Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 322

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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 322

HERO(8)

“Wow, does this even make sense, seriously!”

Seo Ji-woo burst out angrily as she sat up. Lee Jun-ho pressed his temples hard as if he had a headache.

“No way, it cuts off right there…”

Kang Hyeon also had a serious expression.

“But Ha-woon hyung does come back alive in the end.”

“That’s not the problem. It’s just annoying not being able to see it to the end. Isn’t this the first labyrinth to go to 3 episodes?”

Seo Ji-woo roughly ran her fingers through her hair. Even so, she kept her eyes focused on the TV.

No matter how long they waited, there was no continuation.

“…Wow, what the hell. There’s no preview today either?”

There was a preview.

All next week, variety shows featuring Labyrinth Exploration NaN explorers will be broadcast.

It was a preview for Mitamnan variety shows.

—Hae-jun in Iceland—

Im Hae-jun: Let’s go see the aurora together! Let’s go on a trip!

Im Hae-jun makes a big fuss as he boards the plane. He creates a hot spring, watches the aurora from inside it, and suddenly starts crying loudly.

Im Hae-jun: Waaaaaaaah~

“Why is that bastard crying?”

Seo Ji-woo was dumbfounded.

“Hae-jun cries often anyway.”

─Seo Ji-woo’s Luck Test─

Seo Ji-woo: Yes. Seo Ji-woo’s luck test, since we’re at it, let’s go all the way to the king. Berionar Chronicles. It’s a single-player RPG game.

Lee Jun-ho’s eyes widened.

“Oh. Did you play that?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s really fun. I was obsessed with it for a while too.”

“Really?”

Enhancement Success!

Enhancement Success!

Alchemy Success!

Enhancement successes repeat almost infinitely.

“What the hell.”

Lee Jun-ho frowned as if dumbfounded.

Seo Ji-woo: Wow. This is working. It’s just working perfectly.

Seo Ji-woo chuckled.

“I cleared that in 8 hours.”

“Huh? No way, bullshit. Even just rushing through the main quests takes at least 40 hours.”

“I just fully enhanced a level 30 weapon and everyone died.”

“…Sigh. Having too much luck means you don’t understand the essence or fun of games.”

Kang Hyeon: I like escaping from things. It feels like a labyrinth too.

A scene of Kang Hyeon discussing with the production team.

Kang Hyeon: Yes. Escape variety show. But I can’t know the answers, so I’ll ask the production team.

“That was absolutely something he shouldn’t have said.”

Kang Hyeon rubbed the back of his neck.

Lee Jun-ho: Escape… Yes. Room escape. That’s my hobby. But it has to be well-made. A well-made room escape. But I can’t design room escapes myself, right? Oh, you’ll make one for us?

Two people who fell into the production team’s trap.

Grrrrrr! Grroooooar!

Zombies appeared randomly everywhere.

Seo Ji-woo flinched.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“…It was fun. Right?”

Lee Jun-ho looked at Kang Hyeon. Kang Hyeon nodded too.

“Yeah.”

─Yoon Hwa-rim’s Cart Journey─

Yoon Hwa-rim: Let’s go, vroom vroom~

Yoon Hwa-rim’s variety show concept is traveling everywhere in a cart.

Yoon Hwa-rim: Huh? That looks like a stray cat? It looks hurt?!

She somehow acquires a stray cat, gets it treated at a veterinary hospital, and raises it in the cart.

“Wow. But Hwa-rim is still getting cursed at like crazy.”

Seo Ji-woo let out a hollow laugh while looking at social media on her smartphone.

“Really? Because of that turret?”

Lee Jun-ho also looked at his smartphone.

“Yeah. Look at this.”

-Yoon Hwarim’s level of shamelessly stealing the turret that Seolhaun left for his younger siblings to use ㅉㅉ

-She didn’t even say thank you. Isn’t she just a robber?

-But they haven’t even met yet, how can she say thank you

-Je Mal-ol gives everything away, but why are there so many trying to freeload

-Hwa-rim, have some conscience

-Her character is just rotten.

-I could tell from when she was clinging to Kate.

-Honestly, today was a bit too much.

-Just quit the show.

“It’s a bit spicy. Was it always like this?”

“It’s been especially intense lately. Because of the rankings.”

Excluding the final live broadcast, only 2 episodes remained.

Mitamnan was really almost over now.

“When is Yoon Hwa-rim coming out?”

Not knowing what’s happening outside and still inside the labyrinth… thanks to that, she might not need psychological therapy.

“The moment she comes out, she’ll feel like she got hit in the back of the head with a hammer, so she’ll probably return to reality right away.”

─Kate’s Living Alone─

Kate captured her daily life as entertainment.

The famous Hailford’s lifestyle, daily routines and activities.

Seo Ji-woo crossed her arms.

“Kate used a cheat key.”

“Hey, I’m curious about that too.”

─Kim Dong-ha’s Health Training─

Lee Jun-ho’s brow furrowed.

“Come on, who would watch that? Dong-ha has no sense, really.”

Then, suddenly the screen bloomed elegantly. With variety show editing, the filter changed, and Seol Ha-woon’s long hair flowed. Like an actor filming a shampoo commercial.

─Seol Ha-woon’s Three Meals a Day─

Seol Ha-woon: Hello. I’m Seol Ha-woon from Three Meals a Day…

The camera surveyed the island’s scenery. Clear wind, blue sea, green trees.

Seol Ha-woon: Eat a meal and sleep, eat a meal and sleep, eat a meal and sleep. Very comfortably.

“Oh right. Ha-woon hyung was hospitalized around that time.”

Kang Hyeon showed interest. Seo Ji-woo tilted her head.

“That’s right. If that was his concept, how did he end up hospitalized?”

“I don’t know. The production team didn’t tell us anything.”

Anyway, the preview ended like that, and silence flowed through the living room.

The three people picked up their smartphones as if by agreement.

Tap. Tap tap.

Only the quiet sound of tapping screens echoed.

They were checking viewers’ reactions to today’s broadcast.

│Holy shit, is the preview insane?│

│Today was truly legendary and the preview confirms the kill, damn│

│Fuck, how do I wait until next week│

│But when did Kang Hyeon become close with Seol Ha-woon?│

│Those two have been real friends since the Cargo Dungeon│

│It was so fucking funny when Ganghyeon was smelling Seolhaun ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ│

│But can’t Yoon Hwa-rim really be reported? Isn’t that theft at that level?│

│Seol Ha-woon hasn’t said anything yet, so why are you guys freaking out? Idiots always making a fuss│

│What are you saying, asshole. Why does Mr. Yoon always just cling to others?│

│Sometimes Kate, sometimes Seo Ji-woo, sometimes Seol Ha-woon lololol That Mr. Yoon who can’t do anything by himself│

│Really sick of fandom fights… just watch the damn show│

│Seol-father… who are you really…│

│Looking at the preview, it seems like Seol Ha-woon really got eliminated? He got caught in the explosion│

│No no, it’s bait. You believe that?│

│Seo Ji-woo just beating everyone with pure luck is so funny ㅋㅋㅋ│

│Ji-woo is just fucking pretty│

│Kate and Seo Ji-woo were really close too│

│The two who seemed like they’d be the least compatible became super close lol Yoon Hwarim just got stuck in between them haha│

│Yoon Hwa-rim is so unlikable for real│

│Wow, even if they’re right, that’s fucking scary lol. Shit, look how they dunk an explorer in an instant│

│Please… save our Ha-woon…│

…I returned to Tae-woo’s Workshop.

Tae-woo’s Workshop without Tae-woo, after saying goodbye to the village people.

I placed the completed Life-Connecting Pill on the table. I sat in the chair and quietly looked up at the sky outside the window.

My magic power was still stagnant, but my traits and realm remained.

The sensation of magic power that had undergone 5-stage refinement perceived the world in a completely different dimension.

I could see the flow of each individual magic power particle in the atmosphere, and now I could even read the subtle echoes of magic power dwelling in objects.

“…”

I picked up the Life-Connecting Pill. I pushed it into my mouth.

It went down my throat like a squishy liquid, wriggling as it entered. Though I didn’t feel entirely good about it, warm energy soon spread throughout my body.

Thump─!

As if blocked blood vessels had opened, my magic power circuits stirred anew.

“Haah…”

Did I survive?

It seemed like I had survived.

I dropped my arm onto the desk with a thud.

Suddenly, I had this thought.

What effect would the time I spent here have on my original time? Like how a butterfly’s small wing flutter could become a massive storm on the other side of Earth─

“It has no effect whatsoever.”

I was startled and turned toward where the voice came from. Before I knew it, Tae-woo was standing across from me.

“This time, our time is already in a completed state. Even if you detonated a magic nuclear bomb here, nothing would change in the original flow.”

“When did you arrive?”

Tae-woo looked at me. Like always, the same yet subtly different black coat and slacks, work boots.

“People think time flows linearly, but it’s actually like a massive structure that’s already complete.”

His eyes were deep and dark like obsidian.

“Even I cannot know the entirety of it. It’s on a scale that individuals cannot dare to fathom.”

“…It’s already complete?”

“That’s right.”

At those words, my brow naturally furrowed.

“Is time fatalistic?”

The thing I hated most─the idea that everything was already predetermined.

“I don’t know. From a broad perspective it’s a finished product, but when viewed very closely, it’s fluctuating.”

“What? That’s possible… I see.”

Modern physics came to mind.

Quantum mechanics. Existing yet not existing, unable to know if it’s there or not until you open the box─a world where probabilities are superimposed.

“That is time. It’s complete but there’s no fate. Within the massive framework called time─individuals are too insignificant and trivial.”

Because individuals are too small and insignificant like quantum particles, they’re actually not subject to fate.

“…It’s difficult.”

“No need to think about it difficultly. Individuals just need to live as individuals. Time exists as time.”

Tae-woo pointed outside the door.

“And you’ve already arrived.”

“Excuse me?”

Ring ring-

My smartphone activated from within my pocket.

I quickly got up and opened the workshop door.

I had returned to the present.

Where Jeong Soon-i’s old shack had stood, a proper apartment complex now rose, and there was the elementary school and playground where Ja-gyeong-dan Village had once stretched.

Not a trace of what existed 75 years ago remained anywhere.

…It was only natural.

They say the landscape changes in 10 years, and 75 years spans nearly an entire human lifetime.

“…”

I gripped my staff. I felt the sensation of magic power flowing through the blood vessels in my body.

“Mage Tae-woo.”

There was no answer. Even his presence had disappeared. He had left again without notice.

“Son of a… no, that’s not right.”

He’s the gracious mage who saved my life.

I sighed and stepped forward with my staff.

Tap.

If time was already complete, as Tae-woo had said.

Then within that vast flow, what could an individual possibly do?

Tap.

“…Effort.”

Humans are not bound by fate. Free will is not an illusion.

Therefore, humans make efforts.

What constitutes the vast expanse of time is the small choices and efforts of countless individuals.

Tap.

I closed my eyes as I descended the mountain.

I groped for the magic power within me, following the very small trace I had left in the past.

75 years ago, evidence of my magic power left in that time.

I had not yet used refined magic power in this era.

But among the magic power I used in that past, there was one thing that could possibly exist across space and time until now.

The bracelet.

If Jeong Soon-i was still alive in this era.

That bracelet would surely show me the way.

I walked, following my senses.

The inpatient lounge at Goyeon University Hospital.

Though it was nearly midnight, many people had gathered in front of the TV.

──To be continued next week

Mitamnan had just ended.

“This doesn’t make any sense.”

Someone sighed in frustration. It wasn’t just the nurses and the doctor on duty. Even the patients were angry.

It was absurd and made no sense.

“Why does it continue for three more episodes! So does Seol Ha-woon die or not!”

At Teacher Kim’s anguished cry, whose favorite was Yoon Hwa-rim, Teacher Lee beside him chuckled.

“If Yoon Hwa-rim is your favorite, aren’t you hoping Seol Ha-woon dies?”

“…Why are you bringing that up now? That’s not it.”

“Never mind then.”

“Ugh. How long do we have to wait until next week…”

“Try to avoid SNS and communities if you can. Yoon Hwa-rim is getting a lot of hate.”

“Seriously, until the very end… Fine. I’m leaving.”

With sighs, people began leaving the lounge one by one.

Before long, it was past midnight.

The TV turned off, the commotion and noise subsided, and patients lay down in their beds.

The hospital night returned to its original form, filled with beeping machine sounds and the faint scent of disinfectant.

Tap.

Then, distinctly clear, a sound echoing through the quiet corridor.

A resonance like someone tapping a staff.

Tap.

Suddenly, one of the nurses organizing charts looked toward the source of the sound.

The end of the corridor.

“Huh…?”

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and charts scattered from her weakened grip.

Tap.

The nurse beside her also followed her colleague’s gaze and froze with her mouth agape.

Tap.

From the far end of the corridor, a man was walking with a limp.

Tap.

One step. One step. A person whose very gait was remarkably noticeable.

Tap.

He soon stopped in front of the nurse station.

He asked the nurses who were staring at him blankly.

“Excuse me, may I ask you one thing?”

His voice itself was different. Very deep like a cave, with a heavy bass that seemed to resonate through space.

His face was very three-dimensional. His long hair was intellectual and distinctive.

An aura that couldn’t simply be lumped together as ordinarily handsome.

It was as if the frame had changed just in the space where he stood. The ordinary hospital corridor instantly transformed into a scene from a movie.

Yes, the texture of reality had changed. Reality had become cinematically prominent.

“Excuse me?”

He asked, tilting his head.

“Yes, yes. Yes yes. Please ask.”

They answered, but it felt somehow dreamlike.

His name was Seol Ha-woon.

The mage who had been on screen just moments ago, currently the most famous mage in South Korea.

He asked with somehow distant eyes.

“By any chance, is there a child named Lee Jeong-soon here….”

I paused for a moment. As if trying to correct a very important fact, I smiled faintly and slowly opened my mouth.

“No, is there an Elder admitted here?”

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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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