Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 38

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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 038

Day of Peace(1)

[ Antique Shop ]

I arrived at the antique shop, the location of Kim Se-jin’s special lecture.

Chime. I stood in front of the counter while listening to the door bell sound.

─Seol Ha-woon: In this operation, my words will be absolutely correct.

Seol Ha-woon was appearing on the TV in one corner of the shop. I spoke to the old man at the counter.

“Hello.”

“…Hmm?”

The old man looked at me. He widened his eyes and let out a hollow laugh.

“Yes. It’s me. My words are right…”

He stopped speaking.

Suddenly, I sensed a ‘scent’ from this old man. The distinctive sensation I had also felt from Yoo Yul.

But if Yoo Yul was a drop of ink in a lake, this person was paint in a cup. The smell of magic power was infinitely clearer compared to Yoo Yul.

There was only one correct answer.

“By any chance, are you Mage Kim Se-jin?”

“…”

The old man froze stiff. He tilted his head and changed his expression as if finding it uninteresting.

“Ahem~”

Polymorph. Transformation Technique. Human Skin Mask Technique. What was called by various names was certainly ‘magic’ that transcended the dimension of formulas.

“You have quite good senses. This was my quiz. Nine people came and all went back.”

Just because someone could use a few spells didn’t make them all mages, but Kim Se-jin was certainly someone close to being a mage.

“You really do have good eyes.”

“Thank you.”

“Mr. Seol Ha-woon, did you come to attend the special lecture? Or did you come to film?”

Kim Se-jin pointed at the GoPro.

“Both, but the special lecture is the bigger purpose.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I want to grow as a mage.”

I want to become stronger. As I felt when facing the Labyrinth People, much greater effort and skill are needed to avoid death.

If I became a mage with 60 million followers, could I live without worrying about recognition?

“You want to grow as a mage…”

Kim Se-jin at the counter looked up at me.

“Isn’t Mr. Ha-woon already growing well enough?”

“I understand the Mental Visualization of mages to some extent. But I think there’s more to the mysteries of mages.”

Warriors also hurt when shot, but muscle fibers firmly combined with magic power can roughly withstand the power of assault rifles. Well-developed warriors display the art of deflecting or cutting bullets.

On the other hand, mages die if ambushed by guns. Because the speed of firing is faster than the process of visualizing a barrier.

“Hmm… Come along for now.”

Kim Se-jin got up from his seat and went down to the underground of the antique shop. I followed him.

The underground was a spacious area. It was empty like a training hall. Kim Se-jin stood in the center of it.

“Put the camera down over there. Set it up with the tripod.”

“Yes.”

I positioned the camera. Within the lens angle, Kim Se-jin spoke.

“Then… I should recommend a method suitable for Mr. Seol Ha-woon, right?”

He looked at me. His gaze was precisely on my left leg.

“Mr. Ha-woon’s left leg is too big a penalty as a mage. You have almost no mobility on the battlefield.”

“I know that too.”

“You’d want a method that can compensate for mobility as much as possible, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then… try using a formula on me.”

I fired a mana bullet at him. I wasn’t worried.

Mages are vulnerable to surprise attacks, but conversely, they can easily block telegraphed attacks.

Bang bang bang bang bang.

The mana bullets I shot wildly dissipated without even touching Kim Se-jin’s body.

“More. Try with all your might. Pour out every method Mr. Ha-woon uses when harming people.”

“Yes.”

[ Mana Memory ] learns and remembers every formula I repeat.

Therefore, my ammunition count now approaches hundreds of rounds.

Additionally, I can freely control the trajectory of the bullets.

I don’t even need fingers as a medium. The hand gun is just an auxiliary motion that helps with aiming and enhances power.

I created bullets in the air. Quite a few bullets appeared behind my back. About dozens perhaps. I unleashed all of them at once.

…Not a single one reached Kim Se-jin.

They all twisted right in front of Kim Se-jin’s nose.

“Did you dispel them?”

“Calling it dispelling is a bit inappropriate.”

Kim Se-jin smiled broadly.

“The moment Mr. Ha-woon shot the mana bullets, my magic power connected to my nervous system reacted first. The magic power reflexively recognized the threat and devoured your formula.”

“…What? Nervous system?”

I don’t understand what he’s saying.

How can magic power be connected to the nervous system? There was nothing like that in [MoMo].

“Mr. Ha-woon. Look at this.”

Kim Se-jin raised his hand to show me. I squinted my eyelids strongly to focus my gaze.

A ‘magic power layer’ was faintly accumulated right above the skin of his hand.

“Think of magic power as cells. I overlay those cells outside the body like this. And I connect them to the nervous system. Simply put, it’s work that links magic power with the brain and spinal cord.”

Kim Se-jin poked his temple repeatedly.

“Then the magic power combined with the nervous system reacts on its own to external threats. Have you heard of conditioned reflexes, unconditioned reflexes? It’s similar to that.”

In other words, before my brain recognizes an attack, the magic power in the central nervous system perceives and reacts instead.

If such skill is possible, it would be desperately needed for me who lacks mobility.

“So this magic power layer reacts and responds to external threats on its own. Think of it as my danger detection sensor.”

Kim Se-jin brushed the magic power on his hand with his hand. It swayed like actual fur.

“Please teach me.”

I asked sincerely. I would even kneel if necessary.

Kim Se-jin puffed his cheeks slightly. He was unnecessarily coy.

“But~ you might regret it if you learn. There are quite many paths for mages, and this is just one of them. There are quite many cases where learning one prevents you from learning another.”

“…Is there something better than this?”

“By my standards, no. But it’s foolish to badmouth a car you bought with a lot of money to others. Since you already bought it, for your own mental health, you should drive it while saying it’s pretty and the best.”

“From what I can see, there seem to be no disadvantages.”

Kim Se-jin chuckled.

“No. There are many disadvantages. Especially the burden on the brain becomes severe.”

Burden on the brain. If that’s the only disadvantage.

“…I’ll try it.”

I gained confidence.

“Yes. Good. First, close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes.

“Draw magic power as close as possible to a specific part of your body. I casually showed you the back of my hand, but actually anywhere is fine. The purpose is ultimately ‘connecting magic power with the nervous system’ after all.”

I drew magic power to the back of my hand just like Kim Se-jin had done.

“Yes. You need to connect that magic power to your brain.”

“Brain….”

“I told you, didn’t I? The key point is linking ‘magic power’ and the ‘nervous system.'”

Connecting magic power to the brain. Then the idea that magic power perceives on its own makes sense in a way. Human instincts are chemical reactions that occur in the brain.

“I mainly use mental imagery. Sending thoughts to the brain.”

Kim Se-jin is saying that, but I’m thinking of doing it differently.

A better idea came to mind.

Shing. I pulled out my military dagger from my pocket.

“Why the knife all of a sudden?”

Kim Se-jin asked.

“The easiest and most efficient method I know for stimulating the nervous system is….”

I cut both the magic layer on the back of my hand and the skin simultaneously.

“Pain.”

Tsssk.

The flesh tore and blood flowed. Pain was transmitted to my brain.

Kim Se-jin let out a hollow laugh.

“That’s right. The brain is a strange fellow. It’s easily fooled by sight.”

I feel pain when stabbing the magic layer. Of course, I’m actually cutting the flesh beneath the magic layer, but when that process is repeated, the brain mistakes the magic layer for skin.

Magic power and the nervous system become connected.

Stab. Stab.

I repeatedly cut with the knife. I drew the fire of pain and connected it to my brain.

The human nervous system is resilient. Even if nerves are severed due to extreme damage, the brain endlessly finds other ways. It bypasses existing circuits, or sometimes creates entirely new pathways.

The only problem is the pain that accompanies that process.

“…Is this from personal experience?”

Kim Se-jin asked. I nodded.

My injury was total paralysis due to damage to the cervical spine and spinal cord. Metal rods were embedded throughout my body, making it an irreparable disability.

I overcame it. It was 99% effort and 1% talent.

The key wasn’t effort but talent.

Without that 1% talent, it would have been a miracle I couldn’t have achieved, and the doctor explained my talent like this.

‘You were born with exceptional nervous system capabilities.’

It’s called neuroplasticity.

My cervical spine and spinal cord are still damaged even now. The reason I can still move is thanks to my brain finding new pathways.

I stabbed the back of my hand with the knife.

“!”

Suddenly, intense pain shot through the back of my neck. Someone had actually stabbed my occipital region.

“Ugh, damn it!”

I collapsed on the spot and looked up at Kim Se-jin. All my bodily functions stopped. It was such a sudden ambush.

“Why….”

Did you attack me?

My vision blurred.

I was losing consciousness.

“You bastard….”

* * *

When I opened my eyes, Kim Se-jin was looking down at me.

“Seol Ha-woon, you have some foolish aspects.”

He drooped the corners of his eyes. I was dumbfounded.

“…You struck me, mage.”

“That’s a misunderstanding.”

A misunderstanding? It was so vivid.

“If you really doubt it, feel the back of your head.”

I touched the back of my neck. It was fine. There wasn’t even a trace of blood, let alone a wound.

“What… what is this?”

“The idea of connecting magic power and the central nervous system through pain was brilliant. However, Ha-woon, you overlooked the fact that the brain is stupid.”

Kim Se-jin shrugged his shoulders.

“Your nervous system got tangled up. The magic power on the back of your hand temporarily connected to your occipital region. That’s why the pain of stabbing the back of your hand with a knife was transmitted to the back of your head.”

“….”

Is that possible? I pressed the back of my hand firmly. It actually felt like I was pressing the back of my head.

“That’s why I don’t recommend pain. It’s too extreme and radical, causing confusion in the nervous system. Be careful with the back of your hand for a few days.”

I opened and closed my mouth. I thought it would work out fine, but it got strangely twisted.

Kim Se-jin added as if he understood.

“Sometimes, people overestimate their own experiences. No, they trust themselves too much. ‘Someone like me should be fine,’ ‘Someone like me isn’t bad.’ Humans think that way. Any human who couldn’t develop even a bit of this self-affirming thought process probably committed suicide and was weeded out, right?”

Kim Se-jin chuckled.

“That’s when the world needs to smack them on the back of the head. Tell them to be humble. Like right now.”

His gaze turned toward me.

“Ha-woon. The wound was an illusion, but the pain was real. Pain without external injury can also kill people. Are you still planning to use that method?”

“Yes.”

I answered immediately.

“…Yes?”

Kim Se-jin blinked silently.

“I think I can handle it.”

It’s definitely possible.

However, it’s not because I’m special. There’s much more solid evidence than mere belief in oneself.

I’ve been saving up [Tech] points all this time.

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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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