Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 54

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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 054

Let you down(2)

I arrived at the orphanage. The facilities were poor even compared to real-world orphanages, but the children’s laughter rang clear through the half-broken windows.

Knock knock.

I knocked. The door opened immediately.

“Who… Shinji?”

A tired middle-aged man wearing glasses came out. I showed him the wanted poster. His eyes widened.

“…Ah. A runner?”

“Yes.”

“Please come in.”

I went inside. Children came running out from the corners of the orphanage corridor. Their eyes held interest as they looked at me.

These kids are all Labyrinth People too. They just don’t know they’re Labyrinth People.

But somehow they feel familiar. Maybe because I’m also conceptually from an orphanage.

“Please sit.”

The director led me to a small office. He first brewed tea and offered it to me.

His right hand was a metal prosthetic arm. Scars peeking out from various parts of his body through his clothes hinted at his past.

“It’s black tea. Please try it.”

I gladly drank it.

I have a habit of not drinking beverages from unknown people, but at least he wasn’t someone detected by my radar.

“…Hm?”

I was slightly surprised. Not just the taste, but one cup of tea seemed to stabilize my entire nervous system.

【Garden Black Tea】■ Grade: Rare■ Overview: Black tea brewed from tea leaves grown in a good garden. Calms the mind and relieves physical and nervous fatigue and inflammation.

“The tea is excellent.”

I wasn’t being polite. Just a black tea had a Rare label on it.

“Did you grow it yourself?”

“Yes. I have a garden in my hometown.”

The director smiled proudly.

“…Mm.”

I put down the teacup.

“Then let’s get straight to business.”

My codename was once Hunting Dog.

A hunting dog’s purpose is tracking and elimination. Finding people is my specialty.

“Yes. That day was…”

The director’s complexion darkened. He continued in a sadly wet voice.

“It was evening, the sun hadn’t even fully set yet…”

A child who was playing alone in the orphanage playground was killed by a stranger who suddenly appeared.

“The stranger must have been after the child’s pendant. It was too expensive an item for a child to carry around. I should have managed it.”

The middle-aged man who heard the scream rushed out and fired his self-defense gun, but it was already too late.

“The bullet seemed to graze his shoulder blade, leaving some blood traces…”

“Which way is the playground?”

“I’ll guide you.”

I came out to the playground with the middle-aged man. A sandy ground where handmade swings, pull-up bars, and slides caught the eye first.

Fortunately, the stranger’s blood traces remained along the escape route.

“I wonder if you can do anything…”

“Could I ask for a glass bottle?”

“Ah. Yes.”

The director quickly brought a reagent bottle. I took out my military dagger. I cut out the asphalt stained with the target’s blood, put it in the reagent bottle, and heated it by flowing magic power and water through it. The asphalt melted into liquid from the magic power.

I developed a formula within it. Blood attribute, [Blood Memory].

One of the Demonic Sect formulas I acquired in the library. It reacts when the blood’s owner is nearby.

“This should be enough. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes. Please… stay safe.”

The director seemed worried about me. I left the playground without a word.

I walked while shaking the reagent bottle, when tap-tap-tap-tap.

Cute footsteps echoed from in front of the alley. Small kids who had appeared blocked my path.

“Excuse me!”

Two boys and one girl with worn clothes but chubby cheeks, looking quite cute.

“…You’re the person who came to get revenge for Raun, right!”

Among them, a spirited-looking girl asked with teary eyes. I quietly looked down at the children.

“We… have something we collected too! We’ll give it to you if you get revenge!”

The kids held out their cupped hands. In their small hands were a few dirty coins.

I looked at it quietly, then shook my head.

“It’s not revenge, it’s work.”

I passed by the children. There was no need to engage in conversation.

Open world games have a different first principle.

It’s not something like ‘don’t die.’

‘Never get attached’

These are Labyrinth People. Labyrinth People who don’t know they’re Labyrinth People. Limited beings who disappear the moment the labyrinth is cleared.

I’ve seen too many people who forgot the first principle and lost themselves.

Because these beings are too human-like, they turn human hearts into labyrinths…

“Good luck! Fighting!”

“Good luck~!”

I let the children’s cheering go in one ear and out the other, but I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips.

* * *

“Cough.”

I coughed as soon as I came out to the street.

Thick air mixed with exhaust fumes, no different from smog. The atmosphere quality was too poor. Strange heat lurked on the ground, and people who could draw guns and swords at any moment passed by.

My body already has weak durability.

But it’s not an unfamiliar atmosphere. It’s similar to Mercenary District or an underground city.

I walked while leaning on my walking stick.

“…Hmm.”

There were quite a few people around wearing masks like gas masks.

I should buy one too. At this rate, I’ll get lung disease.

I entered a nearby equipment shop.

“Welcome.”

The bald tavern owner looked me over. There were several items on the display, but most were just inferior goods.

“A gas mask. A proper one.”

I ordered directly from the tavern owner.

“…I guess nothing here catches your eye?”

The tavern owner took out a gas mask from under the counter.

“This is a top-quality item worth exactly 3 coins.”

I looked at the gas mask. It was similarly trash. A sigh escaped me.

“From the joint finishing to the bottle….”

I was about to snap but held back.

The NPCs in the Labyrinth are Labyrinth People, but they act exactly like humans. Since they have no awareness that they’re Labyrinth People in the first place, they’re practically human.

Therefore, acting tough with these guys isn’t efficient. Acting knowledgeable and pretending to know things is best.

It’s a survival skill I learned in the Mercenary District.

“Shoddy work. This can’t even filter out particles mixed in the air.”

Then the Tavern Owner snickered and waved his hand.

“No no~ That’s how the product originally is.”

“There’s no catalyst attached to purify contamination, and the circulation structure inside the gas mask is abnormal too. External harmful substances flow without going through the filter….”

I pointed out every defect in the gas mask thoroughly. The Tavern Owner’s expression soured.

Thud.

I threw the gas mask onto the counter.

“I don’t say things twice.”

“…Please wait a moment.”

The Tavern Owner went into the storage room.

“Here. This is it.”

Only then did he bring out a proper item.

【Advanced Magic-Processed Air Purification Mask】■ Grade: Normal■ Overview: A mask made from future materials. Catalysts that purify air are embedded in the fabric.

“3 bills please.”

“I’ll do 2 bills.”

I handed over 2 bills. The Tavern Owner didn’t say anything particular either.

2,000 NaN Dollars would be expensive enough.

…I should have bargained more.

I flowed Magic Power into the gas mask. The circuit opened and the Magic Coefficient activated.

【Supreme Magic-Processed Air Purification Gas Mask】■ Grade: Rare■ Overview: A sturdy gas mask made from future materials. Equipped with catalysts that cleanly purify air and filter external Magic Power.■ Magic Coefficient: Magic Circuits are embedded within. Receives corrections according to the owner’s Magic Power stats.

Certain. Magic Coefficient is a Trait that enhances specific items according to my magical talent.

“…Confirmed.”

* * *

In the Outskirts, slightly away from the Lower District. I strolled down the street while gently swirling the reagent bottle. I periodically blew Magic Power into the bottle to check for reactions.

Then at some moment.

Splash.

The reagent bottle shook.

It was a minute response, but it was enough.

“….”

I quietly turned around.

Swirl. Swirl. I opened the lid of the swirling reagent bottle and dropped the solution.

Just one drop. I breathed Mental Visualization of Magic Power into it.

Find your master.

A single thought. The blood wriggled and crawled across the road surface.

I followed behind it.

Thud. Thud.

Limping steps while tapping my walking stick.

Before long, his appearance came into view.

A man.

His right arm and left leg were metal prosthetics, and tattoos were plastered all over above his neck.

I first considered the execution method.

Two options. Either seriously tail him for assassination, or openly chase him to get caught.

The difficulty itself was much easier with the former. I could complete the mission without much effort.

But now I wanted to know my level.

The opponent wouldn’t avoid a fight. Especially against a cripple like me.

Could I engage in close combat with a guy who clearly looked like a warrior?

Thud.

I made my decision. I tailed the guy. I deliberately left footsteps and presence. I spread suspicious noise as signals.

The guy noticed within 5 minutes. He glanced toward me then moved his steps toward a secluded place.

He was leading me.

I gladly responded. I entered a remote back alley.

I soon reached a dead-end wall. There was no one in front of me.

The guy was probably,

“What kind of bastard are you?”

Behind me.

I looked back at that place. A man whose entire eyes were pitch black without whites. The moment I faced the rather creepily-looking wanted criminal, my Magic Power reacted.

My vision was dyed blue. Perhaps my entire retina was covered with Magic Power.

I realized it instinctively.

My karma had activated.

■ Karma Cleansing: When fighting opponents whose karma is ‘evil’, Refinement grade increases by 2.

The innate nature of my Magic Power, the Attribute called ‘punishment’.

I wonder who someone like me is supposed to punish, and whether I’m qualified to do so.

But if it’s given, I should accept it.

I first checked the systematic changes.

4th Refinement. Magic Power 13.5. Magic Power Grade B

A realm I couldn’t even look up to with my current self had settled in my body, simply because the opponent was evil.

“I asked what kind of bastard you are.”

There’s no need for long conversations.

I raised my finger.

Bang.

I fired a Mana Bullet. The guy’s form immediately disappeared. The massive frame that must have been 2 meters tall dodged out of the bullet’s path.

Neural Acceleration. The act of accelerating the entire body including the central nervous system. The ability to move even more rapidly than bullets.

However, it’s not to the degree that it’s hard to follow with the eyes.

Rather, I might be vastly superior.

「Sequence」 had already activated. The entire world slowed down. Within that, the guy’s movements were sluggish.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

His stepping feet.

Whoooosh.

Asphalt debris rising with each step.

Hissssss.

Steam mixed with heat rippling from the guy’s steel fist.

Everything is slow.

Right now my perceived time is endlessly stretched.

My pathetic body could never keep up with this speed, but my amplified nervous system can process it sufficiently. Magic Power operates according to my cognition, and formulas are proportional to the tempo of thought.

I condensed bullets in the air. Anticipating every movement of the bastard approaching me, I baptized him with bullets.

All directions, eight directions. I fired mana bullets at the ground where he stepped, in the space where he advanced.

Kwagwagwagwak!

The mana bullets embedded throughout his body. He seemed greatly flustered, but his durability was quite impressive. Even while coughing up blood, he managed to thrust his fist right at my nose.

I raised a barrier.

Shwiiiik.

The steel fist rapidly accelerated. Dozens of times faster than any ordinary boxer’s punch, a resonance that vibrated the air. It struck the magic power in the void.

Chaaeaeng!

Not even a scratch appeared.

“…What the hell are you-“

Those were his last words.

I slammed the shotgun into his forehead.

Thunk!

He died with his head exploding. The slowed time began flowing normally again.

I looked down at the man who had become a corpse. Riddled with holes from mana bullets, he looked quite miserable. It would probably be censored when aired.

Whiiiiing──-

The wind in the alley swirled emptily, ruffling my hair. The bothersome long hair fluttered as it brushed my shoulders.

I looked at myself. At the spot where I stood, at the legs planted on the ground.

I hadn’t moved a single step.

There had been no need to.

Kim Se-jin had said this ‘sequence’ was a method to compensate for my mobility.

He was right.

If there’s no need to move, then mobility can’t be a weakness.

“…Sequence.”

For me, I felt I understood sequence a little better.

Sequence is the connection between magic power and the nervous system. The amplification of the nervous system through that connection. The simultaneous, ultra-high-speed manifestation of formulas using the perceived time stretched to hundredths of a second.

A mage’s self-awakening.

This is a technique that dominates ‘space’ rather than dealing with ‘people’. It’s an art that controls every area within my perception through intuition combined with magic power.

Therefore, the individual mage has no need to move.

Step, step.

I approached the corpse and searched through his clothes.

There was still work to be done.

* * *

A house remembers its owner. Just as much as the owner remembers the house.

I tracked the stranger’s memories.

It’s a Demonic Sect formula called [Trace Tracking] that traces the routes a person frequently traveled. Perhaps because of past experience, I found such formulas easy to learn.

“Nice house.”

The stranger’s house was a decent villa. Away from the outskirts of the city that looked like a garbage dump, in a suburban middle-class area where robot guards regularly patrolled.

Whether here or there, it’s the same – bad guys living well.

I pulled out a card from my wallet.

Beep.

The door opened. I went inside and looked around the interior. I concentrated magic power in my eyes.

One of the applications of sequence. Amplifying the optic nerves to take in all information of an area in an instant…

The space was grasped. There was a safe hidden behind the wall.

I tore open the wall with my walking stick.

“…A mana safe.”

A safe locked with a specific magic power pattern. It was the first time I’d seen such a thing, but I had a rough idea of how to solve it.

It’s a safe that uses magic power. If so, there should be traces of magic power, even very faintly.

I narrowed my eyes. I activated sequence again. My vision was tinted blue, and the safe’s password pad was magnified.

I can see it.

Very faint, but extremely subtle, traces of magic power remaining like dust.

Press. Press. Press. Press. Press. Press.

I pressed six digits.

Click.

The safe opened.

There were quite a few useful valuables. Money bundles, jewels, watches, and besides those, a blood-stained pendant. The treasure of a child he had killed.

I took everything and came outside.

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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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