Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 263

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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 263

Reminiscence(3)

Thump─

I opened my eyes in the dim dawn.

I tidied my bedding, took a sip of cold water, showered, then fell into brief meditation.

There aren’t many things to do in this village. It’s because there are no modern conveniences and knowledge, including smartphones.

Thanks to that, I learned how to focus solely on myself.

Thump─

I got up and drew back the curtains.

Snow-covered Obongri. The village scenery is a little different from before. The calendar now shows December, testifying to three years of time.

My body has stopped, but my mind is definitely aging. Including before and after regression, I might soon be forty.

Thump─

Familiar alleys and familiar faces, the predictable flow of each day.

This village has become my daily life.

Thump─

The pulsing now echoing in my ears is the resonance of magic power. I close my eyes briefly and listen to it.

In the atmosphere high above, the vibration of magic power particles colliding with each other.

Thump─

A noise that started being heard at some point.

At first it was faint, but as time passed it became clearer and clearer – this was a signal announcing that ‘the time’ had come.

Thump─

I picked up my walking stick. I went outside and looked around at the scenery.

Obongri had become a good village to live in. More than half was my contribution.

I poured all the profits I earned as a mage into this place. Old roads were paved, small shops were replaced with proper buildings, and much infrastructure was expanded.

Thump─

Three years. Over a thousand days is enough time to make a foreign land into home.

Here, we lived as residents, not explorers.

Thump─

In such strange peace, only now can I truly smile.

It was because the end was not far off.

Thump─

I turned around. Leaning on my walking stick, I climbed up to ‘that place.’

Thump─

Back Mountain, which is practically the symbol of Obongri. Those guys had already gathered at the watchtower I had built.

Eight explorers. They quietly looked down at the snow-covered village.

Three years had carved an unfamiliar tranquility onto their faces.

Thump─

I asked.

“How is it now?”

Everyone had bittersweet expressions. Seo Ji-woo swept back her hair, and Im Hae-jun made sniffling sounds as if he might cry at any moment. Kate clutched house deeds and land deeds tightly in her hands.

“Still, it was just a matter of enduring.”

Lee Jong-soo replied curtly to Lee Jun-ho’s words.

“Easy to say. I… I broke up. I was even thinking about marriage.”

“…Are you crazy?”

Lee Jong-soo broke up with the elementary school teacher. I don’t know the details, but apparently he got dumped.

Come to think of it, romance with Labyrinth People was only possible if both parties were interested.

Thump─

Vroooom. The sound of a cart could be heard. It was Yoon Hwa-rim.

“Just in case, I had the residents evacuate!”

She’s being meddlesome even in the maze we’re about to leave. But I don’t think it’s pointless.

A place that was home for three years. People who were friends.

Probably without them, we would have had a hard time enduring too.

Thump─

“Everyone. To your positions.”

At my words, everyone moved.

The eight explorers each stood in front of magic power pads surrounding the watchtower. They preheated their magic power and placed their palms down.

Thump─

At some moment, a red meteor appeared in the distant sky. What started as a single point gradually grew larger, revealing a blazing form.

The disaster that finally arrived after three years of waiting.

Thump─

“Begin.”

At the signal, the magic power of eight people flowed into the watchtower.

I activated the sequence. I precisely coordinated their magic power.

Kang Hyeon’s speed, Kate’s destructive power, Seo Ji-woo’s flexibility, Yoon Hwa-rim’s creativity, Lee Jun-ho’s madness, Lee Jong-soo’s solidity, Im Hae-jun’s… stupidity.

I wove everything together into one strand and forged a perfect spear. Its essence condensed at the tip of the watchtower.

“…Wow. This is Sauron.”

Some guy broke the mood. It was Seo Ji-woo.

It did look similar, but did it have to be right now?

Thud─

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Listening to the heartbeat-like resonance, I fired my spear.

Shriiiiiiiek──!

A blue flash shot up into the sky. A straight, brilliant trajectory pierced through the meteor in an instant.

Craaaaaack!

The fragments crumbled in midair.

Whoooosh….

The scene of debris scattering like flower petals. The moment when the darkness of dawn awakened with the light of magic power.

We all gathered together and watched the end of those three years.

“Wow, still… it’s over.”

“I feel sad.”

Yoon Hwa-rim pouted her lips and rubbed her nose. Moisture briefly gathered in her large eyes.

“We’ve been here for three whole years, what’s there to feel sad about. I just want to go home quickly.”

Contrary to those words, Lee Jun-ho’s eyes were already red.

“Haah….”

“…It’s a bit disappointing that we can’t say proper goodbyes.”

Everyone was immersed in sentiment, chattering words of farewell.

“Just. Think of it as the timing never being right forever.”

Seo Ji-woo repeated exactly what I had said once before. I glared at her as if she was ridiculous, then turned my gaze away.

Kang Hyeon looking up at the sky. I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“You worked hard.”

Kang Hyeon smiled faintly.

“Yes. You too, hyung. You worked very hard.”

Then, the sound of something tearing rang out.

Riiiiip──-!

The sky cracking like glass. Small carved rifts spread out like spider webs, and through those gaps, the starlight of the night sky seeped in like water. The village scenery, the mountains and trees, this land we stood upon all heated up to a brilliant white.

It’s an ending that took too long.

This world that embraced three years of time was finally coming to a close….

───-

With a strange sensation of magic power sweeping through my entire body, my vision suddenly opened up.

The horizon was suddenly revealed clearly, the sky became brilliantly blue and clear, and some village appeared.

“Huh?”

“There’s something over there.”

The explorers’ eyes widened.

All the shop signs were in Korean. Blue mountains lined up like a backdrop, familiar housing styles.

“What the. Isn’t this Korea? But what kind of maze is like this?”

“That’s why it’s a maze, you fool.”

Unit 2— Seo Ji-woo who had approached beside me parked. Everyone looked around as they got off the cart.

A status window appeared before my eyes.

■■■■■■■■

■Sector■７■Zone■

■■■Error■■■

■■■■■■■■

“…Error?”

The moment Seo Ji-woo muttered, the village scenery in the distance flickered like a glitch.

Bzzt-

Parts of the village repeatedly fragmented like broken data and then restored. Cracks that seemed like magic power breaking briefly flickered in the sky, but soon returned to normal.

“…What was that just now.”

Watching them look around, I felt a strange sensation.

Definitely a scene I’d seen somewhere before, a conversation I’d had before.

It was déjà vu.

Swoosh. I spread my palm. The particles of magic power touching between the wrinkles, their flow was strange.

“…I feel like I’ve been here before.”

“Here?”

Suddenly Kang Hyeon asked me. I pondered for a moment then shook my head.

“…I’m not sure. Let’s move for now. Let’s look for clues in the village first.”

It’s a small village. That would be the overall assessment.

The era is close to the early 2000s, around when I was born.

Houses with old slate roofs, children’s graffiti drawn on faded walls, and a small arcade machine in front of the stationery store. An elementary school and middle school attached side by side, and a cozy village where you’d have to go to the town center for high school….

Had I ever been here before.

I moved my steps familiarly and stopped in front of a certain restaurant.

Ji-hoo’s Snack Bar

I entered the snack bar.

“Hello.”

“…You’re a customer I haven’t seen before?”

“One bowl of ramen, please.”

“1,000 won.”

One thousand won for a bowl of ramen.

What touching prices.

Slurp slurp.

“By any chance, was there some kind of accident in this village?”

“…Why are you curious about that?”

“You made it impossible not to be curious.”

“True. I made it this way so people would remember. About 40 years ago, a meteor fell. Half the village disappeared. My husband died then too. But that meteor was a funny one….”

I climbed the back mountain where the meteor was said to be buried.

“This is strange.”

It’s definitely bizarre. It’s not simply a matter of the village scenery.

The ‘flow of magic power’ is slow. At least it’s not normal.

Labyrinths usually have the same flow of magic power as modern Earth. Unless it’s a special space like outer space, labyrinths are ultimately magical scratches created on Earth.

…When had I ever thought like this before?

That night. I reserved an inn room and called the explorers together.

“The key seems to be the meteor. There was observational data saying that a meteor of similar size to the one from 40 years ago could fall on this village again.”

Kate presented the materials she had found at the library.

“The problem would be the method.”

I continued while scanning the astronomical observation records.

“Either destroying the meteor that will fall, or escaping from here before the meteor falls.”

At my words, Seo Ji-woo suddenly raised her hand high.

“I recommend solving it rather than running away.”

Kate felt the same way.

“Agreed.”

There’s no further reaction. Everyone suddenly looks at me.

They seem to be reading my mood. It’s an almost burdensome level of trust.

“…Let’s decide by majority vote.”

But without knowing the overall information, we can’t argue about right and wrong methods.

“Then… I also agree with Ji-woo.”

“Me too.”

Starting with Kang Hyeon and Lee Jun-ho, everyone reached unanimous agreement.

I quietly watched them like that.

For some reason, it felt like a scene I’d seen many times before.

Time passed.

Obongri continued to develop and was counted among the best villages to live in, Lee Jun-ho became a dojo instructor, Kate became the owner and landlord of MacDeria, Kang Hyeon became a bestselling writer, Im Hae-jun became my subordinate, Lee Jong-soo became a farmer, and Seo Ji-woo and Yoon Hwa-rim became wealthy.

We spent three years in Obongri.

Thud─

Now, it’s the finale that took far too long.

Eight different streams of magic power flowed into the watchtower. I activated the sequence. I precisely coordinated the explorers’ magic power.

Kang Hyeon’s speed, Kate’s destructive power, Seo Ji-woo’s flexibility, Yoon Hwa-rim’s creativity, Lee Jun-ho’s madness, Lee Jong-soo’s solidity, Im Hae-jun’s… stupidity.

I wove everything together into a single strand and forged a perfect spear. Its essence condensed at the tip of the watchtower.

“…Wow. This is like Sauron.”

Someone broke the mood. It was Seo Ji-woo.

It did look similar, but did it have to be right now?

Thud─

Shriiiiiiek──!

A blue flash shot up into the sky. A straight, brilliant trajectory pierced through the meteor in an instant.

Craaack!

The fragments crumbled in midair.

Whoooosh…

The scene of debris scattering like flower petals. The moment when dawn’s darkness awakened with the light of magic power.

We all gathered together and watched the end of those three years.

“Wow, still… it’s over.”

“It’s sad.”

Yoon Hwa-rim pouted her lips and rubbed her nose. Moisture briefly gathered in her large eyes.

“We’ve been here for three whole years, what’s there to be sad about? I want to go home quickly.”

Contrary to those words, Lee Jun-ho’s eyes were already red-rimmed.

“Haah…”

“…It’s a bit unfortunate that we can’t say proper goodbyes.”

Everyone was immersed in sentiment, chattering farewell words.

“Just. Think of it as the timing never being right forever.”

Seo Ji-woo repeated exactly what I had said once before. I glared at her as if she were ridiculous, then turned my gaze away.

Kang Hyeon looking up at the sky. I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“You worked hard.”

Just as Kang Hyeon was about to give a faint smile.

The sound of something tearing rang out.

Riiiiip—!

The sky cracking like glass. Small carved fissures spread out like spider webs, and through those gaps, the starlight of the night sky seeps in like water. The village scenery, the mountains and trees, this land we stand on all glow white-hot.

It’s a conclusion that took far too long.

This world that embraced three years of time is coming to an end…

Again?

───-

With a strange sensation of magic power sweeping through my entire body, my vision suddenly opened up.

The horizon was suddenly revealed clearly, the sky became blue and clear, and some village appeared.

“Huh?”

“There’s something over there.”

All the store signs were in Korean. Blue mountains lined up like a backdrop, familiar housing styles.

“What? Isn’t this Korea?”

Lee Jun-ho’s eyes widened.

“But what kind of maze is like this?”

“That’s why it’s a maze, you idiot.”

Unit 2, Seo Ji-woo, who had approached from the side, parked. Everyone got out of the carts.

A status window appeared.

■■■■■■■■

■Sector■７■Area■

■■■Error■■■

■■■■■■■■

“…Error?”

The moment Seo Ji-woo muttered, the village scenery in the distance sparkled.

Bzzt-

Part of the village flickers. The sky shakes confusedly.

“…”

I stare at those scenes without saying anything.

It’s strangely familiar. Not just the simple scenery, but even the abnormally slow flow of magic power I feel in my body.

“Should we go check it out first?”

Seo Ji-woo said. We went down to the village.

It was a small village.

The era was close to the early 2000s, around when I was born.

Houses with old slate roofs, children’s graffiti drawn on faded walls, and a small arcade machine in front of the stationery store…

This train of thought doesn’t seem to be a first either.

Enduring the familiarity as I walk, I eventually reach a snack bar.

Ji-hoo’s Snack Bar

We eat ramen at the snack bar, investigate the meteor on the back mountain, and all gather in the inn room.

“The key seems to be the meteor. There was observational data saying that a meteor of similar size to the one from 40 years ago could fall on this village again.”

Kate presented the materials she found at the library.

“The problem is…”

I skimmed through the astronomical observation records.

“….”

I suddenly closed my mouth.

Somehow it felt like I had to.

“What’s the problem?”

Kate asked back. I looked at her and replied.

“The problem is… the method, I suppose.”

Did I ever have a dream like this before?

“Either destroying the meteorite that will fall, or escaping from here before the meteorite falls.”

Seo Ji-woo raised her hand high.

“I recommend solving it rather than running away.”

Kate also raised her hand.

“Agreed.”

Everyone else showed no further reaction and looked back at me. They were reading my mood.

“…Let’s decide by majority vote.”

Without knowing the overall information, we can’t argue about the right or wrong of expedients.

That must be right.

“I think Ji-woo noona is right!”

“Me too.”

Starting with Im Hae-jun and Lee Jun-ho, everyone reached a unanimous decision.

I nodded calmly.

“Then shall we sleep now?”

Seo Ji-woo said while opening the wardrobe in the inn room.

How dare she. This is my room that I reserved.

“No…”

I was about to kick them out but hesitated.

The room is spacious anyway, and I feel like I need to shake off this sense of déjà vu.

“Fine. Let’s call it a day and sleep. Starting tomorrow, everyone gets their own inn room.”

At my words, everyone spread out their bedding in corner spots. They lay down one by one, chatting as they fell asleep, and I stared blankly out the window.

Constellations. The shape of stars. The movement of wind and clouds.

Everything seemed like I’d seen it somewhere before.

“Master! Master!”

Someone shook my body. I drowsily opened my eyes. It was Im Hae-jun.

“What is it, you.”

How did this kid wake up so early? It was still morning even.

“Outside, there are no people outside!”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I was hungry, so I took money from Master’s wallet and went to look for a store or something!”

“What, you little…”

“That’s not the problem right now, come out and see quickly!”

Im Hae-jun pulled me to my feet. I followed him outside for now.

And I was met with silence.

The streets that had been full of children’s laughter and the smell of people living just yesterday were completely empty. As if the entire village had been emptied overnight. There was no one inside the open shop doors, and only laundry hung in front of houses fluttered in the wind.

“….”

I looked around the village and ran my hand through my hair.

“What could have happened?!”

“Be quiet for a moment.”

Something is happening.

The problem is, I don’t know what that ‘something’ is.

…No.

I definitely know, but I can’t remember.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————