Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 60

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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 060

Let you down(8)

I left the city with Seer. The place we arrived at was quite a distant outskirt. Broken buildings, gas stations, traces of communication facilities and server computers emitting faded electricity – a ghost town that all people had abandoned.

In the middle of it was an elevator leading underground.

“Please get on.”

I got on the elevator. Seer also stood next to me, but he still maintained a one-step gap.

I asked him.

“I think you can tell me what this is about now.”

“Yes.”

Seer nodded.

“We are conducting excavation.”

“…Excavation?”

“It’s the act of creating rifts.”

Rifts. It was a somehow familiar word.

“…If you mean rifts?”

“Labyrinths.”

Labyrinths. The concept of labyrinths exists in NaN World too.

Suddenly, a sense of incongruity flashed through my mind.

Labyrinth People inside a labyrinth trying to dig up labyrinths inside the labyrinth.

“I don’t quite understand. If it’s excavation, does that mean you’re producing labyrinths?”

“Production would be inaccurate. We’re uncovering labyrinths that are buried underground.”

That’s why it’s excavation.

“As you know, Ha-woon, labyrinths are assets. This particular labyrinth has unprecedented value. If we monopolize and control it, it will generate hundreds of millions in profit.”

Ding.

The elevator reached the underground.

“However, that information seems to have leaked somewhere. It’s probably my sister’s doing.”

“A succession struggle?”

“You’re quick to catch on.”

The elevator doors opened. I stepped forward with my walking stick. Acrid smoke rushed in. I quickly put on a gas mask.

“Please follow me.”

Seer walked casually. I followed him while observing the surroundings. There were many workers digging the ground throughout the excavation site.

Thud!

Suddenly the ground shook. I reflexively gripped my walking stick.

“…If they accidentally hit a rift like this, those people will be in danger.”

“It’s fine. We’ve measured the location precisely.”

“…”

I silently observed the site carefully.

“You’re planning to move the labyrinth.”

Then Seer’s lips twitched slightly.

“Yes. We plan to lift out the ground containing the labyrinth and transport it to a suitable location. This underground location isn’t good for marketing.”

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The sound of pickaxes hitting the ground was forlorn.

“Don’t you use machines or robots here?”

“We have to be wary of hackers too. No matter how advanced technology becomes, in the end people can only trust people. This is it.”

An office set up in one corner of the excavation site. Seer opened the door.

“Please come in.

I first detected the interior with my sequence radar.

Chamber Exploration is a kind of habit. An unidentified closed space is, in other words, a death trap.

“…What.”

Two other people were sitting on the sofa. Those two also looked at me. My tension completely relaxed.

Kate and Kim Du-gyeom.

Seer introduced them.

“These are the team members who will be working with you.”

“…I thought I’d be alone.”

Well, if they’re giving this much WP, it wouldn’t be just me.

“It would be too much for you. Since the other side has also hired people, we need to form a team to be able to respond.”

Kate is fine. Rather, as a team, her combat power is exceptional.

The problem is Kim Du-gyeom.

I glared at Kim Du-gyeom. Kim Du-gyeom’s complexion soured for a moment, but he jumped up and approached me.

“Ha-woon. Good to see you.”

“Not good to see you.”

“…You know each other.”

“No. He’s a stranger.”

I don’t know such an idiotic bastard.

“So it’s just the three of us?”

Kate asked in a transparent voice.

“Yes. This is the opponent’s profile we recently obtained.”

Seer placed documents on the table. Kim Du-gyeom flinched after reading them, and Kate’s face also hardened. On the other hand, an inexplicable smile appeared on my lips.

“Hmm…”

I picked up the profile.

The photo, face, and appearance in the documents were distinctive enough that anyone anywhere wouldn’t mistake them.

“…Kang Hyeon?”

The name of the man who would become my enemy.

* * *

“We’ll have the advantage in numbers.”

Meanwhile, at a base camp far from Seer’s excavation site. Kang Hyeon was listening to a briefing for the assault operation.

“We need to crush them before the labyrinth is excavated, but they’ve also hired special personnel.”

The person in charge who hired Kang Hyeon was Syndra. The fierce-looking woman had made plans to attack her younger brother’s excavation site and monopolize the labyrinth.

“We obtained their profiles but don’t know for sure what their combat capabilities are. They’re guys who suddenly popped up from the streets.”

Syndra looked back at Kang Hyeon.

“Can you handle it for sure?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Kang Hyeon’s answer was ambiguous.

“…Hey. You’ll do your best?”

Tap. Another team member placed his hand on Kang Hyeon’s shoulder. He smiled confidently and gave a thumbs up.

“We’ll definitely succeed. Trust us.”

Kim Dong-ha. The A-tier warrior was hired by Syndra along with Kang Hyeon.

Syndra’s lips twisted.

“…Fine. I’ll trust you. First, look. This is the profile of the special personnel the opponent hired.”

She projected the information as a hologram.

“This guy is a swordsman like you two.”

First was Kim Du-gyeom.

Kim Dong-ha nodded seriously.

Du-gyeom. He’s a good friend and a strong guy, but with Kang Hyeon together, it’ll be easy.

I’m sorry about that.

“Next.”

The second was Kate. This time, it was an extremely troublesome opponent. Kim Dong-ha unconsciously fidgeted with the tip of his nose.

Syndra chuckled softly.

“This one seems to be bothering you.”

“Ah~ Well…”

Kim Dong-ha glanced at Kang Hyeon. Kang Hyeon replied calmly.

“It’s fine. I have the advantage in compatibility against this person.”

Destroyer. Kang Hyeon also knew Kate’s aptitude. However, she wouldn’t be able to hit him. Just as you can’t shoot down a hummingbird with mere stones, it was an obvious principle.

“Good. Then lastly. The one hired most recently.”

Click.

The hologram page turned.

“From what I hear, he’s a mage.”

“Pfft.”

Kim Dong-ha reflexively snorted, but Kang Hyeon’s eyes suddenly grew coldly calm.

“Ah~ This person. I know who he is.”

Kim Dong-ha stepped forward with a shrug. He didn’t hide his confidence.

“The crippled mage. Nothing to worry about. With this much, just trust us.”

Syndra gestured toward Kang Hyeon.

“What about you?”

Kang Hyeon said nothing. He only stared intently at Seol Ha-woon reflected in the hologram.

Syndra’s brow furrowed.

“Why. Is there some problem?”

“Come on~ What problem? Just trust us. 99.9% reliability!”

Heh heh heh. Heh heh. Heh… Kim Dong-ha’s laughing voice grew distant.

Kim Dong-ha was looking down on him, but Kang Hyeon wasn’t.

Rather, it was the opposite.

Kang Hyeon felt his own calculated odds of victory drop to half, no, much lower.

Seol Ha-woon.

He was an unpredictable person. Not just because of the judgment he’d shown in the Escort Labyrinth, or the meticulousness and coldness he’d displayed in the Situation Labyrinth.

His exterior certainly had clear structure and order. He thoroughly disguised his surface with rational logic.

However, what lay within…

Chaos that was meaningless to peer into, impossible to dare observe or comprehend.

How would he try to move when faced as an enemy?

How would he try to ‘kill’ us?

Kang Hyeon looked at his fingertips. A faint trembling bore witness to some tension and excitement rising from his toes.

“Rest comfortably today. We’ll depart at dawn.”

Just then, Syndra announced dismissal.

Kang Hyeon quietly exhaled a sigh.

* * *

I came up to the ground. Seer’s forces were lined up throughout the area. Most were armed with firearms, but I could frequently see warrior and samurai types gripping katanas as well.

“They’ll probably attack within a short time. They’ll want to finish this before the Labyrinth excavation is complete.”

I found Seer’s words quite unsatisfactory.

“Is that all the information you have?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Their numbers will be greater than ours, but it won’t be military-scale. If they move too conspicuously, external hyenas will try to bite at the corporation’s weaknesses. Family business should end as family business.”

Seer pointed to the road surface.

“These are what you requested.”

I had asked him to prepare supplies.

“Is this sufficient?”

“Yes. Not bad.”

Besides landmines, C4, dynamite, and claymores, there were cube and baseball-shaped bombs, several steel plates tempered with magic power, and even a terminal to understand the geography of this area.

This was more than enough.

I placed my hands on the explosives and imbued them with Destruction and Concealment Enchantment. Rough but elegant formulas were carved onto their surfaces.

“Well then. I’ll watch from a distance.”

Seer boarded a pre-prepared helicopter.

Businessmen are always like this, and rightfully so. If the money source dies, who’s going to pay?

Whirrrr. The helicopter smoothly departed.

I sat in a chair. While examining the terminal’s map, I checked specific points. These were locations where I’d install explosives.

“Is there anything we can help you with?”

Kate, who had approached at some point, asked.

“No. Please think of ways to defend the ground, Kate.”

It was obvious, but if the ground was seized, everyone underground would die. Just flowing poison gas down the elevator would end it.

“How about I go out on reconnaissance?”

This time it was Kim Du-gyeom’s suggestion. I could guess what he was thinking. He wanted to go outside and pretend otherwise while pulling some other stunt.

“You shut up and stay put.”

This guy needed to be kept where I could see him.

“…”

Kim Du-gyeom pressed his lips tightly together.

Kate glanced toward me.

“What are you planning to do, Seol Ha-woon?”

“I need to prepare.”

“…Prepare?”

“Yes. It’ll probably take a long time.”

The opponent was Kang Hyeon.

Because he was an enemy, because I trusted his abilities, I wouldn’t let my guard down.

“Even if I make every possible preparation.”

Some people shine alone in a crowd. One person of different caliber creates countless variables on the battlefield.

That immeasurable difference, that brilliant majesty sometimes feels like an insurmountable wall.

“I doubt I can win.”

Kang Hyeon was that kind of person. An outlier who far exceeded the average. If he set his mind to it, he might be able to cut down this entire place with individual force alone.

“I see.”

Kate added quietly.

“Ha-woon, you seem to already be on the battlefield.”

She left like that, and I picked up the steel plate Seer had obtained.

I injected magic power into the cold metal.

Creak. Creak. The steel writhed from within and changed shape.

This was a formula for controlling familiars. It was a formula that mages with some talent used without much difficulty, and I was trying to create the familiar most familiar to me.

Drone.

Crunch. Crunch crunch.

A total of six drones were completed.

If I injected magic power into four of these drones and connected them to my optic nerves…

“…It works.”

The lateral vision the drones saw was shared. It gave me a headache since the screen seemed split into four, but it was bearable enough.

I attached explosives to the drones.

The best way to defend a stronghold was simple. Block access itself. Therefore, the drones would lay traps at the routes where enemies would enter.

Buzz buzz buzz.

While watching the drones fly through the sky according to my will, a sudden thought occurred.

Kate’s voice echoed in my ears.

─…Ha-woon seems to already be on the battlefield.

“Battlefield…”

I mulled over her words as I lowered my gaze. The tilting moonlight cast long shadows.

…Maybe it’s not ‘already’.

I am ‘still’ trapped on the battlefield.

Those days are now distant past, but that past constitutes who I am now. Because too many people who brushed past my heart, and that too precious bastard who couldn’t be buried in my heart, are as vivid to me as last night.

“….”

I clutched the dog tags at my chest.

The memories are clear, but the traces are faint.

The only proof that I was there was now just this bastard’s dog tags.

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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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