Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 52

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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 052

Spring Rain (2)

“This is Seol Ha-woon.”

I looked at the camera and then lowered my gaze.

“Right now, there are 4 Mystery Boxes placed in front of me.”

Number 1, 2, 3, 4. The boxes were all identical in size and appearance. Nothing particularly distinctive about them.

“I think these Mystery Boxes are gifts I received thanks to all of you.”

I pointed to the lower area with my finger. It was where the subtitles would appear.

“Once again, I’ll follow your choices. There should be a voting window below my personal profile.”

The snowball fight itself would be broadcast later, but this PR video would probably be uploaded to the IONet Homepage tomorrow.

“Please cast your vote for which box I should choose.”

Hahaha.

I smiled.

Cut.

* * *

“Cut out the laughing part. Do everything else as Seol Ha-woon said.”

Editing Room. At Kim A-rang’s words, the assistant writer tilted her head.

“But PD, why are you cutting the laughing part? He smiled well.”

They often cut smiles if they look bizarre, awkward, or ugly, but Seol Ha-woon wasn’t bad.

He actually looked better when smiling than expressionless. His skin tone was quite advantageous. His skin condition was as good as a celebrity’s.

Kim A-rang chuckled.

“It’s not good if smiles are too cheap.”

Seol Ha-woon’s vote count was gradually surpassing the middle ranks. They’d need to see the exact tally during the first round, but… the most concerning factor was Kim Du-gyeom.

For Kim A-rang, she couldn’t understand at all why Seol Ha-woon was tormenting Kim Du-gyeom.

“But how are the writers these days? Are they still like that?”

“…Yes. Surprisingly many people dislike Seol Ha-woon. Because he’s too openly bullying Du-gyeom. Like school violence…”

Kim Du-gyeom was agreeable. Especially to writers and PDs. A character who approached them with bright smiles, helped with work. And he didn’t seem to want anything in return, a purely good friend.

But Seol Ha-woon was persistently bothering that Kim Du-gyeom.

“Why does Seol Ha-woon really act like that? Does he have some disease where he hates good kids?”

“…I don’t know.”

There’s no reason needed for a person to dislike another person.

Kim A-rang pursed her lips. The writer watched her expression and subtly changed the topic.

“PD Kim, I… how much do you think our performance bonus will be this time?”

“Hm?”

These days IONet was afflicted with a status ailment called ‘joyful screaming’. Not just the Mitamnan team, but the entire broadcasting station was working overtime after overtime.

Which meant the impact was tremendous.

“Writer Yoon. You said you had a housing loan?”

“…Yes.”

Kim A-rang grinned and continued.

“You can pay all that off and still have enough for a mid-size car?”

The writer’s face lit up brightly.

* * *

Back Mountain of C-Tier Maze Exploration Dormitory. In that place with fresh air, I swallowed a bitter taste.

“…It is difficult indeed.”

The Mana Circuit Opening was almost complete. No, functionally it might already be finished.

The problem was only ‘below the left knee’. The area I couldn’t rehabilitate.

Of course I had no intention of giving up, but it just wouldn’t open.

“Tsk.”

I scratched the back of my neck while looking at the walking stick in my left hand.

“It might be faster to just open it through the walking stick.”

I casually channeled magic power into the walking stick like a joke. Suddenly something pierced through and flowed down. Magic power penetrating the interior of the walking stick. That clear sensation reached my hand too.

“!”

I stopped in surprise. 「MoMo」’s Status Window appeared before my eyes.

[ Magic Coefficient has been activated in your cherished item. ]

Magic Coefficient?

“Suddenly?”

I checked the walking stick’s information.

【Mystical Staff】◆ Grade: Rare◆ Overview: A black walking stick made from mystical wood. Seems helpful for mages.◆ Restriction: Cognitive Level 1 or higher◆ Magic Power +0.8 when equipped◆ Cognitive acquisition rate +17%◆ Movement speed +5%◆ Magic Coefficient: Receives correction based on owner’s magic talent.◆ Cherished Item: Magic Coefficient efficiency increases over time.

‘Receives correction based on owner’s magic talent’.

Is Magic Coefficient a trait that implants separate circuits into objects? It’s not certain yet.

For now, the 【Mystical Staff】’s magic power when equipped increased from 0.5 to 0.8, and other miscellaneous stats also changed noticeably.

“Cherished Item is… well.”

Thinking about it, this guy was my first equipment. I’d never changed equipment until now, and it had been by my side 24 hours a day. I even attached a keyring to it. The 【Chieftain’s Feather】 swaying from the staff head. It was sufficient to be called a cherished item by the system.

This is good news.

“Check.”

Magic Coefficient. It’s certainly worthy of being called a special reward. I could use it on various other equipment later, not just the walking stick.

“Then…”

[ Tech Points: 3 ]

3 Tech Points gained from leveling up. I planned to invest all of them in the perception category.

I needed nervous system-related tech because of 「Sequence」 and 「Refinement」.

Not to mention 「Sequence」, the pain from 「Refinement」 was a load on the entire nervous system. At least that’s what I guessed.

First Refinement was roughly similar to the pain during rehabilitation. The second was much more transcendent though.

[ You acquire Mid-Lower Perception Enhancement. ]

[ You acquire Mid-Lower Cognitive Expansion. ]

First upgrading the Tier 1 techs Perception Enhancement and Cognitive Expansion to mid-lower level.

[ You acquire Mid-Lower Nervous System Enhancement. ]

Up to the Tier 2 tech Nervous System Enhancement.

It was a reasonably rational choice. Magic-related techs could build proficiency through repeated use of formulas, but perception category ones never increased no matter what.

“…This should be organized.”

Of course there were still unopened [Random Box]es, but I’d open them later. They weren’t urgent right now.

“Hmm…”

Next, I checked my personal profile on IONet.

“Number 3 has the most votes.”

The Mystery Box voting results showed number 3 as the winner.

* * *

I stood in front of the camera again.

“Thank you for your support and votes, everyone. Number 3 received the most votes…”

I muttered while grabbing the lid of box number 3. I felt slightly nervous.

The Mitamnan team is generous. This means there would likely be at least a rare-grade item inside.

“Ta-da!”

I opened the door.

Inside, a pair of leather gloves lay alone.

“…There were gloves.”

I almost felt disappointed but quickly appraised them.

【Stretch Functional Mana Fiber Gloves】◆ Grade: Rare◆ Overview: Gloves made from mana fiber. Adjusts to fit the wearer’s body. Acquisition of hand skills.◆ Mystical Leather: Receives faint enhancement for hand-related actions.

My eyes widened greatly.

Good.

This isn’t an ordinary rare item. It’s a high-rare among rares. A rare that’s close to unique grade.

Why?

Look at the section called [Mystical Leather].

It ‘receives faint enhancement for hand-related actions.’

It’s a very vague description, but the more ambiguous MoMo’s item performance is, the better. Because it means the range is wide.

Hand-related actions.

Not just string games and knitting, but also logging, woodworking, crafts, and even further – Aim, Fire, and even spells if deployed with ‘hands’ would receive enhancement.

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you.”

I bowed sincerely from the heart. My heart was trembling.

* * *

Library.

Studying has become my hobby lately. I never knew I’d be like this, but clear talent sparked motivation.

Any spell can be roughly understood after seeing it 2-3 times, digging deeper reveals structure and core principles, and going further, actually using it a few times somehow leads to ‘Deconstruction Analysis’, which means it can’t help but be fun.

It’s like a virtuous cycle where the one who studies well gets hooked on the fun.

[ Ian McCutter’s Standard Spells Volume 1 ]

[ Ian McCutter’s Standard Spells Volume 2 ]

[ Keist’s Special Spell Collection ]

I’m not only studying the Standardized Magic of renowned mages.

[ Parilion’s Spell Structure Studies ]

[ David Marelion’s Introduction to Spell Studies ]

[ Letorn High-Speed Spell Mastery ]

From the distinctive spell theories of scholars including famous university chair professors.

[ Blood-Based Standard Spells ]

[ Tracking, Pursuit, Assassination ]

[ Facial Expression Analysis Spells ]

[ Correlation Between Telepathy, Gestures, and Actions ]

I’m in the process of completely mastering even the writings published by quite a few unorthodox mages.

For a novice mage who doesn’t have much in his head yet, this is an enormous luxury. Books that cost millions of won each, sometimes tens of millions, are scattered everywhere here in Mitamnan.

Crash─

A loud noise rang out while I was deeply immersed. I looked toward that bookshelf. Seo Ji-woo was there.

“Ah… this hurts like hell.”

She seemed to have fallen while trying to pull out a book from above, landing hard on her bottom on the floor.

“What are you doing.”

“!”

Seo Ji-woo, who turned toward me, flinched and trembled.

“…What’s it to you.”

I picked up the book that was scattered on the ground.

[ Emer’s Advanced Spell Book ]

Emer. A 37-year-old high ranker said to be approaching the level of a Mage.

But this evaluation of ‘approaching the level of a Mage’ is quite ambiguous.

Most mages who are doing reasonably well are said to be approaching the level of a Mage or something, but in the end, they all seem unable to cross that wall.

I opened Emer’s spell book.

“…What is this.”

My brow immediately furrowed.

“Heh. Difficult, right? Do you know Professor Emer?”

Seo Ji-woo snickered as she got up. She maintained some distance from me, actually quite far.

“Emer. I’ve heard the name.”

It’s the name of a mage that appears quite often in the academic journals I’ve been subscribing to lately.

Seo Ji-woo shrugged her shoulders.

“I met him directly. When I went abroad to study, I learned under him for about 6 months. He asked me to join his school, you know?”

“…Emer school?”

“No. Kezein school. Professor Emer is probably a direct line from that side, right? Hehe.”

Kezein. A Mage.

I skimmed through the advanced spell book again.

“So. You’re going to join under someone who wrote books like this?”

For me, it was pure curiosity.

Seo Ji-woo crossed her arms as if showing off.

“Yeah. Why, are you jealous?”

“….”

It’s the complete opposite.

Of course, I’m still just a novice mage. My Magic Power rank of C+ proves that. In 「MoMo」 terms, the remaining ranks are B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+, AA, AAA, S. A total of 9 grades.

I’m a preschool child with 90,000 li to go, but my pure talent value after breaking through Second Refinement is [12.6].

Furthermore, the trait 【Good Eyes, Good Ears】.

◆ The character’s vision and hearing are fundamentally very excellent. All actions performed with eyes and ears are superior.

All actions performed with eyes and ears, meaning it even amplifies the ‘seeing eye’ as a mage.

Therefore, I can grasp the strengths and weaknesses, efficiency, advantages and disadvantages, and compositional state of spells just by Direct Sight alone.

That’s why.

“This book. It’s like garbage.”

I can openly express my opinion without caring about the other party’s status.

Because I know. And because I can explain it.

Furthermore, because I can change it.

“…What?”

Seo Ji-woo furrowed her brow. I waved the book around while twisting my lips.

“It’s too inefficient. Unnecessarily pedantic too.”p>

“Pedantic… what? Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

Seo Ji-woo let out a hollow laugh as if she couldn’t believe it.

“You must be crazy. Can you even manifest that formula?”

“I can’t. Not yet.”

I can’t. Not with my current skill level.

Because my Magic Power Control Ability is insufficient. Emer’s Formal Magic Technique is clearly [Advanced] level.

“….”

Seo Ji-woo’s expression was completely blank. The face of someone looking at a madman. Still, I don’t lie.

“I’ll be able to do it soon.”

One year… no, it’s a level I can break through in 3 months.

“But even when I can do it, I won’t do it this way.”

Seo Ji-woo narrowed her eyes. She leaned against the bookshelf and grumbled with dissatisfaction.

“This is ridiculous. Coming here all of a sudden.”

“…Try not to go under that person if possible.”

A person’s personality shows through in their formulas. If someone presents this kind of formula as their work and enjoys students’ suffering, they’re likely a narcissist.

“You’ll either just pick up superficial habits or won’t be able to learn properly.”

A person intoxicated with their own charm. Someone caught up in intellectual vanity who can’t stand not being superior to others.

Especially someone who absolutely can’t stand to see their student surpass them.

There are quite a few officers and executives of this type in the Military. Most are troublemakers. Narcissist commanders either kill their subordinates or get fragged.

I usually chose the latter.

“You’re talking nonsense. You’ve never even met Emer.”

“That’s true.”

I’ve never met this person, but I’m not ‘merely’ evaluating someone through their writing. It’s because it’s their writing that I can see through that person relatively accurately.

It’s 10 times more accurate science than physiognomy. Since few people lie in their diaries.

“…Ah! Wait a minute.”

Then, Seo Ji-woo’s eyes widened as if she suddenly remembered something.

“Could it be. Because this professor is young and handsome?!”

…I have no idea what nonsense that is.

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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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