Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 76

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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 076

 

Getting Some Fresh Air(1)

 

‘…Hey. Let’s make a promise.’

 

Swoooosh.

 

On a buoy being battered by waves. I was lying on a small piece of debris floating in the vast ocean, and that guy next to me was chattering away.

 

‘Hey. Hey. Dude. Are you dead?’

 

He kept poking my shoulder.

 

‘…Ah, there he goes again. I’m dying of sleepiness here.’

 

‘No, bastard. We could suddenly die like what just happened. So let’s make a promise.’

 

Seo Ji-hyuk often talked about death. It seemed like he wasn’t thinking about ways to avoid death, but rather pondering what kind of death he would face.

 

‘Don’t say such unlucky things.’

 

‘Just in case, bastard. Just in case. Let’s make a promise.’

 

‘…What promise.’

 

Swoooosh. The waves covered the buoy. Seo Ji-hyuk’s blue barrier blocked the seawater.

 

Even then, I survived thanks to Seo Ji-hyuk.

 

‘My sister. You saw her, right? When she came to visit, you saw her from afar.’

 

‘Yeah. She looked like you but with long hair.’

 

‘Cut the crap. She’s a genius. My mage teacher took a look at her once, and said she might even be selected as a mage candidate.’

 

‘Is that so.’

 

I took out the satellite terminal. The rescue message had definitely been transmitted. A helicopter would come soon.

 

‘Of all things, getting hit by a torpedo…’

 

Back then, our ship was completely wrecked after being hit by a torpedo. It was quite a fresh experience.

 

Actually, it was a life-or-death situation.

 

‘Ah shit. Hey, are you listening?’

 

‘I’m listening, so speak.’

 

‘So. If, just in case I kick the bucket first, she’s going to have a really hard time.’

 

‘If you know that, then get discharged, you bas…’

 

I swallowed the words back. Telling him to get discharged wasn’t easy. I needed Seo Ji-hyuk too.

 

Seo Ji-hyuk had his own dreams. He loved his sister, but he was someone who knew how to dedicate himself for his dreams.

 

‘Ha-woon, help her not go down the wrong path.’

 

I scoffed at the time, but Seo Ji-hyuk’s prediction was right.

 

Seo Ji-woo, upon learning the truth, couldn’t get her bearings in life and became a living dead person. She became an even worse vengeful spirit than me.

 

She couldn’t become Mitamnan’s debut team. Because she dropped out midway.

 

Yet she died even earlier than the debut team.

 

Cause of death: killed in combat.

 

‘…Fine, I got it, so think about not dying first.’

 

‘What about you?’

 

Seo Ji-hyuk asked me.

 

‘What do you mean, what about me.’

 

‘Your promise. You have to say yours too.’

 

I pondered.

 

A promise.

 

I had never thought about it before.

 

‘…First, you be the chief mourner until the funeral is over. Though I wonder how many people will show up.’

 

Having no family, I was inwardly asking Seo Ji-hyuk to become my family.

 

‘And after the funeral, come visit the columbarium every year.’

 

Seo Ji-hyuk, sitting cross-legged on the buoy, looked down at me and smiled.

 

‘…That’s fucking pathetic. What the hell is that?’

 

Then and now, the pillar supporting Seo Ji-woo is still Seo Ji-hyuk.

 

Seo Ji-hyuk’s heroic death. The billions in compensation and the Medal of Honor awarded to his corpse. The grave site at the National Cemetery and your name that comes up when searched on wiki.

 

I think that place really suits you.

 

I don’t like your sister, and I really hate your sister who overworked herself without knowing your intentions.

 

But I will protect your sister to protect you.

 

* * *

 

In the early dawn, I came out to the back mountain. I couldn’t sleep because of yesterday’s aftermath, but I somehow slept using a sequence and woke up as usual.

 

My condition was optimal.

 

The skill 【Dream Bubble】 I got from the labyrinth is quite overpowered. If you spread it out and sleep, every day is a good night’s sleep.

 

【Magic Core】■ Overview: A core containing magic power.■ Combines and assimilates with objects.

 

Now I need to decide how to use this magic core. A magic core is both an enhancement item and an equippable, growth-type item.

 

If you raise it wrong, it just ends up as some mediocre magic battery, but if you raise it well, you can make the magic core into a subject of its own.

 

“Hmm.”

 

I fiddled with the magic core. The texture was mysterious. It seemed hard like stone, but it changed softly following the contours of my hand.

 

This thing usually combines with equipment. Among my current equipment…

 

“…You.”

 

The 【Mystical Staff】 I’ve been using since the first day of regression.

 

Of course, there are probably many staffs better than this one in the world. Made from centuries-old saplings, or acquired from fantasy labyrinths, or crafted by artisans who poured their souls into them, magic staffs with epic, legend, mystic-grade word scales attached.

 

“Want to go the long haul with me?”

 

But reality is different from games.

 

Now that it’s become reality, I think I understand. The cold act of immediately switching out equipment just because the stats are 0.1 higher doesn’t sit well with me.

 

I didn’t even know about the cherished item system in the first place.

 

Looking back, [MoMo] had quite a few features related to affection. If you stubbornly raised a trash explorer without giving up, they’d have a great awakening at a crucial moment and buy you time, or if you didn’t abandon a low-grade pet and cherished it to the end, it would die in place of its master in the labyrinth.

 

Even when I saw such posts, I thought that in the time it took to raise that thing, if they had switched it out and raised other characters or pets, they wouldn’t have reached such situations.

 

In terms of pure efficiency, that might be right, but I think it’s okay to be different now.

 

There are values in the world more important than efficiency.

 

Because this isn’t a game, but reality.

 

“Let’s go the long haul.”

 

I embedded the magic core into the staff.

 

Whirr! The entire staff flashed blue. I could feel the staff’s mana circuit grasping the magic core.

 

The connection between the core seeking a circuit to become its foundation, and the circuit trying to accept the core.

 

Crackle!

 

Magic sparks flew. Lightning-like streaks of light spread across the dawn sky.

 

Crack- Crackle!

 

When the turbulence had somewhat settled, I opened the status window.

 

【Mysterious Magic Staff】■ Synchronizing…

 

Synchronization.

 

This is normal. It’ll probably take about one to two days.

 

“…The name isn’t great.”

 

But I don’t really like the item name. ‘Mysterious’ is right, and ‘Magic Staff’ is right too, but.

 

We decided to last a long time now, didn’t we?

 

“Your name is….”

 

A certain combination quickly came to mind.

 

“AC-0308.”

 

Mystical Staff. AC, short for Arcane Cane, and March 8th, the day we first met.

 

“Got it, AC-0308?”

 

I fiddled with the staff and opened the information window.

 

【AC-0308】

 

The name had changed. At least for me, it was a much more comfortable, familiar, and endearing naming.

 

I leaned the staff against my shoulder. Stroking the handle, I took out my smartphone.

 

[ Labyrinth Exploration NaN – Personal Profile Voting Rankings ]

 

The broadcasting station’s profile voting rankings. What changes occurred after the live broadcast?

 

“Top 20.”

 

I moved from the middle of the top 20 to the front of the top 20.

 

I’m moderately satisfied, but people on the internet say ‘the ranking isn’t as high as the impact.’ According to a columnist who wrote an in-depth analysis, it’s because I’m still only 5th-6th choice, neither second favorite nor most favorite.

 

It’s only the 6th episode. I can definitely turn things around during the remaining period.

 

Let’s have some black tea.

 

I took out the thermos. I poured black tea into the lid.

 

Slurp. Slurp.

 

I savored the taste of black tea in my mouth like wine. Fortunately, it was exactly the same as the one from NaN World. There was no deterioration or contamination.

 

“Pass.”

 

I nodded with satisfaction.

 

I spread out the other loot on the ground.

 

Gas mask, tea leaf sack, implant books, snake wine, pony projector, snack box, black robe, business card, three remaining drones.

 

I brought them back with my WP fully packed.

 

Ah, I’m saving the snake wine for now. I don’t need random boxes right away, and there might be times when I need luck.

 

If possible, I’d like to connect this luck with lottery tickets and casinos. It would be nice to make some money.

 

I’ve always been clueless about investments. There were quite a few people in the military who invested in preparation for discharge, but I wasn’t interested in money itself.

 

Back then, I thought being a soldier would be forever.

 

“Ah shit. I should have learned about at least one stock.”

 

Ding─.

 

“Huh?”

 

An unusual sound. It’s an SNS notification I deliberately set to be different from other messages.

 

It’s a fairly famous underground account related to Labyrinth Exploration NaN that I follow with my sub-account.

 

@NARUNANYA1231

 

R : Famous club regular. Apparently showed up almost every week. Doesn’t even book tables, only enjoys wild parties at the stage and bathroom. There are rumors that he enjoys good stuff.

 

As you can see, this guy spreads gossip. The reason I follow him is because I suspect this guy might be Kim Du-gyeom.

 

Because.

 

S : Has a shitty personality, so his reputation among staff is very poor. Especially a few writers and PDs seem to have given up talking to him.

 

S : Evidence suggests he killed someone in the military.

 

S : There are rumors that he bullies several explorers even inside the dormitory

 

Content related to Seol Ha-woon takes up a particularly large share.

 

Come to think of it, it seems like it’s about time for the Ryu Yeon-hwa related incident to break.

 

I visited the Mitamnan related community.

 

“…Oh.”

 

The timing was quite good. Right on the first page, an anonymous post immediately caught my eye.

 

│For real, exposing the drug party│

 

There it is.

 

The scandal of gentleman mage Ryu Yeon-hwa.

 

[It’s famous that RYH is a club regular. Frequently appears at Gangnam clubs and everyone knows him. He’s a total cheapskate who never books tables, just bumps around and does drugs in the bathroom. But on Mitamnan he pretends to be a clean scholar which is disgusting so I’m writing this]

 

Probably a drug dealer club MD. Got pissed off after being ignored when trying to extort money from Ryu Yeon-hwa through texts, so posted this.

 

“The flies will start swarming soon.”

 

Then a message came from NaN.

 

[ NaN Message : This is a special bonus for the top 13 of World Labyrinth. ]

 

[ Special mentor tutoring! ]

 

[ Please select a mentor. There’s a filming schedule tomorrow. ]

 

Special mentor tutoring. For me, there was nothing to think about.

 

[ I will choose Mentor Yoo Yul. ]

 

Because I’m certain this person is a mage.

 

The reply came immediately.

 

[ Explorer Seol Ha-woon. Please come to the announced location by 2 PM…. ]

 

* * *

 

It’s definitely tutoring with a mentor, but the location is an amusement park. Amusement park PPL or something.

 

Anyway, I arrived at the filming location.

 

“You’re here.”

 

Yoo Yul spotted me. Both of us were wearing exactly the outfits the production team told us to wear.

 

This is also PPL. Showing one outfit on screen probably costs tens of millions of won.

 

Won’t they share some money?

 

“Yes. I’m here.”

 

“….”

 

Yoo Yul said nothing.

 

“Shall we ride the carousel?”

 

Feeling awkward for some reason, I pointed to the nearest carousel.

 

“You were quite active in the World.”

 

“Ah… yes.”

 

“Don’t you have any concerns?”

 

Yoo Yul was thoroughly following the script.

 

I answered.

 

“I have no concerns.”

 

“What do you want from me? This is mentor tutoring. If there’s something you want, I can do my best to help.”

 

“…There isn’t.”

 

“Nothing?”

 

I smiled.

 

“Yes. What more could I ask for? Thanks to Mentor Yoo Yul, I’ve found my footing as a mage.”

 

I spoke with sincerity. There was no lie in this feeling.

 

“Thanks to you, I found my starting point and learned about refinement. Without Mentor Yoo Yul, I’d still be wandering around lost.”

 

I don’t worry about whether she might see through my ulterior motives. No magic can read a person’s heart, after all.

 

Above all, my gratitude is genuine.

 

“That first day when you came to find me at the library is still vivid in my memory.”

 

I’m going to stick by Yoo Yul’s—no, Tae-yul’s—side for as long as possible. Until she gets sick of me and kicks me out, I’ll show her pure devotion.

 

In the meantime, I’ll suck up formulas like a mosquito, absorb training methods, and leech off various other things.

 

“…So. You’re saying you want nothing?”

 

Yoo Yul asked again. It seems like there needs to be something I want for the script to work.

 

I said quietly.

 

“Third Refinement… I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Honestly.”

 

The third stage still requires more growth. Especially in terms of the nervous system.

 

I do have 2 Completely Precious Candies left, but if the destruction speed is faster than my recovery rate, my whole body would be torn apart and I’d become disabled.

 

The risk is too great.

 

“Today…”

 

Come to think of it, I’ve never been to an amusement park. I’ve never ridden any amusement rides either. Not once in over 30 years of life, including my regression.

 

“…Please ride that with me.”

 

I pointed to an absolutely vicious amusement ride. A cliff-like roller coaster that reminded me of El Capitan.

 

“Let’s go ride it then.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yoo Yul and I got into the front seats of the roller coaster. Countless cameras followed us.

 

“…I’m getting nervous.”

 

Just two people on this long train.

 

Click. The safety bar wrapped around our bodies, and the roller coaster started.

 

Clank. Clank. Clank. It climbed the rails with ominous sounds. Yoo Yul in the seat next to me was expressionless.

 

“Hoo.”

 

The moment I took a deep breath,

 

Whoooooosh───!

 

A steep dive reminiscent of skydiving.

 

“Ugh!”

 

My hair and Yoo Yul’s hair whipped around wildly, and my whole body fluttered like a paper doll, but Yoo Yul’s expression remained the same.

 

Not a single change at all. Not even a wrinkle formed.

 

I’m scared.

 

More than the roller coaster, I’m scared of this emotionless human.

—————
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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