Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 49

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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 049

Obvious Melody(3)

The next morning at dawn.

I went to bed a bit late yesterday browsing communities and SNS, but I woke up early as usual. Even when I was doing rice-eating with [MoMo], I maintained consistent wake-up and bedtime schedules.

It’s a habit ingrained in my body since my military days.

“Yawn.”

I left the dormitory while yawning. Today I was especially on an empty stomach. Mentor Yoo Yul had ordered me not to eat anything.

If I did it wrong, I might suffocate on vomit or something.

“Huh?”

While walking down the corridor, I spotted a familiar back of a head. It was Kim Du-gyeom.

“What’s this? Isn’t this our last place?”

I firmly placed my hand on that bratty head of his. Kim Du-gyeom’s body flinched for a moment. He swatted my hand away and turned around.

“….”

He glared at me without saying anything. It seems like his mask is about to come off any moment now.

“Hey. That’s why you should’ve done better. Now even B-tier is going to be close, right?”

“….”

Kim Du-gyeom is quiet. The way he’s grinding his teeth looks quite menacing. And fierce too.

But I’m not scared at all.

I smiled while facing him.

“So what? Oh, did you watch episode 3?”

“Why exactly are you doing this to me?”

Why exactly are you doing this to me-?

I was dumbfounded.

Certainly, perpetrators can’t think from the victim’s perspective. I’m curious too. How many times, to how many people has this guy heard the words ‘why exactly are you doing this?’

Each time, didn’t Kim Du-gyeom give this kind of answer?

“It’s my choice, isn’t it?”

Crack. The guy who clenched his fist roughly turned around and left the corridor.

“…Bastard. I should’ve come while chewing gum.”

To stick it on his head.

I smacked my lips and went outside.

“Oh, Brother Ha-woon! You woke up early today too?!”

It was mage Kim Woo-hyeon. The kid I did the Situation Labyrinth with. He seemed to be going for morning exercise and greeted me briskly.

“Yeah. Hello.”

“Yes! Be careful mountain climbing~!”

For some reason it feels like there are more kids being friendly to me, but there’s no need to go out of my way to get close to them.

I climbed the Back Mountain.

At the place I promised to meet Yoo Yul, she was already sitting there fiddling with her smartphone.

“You came early?”

Then Yoo Yul tilted her head up diagonally. Her two eyes, slightly buried in her plump cheeks, looked at me.

“Seol Ha-woon.”

“Yes.”

I approached while leaning on my walking stick. She looked me up and down.

“How far do you think you can go?”

It was a sudden question, and somewhat abstract. However, I was familiar with this type of Zen dialogue. Military officers during my service often did this.

I answered briefly.

“To the end.”

“…Ha.”

Yoo Yul laughed as if absurd and gestured to the ground.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

She took out a gem string.

“…Mentor, how much does that cost?”

It looks precious at first glance, and my [MoMo] doesn’t even react to it. There are only two reasons for this.

Either it’s an everyday item like a rolling stone, or it’s an item whose grade cannot be measured.

“Its value cannot be converted.”

Yoo Yul’s answer was meaningful.

Well, it doesn’t matter to me either way.

If she really is Tae-yul, I shouldn’t calculate the pros and cons. During the available time, I need to extract as much as I can. Personal tutoring from a mage is something that cannot be converted to monetary value.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

I sat in the grass. I secretly unwrapped a [Completely Precious Candy] from my pocket and put it in my mouth. In that state, I raised my arm. Yoo Yul lowered the gem string onto my skin. The moment it touched, I almost fainted.

It’s not just a level of being more painful than the first experience. 2 times? 3 times? It’s much more than that.

“Don’t imagine or expect what kind of pain will come.”

“…Yes.”

There’s no need to be afraid. Pain that cannot kill me will only make me stronger.

“Begin.”

“….”

Yoo Yul gave the signal. I crystallized the magic power in my circuit and amplified it.

“──Kuk!”

Indescribable pain surged up. It felt like my whole body was being crushed, and also like I was being stretched up and down like spaghetti noodles. It was agony that completely shattered the ego called ‘me.’

However, I endure it.

Lick lick. While moving my tongue.

Lick lick. While licking the Completely Precious Candy.

Sweetness blooms in my mouth. Sweetness that neutralizes the pain. Sweetness that sustains me.

I will not break.

At least not by myself….

* * *

Yoo Yul looked at Seol Ha-woon.

He’s writhing pathetically like an earthworm, but he’s managing to hold onto his consciousness. There’s no sign of giving up.

He’s quite a tough guy. However, in the world of mages, this level is fairly common.

Yoo Yul herself had undergone a total of 12 refinements.

In game terms, she’s a monster who broke through single-digit enhancement probabilities 12 times. You have to be at that level to be called tenacious in this field.

Basically, mages must be accustomed to pain, or furthermore, know how to enjoy it to some degree.

[Not bad, right?]

Someone’s sound transmission flowed into her ear. Yoo Yul looked up at the sky with her arms crossed.

“…It’s a clear day.”

Population count, total of 931 people. Those called ‘mages’ in this world have a special duty. It’s a calling they bear the moment they’re recognized as mages.

To detect and manage those who show the qualities and aptitude of mages.

Here, the method of management is left to the mage themselves.

[What do you think?]

Mages as beings. They receive excessive adoration and respect from the media, but the danger level of each individual is beyond that of a tactical nuke.

Living, moving, independently thinking nuclear weapons. What a terrifying concept.

That’s why the Magic Association continuously weeds out mage candidates, but if any among them are deemed mentally incomplete or have excessively unstable talent, they dispose of them.

For the stability and peace of society.

“He’s worth watching though. Not many can endure the Gem String to this extent.”

The Gem String is magic itself. In other words, it’s not a ‘physical object.’

A catalyst that forcibly opens the veins of circuits and amplifies the movement of magic power. It’s a catalyst where condensed magic has taken the form of gems.

As such, it causes unbearable pain for most humans.

“However.”

She gazed at Seol Ha-woon and muttered quietly.

“He has the look of a rebel.”

“Cough, cough-grrk…”

Seol Ha-woon. This guy will never follow anyone. He won’t serve anyone either. He’s the type that can’t be tamed, and shouldn’t be tamed.

“He seems to have no fixed dwelling.”

He burned down his stable long ago and is now galloping alone through the wilderness. A famous horse that realized its true worth only after breaking its legs.

[Physiognomy isn’t magic.]

“It’s science.”

Yoo Yul nodded. Seol Ha-woon resembled the person she despised most.

Tae-woo. He resembled that wolf-like bastard.

“Cough-grrr-grrk…”

Seol Ha-woon convulsed, spitting saliva and blood. Though he lay there rather unsightly, the circuits in his body could be clearly seen thickening.

He had achieved the Second Refinement less than a month after completing the First Refinement.

Yoo Yul murmured quietly.

“He could become a candidate.”

* * *

“…”

I opened my eyes. The night sky was dark.

“Are you awake?”

A husky voice called to me. I looked up toward it. There were eyes there. In the darkness, her bright yellow eyes sparkled like stars. They seemed snake-like, yet also like those of a legendary dragon.

“Ah… yes.”

I gazed at the sky beyond her.

“The sky is spinning.”

The sky spins round and round. Blue particles spread hazily across the dark background, with spider web-like threads forming between them.

“That’s natural magic power. Right after refinement, your senses are heightened. Since you’ve learned Sequence, you’ll see it even more clearly.”

As expected, she also knew about Sequence.

“…I see.”

“How do you feel?”

She asked about my feelings.

I replied quietly.

“How should I feel?”

“Wow wow. Like I could fly up to the sky.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Ahem.”

Yoo Yul cleared her throat. It seemed to have been humor.

“Just achieving Second Refinement means your life as a mage is set.”

“Ah…”

I smiled.

With the help of one candy, the Second was successful. For the Third, I’ll probably have to pour in the remaining two candies.

“I… still think I have a long way to go.”

“Then be careful.”

Yoo Yul continued seriously.

“Don’t die before then.”

[ ‘Seol Ha-woon’ grasps the edge of magic power for the second time. ]

[ Magic Power stat increases by 0.3. ]

[ You acquire the trait [Second Refinement]. ]

[ Magic Power grade increases. ]

◆ C → C+

Refinement simultaneously raises the maximum limit of talent and refines the quality of magic power. Therefore, both current grade and potential stats rise together.

“Ugh…”

I tried to get up.

“Sleep there tonight.”

Yoo Yul stopped me. She covered the grass field where I lay with a barrier of magic power. The ground became as soft as a mattress. The air seemed purified too as my nose cleared, and my whole body melted into drowsiness.

“…Thank you.”

I closed my eyes in a daze.

* * *

The next morning, when I woke up, Yoo Yul was gone. I was trudging down to the dormitory alone when I met Im Hae-jun.

“Master!”

Im Hae-jun chattered away as if he’d met me at just the right time and followed me.

“Master. That was awesome. How did you know?”

“Know what.”

I stood in front of my room.

“That the kid was the boss!”

“…People’s guts and limbs were flying around in the sky, but she was the only one laughing.”

“Wow~”

I opened the dormitory door. Im Hae-jun came inside too.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Aw~ why are you being like this between us~”

Im Hae-jun sat on the sofa with a sly smile. Then he started speaking in a low voice.

“Master.”

“Don’t call me master.”

“…How was Kate?”

His persistent questioning expression is strange. Don’t tell me this guy has an interest in Kate.

“How was she.”

“Well, I mean… aren’t you curious what kind of person she is~?”

“What kind of ‘person’?”

That’s unusually formal language for him.

“Of course. Honestly, she’s someone you couldn’t even meet in regular society. Don’t you know about Hailford, Master?”

Kate. Her full name is Catherine Violet Hailford.

She’s from the great Hailford Family.

“I know.”

That family is quite unusual. With only 20 direct family members, they have two mages, eight high-rankers, five politicians, and three corporate heads…

Kate is the eldest daughter of the Hailford Family’s eldest son, but the succession structure itself must be tremendously fierce.

“Exactly! We need to make a good impression on that person!”

“Make a good impression my ass. We’re all the same people.”

I’ve actually met someone from Hailford during a past mission. One of the Hailfords is in the US Military.

“So, what was Kate like~”

Im Hae-jun was persistent. If I didn’t give him a proper answer, he seemed ready to cling on forever.

I thought about the person called Kate.

“…I’m not sure.”

Before my regression, she was part of Mitamnan’s debut team. She could have been a Black Call suspect, or she could have been a victim.

But what Im Hae-jun was curious about probably wasn’t that kind of secret.

“I really don’t know.”

“Really? I was envious of her. Her talent is insane, and her connections are great too.”

Ah. Come to think of it, they have the same job class. When you have the same job class, you inevitably end up comparing yourself to each other.

Does Im Hae-jun, who always seems so carefree, also have a competitive spirit?

“There’s no need to be envious.”

“Why not?”

I glanced at Im Hae-jun.

“Someone like you is just right. Most people who grew up in the upper class seem unhappy. I actually feel sorry for them. Their family comes before themselves.”

The US Military person I met before. That Hailford covered in military decorations, and Kate here too—that’s my personal feeling about them.

Of course, I’m not Buddha, so I can’t see through everyone’s hearts.

But my accuracy is probably fairly high.

【Good Ears, Good Eyes】◆ Grade: Intermediate ◆ The character’s vision and hearing are fundamentally excellent. All actions performed with eyes and ears are superior. ◆ You can assess people more accurately and sensitively observe things that are invisible. ◆ You can easily appraise the value of objects. ◆ If you can see it with your eyes, you can also hear the sounds from that place.

The part that says ‘assess people more accurately.’

“Well… but what’s that rose?”

Im Hae-jun pointed at the rose. I had put it in a newly bought flower vase next to the snow flower pot.

“I received it as a gift.”

“From who?”

“Kate.”

“Ah what! Master, don’t tell me!”

Im Hae-jun’s expression twisted.

“Are you already, like, having some kind of romantic tension?! If you’re receiving flowers as gifts!”

“No.”

“Then what is it! Why would you receive roses! What! What the, ack, don’t push me! What is it!”

I chased away Im Hae-jun, who was chirping “what is it” like a nightingale.

* * *

Catherine Violet Hailford.

The eldest daughter of the Hailford family’s eldest son, she eavesdropped on Seol Ha-woon and Im Hae-jun’s conversation.

There wasn’t any particularly special content. It was just an ordinary conversation.

…Honestly, it was pathetic.

It was so trivial that it wasn’t even worth sneering at.

‘Make a good impression my ass. We’re all the same people.’

Seol Ha-woon’s words were wrong.

We are not the same. Between you, who was born as a part, and myself, who was born as an owner, there exists a vast gap. Perhaps even greater than the distance between Uranus and Earth.

However, I understand.

Most people in this world are consumed without knowing they are parts. They even refuse to acknowledge that they are parts. Only then can they find their small happiness and achieve mental victory.

And….

‘I actually feel sorry for them. Their family comes before themselves.’

“…What ridiculous nonsense.”

Kate twisted the corner of her mouth.

Seol Ha-woon was someone who didn’t even know what situation he was in.

The family had issued an order for Seol Ha-woon’s elimination.

He would soon disappear from this program. Kate herself didn’t even need to move directly. Her role was merely surveillance.

All the ‘work’ would proceed from behind the curtain.

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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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