Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 5

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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 005

One Day, Magic Power Sprouted from My Head (3)

“…What I mentioned before.”

Tae-woo said in front of the counter.

“Right.”

The owner placed a thick suitcase on the cash register.

Thud! The entire bookstore shook.

“Here… it is.”

“You’re sure about this.”

“Of course. Oh, your younger sister was looking for something similar too?”

At that, Tae-woo’s brow furrowed slightly.

For reference, his younger sister ‘Tae-yul’ is also a mage.

Furthermore, ‘Tae Hyeok’, the author of the book I’m currently reading, is their grandfather.

Even their father ‘Tae-hoon’ and mother ‘Lee Yu-kyung’ are mages.

This means they’re a Magical Family where all three generations are mages, considered among the highest level not only in South Korea but worldwide.

“…Tae-yul? So what?”

Tae-woo asked back with displeasure.

“I honestly told her you had prior arrangements. At first I just said it wasn’t possible, but you know her personality. If you don’t explain, she’ll keep pestering until the end.”

“And then?”

“She cursed you out thoroughly and went on her way.”

“…Tsk. That brat never changes-“

Tae-woo, who was about to say something harsh, suddenly stopped and glanced in my direction. Then he looked back at the owner.

He seemed to be asking with his eyes what I was.

“A customer. Seems like an aspiring sorcerer, you don’t need to worry about him.”

The owner held up a Magic Magnet in his hand.

“I was just teaching him basic stuff like this. Hey customer, you know this guy, right?”

He turned to look at me.

“Yes. Yes. I know him. Of course. Mage Tae-woo.”

“…”

Tae-woo said nothing.

The way he just looked at me while narrowing his eyebrows drowsily… Could it be, genius recognizes genius? Did he see through my Magic Power stat of 11 at a glance-

“The remaining payment. I’ll transfer it.”

Tae-woo picked up his smartphone.

“Right. Anyway, hey customer. Self-study absolutely won’t work. You need to at least attend an academy. No matter how hard you try.”

The owner suddenly spread his palm. Above that pot-lid-sized hand, whoosh! Magic Power shot up like a gas burner.

“You can’t do something like this just by reading books.”

“Hmm…”

I also spread my palm in imitation.

This right arm has pathways that are incompletely opened. From heart to shoulder, shoulder to elbow, elbow to forearm, forearm to only the thumb, middle finger, and index finger.

I concentrated Magic Power into those three fingers.

Whoosh.

A stream of Magic Power that was too cute compared to the owner’s rose up. It wasn’t difficult.

“Huh?!”

Suddenly the owner made a loud noise. Tae-woo also quietly glanced in my direction.

“You, you?!”

The Mana Stream quickly extinguished, but the owner’s eyes had already grown as large as they could get.

“Hey you. What was that just now?!”

“Payment sent. I’ll be going then.”

Tae-woo picked up the suitcase. Unlike the owner who had lifted it easily, his shoulder drooped slightly as if it was quite heavy.

“Wait!”

I raised my hand high toward him.

“…”

Tae-woo silently just turned his profile.

“Um… you see…”

For me, I couldn’t be sure if this mage was definitely a good person.

Well, I had a lot of bits and pieces I’d picked up here and there since I was so interested in the magic world and entertainment industry, but rumors aren’t necessarily reality.

“It’s nothing major. This is just my feeling.”

However, the person called Tae-woo had done many good deeds. Especially, he had donated nearly several billion won to children’s hospital support programs.

That level of good karma seemed like it would be better to return.

…That was half an excuse though.

Tae-woo is a celebrity. Also, in the 「MoMo」 system, recognition is directly connected to connections.

This means if a character happens to meet a celebrity or makes some impression on a celebrity, they can gain more recognition than impressing a thousand ordinary people.

You know, it’s similar to how when a celebrity uploads a photo taken with me to their main account, my followers increase along with it.

That’s why.

“Just in case, be careful of traffic accidents.”

Tae-woo had gotten into a pretty serious traffic accident around this time. It was featured prominently in the news, and he was in a coma for about 2-3 months.

“…”

Tae-woo himself had a look of disbelief.

Actually, back then too there were many comments like ‘what kind of traffic accident does a mage get into?’

“I’m told I have some spiritual insight. Especially recently, be careful when riding in cars or driving.”

“Hey. What kind of traffic accident would a mage get into? No, more than that, how did you just do that? The Magic Power!”

The owner thrust his tiger-like face forward again.

“I just did it and it worked.”

“What do you mean you just did it and it worked!”

Meanwhile, Tae-woo went outside.

“Where are you spouting such nonsense like a cat with dislocated joints, hey, you pay up 5.99 million won.”

The owner immediately reached out his hand. His appearance was like a tiger’s paw. Why is it so big?

“Why? You said I could just look at it for free sometime.”

“You said you’d just look at the pictures. That’s why I didn’t charge you. That’s 599 because it’s used, new books cost over a thousand. I accept cryptocurrency too-“

“Why are you changing your words? You told me to just read it.”

“I told you, I thought you were just looking at pictures!!!”

The tiger suddenly transformed into a miser.

* * *

“…You little con artist.”

“Why.”

After several rounds of arguing, the expression ‘con artist’ became established. The scuffle itself was quite fierce, but when I delicately collapsed pretending my leg hurt, he backed down on his own.

“Why are your legs like that? It wasn’t from birth.”

“…How did you know?”

The owner gestured toward my lower body with his eyes.

“If it was from birth or from when you were young, your muscle and joint shape would be different. You seem to have become like this relatively recently.”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

From my perspective, this was also something from 3 years ago. But since I regressed, it became 8 months ago.

2 months in a coma, 6 months of rehabilitation before discharge.

“Did you end up like that from pulling cons?”

“No. During an operation.”

“What operation. Were you actually a robber?”

“Ah, geez. I was a soldier.”

“…A soldier?”

The shop owner’s expression became strange.

“Yes.”

“…Where?”

After a slight pause, the tone asking where sounded somehow familiar.

“I was in UDT.”

“….”

At the mention of UDT, he completely shut his mouth.

He looked me up and down.

“You’re UDT?”

“Yes. Should I show you my Military Discharge Certificate?”

“…Let me see.”

The shop owner smacked his lips and extended his hand. I took out my Military Discharge Certificate from my wallet.

“Seol Ha-woon, 64th class….”

After scanning through it, he let out a hollow laugh and looked at me.

“…Nice to meet you?”

“Are you perhaps a senior?”

No wonder his physique seemed unusual.

The shop owner shook his head.

“No. I’m Navy SEAL.”

“What? US Military? Were you American, sir?”

Pfft. His large mouth twisted like a beast’s.

“Half. My mother is Korean, and my wife is Korean too, so I’m just Korean as well.”

The owner leaned forward from the counter and asked.

“So. Did that happen during an operation?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of operation would be classified, I suppose.”

“Well… that’s right.”

His expression had become quite gentle. Completely different from just moments ago when he was calling me a scammer.

“Ah, I’m David Han.”

The shop owner belatedly introduced his name.

“…That name really suits you.”

“Right. So that thing, you’re preparing for your next job?”

David gestured toward the Magic Book.

“Something like that. Do you happen to know about Labyrinth exploration? The explorer audition program?”

“Of course I know it. You’re trying to participate?”

“Yes. I already passed the first round. But I skipped the second round and moved up to the third.”

“That makes sense. Hey. What were you thinking about when you drew out that Magic Power just now?”

He was probably asking about the Mental Visualization when I ignited Magic Power on my finger.

“Gas stove.”

“Gas, what?”

“It comes out like a gas stove.”

“Hmm… Right, that’s a good method. The power of Magic Power depends on how specifically you think about it. It’ll be easier if you imagine things you’re familiar with.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

David’s advice made sense, but honestly it was probably thanks to the [Mana Concentration] technique I learned last time.

It’s a technique for ‘concentrating’ Magic Power at one point, namely the finger, to draw it out.

“Right. And, I’ll just lend you that book. Take it with you.”

“Wow, really? Thank you.”

I didn’t refuse and hugged the magic book to my chest. Honestly, coming here every day was quite tiring.

Even though this was the closest bookstore to my house, given the state of my legs.

“Instead.”

David raised his finger.

“If you pass, promote my bookstore once, will you?”

“Yes. Of course.”

I saluted him. My body was badly broken, but my form was still alive.

“Right.”

The shop owner returned the salute.

* * *

At midnight when the world had sunk into pitch darkness.

Scrub scrub scrub. Scrub scrub scrub.

David, who was cleaning the empty bookstore almost to the point of erasure with all kinds of tools like Bleach, Brush, Mop, Vinegar, Cloth and several Robot Vacuums, suddenly.

“…Wait a minute. Wasn’t that guy a scammer?”

That thought suddenly popped up.

Voice phishing was rampant these days, so maybe a new type of face phishing? Military Discharge Certificates could be forged if you knew the format.

“Damn it…!”

David’s huge frame trembled. He took out his smartphone with shaking hands. The mini smartphone was dwarfed in his shark-like hands.

He had worked with the Korean Military before, so he had many connections in military circles.

It was a bit embarrassing to use connections for something like this, but 5.99 million won was quite a lot of damage.

Ring ring- Ring ring-

The other person answered on the third ring.

“Oh, hey~ hey, Lee Jin-tong here. Long time no see. Where are you now? The office? Ah~ what’s this about? Well, it’s nothing much~ I had something happen today….”

He explained the content with appropriate embellishment.

It would be embarrassing if he really was a scammer.

“But I’m wondering if this guy really was in UDT. His name is Seol Ha-woon, could you search on the Computer now… ah, you know him?”

An immediate answer came.

Lee Jin-tong was a colonel. Though he was particularly interested in his subordinates, for an officer to recognize a mere sergeant’s discharge meant he wasn’t ordinary.

“You’re certain? The kid who limps. Mm. Okay. Got it. Thanks.”

David hung up the phone.

Fortunately, his identity was certain.

The probability of someone from UDT being a scammer was close to 0%. At least from David Han’s perspective.

They’d rather kill people for money than run scams.

“──What was that?”

An unfamiliar baritone voice rolled in from the darkness behind the Bookshelf.

It was Tae-woo.

“Ah, you scared me, you bastard. Make some noise when you approach. And why are you standing there when I just cleaned that area?”

Tae-woo silently looked at David.

When David checked belatedly, Tae-woo’s form was blurry. That meant magic.

“Why use magic instead of coming in person?”

“…The old man’s obsessive cleanliness is so tiresome.”

“You little shit. Anyway, that guy just now?”

“Right. His identity had to be certain. Part of my work was exposed.”

“What part. Is there anyone who doesn’t know you have a bad relationship with your sister?”

“There could be.”

“Geez, really. You bastard. These days everything circulates on the internet, stories like that. Did you two fight outside so often? In this day and age, Computers and Cell Phones have developed so much.”

Tae-woo twisted his lips up crookedly. David chuckled.

“He’s military. His identity is confirmed.”

“….”

Only then did he nod lightly as if relieved, glancing over the covers on the bookshelf before muttering.

“Old man.”

“What.”

“He seems to have talent.”

David’s eyes twitched for a moment.

Tae-woo is a mage from the prestigious Tae family. With his mother, father, grandfather, and even younger sister all being mages, he’s the perfect eldest son of the most complete magical lineage in this field.

Therefore, hearing “he seems to have talent” from that cocky brat is tremendous praise.

He never gave such compliments even to the winners of all previous seasons of “Labyrinth Exploration.”

David crossed his arms for no particular reason.

“Hey. If he didn’t have talent, would he have become UDT?”

A faint sigh escaped from Tae-woo.

“…Old man has too much faith in the military.”

“It’s not faith in the military.”

He pointed at Tae-woo’s chest with his finger and corrected him.

“It’s faith in soldiers, kid.”

“Whatever. It means you have too much faith in useless things, old man.”

“Can’t help it.”

“….”

Tae-woo shook his head from side to side. Then he disappeared like a ghost.

The kid wasn’t actually here to begin with. It was quite an advanced magic called [Etherealization].

“Cocky little brat. Just spying around and all….”

David grumbled as he resumed cleaning the bookstore.

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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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