Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 26

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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 026

Snow Flower(1)

When the given shopping time ended, the 96 explorers gathered again in the department store lobby.

“Everyone. Are you ready to depart on your journey now?”

Yoo Ji-in asked with a smile. Most answered energetically. Everyone seemed to understand the hint about a ‘cold place’, as their clothing was warm. The department store interior itself was quite cold to begin with. Seo Ji-woo also hurriedly grabbed a parka from somewhere and threw it over her designer clothes.

“But before that… what do you currently have inside your suitcases or travel bags?”

Yoo Ji-in looked around at the explorers’ luggage and smiled meaningfully.

“Let me tell you. This assignment is a survival labyrinth.”

Survival labyrinth. The explorers’ eyes widened.

However, before they could show any reaction to Yoo Ji-in.

[ Entering the Labyrinth ]

A short sentence appeared on their retinas, and the scenery changed.

The splendid department store background completely disappeared. The marble floor scattered like dust. Instead, the ground beneath their feet sank. Cold air penetrated through their clothes.

It was a snowfield.

In an instant, this entire space had transformed into a pure white snowfield.

Whiiiiing───-

A blizzard raged in this isolated wasteland. Blade-like wind brushed across faces.

There was no one beside me. Only a suitcase clutched in my hand. Because it was random entry.

[ Objective: Survive for 360 hours ]

The purpose of a survival labyrinth is simply survival. Preserving oneself without losing oneself in extreme environments.

In other words, not dying.

Perhaps the most important quality and principle of an explorer.

This type of survival labyrinth actually exists. A representative example is the [Rocky Snowfield], called the pure white hell. It’s a labyrinth that occurred near the American Rocky Mountains, and the clear condition is simple.

Success if even a single explorer survives for 600 days.

“It’s cold.”

Haaa. When I exhaled, pure white breath rose clearly.

In this sea-like place of snow, I looked around.

It was enchantingly white, but there was no cozy feeling at all. Rather, it was extremely desolate.

[ Warning: The blizzard here accelerates calorie consumption. ]

So it says.

I moved my legs. Though I was suddenly transported, I wasn’t at a loss.

I had a strategy prepared in advance. For that, I first needed to find a suitable location. Preferably somewhere in the forest. I’ll explain the reason later.

Crunch. Crunch.

While walking through knee-high snow, I spotted a broken cabin.

I stopped briefly and opened the cabin door. I went inside and checked the kitchen shelves and drawers.

There was quite a bit of food. Two cans of canned tomatoes, three crackers, one energy bar. I gathered everything including the oil container in the corner of the living room.

While wandering the labyrinth, such farming spots would appear, but there wouldn’t be many. I should collect them whenever they appear.

No matter how much food was in the suitcase, it wouldn’t be enough to last 15 days. I’d need quite a lot of food to execute my strategy.

Ah, what’s my strategy, you ask?

I’m thinking of building a base camp myself.

* * *

Endlessly stretching dizzying snow scenery. Blizzard swirling like fog. In this Antarctic-like place where it was impossible to distinguish the slopes, Seo Ji-woo stood blankly. With her Hermesian bag tucked under her arm.

Whiiiii─-!

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

Suddenly the blizzard blew hard. Seo Ji-woo pulled her collar tight. Thanks to the cold slapping her face, she belatedly grasped reality.

“Ah, damn…”

This was all because of Yoon Hwa-rim. That girl kept egging her on…

Though she was honestly quite flustered, she pretended to be calm and deployed her formula. Seo Ji-woo wove lines and wrapped them around her body. Through the rise and fall of magic power, she enveloped herself like thick clothing.

This is called weaving.

Her innate attribute, the talent called ‘line’, was quite versatile and efficient like this. Of course, the magic clothing wasn’t incredibly warm, but it was much better than nothing.

“How many hours do I have to endure like this…?”

[ 359:45:15 ]

It was too long to even count.

“Ah, this is really too much.”

Seo Ji-woo let out a hollow laugh.

How is this even a trip, you broadcasting bastards. I dressed up carefully thinking it was a trip.

“…”

Seo Ji-woo looked at reality again. She didn’t have the most important food supplies on hand. She did have the handbag Seol Ha-woon gave her, but using it would somehow hurt her pride.

The insufficient food… she could somehow obtain by hunting.

No matter what, there should be wild animals.

Don’t panic.

Even if you fall into a tiger’s den, if you keep your wits, there’s a way to survive.

* * *

[ 355:45:15 ]

I farmed 6-7 more ruins while searching for a suitable location. Thanks to that, quite a lot of small food items gathered, so I reassembled materials from the ruins to make a sled. I stuffed the food and suitcase into the sled and started exploring again.

To build a base camp, I needed to find a place with good location.

If you ask why I can’t just pick one of these ruins and make it a camp, first, the ruins are too shabby and conspicuous. It means they could draw aggro not only from wild animals but also from ‘people’.

If survival itself is the goal, fellow explorers aren’t necessarily allies either.

“…Around here. Looks good.”

So, I found a suitable spot deep in the coniferous forest.

Surrounded by tall trees, it was advantageous against the cold, and the ground was flat, good for building a base camp.

Most importantly, I couldn’t move any further. My left leg was starting to ache and felt like it might break off.

I took out a hand axe from my suitcase. I placed my bare hand on the steel blade and closed my eyes.

“…Kellotin Blade.”

The mental visualization I wanted to imbue was sharpness and strength. The motif was ‘Kellotin’, a weaponized magic stone I’d only used a few times in the military. A destructive object capable of easily cutting through thick conifers.

Of course, I couldn’t completely reproduce it…

Tszzt.

Sparks flew. A blue magic circle, evidence of the formula, was carved onto the axe’s surface.

I approached a tree while gripping the handle.

I put strength into both arms and, thwack!

Once. The axe blade dug into half the tree.

Thwack!

Twice. The tree staggered.

Thwack!

The final third time. The tree’s spine snapped.

Crack crack crack. I spun my body to avoid the tree falling over completely.

Thud─-

The log settled down.

“Amazing.”

I spun the axe around and marveled anew. Clearly my physical abilities were nearly quartered compared to before my injury, yet this took much less effort than back then.

Next I took out the grinder. I applied a similar Mental Visualization to the grinder as the axe and ground the wood surface.

Whirrrrrr.

The log’s bark was ground away in an instant, gleaming. As if someone had painted it.

“…So this is why people become Mages.”

A Mage’s functionality and versatility are definitely superior to all other professions.

“Should I do a bit more?”

I was just going to build Base Camp as a roughly livable space, but the Formula tools performed so well that it seemed I could be a little more ambitious.

I began logging in earnest.

* * *

At the same time. Im Hae-jun also devised a similar strategy.

Scrape scrape scrape. Scrape scrape scrape.

The so-called digging an Underground Tunnel with a shovel. A.K.A. the mole operation.

Scrape scrape scrape. Scrape scrape scrape.

When he thought he’d dug to a reasonable depth, he curled up like a squirrel and lay down.

“Hmm…”

The ceiling was right in front of his nose. It was hard to move his body properly, and his arms and legs were practically bound.

He could somehow manage to sleep, but it would be woefully inadequate for living 15 days.

“Unsatisfactory.”

Im Hae-jun picked up the shovel again.

“Ah, if I knew it would be like this, I should have bought bigger tools.”

The shovel size was too small. Seol Ha-woon bought really sturdy ones. I should have just followed his lead and bought those too.

Im Hae-jun gripped the shovel with both hands.

Poke poke poke poke. Like a mole digging earth, he dug deep, deeper.

Poke poke poke poke. Poke poke poke poke.

Sweating profusely, he expanded the width of the Underground Tunnel and packed the floor flat. On the ceiling he sprinkled water bit by bit to let it freeze in the cold air above. This ice would surprisingly serve to block the cold air from outside.

About 3 hours passed like that.

“Huff, huff…”

Im Hae-jun wiped the sweat beaded on his forehead and looked around the interior.

“Done.”

Now it was somewhat cozy. Even stretching his legs out to lie down, there was quite a lot of space left.

“…Hehe.”

Suddenly, Im Hae-jun looked at the thick suitcase placed in one corner of the Underground Tunnel. Looking at it warmed his insides. His chest felt cozy. He touched the suitcase with his palm then laid his body on top of it.

“Really… listening to that guy’s words brings good fortune even in sleep.”

How does he do it? It’s really amazing. Did Seol Ha-woon hyung deduce this assignment just from the Department Store hint? His perceptiveness is truly remarkable.

Well, you’d need that level of intuition to work at UDT for 5-6 years straight.

But what does the UDT acronym stand for again.

“…Yaaaawn.”

A yawn came out. Im Hae-jun rubbed his eyes and opened the suitcase. Heating and Light Lantern. Ha-woon hyung bought one so I followed suit and grabbed one too.

“Hehehe.”

He hung the lantern from the ceiling of the Underground Tunnel. He rubbed his fingers to create Magic Power friction and lit the fire.

Sizzle!

Warmth spread from the ceiling. The light was cozy.

Being like this feels like some kind of hideout and puts me in a good mood. When I was little, I wanted to make a secret base like this.

Im Hae-jun smiled contentedly and lay down on the ground.

Just the right temperature. The environment was quiet too. No sounds could be heard, no one bothered him, and only the occasional whooshing cries of the blizzard flowed in faintly.

His consciousness sank drowsily.

Should I sleep a little?

No, it seems like I could sleep for a long time.

“Whoo…”

Im Hae-jun fell asleep with his mouth half open.

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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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