Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 56

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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 056

Let you down(4)

[ Cargo Dungeon Final Rankings ]

１. Transport A4 Team, Escort B12 Team

２. Transport A1 Team, Escort B11 Team….

According to the mentor evaluation results for the Cargo Dungeon, first place went to Kang Hyeon’s team. The reasoning was that they had the highest difficulty level in the labyrinth, their cooperation was harmoniously executed, and they completed their mission perfectly.

Mm-hmm. That’s reasonable.

After that, scenes of explorers staying in the dormitory and taking classes in mentor sessions quickly passed by…

─Yoo Ji-in : As you can see, we’re at a department store today. This assignment is in collaboration with BraveWorld.

BW Department Store. Mitamnan had received PPL from Korea’s most famous department store.

─Yoo Ji-in : What you need to do here is simple. Travel preparation. In other words, shopping. Of course, you don’t have any money on you, right? Your currency is your vote count.

Vote count. In other words, the profile votes received from the broadcasting station’s website. The weekly explorer text voting hasn’t been tallied yet.

-Hahahaha we gave them money

-The set stage really looks like a department store

-Is this PPL?

─Yoo Ji-in : Please also look forward to a special trip after shopping. Hints about the destination will be scattered throughout this department store~

After that, the explorers looked around various parts of the department store. The camera kindly showed the hints for the viewers.

A Pure White Snowfield painting hanging on the wall, explorers whose breath was visible because the department store was cold, and even advertisement boards for famous outdoor padding jacket brands that were definitely PPL…

“Looks like we’re going somewhere cold.”

Just then, Im Hae-jun and Seol Ha-woon appeared on screen.

─Seol Ha-woon : You should get a suitcase too.

─Im Hae-jun : Nah. I’m a backpacker. I don’t really like dragging suitcases around…

─Seol Ha-woon : Buy one.

─Im Hae-jun : …Yes sir.

Lee Si-ah found herself smiling without realizing it. At some point, the chemistry between those two had become quite entertaining.

-ㅋㅋㅋ It’s cute how they hang out together

-Hahahaha

-They’re a comedy duo lol

-They’re like the oldest brother and the youngest lol

Im Hae-jun sighed and picked up a suitcase. Seol Ha-woon pointed it out with eagle eyes.

─Seol Ha-woon : A bigger one.

─Im Hae-jun : This one’s enough for me though?

─Seol Ha-woon : I said get a bigger one.

─Im Hae-jun : What the. Why are you interfering so much, hyung? I think this kind suits me.

Im Hae-jun tried to rebel slightly, but Seol Ha-woon’s gaze was practically laser-like.

─Im Hae-jun : …Ah, seriously.

In the end, he struggled to pull out a large suitcase.

-But why is Seol Haun like that lol

-It’s funny though lol Are you a J?

-He seemed like a power J since the cargo mission. Trying to squeeze people into his plans.

-That’s not power J, that’s crazy J, isn’t it?

Indeed, Seol Ha-woon stuffed all kinds of survival supplies into his suitcase and forced Im Hae-jun to do the same.

-He’s really a crazy J. What is he preparing for.

-Is this nuclear war? lololol

-What’s that guy doing

Meanwhile, the other explorers’ outfits also became thicker. Most of them, including Kang Hyeon, Lee Jun-ho, Kate, and Jo Woon, wore padding jackets and stuffed emergency rations and camping supplies into their bags.

─Kang Hyeon : Jong-soo. Should we stop at this much?

─Lee Jong-soo : Yeah. Let’s do that. Too much might be a bit cumbersome.

Then the screen switched to Seol Ha-woon and Im Hae-jun.

“Pffft.”

Lee Si-ah burst into laughter. The chat room was in a similar state.

-Hahahaha wait what are these guys doing hahahaha

-Holy shit lmaooo they’re hanging so many fucking medals on them lololol

-Damn these clothes are so hot lmaooooo

-Are you a penguin? lol

-Hahahahahahaha

-what are they doing lol

Wearing parkas as thick as polar bear fat, plus suitcases, large backpacks, handbags, ropes, and all sorts of items dangling from their bodies.

─Im Hae-jun : …Hyung, is this right? You’re saying this is right?

─Seol Ha-woon : Just go pay.

The two arrived at the checkout counter. It was a self-checkout, so it was quite busy. Kang Hyeon held the barcode reader upside down and scanned his own forehead before being stopped by Lee Jong-soo, and Lee Jun-ho accidentally broke the barcode reader.

Just then.

Seol Ha-woon’s gaze shifted somewhere. It was toward Seo Ji-woo and Yoon Hwa-rim.

“Wow. She’s pretty.”

Lee Si-ah was newly impressed. Seo Ji-woo had been transformed gorgeously. The luxury items fit her perfectly like a model.

-Look at Seo Ji-woo’s form;;

-Wow, luxury goods really suit her

-She’s probably going to shoot tons of CFs after this ends

-She’ll become an ambassador

-Seol Ha-woon’s expression lol looks like he’s smitten lol?

At that moment, Seo Ji-woo glanced toward Seol Ha-woon and raised her nose haughtily.

─Seo Ji-woo: Hey there. What are you looking at?

─Yoon Hwa-rim: Oh? Ha-woon Mage.

Yoon Hwa-rim, who spotted Seol Ha-woon, smiled slyly.

─Yoon Hwa-rim: How is it~ Ji-woo is pretty, right~? Hehe.

─Seol Ha-woon: Haah….

Then Seol Ha-woon let out a sigh. It was a sigh for unknown reasons.

─Seo Ji-woo: A sigh? What sigh?

Seol Ha-woon suddenly gathered chocolate and emergency rations, along with a few other items into a handbag, then tossed it to Seo Ji-woo.

─Im Hae-jun: Hey! Hyung! That choco, that chocolate is mine!!

Im Hae-jun protested loudly.

─Seo Ji-woo: …So, what am I supposed to do about it?

Seo Ji-woo looked at Seol Ha-woon and blinked her eyes. Even the viewers found his behavior hard to understand, and Seol Ha-woon’s answer was as follows.

─Seol Ha-woon: It’s cold outside.

-???

-lolol what is that

-It’s cold outside?

-That Seo Ji-woo girl is really stupid; didn’t she see the hint? It’s obvious they’re going somewhere cold.

-She was too busy shopping to prepare proper clothes lol

-That Seo Ji-woo girl is famously poor so she can’t think straight hh she was famous as a beggar at school too hh

“…Tsk, really.”

That last chat is 100% someone who knows Seo Ji-woo. Their way of being jealous is a bit low.

Anyway, Seol Ha-woon turned around with Im Hae-jun,

─Im Hae-jun: Hehe…. Hyung. You like Seo Ji-woo, don’t you?

Im Hae-jun teased Seol Ha-woon.

─Seol Ha-woon: Be quiet.

─Im Hae-jun: I don’t want to~ I don’t want to~

Thwack.

Seol Ha-woon smacked the back of Im Hae-jun’s head.

“Pfft.”

-I wish those two would stay together lolol

-lololol why do they look like penguins

-Does Seol Ha-woon really like Seo Ji-woo?

-Why would he like her? What have they even done together?

-He must have fallen for her

-What falling lol what if he did fall for her lol

[ Shopping Time Over ]

Shopping was finished. Most of the explorers dressed warmly. Seo Ji-woo also barely managed to buy a padding jacket with a buzzer-beater at the end.

─Yoo Ji-in: Everyone. Are you ready to depart on your journey now?

Yoo Ji-in smiled meaningfully.

─Yoo Ji-in: Before that…. What is currently inside your suitcases or travel bags?

Ominous BGM played. Lee Si-ah also nodded her head. I knew it. There’s no way they’d let us enjoy such luxury without any conditions.

─Yoo Ji-in: Let me tell you. This mission is a Survival Labyrinth.

Survival Labyrinth.

The faces of the greatly shocked explorers were shown one by one, and immediately.

[ Entering Labyrinth ]

Subtitles appeared on a pitch-black screen. The darkness gradually cleared, revealing the scenery.

It was a snowy wasteland.

“As expected.”

They kept giving hints about it being cold….

[ To Be Continued Next Week ]

“…Already?”

Lee Si-ah startled and looked at her watch. Before she knew it, another 3 hours had passed. She hadn’t noticed time passing.

The wait is long, but the program is but a moment.

“Today was fun too….”

Lee Si-ah smiled contentedly. There was also one useful piece of bait. The strange current flowing between Seol Ha-woon and Seo Ji-woo.

“…It’s cold outside.”

Whatever it was, it was quite an interesting scene.

Lee Si-ah checked SNS first.

#Mitamnan

#KangHyeon

#LeeJunho

#SeoJiwoo

#ImHaejunSeolHawoon

#ItsColdOutside

“…It’s chaos.”

Real-time trends were already dominated, and the number of tweets was enormous. Even keywords were ranking quite high on real-time trends in English-speaking countries. Isn’t it dawn over there right now?

Click. Click-click. Clack.

Lee Si-ah checked the reactions on various communities.

“The entire page is all Mitamnan…”

There were tons of posts. All of them were Mitamnan-related posts. Among them, Seol Ha-woon’s share was quite substantial.

[Today’s Penguin Duo Activities]

Im Hae-jun and Seol Ha-woon waddling around because of their huge suitcase and backpack.

[Spoiler Alert) Today’s Heartwarming Scene]

Seol Ha-woon: It’s cold outside.

A scene of Seol Ha-woon looking after Seo Ji-woo, saying it was cold outside.

Lee Si-ah looked at the comments.

─It was confusing when someone who was cold suddenly acted like that

─ㅋㅋㅋ Seo Jiwoo must’ve been frustrated. Even with hints, if you dress like that;;

─It just seemed like he likes Seo Ji-woo

─Honestly, if you don’t care, do you really give a damn if they freeze to death? Of course not lol….

Lee Si-ah finally skimmed through portal site articles.

[Hot Topic Labyrinth Exploration NaN… How to Vote, and for Whom?]

Labyrinth Exploration NaN continues to be a hot topic. The so-called ‘Mitamnan’, which renews public interest every week, has dispelled concerns about being compared to the highly successful previous season and is instead writing a new history in the exploration entertainment industry.

Among the cast members, Kang Hyeon and Lee Jun-ho show the aspects of absolute powerhouses, Kate from the direct line of the Hailford Family, Seo Ji-woo who is a mage candidate, and even Seol Ha-woon who appeared like a comet…

[Mitamnan’s Dark Horse, ‘I’m Right’]

A new star of Labyrinth Exploration NaN has emerged. Seol Ha-woon. He who was called ‘I’m Always Right Guy’ from the early broadcast and received public criticism, has been reilluminated as a leader who even covers for his teammates’ mistakes.

UDT Sergeant, limping, walking stick, long hair. Covered with keywords that were impossible to figure out, he is approaching the level of main cast in the early part of Mitamnan.

Seol Ha-woon was different from those like Kang Hyeon, Lee Jun-ho, Seo Ji-woo, and Kate who had solid recognition and fandoms even before the broadcast. Many people didn’t even know of his existence, but now he has gained his own fandom that encourages voting for Seol Ha-woon here and there…

There are quite a few articles related to Seol Ha-woon. Of course, his share is still lacking compared to major players like Kang Hyeon, Lee Jun-ho, and Seo Ji-woo.

Still, combining various communities, SNS, and cafes, it’s enough to form a ‘mass’.

Lee Si-ah can see people who are about to fall for Seol Ha-woon, or have already become fans without knowing it.

Like the article content says, Seol Ha-woon has also gained a fandom.

Lee Si-ah is curious.

How big can this fandom grow? Also, how big can she make it grow?

“Huhu.”

She smiled and placed her hands on the laptop.

* * *

[ Recognition Level Up! ]

[ Recognition Grade: 11 ]

[ An additional 60 days of trial version is granted. ]

My recognition suddenly went up. It’s probably thanks to the live broadcast airing right now.

It was good news.

“Here it is.”

Thud─.

The Orphanage Director placed a sack containing tea leaves on the table.

“This is everything I have for now. I’ve spoken to my father back home about the rest, so delivery should come next week.”

“Yes.”

Taking the sack, I suddenly became curious.

“…What kind of place is your hometown?”

“It’s a peaceful place. There are no people, no factories, nothing at all, but the air is clean.”

The Orphanage Director touched his glasses with his right mechanical arm. He smiled bitterly as if reminiscing about some time.

Like this, Labyrinth People also carry their own stories, pasts, and memories.

I asked him.

“…Do I just steep the black tea in hot water?”

“I recommend boiling water at 97 degrees.”

“Yes. 97 degrees.”

I steeped the tea leaves in water boiled with magic power. I took a sip of the reddened tea.

Slurp.

It felt like my body was stabilizing. My overheated neck, spine, and eyes calmly settled down.

However, the fatigue was still severe. Sequence was definitely a method that put too much strain on mages.

“How does it taste?”

The Orphanage Director asked.

“…Satisfactory.”

I looked out the window. The sun had already set.

“Please stay just for tonight. There’s a spare bed. Thanks to good business, I can afford to treat guests.”

The Director patted his pocket and smiled. I didn’t count the amount, but since I gave him half of the money that suspicious person had collected, it must have been quite a lot.

“Yes. Then I’ll stay just for tonight.”

Let’s consider it a donation.

“Come this way. I’ll show you around.”

The Director got up from his seat.

“Here it is.”

I reached a small room. It was slightly bigger than a goshiwon but quite cozy, with two bunk beds where your legs would stick out halfway if you lay down. Various well-worn items were visible, as if they had hastily cleared out the children’s room.

“Well then, please rest comfortably.”

The Director went outside. I wandered around inside and then sat on the bed.

As I closed my eyes and organized today’s events, suddenly.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

There was a knocking sound at the window. I extended my walking stick and pulled back the curtain.

Three or four children from the 1st floor sports field were looking up at me from outside. When our eyes met, they moved their lips widely.

-Thank you!

Looking at the kids who were grinning brightly, I didn’t say anything. I closed the curtain again and sat on the bed.

You have nothing to thank me for.

No, it might be the opposite. I might be the villain who will make you disappear.

Perhaps this entire program might be a huge sick hobby…

“…”

I silently took out a few bills.

I was also from an orphanage. Outsiders occasionally visited the orphanage. There were people who volunteered and people who wanted to do business, but as a child, my favorite type was adults who opened their wallets easily.

I put the bills in an envelope and scribbled some words.

[ Accommodation Fee ]

This was originally the children’s room.

Would the kids who were kicked out because of a guest be able to smile brightly with this much?

—————
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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