Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 53

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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 053

Let you down(1)

“Y-you. Whether Professor Emer is handsome or ugly, do you even understand those formulas in that book? You’ve never even met the professor, yet you keep… it’s not like you’re jealous or anything… huh?!”

Seo Ji-woo pointed at me with a strangely reddened face.

“….”

I sat at the desk and picked up a pen. Since she asked if I understood, I suppose I need to prove that I did.

“…What are you doing?”

Seo Ji-woo peered over curiously.

Emer’s first formula, “Hollow Echo.”

In my eyes, I can see a way to replace the excessively complex flow of this formula. I can see a path to reconstruct the circuit and complete it more easily and far more efficiently.

I recorded it on paper.

“What are you scribbling?”

The principle of the formula itself is excellent. The naming isn’t bad either. It’s a formula that emits [Amplification].

For example, if used where embers exist, even the tiniest match flame becomes a fire demon that shakes heaven and earth.

That’s why it’s called Hollow Echo. While it appears to have no effect as a single formula, when given the right environment, it amplifies the entire thing.

“Here.”

I handed the paper to Seo Ji-woo.

“Compare this with that.”

“Compare, you say…”

Seo Ji-woo, who had been staring at the paper with furrowed brows, fell silent.

Seo Ji-woo is a good mage. Not as much as me, but she’s an elite with excellent talent.

So she should be able to tell.

The difference between my formula and Emer’s formula.

Even if the results are identical, which one is more precise and optimal.

“…This.”

Seo Ji-woo looked up at me blankly.

“How did you do this?”

I tapped the corner of my eye with my finger.

“I have pretty good eyes, so I can see the strengths and weaknesses of formulas well.”

While my execution ability is far inferior to Seo Ji-woo’s, I have the power to perceive magic power as magic power and understand formulas as formulas.

The talent of [12.5].

Complex or difficult doesn’t always mean good. You have to be able to simplify it to call it ‘real.’

“….”

Seo Ji-woo lifted her gaze from the paper. There was a strange light in her complexion.

“Can I take this?”

“Yeah.”

“…Thanks.”

Seo Ji-woo left the library. I watched her retreating figure and ran my hand through my hair. I also lightly slapped my cheek.

I showed off.

This isn’t my effort, this isn’t my talent. It’s just a fake achievement made with something like “MoMo.”

Did I unknowingly develop a desire to help that girl?

It’s frustrating.

Seo Ji-hyuk.

Why are you still remaining in my heart, making me owe you a debt?

Why can’t I still erase you?

“…Hah.”

A sigh flowed from deep within my core.

* * *

‘…Snow Flower. I’m back.’

Late at night. Kate stopped her pen. Her notebook was filled with magic formulas.

As both an archer and mage, she doesn’t neglect studying formulas and doesn’t waste even a minute or second.

‘Did you guard the house well~?’

Seol Ha-woon arrived at the dormitory.

He surprisingly likes flowers. Not just a casual liking either. When dealing with flowers, he shows a side that neither Kate nor anyone else could expect.

Completely different from his appearance when he shot a child without any hesitation, remarkably contrasting…

‘You’re growing well. Thank you.’

Kate picked up documents placed in one corner of her desk.

Name｜Seol Ha-woon Rank｜Staff Sergeant Physical｜191cm, 93kg Blood Type｜O…

Information about Seol Ha-woon that she had collected with difficulty. This was from his active duty days, so his physical specs and many other aspects were different, but he had been a member of UDT Black Team—a tier-1 special forces unit.

The Family ordered Seol Ha-woon’s exclusion, and Kate found an appropriate method.

Expulsion, or voluntary withdrawal.

By inflating public opinion with how Seol Ha-woon treats Kim Du-gyeom, and also releasing Seol Ha-woon’s weaknesses that Kate discovered at the right time, he would have no choice but to leave.

Kate conveyed her agenda to the Family.

* * *

The next day.

[ Magic Coefficient has been activated. ]

The back mountain, now as familiar as my bed. I embedded a magic circuit into my gloves.

“This requires some effort.”

It was much more difficult to succeed than with the walking stick. The walking stick was probably easier because it was a cherished item.

【Stretch Functional Mana Fiber Gloves】■ Grade: Rare■ Overview: Sturdy gloves made of mana fiber. Adjusts to fit the wearer’s body. Hand Technique acquisition.■ Hand Technique: Receives faint correction for hand-related actions.■ Magic Coefficient: Receives correction based on the owner’s Magic Power stat and quality of magic power.

The changes from Magic Coefficient are almost like spot-the-difference.

Originally it was just ‘gloves made of mana fiber,’ but ‘sturdy’ was added, and ‘dim correction for hand-related actions’ changed to ‘faint correction.’

“Would it improve more if it became a cherished item?”

Naturally, these gloves aren’t cherished items yet. I want to make them cherished items but don’t know how. Just wear them for a long time and…

“Please take care of me from now on.”

Let me at least keep talking to them. Like the care I pour into Snow Flower.

[ Please gather at Set Stage 3 by 3 PM. ]

Just then, a Set Stage assembly order came down. I trudged down from the back mountain.

“Seol Ha-woon?”

Suddenly, someone called out to me.

Mentor Kim Yoon-jun was leaning against a tree.

“Yes, mentor.”

He smiled faintly.

“Seol Ha-woon. Are you feeling alright?”

“Ah yes. Even with my leg like this, my body is surprisingly sturdy.”

“Hmm… Be careful.”

The warning to be careful was sudden. It felt strangely meaningful too.

Kim Yoon-jun, who had been studying my expression, stepped closer. The tree’s shade moved away from his face.

“Seol Ha-woon.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you want to become an explorer?”

I looked at Kim Yoon-jun. I glanced around for any cameras just in case.

“There are no cameras. You can speak freely.”

“Uh…”

The fact that there weren’t any made it even stranger. I thought he came to get some footage.

“Well.”

I answered briefly.

“To survive?”

To survive.

Also.

“To finish something that hasn’t ended yet.”

“Something that hasn’t ended…”

Kim Yoon-jun nodded quietly.

“But Ha-woon. Have you heard this saying?”

He continued in a low voice.

“The world viewed from inside the Labyrinth and the Labyrinth viewed from within the world cannot be distinguished from each other.”

“…I’ve heard of it.”

It’s a famous maxim in the exploration world. Similar to philosophical discourse about Labyrinths.

Though I have no idea why Kim Yoon-jun is saying this.

He looked at me and smiled.

“Then, don’t trust this program too much. That’s all I can tell you.”

Then he placed his hand on my shoulder.

“I want to watch for as long as possible. Seol Ha-woon’s performance. You’re not quite my top pick… but you’re definitely in my top 3.”

Pat pat. After tapping a few times, he headed down the Back Mountain first.

I watched his retreating figure.

Mentor Kim Yoon-jun seemed like a good person.

The typical good commander.

However, ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ are vastly different. One must not mistake them as the same.

Rather, an even greater gap exists between them.

“Don’t trust the program too much…”

If I weren’t a regressor, I would have simply thought of malicious editing. Since I’d already been burned once.

But knowing the ending of Mitamnan, it’s hard for me to let those words slide.

Good commanders tell the truth. Therefore, Kim Yoon-jun’s words are likely true as well.

However, ‘truth’ alone cannot solve anything.

If by any chance this program is truly dangerous, then more than me, you who tried to tell me the truth might be the one in danger.

That’s what I thought.

* * *

I arrived at the Set Stage. This time it looked like an arcade.

“…Master. What do you think it’ll be this time.”

Im Hae-jun appeared at some point. I’m used to this guy now, but a new one has latched on.

“I think it might be related to games.”

Kang Hyeon responding to Im Hae-jun.

He turned to look at me.

“What do you think, Seol Ha-woon hyung?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“They’ll tell us soon enough.”

Probably, many people would be curious at this point. Just how many Labyrinths are there in Mitamnan?

No two Labyrinths in the world are alike, but they can be grouped into broad categories.

Survival, cargo, situation, horror, arcade, linear, dungeon, etc… Mitamnan includes more than half of those categories.

Since it’s an explorer audition program, they let you experience pretty much every type of Labyrinth.

“Hello everyone~”

Just then Yoo Ji-in appeared. She was dressed in futuristic attire today.

“Today is the return Labyrinth day… the last Labyrinth before the first tally.”

The first tally is the grim reaper. Those in the lower voting ranks will be cut.

“After the first tally, only 50 of you will remain here. Of course, those who get eliminated in this Labyrinth will leave even sooner.”

Indeed, this Labyrinth’s difficulty is scheduled to be hard. Those in the lower ranks with barely any screen time will get swept away.

“Today’s Labyrinth theme is…”

Yoo Ji-in paused for effect. The explorers held their breath with tense faces.

“Open World.”

Open World.

Most faces hardened.

“You will be entering the Open World ‘NaN World’.”

NaN World. The hint about that place would be Yoo Ji-in’s outfit right now. She’s currently dressed in quite futuristic attire, like something you’d see in cyberpunk.

“You must achieve a specific objective in that world and return here. You’ll gradually learn what the objective is once you’re Inside the Labyrinth.”

She continued seriously.

“If you fail to achieve the objective and suffer fatal damage within the world, you’ll be forcibly returned and it will count as 3 failures. Meaning, you’ll be eliminated.”

Quite hardcore.

Im Hae-jun trembled like a squirrel beside me.

“M-Master. Let’s team up.”

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’ll probably be random starts.”

World-type Labyrinths all have different starting points. The Labyrinth itself is also vastly expansive.

Of course, NaN World would have reasonably limited size, but I’ll have to go in to know the details.

“Also. One more thing here.”

Yoo Ji-in raised her index finger.

“All the goods you acquire within the world will be treated as loot.”

Treated as loot.

Which means.

“They belong to you.”

The explorers’ faces changed. Desire sparked in the eyes of some who had been afraid.

Open World is a different world. Therefore, objects completely foreign to Earth, things that could be called treasures, might exist.

Getting just one good item could turn your life around.

“Open World Labyrinths are vast, complex, and difficult, but they’re the most suitable for the banner of ‘exploration’.”

It’s the production crew’s consideration before the first vote tally. Take something with you before you potentially get eliminated.

…If you can take anything, that is.

“Well then, shall we enter now?”

The explorers answered with faces half-mixed with excitement and worry. Whether from nervousness, they started chattering with each other or doing stretches, becoming quite bustling.

“Master. We’ll be able to meet again, right?”

Im Hae-jun asked with a worried face.

“Every man for himself.”

“Every…?”

He seemed not to know what “every man for himself” meant.

“Protractor?”

“I’ll begin now.”

Yoo Ji-in smiled with her eyes. At that moment, I slightly furrowed my brow. For some reason, Yoo Ji-in’s gaze was fixed in this direction.

The target she was looking at wasn’t me.

It was Kang Hyeon blinking beside me.

“Everyone, I wish you good fortune.”

At that moment, a burst of light erupted and covered the space.

* * *

“….”

I opened my eyes. Looking at the world spread out before me, I let out a hollow laugh.

“It’s certainly flashy.”

Under the dark night, all kinds of neon signs filled the view. Repair shops, gun shops, alchemy houses… To describe the scenery calmly, it was exactly what we call ‘cyberpunk.’

A perhaps distant future of our generation, where science and magic power had developed excessively, threatening to devour humanity.

[ Welcome to NaN World ! ]

[ Objective : Collect World Points ! ]

[ WP is acquired each time you complete Quests in the world ! ]

It was quite a long labyrinth with no set deadline. In terms of pre-regression episodes, about 4 episodes worth?

Probably from around this time, the broadcasting station would go crazy and each episode would be 4-5 hours long. I’d read articles saying the advertising revenue per episode was hundreds of billions.

「Rainos」

“Rainos…”

Probably the city name. I walked while gripping my walking stick. There were many vagrants sprawled on the streets. Rather than begging, the beggars were spying on me. Since no one would donate money to such lowlifes, they seemed to be eyeing robbery.

It seemed I’d landed in an area with poor public safety.

[ AMOS WAY Exchange ]

“…At least there’s an exchange.”

Dirty, sticky heat. Among the suspicious and greedy gazes, the exchange building stood upright.

I entered there. Several ATM-like machines were lined up.

[ Identity Verification : Seol Ha-woon ]

[ You can purchase a Return Ticket by spending 10,000WP. ]

[ Current WP Holdings : 0 ]

[ Exchange Service ]

Return Ticket. This was probably the labyrinth’s objective.

I pressed ‘Exchange Service.’

[ Exchange your votes for NaN Dollars! ]

[ Please determine the exchange amount. ]

[ Exchangeable votes : 303,852 ]

Quite a lot of votes had accumulated. I didn’t know the exchange rate yet, but I exchanged 30,000 votes for now.

Whirr─

Thirty bills. 3,000 NaN Dollars.

After pocketing them, I came out of the exchange and looked around the surroundings.

There was a noticeable sign.

[ Chrome Oasis ]

A bar. In this kind of worldview, places like that were usually employment offices.

I entered the establishment. People bustled about in the thick smell of alcohol. I pushed through the crowd and stood in front of the counter. The tavern owner was a man with a long mustache.

“Tavern Owner.”

I called to him.

“Got any work?”

He glanced at me.

“There’s no work for a cripple to take.”

I was instantly furious. Was there really such a Nazi-like bastard in the world?

“Should I prove it by putting a hole in your neck?”

He answered while wiping a glass.

“Not bad.”

Some attention from inside focused on us.

The distant areas were still chattering, but the nearby area was watching me. It didn’t matter. Skill verification was always a necessary process.

I floated a Mana Bullet in the air above my shoulder. The Tavern Owner’s mustache twitched.

“…Haven’t seen your face before. Are you an aspiring runner? You can’t even run on those legs.”

“Try thinking that there might be no need to run.”

The atmosphere was similar to Mercenary District in many ways. Actually, ‘runner’ was the word used to refer to ‘mercenaries’ in that district. Since mercenaries were the type who ran around all the damn time.

“…There happens to be one job for newbies. It’s work that doesn’t require running.”

He pulled out some paper.

「DEAD or ALIVE」

It was a wanted poster with a vicious-looking face drawn on it.

“This guy killed an orphan who was playing in the playground and ran away. It’s a request from the orphanage, so the payment is small even if completed.”

[ Quest : Apprehend Wanted Criminal ]

[ Completion Reward : WP 300 ]

This seemed to be how to acquire WP.

I picked up the wanted poster.

“Where’s the orphanage? I think I need to see the scene to understand.”

The Tavern Owner handed over documents. The orphanage’s location and information were recorded.

I turned around as is.

“See you again.”

“If you can come back, that is, one-legged runner friend.”

“….”

I don’t tolerate it twice.

I fired a bullet toward the back over my shoulder.

─Clang!

Silent magic power grazed the Tavern Owner’s neck and shattered the liquor bottle. Glass shards scattered in all directions. The tavern fell quiet for a moment.

I said to the Tavern Owner.

“You have legs, you know. So you’re not one-legged.”

“…I made a mistake.”

The Tavern Owner smiled. I smiled back in response.

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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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