Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 243

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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 243

Dangerously(9)

I opened the dining car. A nauseating stench of blood and damp heat rushed out first.

“….”

Quite a few eggs were sitting at the dining tables. The red chunks of meat placed in front of them were faintly writhing.

Suddenly, all the eggs opened their mouths at once.

The eggs had mouths too.

Craaaack──-!

Their faceless surfaces split vertically as muscular teeth sprouted. Crunch, crack. The sounds of bones being chewed and flesh being torn filled the dining car.

It was certainly disgusting.

Tap. Tap.

I walked among them and discovered traces of magic written in a corner of the dining car.

These bastards all seem fake.

Oh right. I’m talking to you. I don’t know who you are, but you’re a mage, right? Only mages can see these letters.

‘Those guys’ can’t read this note.

Keep going forward.

A message someone had written with magic stone. The content was quite meaningful.

I asked Jane.

“How are these eggs created?”

─Well… I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the train system itself? We don’t know the detailed mechanics either. You just become an egg if you get eaten by one.

Her words made me think something.

“Have you ever considered destroying the train?”

─Destroying it? Yes. Of course. The freight car is connected to the train to begin with. We need the train to escape.

They’ve never even thought about breaking the train…

“How long did you stay in the apartment?”

─Well… I’m not sure.

Then an old notice at the end of the dining car caught my eye.

[ Train Passenger Guidelines ]

● From here on is the VVIP car. Only authorized personnel may enter.

Below it was another message scrawled in magic stone.

Watch out for the freight car bastards! They have an insane obsession with survival. You might become part of the train too.

I looked ahead. The passage was more heavily secured than before. Two eggs in uniform stood at the entrance.

─To get to the conductor’s room, we have to go in there. They only let VVIPs through…

I closed my eyes briefly. I preheated my magic power and activated the sequence.

My consciousness became blue waves spreading throughout the entire space. It was the sensation of reading the train’s design and structure.

“…It should be possible.”

I went into a nearby bathroom and sat in a toilet stall.

“….”

I found a new note in the corner.

If there’s someone reading this, if there’s really a ‘person’ here, whoever you are, don’t trust anyone on this train.

My companions keep turning into eggs. The eggs are one thing, but the freight car bastards are fucking suspicious too. These bastards don’t seem to know shit about the labyrinth.

“Hmm.”

─What is it?

“I’m going to open the ceiling panel.”

I extended my staff high and opened the ceiling panel.

─Ah, there. It’s too narrow, it won’t work. We considered it too but-

“I know.”

I’m not planning to crawl through myself. For someone like me with very uncomfortable knees, crawling is impossible in itself.

Instead, I put the truck into the ventilation duct.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle rattle. I connected my consciousness with the advancing truck.

─Does it work?

“Yes. Doing this reminds me a bit of District 3.”

─Haha. Right.

Jane smiled. I also nodded with a faint smile.

─But that toy only has reconnaissance functions, doesn’t it?

“It’s not a toy. If I had to explain, it’s an advanced magical object that compresses a state-of-the-art military truck.”

─Ah. I see.

Jane seemed to understand roughly, but for the viewers watching, much more specific specs need to be conveyed.

Actually, lately people keep spreading rumors that I like toys. This truck isn’t some toy but a proper familiar.

“The truck’s cargo bed can carry over 400kg of weight, and its robotic arms can perform very delicate operations…”

* * *

Whirrrr- Whirrrr-

Meanwhile, Yoon Hwa-rim was repairing the snow turret by patching it with her magic power.

“How is it, sis?”

Kim Woo-hyeon asked from beside her.

“…It should work fine if I restore it properly.”

During the rest time in Zone 5, they had come out to the dormitory dining hall for a moment.

“But looking at this turret more and more, it’s really well made. The magic compression rate is insane.”

The only flaw is the design. Too stark and dry. Totally Seol Ha-woon style.

Well, I can refine that much myself.

“Right. All the circuits are organically designed.”

“Exactly. The efficiency is amazing.”

Whirrrr- Whirrrr-

Yoon Hwa-rim repairs the turret while Kim Woo-hyeon sketches the mana circuits inside the turret on his tablet PC.

Watching the two of them, Lee Jun-ho narrowed his eyes.

“Hey. Is it okay for you guys to analyze that freely? Without even asking permission?”

Yoon Hwa-rim glanced at Lee Jun-ho.

“We’re studying. Usually when professors give assignments, students analyze them freely.”

“Since when did that guy become a professor.”

Lee Jun-ho cut a large piece of steak and stuffed it in his mouth.

Yoon Hwa-rim said while taking out her paint set.

“The copyright belongs to Ha-woon oppa anyway. Just like how we try to get and learn really good standard formulas somehow… it’s actually showing huge respect for that oppa.”

Swish swish. Swish swish. Yoon Hwa-rim carefully painted the worn parts of the turret.

“True. That guy probably doesn’t care anyway.”

Seol Ha-woon isn’t a petty person. He’s actually very generous and tolerant in these matters.

The ‘Seol Ha-woon Formula List’ currently posted as a popular thread on the mage community is proof of that.

They say they’ll delete it if he requests, but Seol Ha-woon himself doesn’t seem to care at all.

“Besides, he abandoned it anyway. I think it’s ridiculous to abandon such a good one… this friend will be happy if I use it.”

Yoon Hwa-rim drew a rabbit picture on the turret pillar with a lovestruck expression.

“How is it~ Isn’t it pretty?”

“Oh. It’s good, sis.”

“I think it would be nice to give it a name too. How about Uni?”

“How about Yoon Hwa-rim 2?”

“…That’s really bad. Why do you have no sense for a kid?”

Watching Kim Woo-hyeon and Yoon Hwa-rim, Kang Hyeon said.

“60 minutes left.”

Everyone flinched and turned to look at Kang Hyeon.

“….”

“….”

“….”

Everyone fell silent. Zone 5’s official rest time was only three hours. But most were still tired, and it didn’t matter if they entered the portal late.

“Haaaaam.”

Lee Jun-ho stretched pretending to be tired.

“Let’s rest a bit more?”

“Then you guys rest and come later.”

Kang Hyeon got up as if he had already made up his mind. Jo Woon beside him also stood up.

“Sigh….”

Lee Jun-ho pressed his temples firmly.

“…I, I’ll go in 4-5 hours then.”

Yoon Hwa-rim hurriedly hugged her turret to her chest.

“I think I need to get some magic stones. I need to repair Uni a bit more. And do some upgrades too. See you later~!”

She quickly ran away.

“S, sister! I’ll come with you too!”

Kim Woo-hyeon also hurriedly chased after Yoon Hwa-rim.

* * *

“Damn. I really can’t see anything.”

Seo Ji-woo’s party was in Zone 4’s secret realm. The thick fog paralyzed their sense of direction, and the ground beneath their feet constantly rippled like waves, confusing them.

“Sister. Don’t look at the edges of your vision, just look at that light.”

But a path definitely existed.

Blue signposts faintly glowing in the fog, markers left by Seol Ha-woon.

At least around those signposts, the space was stable.

The party carefully moved from signpost to signpost like a ship following lighthouses.

“Phew!”

They escaped from the dark forest like that.

Im Hae-jun stretched and said.

“As expected of Master Ha-woon, I want to say something like that.”

“Is that so.”

“As expected of Master Ha-woon.”

“…Hey.”

Seo Ji-woo suddenly glanced at Im Hae-jun.

“If Seol Ha-woon and I both fell into the sea, who would you save?”

“Obviously Master Ha-woon.”

It was an immediate answer. A hollow laugh escaped from Seo Ji-woo’s mouth.

“Wow, that’s so ridiculous. I fed you in the life game.”

“Hey. Master has trouble with his legs.”

“…Ah. That’s true.”

“And sister, you’re good at swimming.”

“Well~ I’m at athlete level.”

Kate sighed at the two people’s childish conversation.

“Just keep moving forward. You said you’d guide us.”

“Oh. Let’s go.”

Over there, the shape of a temple could be glimpsed above the thicket.

Seo Ji-woo was walking toward it when she suddenly twisted her path.

“…Hmm.”

She stared intently at a secluded thorn bush hidden by vines, then suddenly pushed her body into it.

“S, sister, where are you going? This isn’t the path, is it? Th, that temple-like place is the right way, isn’t it?”

“No. Just follow me for a moment.”

Im Hae-jun asked anxiously, but Seo Ji-woo pushed through the vines and moved forward. There was a strange certainty in her steps.

“Let’s go. It’s Seo Ji-woo after all.”

“…Yes. But Kate, you can speak casually to me.”

“Let’s go.”

Her speech became even more formal.

Anyway, Kate and Im Hae-jun followed Seo Ji-woo’s illogical certainty, and at the end of where Seo Ji-woo led them, there was a hidden cave.

“…Wh, what is this place, sister? It feels scary.”

“I don’t know. This place, somehow feels right.”

If Seo Ji-woo felt that way, it was absolute.

The three people entered the cave without much discussion.

“…It’s a box.”

In the deepest part of the cave, on a flat rock that looked like an altar, sat an old wooden box. The surface was delicately engraved with dokkaebi patterns, and strange magic power leaked like mist through the closed gaps.

“Opening it.”

Seo Ji-woo carefully opened the box.

At that moment, a brilliant light burst forth, illuminating the entire cave. Seo Ji-woo narrowed her eyes and checked the contents.

It was a dark red key.

[Reincarnation Key]

Description: Can be inserted into the Reincarnation Gate to open the door early.

Magic power can be infused to deploy a protective barrier that guards against impacts.

“Open the door early? What’s a Reincarnation Gate?”

“…Ah damn, another treasure! It looks like a protective barrier artifact. Isn’t this super expensive?”

Im Hae-jun made a sullen expression, and Kate nodded.

“I understand.”

“Oh. What?”

Seo Ji-woo looked at Kate. Kate also met her eyes and smiled slightly.

“How your intuition works.”

Magic power flowed from the box containing this key.

Originally, treasures with condensed ‘essence’ emit magic power linearly. Therefore, the currents spreading from within can also be called ‘lines’, and Seo Ji-woo’s luck instinctively-

“Hey, who asked you to explain my intuition? What’s a Reincarnation Gate?”

“…How would I know? Let’s go to the temple for now. I felt Seol Ha-woon’s magic power.”

The three people left the cave again and headed toward the temple.

* * *

Rattle rattle rattle rattle rattle.

I advance through the train’s ventilation passage. Of course I’m in truck form, but it’s as natural and familiar as handling my own body.

“I’ve reached the conductor’s room.”

─Wow, really?

I can see the conductor through the ventilation duct. An egg-shaped head is sitting blankly in the driver’s seat.

“Yes. Separating the freight car seems possible too.”

A button labeled ‘Car Separation’ is clearly displayed.

─Wait a moment!

Jane hurriedly stops the radio. She’s probably trying to communicate with the command structure.

I opened the ventilation duct door with the truck.

Click click. I changed the wheels. They were adhesive wheels that could stick to the ceiling.

Whoooosh.

I stick to the ceiling and move forward silently.

The ‘Passenger Car Separation’ button below came close enough to almost reach.

─Is it really possible?

It changed to Ilron’s voice.

“Yes.”

─Then in six hours, we’ll arrive at the junction point we calculated.

Six hours.

The truck extended its robot arm. I placed a magic-powered timer on the ‘Passenger Car Separation’ button.

“It’s done.”

─….

Ilron seemed to find it hard to believe.

─May we trust this?

“Yes.”

A breath mixed with relief flowed through the radio. I also spoke to him.

“Thank you.”

They are grateful people.

…But they’re probably not ‘people’ with very high probability.

The murderer isn’t the only existence that’s one body with the maze.

‘NPCs’ are the same.

Just like the security guard at the apartment, I suspect these are NPCs.

Conversely, the eggs would be people who failed on this train.

“I’ll head there as well.”

─Yes.

I still can’t let my guard down.

Based on quite a few cases including the Seer, the most dangerous existence is a Labyrinth Person who knows their own truth.

Watch out for those freight car bastards! Their obsession with life is fucking strong. You might become part of the train too.

If there’s an NPC among the NPCs who knows they’re an NPC, it’s dangerous.

Because of how NPCs are used.

In every game, NPCs reset the moment a Quest ends, returning to the beginning to wait for the next player.

It means they’re nothing more than devices of the maze.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle rattle.

I retrieved the truck that had come down from the ceiling.

Tap. Tap.

I walked back the way I came, using my walking stick again.

I crossed over to the freight car and faced them.

“Wow. It really worked? Can we trust this?”

Jane asked. I quietly looked around at the people in this freight car.

At a glance, hundreds of people. Children eating meals with their families.

But could the scale of NPCs have been this large from the beginning?

This train hadn’t reached Zone 6 for a very long time. During that time, the NPCs had children, built a society, and perhaps some of them became aware of their own existence.

What would happen to the interior of this train the moment I reach my destination?

Perhaps it would be ‘reset’.

“Well then. Let’s all go prepare for six hours from now!”

At Jane’s words, I nodded my head.

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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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