Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 59

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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 059

Let you down(7)

Broadcasting Station Rooftop. Yoo Yul gazed up at the stars in the sky, lost in thought.

It was a reflection on Seol Ha-woon’s lifespan.

His remaining years were not long.

If not now, it would be soon. He probably wouldn’t last even five years.

An ending close to fate, based on a mage’s knowledge and common sense.

‘Sequence’ was like that.

If Sequence had been a flawless system, every mage in the world would have already clung to it.

However, today’s Sequence was closer to an obsolete theory.

The cause was the advancement of magic studies, medicine, and life sciences.

Sequence amplifies the human nervous system, causing overload to the brain and spinal cord. As a result, information processing ability and formula manifestation speed increase exponentially, but the nervous system gets burned. This is because the thin neural networks of humans cannot withstand the heat of magic power.

Moreover, Seol Ha-woon’s refinement was too rushed. He had progressed through the 1st and 2nd stages in just three months, which was like self-destructive whipping.

“…He said he was already a dead man, Seol Ha-woon did.”

A voice like the wind.

Yoo Yul turned to look in that direction. Kim Se-jin was sitting on a bench.

“There might not be absolutely no hope. He’s someone who overcame total disability after all.”

“The probability is extremely low.”

Yoo Yul stated definitively.

“His body will break first.”

“Hmm… I wonder if I should have taught him.”

Kim Se-jin pouted his lips. Yoo Yul shook her head.

“He wanted it himself. He must have been desperate, having lost one leg.”

The person who taught Seol Ha-woon Sequence was Kim Se-jin, but it was with Yoo Yul’s permission.

Kim Se-jin smiled slightly.

“…You’re cold-hearted as always.”

Yoo Yul doesn’t worry about or sympathize with anyone. Not just Seol Ha-woon, but all humans.

If Yoo Yul had felt any emotion toward Seol Ha-woon, she wouldn’t have given him the gem string. She would have dissuaded him from Sequence too.

However, Seol Ha-woon was stubborn about something directly connected to his death, and Yoo Yul didn’t bother to persuade him.

Yoo Yul was that kind of person.

…Perhaps, she had already strayed somewhat from the category of ‘human’.

“It’s almost time for the live broadcast.”

Kim Se-jin looked at his wristwatch.

“I’ll go watch it.”

Yoo Yul nodded, and Kim Se-jin quickly disappeared.

Beep.

Just then, an alarm went off on Yoo Yul’s smartphone. It was a text from PD Kim A-rang.

[Mentor. Please check your schedule after this World Labyrinth ends. If it’s okay, I’m thinking of setting up a separate filming schedule for Mentor Yoo Yul too. I’ll plan it well, so don’t worry.]

“….”

True to broadcasting station style, they didn’t explain what kind of filming it was, but there was no reason not to cooperate.

She replied with a single sentence.

[My schedule is fine.]

* * *

┌──Labyrinth Exploration NaN──┐

Mitamnan Episode 5 began. Lee Si-ah sat in front of the TV as usual, eyes wide open.

「Time Remaining 360 : 00 : 00 」

Pure white snow mountains spread out from the start. A timer ticked above them, followed by emerging words.

「Survival Labyrinth」

Lee Si-ah got goosebumps at the subtitle “Survival Labyrinth”.

-Wow

-Wow

-Crazy lol

-This is seriously a survival maze lol isn’t this way too hard?

-Sending them to a Survival Labyrinth without even telling them what it is;; Isn’t that too much;;;

-What about Seo Jiwoo lololololol

Survival Labyrinth was as famous as Cargo Dungeon. It was quite intuitive, and there was even a ten-million-viewer movie based on Survival Labyrinth.

Anyway.

The early development proceeded from Kang Hyeon’s perspective. Carrying a thick backpack, he walked through the snow field, digging through it. The breath flowing from his mouth indicated the degree of cold.

Crunch. Crunch.

A distant view of him walking through the snow mountain, clear and clean scenery shown from various angles for dozens of seconds.

─Kang Hyeon : …Huh?

Kang Hyeon stopped. In front of him was some kind of cave.

─Kang Hyeon : Hmm…

After pondering, Kang Hyeon went inside. The interior was pitch black, but he conjured blue magic power in one hand like a light.

─Kang Hyeon : It’s warm. I can stay here.

Just as Kang Hyeon put down his backpack, a strange wind rushed in from deep inside the cave. Kang Hyeon tilted his head and looked in that direction.

Grrrrowl.

An eerie growl arose. Kang Hyeon froze stiff. Slowly, he raised his head.

─Kang Hyeon : Bear…

There was a bear at the end of the cave. The bear glared at Kang Hyeon with flashing eyes. Kang Hyeon stepped back greatly and drew his sword.

Gulp.

Lee Si-ah unconsciously swallowed her saliva.

Bears are dangerous beasts. Due to large individual variations depending on habitat and genetics, some bears require five or six high-rankers working together to barely handle them.

Of course, that bear probably wasn’t to that extent, but…

Grrrrrowl!

Watching the bear slowly awakening from sleep, Kang Hyeon took a deep breath.

Blue magic power spread throughout his body, and just as he was about to enter combat.

Scene transition.

Thud thud! Thud thud!

This time it was someone digging an underground tunnel, Im Hae-jun. He was digging the tunnel with a shovel like a mole.

─Im Hae-jun : Really… listening to that guy’s words brings good fortune even in sleep.

That guy was probably Seol Ha-woon.

Pop pop! Pop pop!

Im Hae-jun diligently dug the ground to widen the space and installed a lantern in the underground tunnel.

─Im Hae-jun: Haaaam.

After finishing his work, he rubbed his eyes sleepily and lay down on the ground.

─Im Hae-jun: Whew…

He fell asleep with his mouth half open.

The next segment featured Im Hae-jun’s ‘older brother.’

His full figure in a penguin-like parka was shown first, then a close-up of his hands as he limped along.

He was gripping a hand axe. The camera slowly moved up to capture his face.

It was an extreme close-up. White, clean skin with snowflakes clinging to it, and dark circles under his eyes giving them a decadent look.

Seol Ha-woon stopped in front of a log.

Crack.

He loosened his neck muscles lightly, did some stretching, then swung the axe.

Thwack!

With one swing of the axe, the wood surface was deeply gouged.

Thwack!

With two swings, half the log was carved in.

Thwack!

Three times.

Crrrrrack!

In just three swings, the log as thick as a pillar toppled over. Lee Si-ah’s eyes widened too.

-Whoa what? How’d he do that?

-Whoa

-Isn’t he a mage?

-A mage hiding his strength??

-Poor tree.. is this okay to show on broadcast? Too violent

-Hahahaha that’s refreshing

-Maybe he still has strength left from his military days?

What came next was even more amazing.

He used a grinder to shave the log surface to make it like lumber, then cut it evenly with rhythmic thunk thunk thunk sounds.

With a casual tap of the hand axe, the wood split along the grain. Like a master craftsman carving marble. Even rough strikes created clean angles.

-Looks like they’re gonna build a house ㅋㅋ

-Do hand axes normally cut like that? Look at those angles

-This is satisfying to watch

-So relaxing~

-That axework is insane

Seol Ha-woon quickly made and erected the basic framework of a cabin. After roughly finishing the work, he sat on a tree stump as a chair.

Then he took out a burner, frying pan, and whole pork belly in order.

It was mealtime.

Sizzzzz. The whole pork belly cooked to an incredible color.

Seol Ha-woon picked up the perfectly grilled meat with tongs and took a big bite.

Chomp.

-Whoa

-Whoa

-Whoa

-Insane

-He’s doing a solo mukbang.

-Whoa

-That looks so delicious

-He’s eating it straight like that

-Whoa

Lee Si-ah also typed ‘whoa’ while swallowing the saliva that had pooled in her mouth. She should order some delivery pork belly.

“No, wait.”

She almost forgot her duty again today. Lee Si-ah hurriedly moved her hands. She captured screenshots in real-time and posted them.

│Seol Ha-woon chopping wood│

│Seol Ha-woon mukbang│

It was the most basic kind of promotion.

These days, even from Lee Si-ah’s perspective, she could feel that Seol Ha-woon was doing well. An active fanbase had formed, and many people other than herself were making screenshots and writing posts.

│So funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋ│

│His character really is unique│

│He’s filming a solo survival documentary│

│Still, Seol Ha-woon is kind of stubborn.. I still don’t like him much│

│Whoa that looks really delicious,, late night snack time│

│Can’t they release the full version? To watch when I can’t sleep│

The community reaction was good since it took up a whole segment, but… Lee Si-ah suddenly frowned slightly. It was because of a certain post.

│Inside scoop on Mitamnan│

“…It keeps getting posted.”

There’s been a strange recurring post lately. Inside gossip about the broadcasting station.

[ ‘A’ is bullying ‘B’ so much that ‘B’ is considering leaving the show, and quite a few writers and PDs are also dissatisfied with ‘A’. ‘A’, who is on the older side, has a personality that’s worse than what’s shown on broadcast, while ‘B’ is popular with PDs and writers and has a good reputation… ]

─So who is this A anyway lol

─Worse personality and older? Then it must be Seol Ha-woon

─ lol honestly Seolhaun seems to have a pretty bad personality, even since the Escort Labyrinth

─If A is Seol Ha-woon, then who’s B?

This was gossip claiming that ‘A’ was Seol Ha-woon.

Lee Si-ah ignored it. She didn’t even have enough time to make screenshots right now.

│Seol Ha-woon grilling meat│

│Whole pork belly mukbang│

She uploaded the posts while watching the live broadcast.

This episode showed an overall view of what efforts the 96 explorers were making in the Survival Labyrinth. Kang Hyeon won his fight against a bear, Im Hae-jun built an underground tunnel, Ryu Yeon-hwa settled near the volcano, and Seol Ha-woon did woodworking.

Grinding wood with a grinder, cutting lumber with a hand axe like a carving knife, erecting the framework of a cabin…

-Why is this so healing

-I just keep watching

-I never knew building a cabin in the forest could be this relaxing

-For real, you just end up staring at it blankly

─Seol Ha-woon: Done.

Seol Ha-woon completed the cabin. A small, pretty, and elaborate cabin. The interior was also neat, making it hard to believe it was built in just two days.

-Wow, it’s pretty lol

-How did he make that;;;

-He could sell that

-Wow lololol

-lolololol He made that in 40 hours

“Interesting.”

It’s nothing special, but I keep watching. I get absorbed in it mindlessly. So this is why woodworking YouTube videos get so many views.

Anyway, time continued to flow after that, with various explorers appearing in turns.

The meeting between Kang Hyeon and Lee Jun-ho, Seol Ha-woon hunting brilliantly even while using a walking stick, and the lower-ranked ones who couldn’t endure and dropped out one after another.

─Haa… haa…

Then, someone staggering along while breathing ominously filled the screen.

It was Seo Ji-woo with a wolf slung over her back.

-As expected, Seo Ji-woo totally failed

-Did she hunt that wolf?

-Considering what she prepared, lasting 100 hours seems pretty good

-Without Seol Ha-woon, she would’ve been cut at 24 hours lol

─Haa…

Breathing that sounded like exhaling ice. Seo Ji-woo, in a state where even viewers could taste blood in their lungs, suddenly stumbled and collapsed in the snow field.

“Huh!”

-Whoa;; Seo Ji-woo?

-Seo Ji-woo’s getting eliminated too.

-lol This is why you should look at intelligence and experience rather than name value. Look at Seol Ha-woon. He built a cabin right away

Hiss, hiss. As she collapsed helplessly like a deflated balloon, something moved on Seo Ji-woo’s back.

It was the wolf.

-?

-??

-What’s that?

The wolf that seemed definitely dead came back to life and scurried off somewhere.

What was that? Had the wolf been pretending to be dead all this time?

Whiiiiing──

The blizzard grew fiercer in the snow field. Seo Ji-woo was being buried like in a snow grave.

How much time had passed like that?

Just when it seemed she would be eliminated like this.

Rustle.

Some footprints landed in front of her buried in the snow. And then…

[ To be continued in the next episode ]

“No! Who is it! What is it!”

Lee Si-ah shouted angrily. The atmosphere in SilTalk was similar.

-Ah what

-Damn what kind of cliffhanger is this

-No, who is it

-Explain what that wolf was first

-I think I know who it is, I should write a prediction post

“…Ah.”

Time had vanished in an instant.

It’s disappointing and disappointing again, but I still need to search for reactions related to Seol Ha-woon. Like ego-searching, I suppose. Of course, I’m not Seol Ha-woon.

Lee Si-ah first looked at Enter News.

│Labyrinth Exploration NaN captivates the public with diverse materials and special character│

│Kang Hyeon nearly loses his life… facing a bear│

│Seol Ha-woon changes genres, from labyrinth survival to healing observation│

An article about Seol Ha-woon was also ranked high.

[ Seol Ha-woon changes genres, from labyrinth survival to healing observation ]Seol Ha-woon turned the Survival Labyrinth into a healing variety show.Seol Ha-woon, famous for his nickname ‘He’s Right’, showed particularly special individuality in this Survival Labyrinth as well.Deployed into the Survival Labyrinth with more thorough preparation than any other explorer, he built a cabin with his own hands. With just a single hand axe and a small saw blade, he created an elaborate and cozy…

Lee Si-ah clicked like and copied the article title and link to spread it across various communities.

* * *

[ Quest Complete ]

■ 3,000 WP acquired

“Perfect.”

Under the moonlight, at a construction site reeking of blood and oil. Seer snapped his fingers in the middle of lined-up corpses. Cleaners appeared and cleaned up the ground.

“This should be sufficient. Thank you for your hard work.”

At Seer’s words, I tilted my head.

“…Will they give up in just one day?”

“Yes. No matter how much they’re street nomads, they value their lives more than money. Once rumors spread that you’ve been hired, they won’t even show their tails.”

Seer was confident, but I was suspicious of his confidence.

He’s a meticulous person. Not just based on physiognomy, but even at this moment facing me, he maintains a safe distance. When I unknowingly move my feet naturally, Seer also subtly steps back.

Such a person and confidence are words that don’t match each other.

“Well. If you say so.”

Just as my suspicion is about to kick in, I have a severe headache. Ziiiiing. It feels like a drill is splitting my skull.

It’s a side effect of using Sequence.

I need to stop thinking for a moment.

“Yes. Also.”

Seer snapped his fingers once more. This time his secretary handed me snake wine and a bundle of bills.

“This is the gift and contract money I mentioned before. Now I’d like to officially employ you, Ha-woon.”

“…Official? I thought this job was over.”

“No. Rather, this is just the beginning. There’s someone who instigated this terror attack. Someone very close to me. I think I know what their ultimate goal is as well.”

“….”

I took the snake wine and tapped my wrist a few times.

[ 2,000 WP required to store in Inventory. ]

Certainly, the WP required varies depending on the item’s value. At this rate, even if I receive 500 WP, only 200 WP would remain.

“Mr. Seol Ha-woon. What do you think?”

[ Quest Generated ]

■ WP 3,000

Another 3,000 WP.

Seer is like a bottomless well of resources. There’s no reason to let him slip away just because of some suspicion. While I should remain cautious, someone with a thorough business mindset won’t pose much of a threat as long as business is maintained.

“Let’s do it.”

More importantly, I’m no longer a soldier.

I need to properly set aside the temperament from those days.

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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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