Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 8
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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 008
I Hate Getting Hurt (3)
Sorcerer Seo Ji-woo arrived at the Waiting Room.
An empty space with only several chairs placed around. When she tore the Escape Card, this was where she ended up, but there was no one else there.
“Number 131, Sorcerer Seo Ji-woo. Please take a seat.”
Assistant Director Kim A-rang spoke from the front.
This meant she was the 1st place sorcerer.
Seo Ji-woo sat in the front chair with a bright smile. She waited while yawning, “Haaaam~”
About 5 minutes later, 2nd place appeared.
“Number 130, Sorcerer Ryu Yeon-hwa. Please take a seat.”
Ryu Yeon-hwa. It looked like he had dyed his hair white, but surprisingly it was natural white hair.
Since they were from the same agency, she had somewhat expected this.
“Ooh. You came quickly?”
When Seo Ji-woo smiled slyly, Ryu Yeon-hwa’s expression hardened.
He sat down one seat away from Seo Ji-woo.
Next, the third place, meaning 3rd, was Ji Woon-yul. A promising sorcerer from Termion.
“Oh! Ji-woo! As expected, you got 1st place~”
This guy always acts familiar, which is annoying.
“Yeah.”
“As expected. I thought you were nowhere to be seen-“
“Yeah.”
“Not even 30 minutes-“
“Yeah.”
4th place was Ryu Wei, 5th place was Ichiko, 6th place was Yoon Hwa-rim… It continued like that, and then 10th place.
That messy-haired broom head appeared.
The half-crazy guy who said I was only half right.
Thud. Thud.
Seol Ha-woon walked over leaning on his Walking Stick and sat down in a chair.
“Hmph!”
Seo Ji-woo crossed her arms. She glanced at him with dissatisfied eyes, but there was no need to give him attention.
No, giving him attention would be losing. I’m a sorcerer with a promising future, and he’s just some unknown individual trainee.
“…Alright. Time’s up.”
Exactly three hours later, Assistant Director Kim A-rang clapped her hands.
Only about 50 sorcerers remained in the Waiting Room. The rest would naturally be eliminated.
“Now let’s move to the next location~”
Assistant Director Kim A-rang gestured.
The sorcerers followed her and arrived somewhere. It was a long space like a Track.
The width was about 50m, and the length was about 1km. You could barely see the end.
“What is this place?”
There were many terrain features on the Track. Human mannequins, monster mannequins, scattered vehicles, sets designed to look like buildings about to collapse, archery targets, and so on.
“As you can see, it’s quite chaotic, right? This is a set that crams in every situation where you can excel as sorcerers. You can use any Formula to demonstrate your abilities. The starting point is here.”
Kim A-rang pressed down firmly on a Line on the floor.
“You cannot cross this Line.”
This is how sorcerers basically operate from long range. They have wider coverage than any other profession.
The role of pure sorcerers is to look down on the Battlefield from a distance and interfere with opponents or support allies.
“So, is there anyone who wants to go first?”
“Me~”
Seo Ji-woo raised her hand first and stood at the starting point.
“Yes. Number 131, Sorcerer Seo Ji-woo.”
“I’ll go right away.”
She immediately snapped her fingers. Snap. In sync with the sound, a long thread appeared. It reached a child mannequin being attacked by some monster on the Track.
The distance was exactly 300m.
“Hup!”
Seo Ji-woo pulled the thread. The child mannequin was dragged into her arms in the blink of an eye.
“It’s Line. How is it?”
Seo Ji-woo looked at Assistant Director Kim A-rang. Kim A-rang raised her eyebrows.
“Very good. Next.”
“I’ll do it.”
A leather jacket appeared right next to Seo Ji-woo.
Ryu Yeon-hwa.
He stared at the far side with heavy eyes.
Sssshhhh… Magic Power twisted beneath the Track floor, then CRASH! The ground surged up and completely swallowed the monster mannequin.
The distance was around 100m.
“Offensive Sorcerer. Good, next.”
“This time I’ll do it!”
Next came Ji Woon-yul, Ryu Wei, and so on in order,
While the sorcerers each demonstrated their Formulas.
“Aren’t you going?”
Suddenly Ryu Yeon-hwa asked Seo Ji-woo. Seo Ji-woo had finished first but was still standing with her arms crossed.
She tilted her head and asked back.
“What’s it to you?”
“You went first because you wanted to leave early… never mind. Do whatever you want. I’m going.”
“You started talking to me first. Don’t you analyze capabilities?”
At Seo Ji-woo’s words, Ryu Yeon-hwa slightly twisted the corner of his mouth.
“At my level, there are no sorcerers left who need analysis.”
It was a fairly accurate assessment, but Seo Ji-woo still had someone left to watch.
“Yeah. Go. Bye. Get lost.”
She waved her hand dismissively as if shooing away a fly.
“…”
But then Ryu Yeon-hwa actually stayed still. He even crossed his arms as if he wouldn’t leave.
Seo Ji-woo let out a hollow laugh.
This funny guy always tries to check and copy everything I do. Despite looking normal, I guess everything I do looks good to him.
“Next. Please come out.”
That’s when it happened.
“I’ll do it.”
The broom-haired guy came out.
The one I was waiting for… well, not really, just. A person I was curious to see how well he’d do.
His name was Seol Ha-woon, wasn’t it. He stood at the starting point and closed his eyes.
“Whoo…”
Putting on airs while taking a deep breath.
“What kind of way is that to warm up Magic Power?”
Seo Ji-woo muttered as if it was ridiculous, and Ryu Yeon-hwa also snorted, but Seol Ha-woon seriously drew up his Magic Power.
He prepared his own Mental Visualization.
“The form of Magic Power.”
He had pondered this at first.
What ability to demonstrate and how, what appearance to show and how.
Then suddenly, David Magic Bookstore Owner’s words came to mind like an answer.
──The form of magic power depends on how specifically you think about it. It’ll be easier if you think mainly of objects familiar to you.
Therefore, the scenery that the current ‘me’ could imagine most specifically is.
The mental image that fills the existence called ‘me’ is.
Battlefield.
“….”
I quietly opened my eyes. Suddenly I had the illusion that the location had changed. The track’s surface was dyed pitch black, and the smell of blood, gunpowder, and magic power rose up.
An empty Yellow Desert.
A single target visible in the distance.
He extends his hand forward.
Middle finger, ring finger, pinky. He folds three fingers.
He aims with his index finger and raises his thumb.
Then, like a firing pin, he pulls back his thumb.
Click.
The sound of actual magic power generated from his grip.
“…Aim.”
A murmur that was probably an incantation.
“Fire.”
In an instant, the formula was completed at the tip of his index finger.
Bang──!
Bullet-shaped magic power shot forth. The projectile fired with scattering blue fragments hit the target at the very end, 1km away.
A perfect 10 points.
X-ten.
“Hmm?”
Ryu Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened slightly.
Seo Ji-woo stared blankly then let out a hollow laugh.
“…Huh. A pistol. So he really was a soldier.”
“Soldier? Was there a soldier here too?”
Ryu Yeon-hwa seemed completely unaware, but Seo Ji-woo had done quite a bit of analysis on the participants.
That was why she had approached Seol Ha-woon from the beginning. The simple fact that he was a soldier had piqued her interest.
“Good. Next.”
Kim A-rang looked at Seol Ha-woon with a strange smile. Seo Ji-woo also followed him as he limped away.
“If 24 people make it from here… He’ll make it. That guy.”
In “Labyrinth Exploration NaN,” exactly 24 people are selected for each of the four job classes.
So clueless warriors and archers whine that mages have it easier, but if they’re so jealous, they should just be mages.
“Are you concerned?”
Ryu Yeon-hwa asked.
“A little. Not as much as you’re concerned about me though.”
“…I’m not concerned about you, I’m-“
“Yes.”
“Alright. Those who are finished may leave. The in-depth interview is tomorrow.”
Kim A-rang glanced at the two of them. She probably meant they were being noisy.
“Whatever~”
Seol Ha-woon had also disappeared at some point, and the remaining mages were now really just unremarkable guys.
“I’m leaving.”
Seo Ji-woo spun around and left the set stage.
“Do whatever.”
Meanwhile, Ryu Yeon-hwa remained until all the other mages were finished.
Thanks to Seo Ji-woo’s advice to ‘do some power analysis.’
* * *
The next day’s in-depth interview was simple.
Lie detector.
“Please go inside here.”
A doctor in a white coat pointed to some kind of capsule.
“Yes.”
I sat inside it. Octopus sucker-like pads attached to my head, arteries, and heart.
“It’s simple. I’ll ask you a few questions. Just answer honestly.”
The doctor said. Behind him, beyond the glass window, Producer Kim A-rang and a writer were sitting.
“Is your name Seol Ha-woon?”
“Yes.”
“Are you 27 years old?”
“Yes.”
Simple questions continued like that, then,
“Have you ever hit someone in the past?”
“Yes.”
“…Yes?”
The doctor looked up in confusion. I quickly explained.
“I was a soldier.”
“Ah.”
The doctor turned his gaze to check Producer Kim A-rang’s reaction. Kim A-rang just gestured for him to continue.
“…Have you ever intentionally harmed someone of your own will in the past?”
“Yes.”
“….”
He paused for a moment then looked at the lie detector. It was probably all true.
The doctor continued with a puzzled expression.
“Then, have you ever caused serious property damage or physical harm to others in the past?”
“Yes.”
“…Excuse me, over there? This person’s questions should probably be asked differently-“
* * *
“During your school years including elementary, middle, and high school, have you ever bullied or ostracized anyone?”
“No.”
The questions became more specific.
“Have you ever committed any illegal crimes that went against your duties as a soldier?”
“No.”
A lie detector to avoid potential controversies.
But this lie detector is quite useless in practice.
“Did you fulfill your responsibilities to your duties and calling?”
“Yes.”
Real villains. For example, psychopaths with weak emotional responses are almost immune to it. There’s probably such trash among this season’s participants too.
“Yes. That’s enough.”
“Yes.”
I removed the pads from my body.
─Mr. Seol Ha-woon. Good work. The results of the 3rd preliminary will be announced later.
“…Yes. I understand.”
And so, the 3rd preliminary ended.
* * *
I returned to the Magic Bookstore instead of home.
I think I did well on the preliminary, but the bookstore owner was the only person I could brag to about it.
“So you’re almost guaranteed to pass?”
David Magic Bookstore Owner asked.
“Probably.”
“Ooh~”
His large lips and muscles twitched.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not certain yet, but-“
[ Recognition Level Up! ]
[ Recognition Grade: 4 ]
[ An additional 30 days of trial version is granted. ]
[ Karma: Grade-up gift is given! ]
[ Mysterious Skincare Set ]
The system just popped up. It was an alert confirming my acceptance.
I smiled.
“…I’m certain. I passed.”
“What? Look at this guy. So, what did you pass with?”
“Hand Gun.”
I just suddenly remembered old movies I’d seen, thought of comics, and most of all, acted on impulse because of memories from my military days.
It worked out much better than expected.
“Hand Gun?”
“Yes. I hit a target at 1km distance.”
“Really? Then show me.”
David Magic Bookstore Owner grinned. I blinked.
“Show you? Here?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s no target.”
“Shoot at me.”
“…Excuse me?”
It was quite a shocking thing to say.
“Are you crazy?”
“Ha, look at this kid. You think a formula used by a greenhorn like you could even scratch my body?”
“Well, I guess… I could try.”
My Hand Gun would probably be enough to easily knock out an ordinary person. If I hit a vital spot accurately, I might even be able to kill them.
“Then do it, kid. Right here.”
David Magic Bookstore Owner pointed to his abdomen. It definitely looked like some kind of steel plate.
“…I’m really going to shoot?”
“Yeah. Bring it on.”
I raised my Hand Gun and fired.
Bang──!
The magic power definitely hit his stomach. But it quickly dissipated, and the old man didn’t budge at all.
“What the.”
“Hmm. Not bad.”
The old man muttered while touching his belly.
“Were you a Self-Enhancement Type, sir?”
“Yeah.”
Self-Enhancement Type is, simply put, someone who has done ‘Mana Training’.
A person who doesn’t use magic power through Mental Visualization or complex formulas, but accepts it in pure form to enhance their physical body and athletic abilities.
In other words, while mages follow the refinement process of Magic Power→Mental Visualization→Formula, they pursue Magic Power→Physical Embodiment.
Usually ‘warriors’ and ‘martial artists’ fall into this category.
“Yeah. But that’s really good. How many shots can you fire?”
“Well. About 7 shots?”
“Hmm. The magazine capacity is too low. And it’s loud too. Try reducing the noise first.”
“Yes. I should do that.”
“Good. Now get out of here for now.”
“…What? Ugh-“
David Magic Bookstore Owner grabbed my neck and put me down at the bookstore back door.
“It was loud, kid. The gunshot sounded just like the real thing. I think someone called the police.”
Wee-ooo-wee-ooo- Wee-ooo-wee-ooo-
Siren sounds faintly drift in.
“Ah. Yes. Then I’ll be going now.”
“Yeah. Take care.”
I went out through the back door.
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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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