Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 39

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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 039

Day of Peace(2)

I have 3 tech points remaining.

But the tech tree related to the nervous system isn’t in ‘Magic Power’. It’s not in ‘Stamina’ either.

It’s in ‘Perception’.

[ Perception Tech ][ １. Lower Spatial Recognition ][ ２. Lower Danger Detection ][ ３. Lower Echolocation ][ ４. Lower Perception Enhancement ][ ５. Lower Cognitive Expansion ][ ６. Lower Intuition Awakening ]

If I learn [ ４. Lower Perception Enhancement ] and [ ５. Lower Cognitive Expansion ] here, the [ Lower Nervous System Enhancement ] tech tree will unlock.

Let’s go all at once.

[ You have acquired Lower Perception Enhancement. ]

[ You have acquired Lower Cognitive Expansion. ]

[ You have acquired Lower Nervous System Enhancement. ]

[ Lower Nervous System Enhancement ]◆ The character’s nervous system efficiency, elasticity, and recovery are enhanced overall.◆ Senses become sharper.

A strange sense of exhilaration arose instantly.

My vision cleared, my hearing sharpened, my nose cleared—a feeling of all my senses throughout my body becoming alert.

In addition to this, the item I thought was trash.

【Reinforced Compressed Rimless Glasses】◆ Overview: Reinforced compressed rimless glasses. Durability is tremendous compared to existing rimless glasses. Wearing these might let you see things you couldn’t see and accomplish things you couldn’t do?◆ Grade: Unique◆ When worn, Perception increases by 2, but Magic Power is constantly consumed.◆ When worn, acquire trait ‘Nervous System Amplification’.◆ Nervous System Amplification: Inject Magic Power into the rimless glasses to temporarily amplify the character’s nervous system performance. Effect increases proportionally to Magic Power input, and Magic Power is consumed every second.

If I put this on too… I might be able to handle it somewhat.

“Ha-woon.”

Just then, Kim Se-jin called me. I lifted only my head at an angle while lying on the floor.

“Yes.”

“Ha-woon. Why do you want to grow as a mage?”

I hesitated for a moment, but soon answered concisely.

“…To survive.”

“But Ha-woon, you’re alive.”

No.

“No. I’m dead.”

It’s not simply a matter of remaining lifespan.

The life of a cripple that continued from the day my body was destroyed. A buoy on the vast ocean that lost its purpose and strayed from its course. A life that couldn’t even drift away or drown.

Days without color.

“I was a soldier. For a long time. So maybe I still mistake myself for a soldier.”

I can’t say it suited me. The officers hated me.

A natural-born soldier had to be loved by officers too. Politics was basic literacy for a soldier. Those who couldn’t do that were consumed as battlefield soldiers.

“I… still have things I need to do.”

The opportunity regression gave me isn’t just Labyrinth Exploration NaN.

The chance to properly conclude ‘that day’ has also returned.

“Good. Get up.”

Kim Se-jin extended his hand to me. I carefully grasped his hand while being mindful of my back.

“Let’s stop recording here.”

He turned off the camera. Then he manifested a chair and desk with a formula and sat down. The color and texture seemed so real it was quite fascinating.

I asked him.

“But. You didn’t teach me properly just now, did you?”

Kim Se-jin’s teaching had gaps. It felt like important parts were omitted.

Kim Se-jin shook his head.

“No. I taught you properly. It’s just difficult. The reason it seems like there are empty parts is because it’s a method that requires talent. What I just showed you is called a ‘Sequence’, and the qualifications are too limited.”

“Sequence?”

“Yes. In Korean, ‘connection’. It refers to the connection itself between Magic Power and the brain, but ultimately it means a method to complete a greater purpose. A prequel before the main story, you could say.”

For me, it was somewhat absurd.

“…If this is the sequence, what’s the main story?”

Kim Se-jin pointed to his own eyes.

“Eyes. The ultimate goal of formulas eventually comes down to the eyes. Formulas manifested through the eyes are much more advanced than those through hands and feet.”

He continued speaking.

“Ha-woon. Think about it. If asked whether you’d rather become blind or lose your limbs, many people would gladly give up their limbs. No, if they absolutely had to choose one, they’d beg to please take their limbs instead.”

Suddenly the past came to mind. When I became paralyzed, I couldn’t see for a while.

It was a much greater fear than not being able to move my body.

“All humans instinctively know. That the eyeball is the most perfect agent of the brain and the window that frees humans. Limbs without sight are merely trapped in the prison called the body.”

Kim Se-jin poured coffee into his teacup.

“Anyway, when this ‘Sequence’ connects, it reaches ‘Visio Divana’. That is, eyes that see miracles. The path to becoming a mage.”

Magic… what?

I shuddered.

“Then you taught me mage cultivation methods?”

“You’re realizing too late. You really lack intuition compared to your talent.”

Kim Se-jin chuckled.

“Ha-woon. Don’t you think today’s recording will be featured a lot on the broadcast?”

He sipped his coffee while looking at me. The corners of his mouth were raised with satisfaction.

“For now, I’m getting some hate. Because of malicious editing.”

“It’s only temporary anyway. When a person’s natural narrative feels like drama, the public goes wild. That’s you right now, Seol Ha-woon.”

Toward such Kim Se-jin, I suddenly became curious.

“Do you happen to have any questions?”

Fortunately, Kim Se-jin kindly asked first.

“Uh… this is really personal curiosity.”

It’s not curiosity about Kim Se-jin.

“Is it possible to artificially cause a Black Call in a labyrinth?”

Kim Se-jin’s expression hardened. A strange light crossed his complexion, but only briefly. He soon smiled warmly.

“Why are you curious about that?”

Black Call. Labyrinths are divided by alphabet grades for convenience, but the Explorer Association categorizes them by color.

Blue. Green. Yellow. Red. White. Black.

In other words, Black Call means the labyrinth has turned black. A black labyrinth is a great disaster that requires mage-level personnel.

“About 3 years ago. There was a Black Call accident in a C-grade. I suddenly remembered it. I was still serving then.”

“Artificial Black Call is naturally impossible. How could humans cause a Black Call?”

“Impossible…”

I ran my tongue around inside my mouth. I asked Kim Se-jin again.

“Can you definitively say there’s not even a 0.1% chance?”

“…”

Kim Se-jin faced me silently. He smiled and shook his head.

“Well. It might be possible if mages designed the labyrinth.”

“Designed…? Aren’t labyrinths naturally occurring?”

“Most people think so.”

“If most people-“

“Shh.”

Kim Se-jin placed his hand over his mouth.

“Only this far. Ignorance is a good thing. On the other hand, knowledge is bad. For those who lack or have insufficient means to protect themselves, truth is more dangerous than a blade at their throat.”

Means to protect oneself.

I showed Kim Se-jin the back of my hand. Magic power vibrated from the epidermal layer.

The ‘Sequence’ he had mentioned.

Though still very incomplete and full of holes here and there, I had somehow managed to reproduce it by acquiring [Lower Nervous System Enhancement].

Kim Se-jin’s eyes trembled slightly.

“…Ha-woon, you might unexpectedly obtain that qualification quite easily.”

Ding!

My smartphone in my pocket rang.

[ Lee Mae-jun : Hyung! This is Im Hae-jun! Want to meet up? ]

[ Lee Mae-jun : Ran into Team Leader Kang Hyeon by chance! ]

Im Hae-jun had sent a selfie he took with Kang Hyeon.

Asking if I wanted to meet.

I left him on read and checked the internet news. A new article had just popped up.

My face hardened coldly.

* * *

There’s something there.

In the depths of this 「Labyrinth Exploration NaN」, there might exist a profundity beyond what someone like me could even imagine.

It’s a familiar sensation for me.

Commanders don’t tell soldiers the inside story of their missions. But soldiers don’t go to war not knowing whether they’ll live or die. Every soldier goes to the battlefield as if they’ll survive.

It’s confidence born from ignorance.

An ego that leads to death.

Kim Se-jin recommended ignorance, but I couldn’t agree.

Because those who don’t know will simply be consumed in their ignorance.

─Next station is Jeongdong Beach. This is Jeongdong Beach station.

I had arrived at my destination before I knew it. I got off the bus, leaning on my walking stick.

“Oh! There he is!”

Immediately there was a voice calling for me.

“Hyung!”

It was Im Hae-jun. I had responded to his suggestion to meet up. More than Im Hae-jun, it was because of Kang Hyeon next to him.

Kang Hyeon bowed his head.

“Hello.”

“Oh. Hi.”

I approached them in their shirts and asked.

“Mae. How did you meet Kang Hyeon?”

“Ah~ Kang Hyeon hyung and I are from the same hometown! Gangnam Seocho! We met by chance!”

I smiled at Im Hae-jun’s words.

Actually, last night.

Or perhaps today.

I had gained one more duty. A duty that was mine alone.

Perhaps I still couldn’t abandon my hunting dog instincts as a ‘special soldier’.

“Did you come from attending a lecture, Seol Ha-woon?”

Kang Hyeon asked. I looked back at Kang Hyeon quite kindly.

“Yeah. But, Kang Hyeon.”

“…Yes?”

I suspect him.

It’s an intuition close to certainty.

Among the eight future debut team members, there’s definitely a culprit.

A culprit who caused a Black Call through methods I could never understand, and burned everyone except himself to the point where not even corpses remained.

“Just call me hyung.”

Keep friends close, enemies closer.

What a wise saying.

I put my smartphone back in my pocket.

On the screen was this morning’s news article.

[ Forest Guild successfully conquers D-rank Labyrinth Samcheok Cave in Gangwon Province… Loot feast estimated at 10 billion won. Achievement obtained through anonymous tip. ]

* * *

“But wasn’t that editing a bit too much?”

At Jeongdongjin Beach under the blazing sun. Im Hae-jun was lying under a parasol, muttering.

I silently gathered sand and placed it on my left knee.

Sand therapy, this actually helps quite a bit.

“Really, even in my friends’ group chat they only talk about hyung! They call me not a leader but a pushover idiot!! Because of hyung!!”

Im Hae-jun suddenly exploded.

This guy is unexpectedly, no, blatantly obsessed with appearances.

“I was the team leader!! But everyone thinks hyung was the team leader!!!”

“Oh, what do you want me to do about it.”

I lay down as I was. I just turned my head slightly to look at Kang Hyeon.

“Kang Hyeon. What do you think?”

Kang Hyeon scratched the back of his neck.

“I don’t really think anything. It was interesting though. So that’s how editing works.”

“…Is that so.”

Beep beep beep- Beep beep beep-

Then my digital clock on my wrist rang. I had already prepared everything.

Time to push down the mana circuit.

Today’s target area was the lower body. If I could just break through to the calves and soles of my feet, this tedious training would be over.

“Whew…”

I quietly closed my eyes and opened circuits for several dozen minutes,

Beep beep beep- Beep beep beep-

I opened my eyes at the alarm sound.

Condition management is important in training. You need the restraint to stop when things are going well for the day. Rather than overtraining that causes problems the next day, the mindset is to steadily accumulate progress like building a sandcastle.

“…Ah, I’m tired.”

I sat up. Kang Hyeon was looking at me. With a somehow blurry expression.

“What. Why.”

“Seol Ha-woon hyung. What were you just doing?”

“Circuit training. My leg is like this so the lower body is difficult.”

Kang Hyeon nodded quietly.

“Woah~ They’re here! There they are!”

Suddenly, Im Hae-jun stood up, pointing wildly at something.

“Come this way! Let’s go ride that!”

A yacht had appeared at the dock.

“Ride what? Is that yours?”

“It’s my dad’s. He lent it to me since I said we were going out to have fun today.”

…This guy really was born with a silver spoon. Well, I figured that out when he was using Ternium Arrows.

Im Hae-jun ran over and boarded the yacht, and Kang Hyeon and I followed.

“Hurry up and get on~ We’re departing right away~”

Im Hae-jun stood in front of the helm. He gripped the wheel, which was as big as his body, firmly. The yacht cut through the water and left the dock. Im Hae-jun’s white shirt fluttered in the sea breeze.

I leaned against the railing on the deck.

“Have you been on boats a lot?”

Kang Hyeon suddenly asked. I let out a hollow laugh.

“Of course.”

Doesn’t this guy know what UDT is?

“Everyone~ We’re on a yacht right now!”

Before I knew it, Im Hae-jun was holding his GoPro.

“With these three people! Jemalok-jwa and Kang Hyeon!”

He’s spouting all sorts of nonsense like he’s doing a personal broadcast.

“Everyone please make a V sign! Jemalok-hyung! Please make a V!”

I held up my middle finger. Im Hae-jun frantically blocked the camera lens with his body.

“Ah seriously! What are you doing!”

“This is also a V.”

I held up just my middle finger and thumb like a V. Kang Hyeon bit his lip slightly. It looked like he was holding back laughter.

Im Hae-jun frowned.

“Wow, that’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen that kind of V in my entire life?”

“That’s because you haven’t lived long enough.”

“No, our broadcast needs to go on for at least 3 more minutes. We need to encourage voting too! Hurry up and do it properly.”

Im Hae-jun held up the camera again.

And then, good news came.

[ Recognition Level Up! ]

[ Recognition Grade: 8 ]

[ An additional 30 days of the trial version is granted. ]

[ Karma: A level-up gift is given! ]

[ You have acquired 3 Completely Precious Candies! ]

But wait, what kind of candy?

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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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