Seo Ji-woo pulling out multiple wires, Kate gripping her throwing spear, and so on…

A: Decorating the electronic billboard in New York Times Square.

An advertisement promoting Seol Ha-woon appears on the Times Square billboard.

A: Students from numerous universities overseas conduct their own voting campaigns.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

With the countdown chant, voting results are announced at Princeton University Park.

First place goes to Kang Hyeon. Cheers, screams, and curses ring out simultaneously.

A: From the other side of the Earth, dominating real-time trends and making people shout “Holding my breath until next week!” – that very story.

B: Labyrinth Exploration NaN!

A: The creators of the program that makes the world laugh and cry. The two pillars of Labyrinth Exploration NaN, PD Yoon Sa-hyuk and PD Kim A-rang!

Kim A-rang and Yoon Sa-hyuk walk out and sit in their chairs.

“Hmmmm.”

Lee Si-ah let out a displeased snort and opened KakaoTalk.

-Thinking about how they cut it off last week makes me furious

-Those crazy bastards won’t be satisfied until they hit 50% ratings

-Those two look like celebrities now

-What celebrities my ass

-I heard they’re spilling a lot of behind-the-scenes stories this time

A: First, please introduce yourselves to the viewers…

Still, I need to hear the staff’s behind-the-scenes stories. Each of these details is precious. Especially since Kim A-rang is the one who picked Seol Ha-woon…

Yoon Sa-hyuk: Nice to meet you. I’m Yoon Sa-hyuk, director of the Labyrinth Exploration series.

Kim A-rang: Hello. I’m Kim A-rang, one of the producers of Labyrinth Exploration NaN.

Lee Si-ah focused both eyes on them.

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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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