Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 32

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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 032

Snow Flower(7)

Lee Jun-ho surprisingly doesn’t care much about the image he projects. Of course, explorers smoking isn’t exactly a very negative issue. Given the nature of the profession.

Besides, if you’re as good-looking as him, even smoking can have its own charm.

“Ah~ I almost went crazy. At least this is a relief.”

Lee Jun-ho still seems to have some guilt remaining, but if my thinking is correct, there’s no need for him to blame himself.

“Why are we going so far?”

I had moved quite far from Jin Ho-seung’s hideout. At a reasonable distance where our conversation wouldn’t be heard, I pulled out my cigarette pack.

Lee Jun-ho blankly extended his hand. I pretended to hand him a cigarette and spoke to him.

“Listen carefully.”

“…But why do you keep speaking informally to me? Do you think I want to use formal speech all the time?”

Lee Jun-ho frowned.

I put the cigarette back.

“…Taking this opportunity to become friends might not be so bad either.”

“Listen carefully.”

I continued speaking while fiddling with the cigarette I had pulled out.

“85-90% of the world’s population is right-handed. It’s not wrong to say 90% are right-handed.”

I raised my right hand holding the cigarette. Lee Jun-ho’s gaze was fixed only on the cigarette.

“But all four of those guys over there are left-handed. While all four could be right-handed, isn’t it too strange for all of them to be left-handed?”

I have no interest in the other 95 people besides myself. I don’t know whether their dominant hand is left or right. Nevertheless, it’s suspicious.

Lee Jun-ho frowned.

“You’re saying it’s strange that all four are left-handed?”

“That’s right.”

I gestured toward Jin Ho-seung’s dwelling with my chin. Lee Jun-ho still looked confused and only stared at the cigarette.

“It could just be a coincidence. Ignoring coincidences can get you killed.”

That’s correct. The probability is low, but they could all coincidentally be left-handed.

Except for the last one.

“The patient you cut. His heart was beating on the right side.”

“What are you talking about now. Just give me the cigarette, please.”

“That guy they have lying down as a patient. His heart beats on the right side.”

“…Hah.”

Lee Jun-ho roughly grabbed and pulled at his own hair.

“Look here. Hearts beat everywhere originally. It’s just a little louder on the left side.”

“Then go check for yourself.”

The patient’s heart was definitely positioned toward the right side.

It’s also a characteristic of Labyrinth People. They always have at least one point that differs from humans, and they share these traits with each other.

“Whether the patient’s heartbeat is clearer on the left or right side.”

Having finished speaking, I handed Lee Jun-ho a cigarette. He quickly accepted it. I also put a cigarette between my lips. I lit it with my lighter.

I needed to smoke at least one so they wouldn’t suspect anything.

Tssssst!

Lee Jun-ho rubbed his blade against the scabbard. He brought his cigarette to the sparks that appeared like flower petals.

“Whew…”

Lee Jun-ho exhaled the smoke as if savoring it. A relaxed expression appeared on his lips. His face looked much clearer.

“So, what are you trying to say?”

I looked toward the hideout and spoke.

“Those bastards. They’re Labyrinth People.”

“…Labyrinth People?”

“Right. If I had to guess, the Labyrinth People are mimicking the eliminated ones. Do you know about jangsan tigers?”

Tigers that mimic human voices.

“…”

Lee Jun-ho silently took a drag of his cigarette. Breath like snow mist drifted diagonally.

“Your cutting down that patient was probably also instinctual.”

A person encountered in a blizzarding environment. No matter how much of a battle maniac Lee Jun-ho is, he wouldn’t just cut someone down randomly.

Surely Lee Jun-ho’s animal-like senses—that sharp intuition—had detected something unsettling that was different from humans.

“…Labyrinth People.”

Lee Jun-ho chuckled and pointed at me with his finger.

“How are you going to confirm it?”

“I’ll use the excuse of bringing food. Leave one person as bait. Then they’ll reveal their true nature on their own.”

The bait is Seo Ji-woo.

Once caught by hostile Labyrinth People, there’s no escaping. They have a very persistent nature, so once they mark their prey, they’ll pursue endlessly.

Also, I’m curious.

In 「MoMo」, killing hostile Labyrinth People gave special bonuses—I wonder if it’ll be the same here.

“Using Ji-woo as bait… I don’t like it, but.”

Lee Jun-ho crushed the nearly finished cigarette in his grip. Crumble. It crumbled finely between his palms and sank into the snow.

“Broadcast content. We need to secure it.”

* * *

Before long, the sun had set.

“Yaaawn.”

Seo Ji-woo let out a yawn. Lee Jun-ho and Seol Ha-woon had left saying they would bring food, and she had willingly stayed at Jin Ho-seung’s team hideout to nurse Lee Yong-seung.

It was hard to leave easily. Lee Yong-seung was a classmate from Explorer High School.

Clatter clatter.

But these people have been acting strange since earlier. Maybe they’ve gone crazy from hunger, or maybe they’re doing this because the cramped interior is suffocating.

“What are you doing?”

Clatter clatter.

Jin Ho-seung keeps washing something. No, since the sun set, everyone in this place has been continuously repeating the same actions.

One person keeps drawing something on the floor, another person keeps circling the edges of the hideout.

“…”

To Seo Ji-woo, it’s quite strange. It even gives her goosebumps.

“Those guys, when are those guys coming back?”

She made an excuse and got up.

“Did something happen?”

That could be it.

“Jin Ho-seung. I’m going to step outside for a moment. Something might have happened.”

That’s when it happened.

Without any warning, the people suddenly rushed toward Seo Ji-woo with a crash.

“What, what!”

With her arms and legs grabbed in an instant, Seo Ji-woo looked into their eyes. There was no light in their pupils. Grayish-white, hazy pupils. Seo Ji-woo’s intuition went cold.

What had been Jin Ho-seung opened its mouth. It was an anatomically impossible angle.

“Crazy!”

Seo Ji-woo released her magic power. She tried to wrap around Jin Ho-seung’s neck like a snare, but it passed through his body and brushed past. The cross-section rippled like liquid.

Crrrreeeeak.

Jin Ho-seung’s enormous mouth was about to swallow Seo Ji-woo’s head whole… at that moment.

──Bang.

Gunfire came rushing from somewhere. A mana bullet that pierced through the wooden planks penetrated Jin Ho-seung’s temple.

Bang!

At the same time, Lee Jun-ho appeared. He burst in while cutting down the door and swung his sword at Jin Ho-seung and his team members.

However, the sword passed through the people. The opponents rippled like slimes. Lee Jun-ho shouted.

“These guys aren’t getting cut?!”

“Hey, hey! What’s going on here?!”

“Can’t you tell by looking?! These bastards are all Labyrinth People! Let’s get out first!”

Lee Jun-ho dragged Seo Ji-woo outside.

Whoooosh──

In the swirling blizzard, Lee Jun-ho and Seo Ji-woo stood upright. From the other side, those same five people walked out step by step.

There was no trace of the human-like demeanor they had shown during the day. Even the patient Lee Yong-seung was the same.

“They’re fluid bodies.”

Seol Ha-woon appeared from behind. Some kind of rimless glasses rested on his eyes.

Lee Jun-ho bit his lip.

“This is my first time with these kinds of bastards.”

He muttered while swishing his long sword through the air. No Sword Aura arose.

To use techniques like Sword Force or Sword Aura, ignition of Magic Power is required first. In cold places, it takes some time.

“….”

Seol Ha-woon looked at them through his [Reinforced Compressed Rimless Glasses]. His perception expanded and he could see the Labyrinth People’s weak points.

However, the weak points were moving. Hundreds of times per second. Moreover, they were extremely small, making physical shooting impossible.

This item is trash.

Meanwhile, those bastards charged at them first.

Seol Ha-woon said.

“For now, Ji-woo and I will take one each. Jun-ho, you take three.”

“Why do I get three?”

“You’re a warrior.”

Seol Ha-woon fired Mana Bullets at one of them. Bang bang bang bang. He shot at the weak points, but they only passed through the body.

The enemies accelerated rapidly and rushed at them. Lee Jun-ho took on three as promised, while Seol Ha-woon and Seo Ji-woo each handled one.

The patient Lee Yong-seung clung to Seol Ha-woon.

Their attacks were simple.

Cling and devour. The most threatening method for fluid bodies.

“…Get lost!”

Especially for mages like Seol Ha-woon who don’t have good mobility.

“Hey! Are you okay?!”

Seo Ji-woo asked. Seol Ha-woon tried to push the creature away, but even the hand he was pushing with was being devoured into its body.

Can’t help it.

He concentrated Magic Power throughout his entire palm. He conjured quite a violent Mental Visualization in his mind.

The Materialization model was a weapon that boasted the strongest killing power in close combat.

Shotgun.

“Take this and die.”

──Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted. Magic Power exploded at point-blank range. Fragments of Mana Bullets scattered and tore through the fluid. The Labyrinth Person died making a wind-like sound.

These bastards are fluid bodies, meaning they’re like liquids. Weak points or whatever, if you have enough firepower to evaporate them in an instant, that’s sufficient.

“…Ah.”

But my hand is hot. Beyond simply hot, it’s slightly damaged.

“Hey! I killed one!”

Lee Jun-ho shouted. One creature dissolved into particles while rippling.

“I tied up one too!”

This time it was Seo Ji-woo. As she said, the fake Jin Ho-seung was caught in Seo Ji-woo’s Line.

Whether it’s binding fluid bodies or just cutting them down entirely. They really are talented.

Seol Ha-woon limped over to Jin Ho-seung who was bound by Seo Ji-woo.

Index finger, middle finger, thumb. He gathered three fingers thickly and pressed them against the creature’s chest.

Suddenly, a dark past came to mind. A memory from sometime ago burned through his brain.

Like this, he had once executed a person who was kneeling with limbs bound.

───Bang!

[ Seol Ha-woon defeats a hostile Labyrinth Person. ]

[ You acquire a Random Box…. ]

* * *

After the battle ended. Seo Ji-woo returned to the cabin almost buried in snow. Just in case, she had connected the cabin and herself with a Line, so she didn’t lose her way.

“Wow… where is this place?”

Lee Jun-ho looked around the cabin and let out a hollow laugh. A wolf was glaring at Lee Jun-ho from the entrance.

“And what’s with this wolf.”

Seo Ji-woo lit the fireplace first as if it were her own home.

“Lay that person here.”

Lee Jun-ho laid Seol Ha-woon on the bed. Seol Ha-woon had collapsed right after killing all the Labyrinth People.

“Hey. Jun-ho. But how did you know? That they were Labyrinth People.”

Seo Ji-woo asked.

Lee Jun-ho pointed at Seol Ha-woon.

“This Mr. Seol figured it out. They were all left-handed.”

“Left-handed?”

“Yeah. We learned this too. ‘Hostile Labyrinth People have characteristics. Explorers must use these as hints to deal with Labyrinth People’.”

Lee Jun-ho recited from the textbook and continued.

“These Labyrinth People were mirrors of humans, I guess. When the sun sets, mirrors become hard to see too, so they return to their original state.”

Mirrors of humans. In other words, they imitate already eliminated explorers, but because they’re mirrors, they move in a ‘reversed’ state.

“…No wonder. They were acting fucking weird.”

“Right. Well then Ji-woo, should I go?”

Lee Jun-ho got up.

“Why? Stay and rest for at least a day.”

“No. If I stay together with you guys, I feel like my presence will get drained.”

“Presence drained?”

“I don’t want to become a nobody.”

Lee Jun-ho said something strange and chuckled. Seo Ji-woo tilted her head in confusion and looked at Seol Ha-woon again. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

Sweat beads.

Even though the fireplace isn’t fully lit yet and it’s this cold?

Seo Ji-woo’s eyes widened.

“…Magic Power overuse!”

It was the side effect of using too much Magic Power.

In this situation, First Aid is essential. The Mana Circuit needs to be calmed down first.

“Hey hey. Help me out before you go!”

Seo Ji-woo undressed Seol Ha-woon. Lee Jun-ho also came over to help. From the thick coat to jacket, upper garment, undershirt, and thermal underwear.

“Ah, just how many layers did he put on…?”

The moment they finally exposed his upper body.

Both people’s movements stopped.

“…What is this.”

“…I know, right.”

Seol Ha-woon’s entire body was covered in scars. From stitched marks to dozens of stab wounds, eight gunshot wounds, burns that had half-consumed his side… the traces of terrible pain from the past remained as scars.

“Ah, for now. I’ll go make some ice!”

Seo Ji-woo, who had come to her senses, hurriedly ran outside.

“Got it.”

Lee Jun-ho was examining Seol Ha-woon when he discovered a gray cord hanging around his neck.

“…Dog tags.”

What, once a soldier, always a soldier? He chuckled and picked them up.

[ Seo Ji-hyuk ]

“…”

The campfire in the fireplace blazed red. The hot color stained his irises. Lee Jun-ho stared blankly at the name engraved on the dog tags.

His body stiffened.

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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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