Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 29

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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 029

Snow Flower(4)

[ Remaining Time : 168 : 21 : 15]

A timer displayed like subtitles. Above it, a blizzard covers everything. In the pure white rain falling so heavily that you can’t see an inch ahead, Seo Ji-woo staggers forward.

On her back is a wolf she’s carrying. The most precious food she barely managed to catch.

However, she seems to have neither the time nor the stamina to prepare the prey.

‘Haa, haa…’

Seo Ji-woo continuously lets out rough breaths. Frosty breath flows from her frozen lungs.

For almost a week, the only food she consumed was the provisions from the handbag Seol Ha-woon gave her, a few rabbits she was lucky enough to catch, and snacks like crackers she farmed from the ruins.

[ Warning: Calorie consumption from the blizzard is accelerating. ]

‘…Ah.’

Seo Ji-woo stopped at some point. A signal from her stomach sent shivers throughout her entire body. Her cells seemed to be crying out. That this was the limit now. That she couldn’t move anymore.

She tried to force herself forward but stumbled. The pure white snowfield swallowed her up.

‘…’

She quietly closed her eyes.

Whiiiii——

The indifferent raging blizzard. Her consciousness, buried in the merciless nature, slowly freezes over…

“She’s done for.”

The PD in charge of Seo Ji-woo let out a bitter sigh.

As expected, the Survival Labyrinth is difficult. It was a high-difficulty labyrinth from the start, and lasting 200 hours is sufficiently mid-tier. Thirty explorers were eliminated within the first 100 hours.

“…Hm?”

At that moment, magic power emanated from Seo Ji-woo’s skull earrings. The joints of the wolf that had clearly stopped breathing bent grotesquely. Crack crack! It stood up with its quadrupedal body.

The wolf had been revived.

The wolf glanced at Seo Ji-woo and began walking with clicking sounds. Toward a distant place where heat was faintly shimmering. Toward a place where the scent of food could be detected.

Had it walked for about 10 minutes, keenly picking out scents mixed in the blizzard?

The wolf finally discovered someone.

A man wearing a thick parka hood. He looked at the wolf. The wolf acted cute and scratched his shins.

As if asking him to follow.

“Who’s that guy?”

The impatient PD quickly adjusted the camera angle to check his face.

“Oh!”

He unconsciously covered his mouth.

‘…What do you want?’

At that question, the wolf moved. The man followed the wolf. The wolf consistently looked back and guided the man.

The wolf and the man.

The two arrived in front of a snow mound. Only Seo Ji-woo’s gloved hand was sticking out slightly.

‘Grrr.’

The wolf pointed Seo Ji-woo out to the man.

It had brought Seol Ha-woon to Seo Ji-woo.

* * *

Bubble bubble. Bubble bubble.

I hear the sound of something boiling with my ears.

Sniff sniff sniff sniff. Sniff sniff sniff sniff.

I smell a delicious aroma with my nose.

Grumble!

Pain as if my stomach lining would tear surges up.

“Krak.”

Seo Ji-woo screamed and opened her eyes.

“You’re awake.”

“Huh!”

She was startled by an unfamiliar voice. She quickly turned to look in that direction.

“Why are you…?”

Seol Ha-woon sitting in a chair, stirring soup. Seo Ji-woo blinked blankly, then belatedly assessed her situation.

I’m lying on a bed in a cabin. It’s incredibly warm and cozy, and Seol Ha-woon is casually cooking precious food as if it’s nothing.

“Ah! Forced Summoning?!”

No deaths occur in the 「Labyrinth Exploration」 series. There hasn’t been a single one so far.

When vital signs become seriously dangerous to the point where continuing in the labyrinth is impossible, Forced Summoning automatically activates.

“Don’t talk nonsense about Forced Summoning. Can’t you see the timer?”

“…Eh?”

Seo Ji-woo belatedly checked the timer.

[ Remaining Time : 161: 21 : 15]

[ Remaining Time : 161: 21 : 14]

[ Remaining Time : 161: 21 : 13]

Time is flowing. It means she’s still inside the labyrinth.

Just then, Seol Ha-woon poured delicious-looking liquid into a large bowl.

Gulp. She swallowed saliva instinctively.

“Eat.”

Seol Ha-woon offered the soup. Seo Ji-woo almost lost her mind from the smell. She didn’t need to know what this situation was about.

She buried her nose in the bowl like a dog and ate. She licked it clean without leaving a single drop.

“…Ah. I can live.”

After filling her stomach a bit, she finally became curious. Seo Ji-woo glanced at Seol Ha-woon while brushing her hair.

“I’m grateful but… may I ask why you saved me?”

Seol Ha-woon gestured somewhere with his eyes. There was a wolf by the door.

“Oh, what a surprise! What’s that?!”

Seo Ji-woo trembled.

“Do you keep a wolf?”

Seol Ha-woon’s brow furrowed as if absurd.

“…It’s yours.”

“Mine? Why would that be…?”

Seo Ji-woo looked at the wolf carefully. There was a small hole in its neck. The trace of a formula that had penetrated precisely to send it off without pain.

“Your necklace.”

Seol Ha-woon pointed to Seo Ji-woo’s skull necklace.

“That turned the dead wolf into a familiar. You’re using it without even knowing what you’re wearing.”

Seo Ji-woo made a strange expression. She blinked while looking at the sleeping wolf.

“…I caught it to eat. But it saved me?”

Seo Ji-woo sat up from the bed.

“But, wow~ there was such a neat place? You’re lucky.”

She looked around the interior with envy.

“If I had found a place like this from the beginning, I wouldn’t have suffered so much. All I could find were completely destroyed ruins.”

Seo Ji-woo thought this cabin was one of the ruins occasionally visible in the snowy wasteland.

“I built it.”

“…Huh?”

“I said I built it. I didn’t find it.”

Seo Ji-woo let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha! You’re lying~”

Seol Ha-woon stopped while ladling out a bowl of soup. Seo Ji-woo quickly changed her words.

“…No, no. You built it well. This. You could really sell this house. Completely. Completely.”

Seol Ha-woon filled the bowl with soup again and handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

This time she picked up a spoon and ate like a proper person.

Seol Ha-woon glanced over at her.

“Your clothes are all torn up. What a waste of money.”

“…Clothes?”

Seo Ji-woo also looked at her outfit. It was a mess. The designer top and bottom were naturally all torn, leaving only roughly patched cloth pieces like rags.

“Ah~ This one was worth the money though.”

Seo Ji-woo picked up the Hermesian Bag with her fingers. Inside were only three peanuts.

“Well… I survived thanks to you. Twice.”

Seol Ha-woon shrugged. Seo Ji-woo was eating soup when she pointed at the wolf.

“But, don’t you need to give some to him?”

“It’s a dead familiar anyway. It lives fine without food.”

“…Really? Still.”

She placed the soup, about 1/3 remaining, in front of the wolf.

“I survived thanks to him, didn’t I?”

“It won’t eat anyway. It probably doesn’t even have digestive organs.”

Seo Ji-woo gently petted the wolf’s head. Then the wolf opened its eyes. Sniff sniff. After smelling it, the wolf started licking the soup.

“It’s eating well though?”

It even licked the bowl clean thoroughly.

“…Ahem.”

Seol Ha-woon cleared his throat unnecessarily.

“Maybe it’s because you didn’t process it properly. The internal organs like digestive systems-“

“Then~ how should I express my gratitude?”

Seo Ji-woo rubbed her hands together and grinned slyly. It was like some servile goblin pose.

Seol Ha-woon pointed at the cabin door.

“Forget the gratitude and leave now.”

“….”

Telling her to leave was too cold.

Seo Ji-woo quietly planted her bottom on the floor.

“Um… couldn’t we cooperate? Like teamwork or something.”

“Why? I already built a shelter.”

She rolled her eyes and suddenly raised her finger.

“Oh, oh rather, that’s exactly why you need me. I’ve been thinking.”

Seol Ha-woon offered another bowl of soup. Seo Ji-woo accepted it while speaking.

“I got really hungry, right? If things go wrong, we might really see each other again later, and filming or whatever won’t matter.”

That was true. Human appetite is stronger than one can imagine. Especially for modern people who have never truly starved.

“And, you know what? It’s getting colder here. Comparing the first day to yesterday, it’s a world of difference. There might be people trying to raid, so let’s defend together. Also, who knows? Labyrinth People might appear.”

Labyrinth People refers to humans that appear in labyrinths.

They look very similar to humans on the outside, but are definitely twisted somewhere – byproducts of the labyrinth.

“How about it? Mage party let’s go?”

Seo Ji-woo clasped her hands together as if praying. Seol Ha-woon clicked his tongue.

“Your fuel efficiency is too shit for that.”

“…What did you say? No, I’ll eat less, less. As little as possible. Really, just scraps would be fine. I don’t even need to eat this.”

Seo Ji-woo quietly put down the soup. When she had eaten three bowls, Seol Ha-woon was just now picking up his first bowl.

Read the room, Ji-woo. At least match the eating pace.

“…Deal?”

Seo Ji-woo, who had stopped eating, gave Seol Ha-woon a meaningful look. Seol Ha-woon looked at her silently.

“I’ll become your escort knight. If things go wrong, you can abandon me right away. I’ll sacrifice myself.”

“Before talking about escort knights, fix your speech first. What’s the age difference between us?”

“It’s only 6 years.”

“How is that ‘only’? Did we meet at some construction site?”

“….”

Seo Ji-woo pouted and muttered.

“If I use formal speech… will you let me be your escort knight?”

* * *

I opened the cabin’s freezer. Seo Ji-woo also peeked inside from beside me.

“Wow. It’s meat, meat.”

The food supplies brought from the department store were already consumed, leaving only meat caught through hunting.

It looked quite full, but assuming one more person to feed, it would last at most five days. I need to catch 3-4 more.

Ah, I decided to cooperate with Seo Ji-woo.

Seo Ji-woo probably said it without much thought, but actually, I had discovered real ‘Labyrinth People’ before meeting Seo Ji-woo.

Beings wearing clothes but whose insides weren’t clearly visible, somehow blurry like ghosts.

Since Labyrinth People are byproducts of labyrinths, almost 99% are hostile. Being byproducts of labyrinths means they disappear when the labyrinth is destroyed.

“You caught a lot, haha. In 200 hours, all I caught was that one.”

Seo Ji-woo chattered while pointing at the wolf. Apparently liking it, she kept maintaining that familiar.

“Not much. I need to catch at least three more adults here to be safe.”

I need hide too, and more oil. For protection against cold. On the final day, the external temperature will drop to minus 90 degrees. The final boss of this Survival Labyrinth is ‘cold’ – nature itself.

“Ah, is that so? Then let’s hunt together.”

“If we’re short, can we eat that wolf too?”

I pointed at Seo Ji-woo’s wolf.

“….”

Seo Ji-woo’s expression hardened.

“It’s a joke.”

“Ah~ hahaha. Such a joke. Haha.”

Smack! Seo Ji-woo hit my back with her palm. I became serious. Seo Ji-woo quickly bowed.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Anyway.

Something seems strange.

Like the Orc Shaman from the previous Cargo Dungeon, and the Labyrinth People from this Survival Labyrinth. Situations I never saw in the original broadcast before my regression keep appearing.

If the variable called me is causing some change to this program…

Well. I’ll have to respond as best I can.

I boiled the kettle. I put coffee in two cups and added hot water.

“You brought coffee too? Amazing.”

I placed one cup in front of the chattering Seo Ji-woo and put the other in front of me.

“Thank you!”

Seo Ji-woo held the coffee with a blissful expression. I listened to sounds outside the house.

We were silent for a moment.

Whiiiii───

A fierce howling. Outside the house, cutting winds seem to be raging, but the air inside is warm and peaceful.

“Slurrrp.”

Seo Ji-woo drinking coffee like noodles is a bit uncomfortable to watch.

Still, she’s a celebrity. Being with her should help me get some screen time from now on. I’ve wasted so much time building the house that I wonder if I’ll even get 5 minutes of airtime.

Who would want to watch a former military man building a cabin? I’d be lucky if I don’t get edited out completely.

That’s one of the reasons I accepted Seo Ji-woo.

I sipped my coffee and turned on the timer.

[ 156 : 10 : 35 ]

8 days have passed so far, and there are a little over 6 days left.

“Day 8… Today must be that day.”

“That day?”

Seo Ji-woo asked back with wide, round eyes. I answered briefly.

“First broadcast.”

Seo Ji-woo, who seemed to be calculating the date in her head, suddenly knocked on the table.

“…Ah! That’s right! Today is our first broadcast!”

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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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