Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 33

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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 033

Snow Flower(8)

Seo Ji-hyuk.

Lee Jun-ho knows him. He knows him all too well. He’s Seo Ji-woo’s real older brother. He’s the man who often came to school to cheer on Seo Ji-woo.

‘You’re Jun-ho? You look like some celebrity.’

He was someone who looked good in military uniform. He was a wonderful adult.

Back then, he was a short middle schooler, and Ji-hyuk was an adult of towering height. His sturdy build and military uniform made him seem more adult-like than any other adult.

So much so that he seemed far more adult-like than even mom and dad.

‘I heard you’re close with Ji-woo? She’s a clumsy kid, so even if she’s frustrating sometimes, please be patient with her.’

Swish swish. The hand that touched his head was large.

In Lee Jun-ho’s eyes, Seo Ji-hyuk was the strongest person in the world.

Such a person suddenly died one day.

Killed in action during a mission.

That was his cause of death.

At the funeral hall, there were many people in military uniforms. They had stars on their shoulders. Several National Assembly members sent wreaths. Reporters also came to take pictures. After the funeral procession ended, Seo Ji-hyuk’s coffin was buried at the National Cemetery.

It was death in the line of duty.

Everyone said it was a glorious death, chattering about compensation money being hundreds of millions, but Seo Ji-woo seemed to pay no attention to any of it. In Seo Ji-woo’s small body, only grief and hatred were tightly tangled together without any gaps.

Because Seo Ji-woo and Seo Ji-hyuk were each other’s only family.

“…Hey, what are you doing!”

Seo Ji-woo broke Lee Jun-ho’s reverie. She had already brought ice. Lee Jun-ho hurriedly removed the dog tags and stuffed them into his pocket.

He couldn’t let Seo Ji-woo see this. Lee Jun-ho still remembers that day, when Seo Ji-woo wailed like a beast.

“Move aside.”

“Oh, okay.”

Seo Ji-woo applied ice to Seol Ha-woon’s upper body. The overloaded circuit was in his left chest. Magic power was tangled and glowing blue.

It was dangerous because it was touching his heart.

“Jun-ho. Stab here.”

Seo Ji-woo pointed to the exact spot. Lee Jun-ho raised his sword and made a wound. He carved out part of the chest like sculpting. He couldn’t stab shallowly out of fear. To a depth that seemed to almost touch the heart… Thunk!

Blood gushed out. The blood was blue like some alien’s blood.

It was proper first aid.

“…That’s good.”

Seol Ha-woon gradually stabilized. His circuit’s recovery ability was good. He was certainly quite exceptional in terms of magic power. He had noticed this when enduring the refinement too.

“Phew.”

Seo Ji-woo wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Lee Jun-ho stood up from his spot.

“…I’m really leaving.”

“Ah, that bastard is really being stubborn as hell…”

Seo Ji-woo muttered something, but it didn’t reach his ears. His head felt dazed. It was because of the dog tags he felt in his pocket.

Lee Jun-ho opened the door. The blizzard rushed in and dampened his hair.

“Hey!”

Belatedly, Seo Ji-woo grabbed Lee Jun-ho’s wrist.

“Take this with you.”

It was a chunk of meat hanging from a string.

“I didn’t catch it myself, but I think that person would have given it to you too.”

A fairly large piece of deer thigh meat.

“…Alright. Thanks.”

Lee Jun-ho walked away carrying the meat.

He had his own hideout. Compared to this cabin, it would be endlessly shabby, but it would be sufficient to warm his body.

* * *

Whiiiiii──

When I opened my eyes to the sound of the blizzard, Seo Ji-woo was sleeping in the corner. Using her wolf familiar as a pillow.

I sat up. My chest stung. There was a wound. It seemed some treatment had been done while I was sleeping.

“…?”

Suddenly, I tilted my head at something that felt off. I felt my chest, my collarbone, lower down, my entire body.

It wasn’t there.

The dog tags.

Could I have dropped them while fighting? My mind suddenly went blank.

“Damn it-“

Thud.

“Mmm.”

Seo Ji-woo, who had just woken up, turned her body around. She looked at me with half-open eyelids and chuckled.

“You’re awake?”

My mental state was shaken, but I didn’t show it. I desperately tried to recall my memories.

The dog tags couldn’t have fallen during the fight.

Dog tags are sturdier than they look. They wouldn’t tear before clothes would. But my clothes are fine right now.

Then, someone took them while I was asleep.

It wasn’t Seo Ji-woo. If it were Seo Ji-woo, the atmosphere wouldn’t be this peaceful right now.

It was Lee Jun-ho.

Yaaawn. Seo Ji-woo stretched and asked.

“How’s your body?”

“…Fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

I sat on the edge of the bed.

“…Oh right. That deer you buried in the ground, I found it and brought it back. With this guy.”

Seo Ji-woo bragged while stroking the wolf’s back.

“And, open the refrigerator door!”

She pointed to the refrigerator. I did as she said.

A large deer was inside whole.

“I caught another one with this guy~ I didn’t know how to butcher it, so I left it as a carcass.”

I glanced at Seo Ji-woo.

“If you were hunting, was I asleep for quite a long time?”

“Yeah. About 10 hours?”

10 hours.

First, let me think calmly.

If I accidentally dropped the dog tags, no matter what I do, I can’t find the lost dog tags. They would have been buried in the blizzard for 10 hours.

For now, I can only hope that Lee Jun-ho has them.

* * *

[ Seol Ha-woon defeats his first hostile Labyrinth People. ]

[ You have obtained a B-Grade Random Box! ]

On a night when the blizzard was raging, I checked the system of 「MoMo」. The bonus for dealing with the Labyrinth People had come in.

In other words, according to “MoMo,” this Survival Labyrinth is also being judged as a ‘real labyrinth.’

“This is really delicious. How are you so good at cooking?”

Seo Ji-woo exclaimed while eating the deer meat. Crunch crunch. The wolf beside her was chewing bones and all.

“I brought MSG.”

MSG has good cost-effectiveness in survival missions like this. It doesn’t take up much space while still ensuring good taste.

“Phew…”

Seo Ji-woo, having finished eating, rubbed her belly.

“What do we do now?”

I sat there silently.

Whiiiiiii───

The sound of the blizzard was spectacular. The echo reverberating inside the cave sounded like a bear’s roar.

“From now on, there’s nothing much we can do.”

[ 98 : 33 : 28 ]

98 hours remained. We were gradually entering the endurance phase.

I took out the animal hides I had collected.

“You attach these to the wall.”

“To the wall?”

“Yeah. So the wind can’t get in.”

“It’s not getting in now anyway.”

“More. Without any gaps.”

I gripped the hand axe. I was thinking of going outside to chop some firewood. The weather was harsh, but I couldn’t afford to wait for clear skies.

From now on, we’d need much more firewood.

As I said before, the final boss of this Survival Labyrinth is nature itself.

* * *

[ 56 : 15 : 30 ]

Snore snore snore.

Im Hae-jun was still sleeping. Literally hibernating. That didn’t mean he hadn’t moved at all for 15 days though.

He had hunted too. One deer, two foxes, twelve rabbits. Just the right amount.

Snore snore snore.

Thanks to Im Hae-jun’s characteristic hibernation, heat conservation was certain, and his underground tunnel hideout now had a system of frozen animal hides blocking the outside wind. He had even made quite a sophisticated ventilation system.

Snore snore snore.

So Im Hae-jun was sleeping quite methodically.

“…Ugh.”

He suddenly felt cold and opened his eyes drowsily. He slowly got up and adjusted the lantern’s heat more intensely, adding animal oil he had prepared in advance to the fuel tank. He also applied the formula “Heat Dissipation.” He used a Magic Stone obtained as loot from the escort labyrinth as a catalyst.

Archers are between mages and warriors. Therefore, Im Hae-jun also knew how to use Standardized Magic to some extent.

“Phew…”

In the now much warmer underground, Im Hae-jun lay down covered with a rabbit fur blanket. The fine soil was as cozy as a bed.

* * *

[ 36 : 23 : 18 ]

The external temperature began dropping rapidly. Now frost was forming even inside. We took turns managing the fireplace.

“You have to keep it burning. Distinguish between wet and dry firewood. Keep managing the formula too.”

“Got it.”

Seo Ji-woo said while squeezing moisture from wet firewood with her formula.

“In this labyrinth, the other kids probably already gave up, right?”

“No. More will remain than you think.”

The Survival Labyrinth is certainly a difficult labyrinth, but it’s not completely impossible to clear.

Somewhere in this snowy wasteland, there are caves, and there would be ruins better than my cabin. Digging underground tunnels isn’t bad either. The cold can’t reach underground.

“Here! I’ve removed all the moisture from this section.”

Seo Ji-woo pointed to the completely dried firewood with a grin.

This much firewood was sufficient.

No, from now on it would be difficult to obtain more firewood. With blizzards and strong winds blowing simultaneously, any trees or branches would be blown away as soon as we cut them.

“Then let’s eat.”

“Yay~”

I put meat in the fireplace.

Our indoor living space had shrunk to 1.5 meters in front of the fireplace. It was fortunate I had built the bathroom right next to the fireplace.

At least we wouldn’t freeze to death during biological functions.

* * *

[ 18 : 17 : 00 ]

18 hours remained. The blizzard hadn’t stopped for even a second since yesterday. The cabin was still warm, but we had to stay alert for any possible external situations.

Just then.

Knock knock-

Someone knocked on the door. Seo Ji-woo, who had been half-dozing, was startled. I approached the door.

I waited quietly, but there was no answer.

“…”

Let me think.

If it were a Labyrinth Person, they wouldn’t knock.

Even if it were another explorer, it was strange. Having found the cabin in this blizzard, they weren’t asking for help or trying to open the door. The knock had been just once and that was it.

Probably someone with strong pride.

It could only be that guy.

I gripped the door handle.

“Should I open it? I know who it is.”

Seo Ji-woo grabbed my wrist. She looked at me with worried eyes.

“I think I know who it is.”

I opened the door. There was a back that had already turned around.

Lee Jun-ho, trudging back the way he came.

“Huh? Lee Jun-ho!”

Seo Ji-woo called out to him first. Lee Jun-ho hesitated. His profile looked at us.

I said to him.

“Come in.”

Perhaps this too could be a butterfly effect.

Lee Jun-ho should have originally endured this Survival Labyrinth safely, but because of me, Labyrinth People appeared, and Lee Jun-ho got caught up in it, wasting time and stamina, unable to prepare properly for survival.

“Let’s eat.”

I also had some obligation to help him, to some extent.

* * *

[ 12 : 13 : 00 ]

The number of diners had doubled. Food supplies were nearly depleted, but if we ate sparingly, we could last about 12 hours. I had something more concerning than food supplies.

Crackle crackle.

The fireplace blazed, and on this night when Seo Ji-woo had fallen asleep, silence filled the interior.

I stared at Lee Jun-ho’s face illuminated by the campfire and asked.

“…It was you, right?”

If Lee Jun-ho had taken it, he would understand what I meant.

“….”

He quietly nodded.

Thank goodness.

I swallowed a sigh of relief inwardly.

Right now it would be risky to get it back with Seo Ji-woo here, and I didn’t want the camera to catch it either. Let’s get it back when this labyrinth is completely over.

“…Yawn.”

Thanks to the tension being released, drowsiness came over me.

Lee Jun-ho said.

“Get some sleep. I’ll keep watch over the fireplace.”

I nodded and closed my eyes while sitting in the chair.

* * *

[ 06 : 00 : 00 ]

Whoooosh── Whoooooosh──

At exactly 300 minutes remaining. Now it wasn’t a blizzard but outright a typhoon. It’s amazing the roof is still intact.

I really did build this house well.

“What should we do? We’re out of firewood now.”

Seo Ji-woo pointed at the empty firewood box.

“I’ll go outside and chop some.”

I stopped Lee Jun-ho’s crazy suggestion.

“The moment you open that door, the whole house will fly away.”

It’s science.

In a closed space, the house’s structure itself acts as a shield, creating a pressure difference between inside and outside, maintaining a stable low-pressure state inside.

But when you open the door, this pressure difference suddenly disappears, and strong wind rushes inside, instantly equalizing the air pressure between inside and outside. The sudden pressure change combined with the wind’s force will either blow the entire house away or smash it to pieces.

“Then what do we do? The fireplace is almost out.”

Lee Jun-ho asked.

“We can use this.”

I picked up the chair and shoved it into the nearly extinguished fireplace. The chair instantly caught fire and blazed up.

The backrest was quite comfortable. I actually felt a bit sorry about it.

Groooooan────

The blizzard’s sound was fierce. It was a thunderous roar like a giant’s hand clawing at the sky.

“Everyone, dismantle all the furniture we have.”

The wooden table, kitchen cabinet, bed frame, and even the refrigerator. We dismantled all the furniture into firewood-sized pieces.

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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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