Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 90

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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 090

 

An Ordinary Day(6)

 

Kim Du-gyeom was taken into custody.

 

Predicting his future, he’ll probably end up trapped in a labyrinth.

 

A special type of labyrinth exists in this world. A labyrinth called ‘Prison.’ A rift where magic power doesn’t exist.

 

Therefore, even if the labyrinth isn’t eliminated for a long time, no harm occurs, and there’s no loot either.

 

Due to such characteristics, human society discovered value in that place which explorers had never paid attention to.

 

In an environment without mana, humans cannot use magic power. So by confining superhuman criminals, they can maintain humanity’s universal values while preserving the state’s punitive authority.

 

Most criminals with explorer backgrounds are imprisoned in this prison and put on trial. Kim Du-gyeom will likely receive a 10-15 year sentence. Students and graduates of Explorer High School are under special state management.

 

Whether long or short, 10 years is enough.

 

During those 10 years, his body will gradually become insensitive to mana, and eventually forget how to handle magic power.

 

Not Kim Du-gyeom’s brain, but Kim Du-gyeom’s body itself will become unable to accept magic power.

 

Thus, he’ll fall to become the ‘ordinary person’ he so despised.

 

Perhaps, for Kim Du-gyeom, this might be a punishment more painful than death.

 

│Breaking News] Kim Du-gyeom attempts to attack whistleblower… fails and taken into custody│

 

│Just hate Kim Du-gyeom, he was worth just hating│

 

My catchphrase appears even in serious news. It seems ‘just hate’ is about to become the next big thing after ‘that’s right.’

 

“…You said you were going on vacation. Were you tailing Kim Du-gyeom?”

 

On a bench at the police station. Kim A-rang asked while offering me canned coffee.

 

I explained this situation to Kim A-rang, and she rushed over to help.

 

“Yes. I had a bad feeling.”

 

“From the beginning, did you know Kim Du-gyeom was that kind of person?”

 

I nodded silently.

 

I did know, after all.

 

“…That’s amazing.”

 

I feel the same way.

 

[ Recognition Level Up! ]

 

[ Recognition Grade: 13 ]

 

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

 

[ Recognition Level Up! ]

 

[ Recognition Grade: 14 ]

 

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

 

[ Karma: Grade-up gift is granted! ]

 

[ Skill Draw Ticket acquired ]

 

[ Many people have paid attention to you! Trait 【Camera Steam】 achieves great success. ‘Appearance’ increases by 0.4! ]

 

My first double level-up. Thanks to the trait’s great success, my appearance also rose to「9.2」.

 

If it’s thanks to Kim Du-gyeom, then it’s thanks to him.

 

“But, about those exposé posts. How were you planning to respond? Though there’s no need to respond now.”

 

Kim A-rang seems curious about things that didn’t even happen. Is this what it takes to become a capable PD?

 

“I was thinking of filming a video or something.”

 

“A video?”

 

“Yes. Since I knew who the whistleblower was. I was going to create a personal channel and make a clarification video-”

 

“Oh?!”

 

Kim A-rang’s eyes widened as she snapped her fingers.

 

“That’s good!”

 

“…Excuse me?”

 

“Let’s film it now?”

 

“…Now?”

 

“Yes. Were you planning to just let this pass without saying anything? You need to clarify somehow that Seol Ha-woon beat up Kim Du-gyeom…”

 

* * *

 

For Lee Si-ah, it had been a week of going between hell and heaven.

 

It was like a relay race to the abyss between Seol Ha-woon and Kim Du-gyeom.

 

In the end, Seol Ha-woon returned to the world of the living, and Kim Du-gyeom almost went to the afterlife, but Lee Si-ah’s heart was too worn out.

 

│Breaking News] Kim Du-gyeom attempts to attack whistleblower… fails and taken into custody│

 

│Attempted murderer Kim Du-gyeom… stopped by Seol Ha-woon│

 

There was even news that Seol Ha-woon and Kim Du-gyeom had a life-or-death battle at a residential home.

 

In many ways, Mitamnan was stirring up the Korean Peninsula, and in the midst of all this.

 

│Hello. This is Seol Ha-woon.│

 

A video was posted on YouTube.

 

A channel without even a profile picture, with plain editing and no subtitles. Instead, the protagonist on screen was special.

 

─Hello, this is Seol Ha-woon. I have something I want to say to everyone, so after consulting with the Labyrinth Exploration NaN production team, I decided to film this video.

 

Black screen with a black shirt. His characteristic long hair tied back in a ponytail unlike usual, so before any apology or anything, his appearance immediately catches the eye.

 

Was Seol Ha-woon always this handsome?

 

─First, I’d like to address the school violence that has been raised recently.

 

He’s about to talk about his feelings regarding the issues from this past week.

 

─The identity of the person who wrote the exposé post has been confirmed. Another person who used to hang out with that person at the time contacted the broadcasting station to inform us of this fact.

 

Wow. So they really were all delinquents. Even so, selling out a former friend like that.

 

─It was indeed the person who used to bully the children from my orphanage. At the time, I went to warn him several times, but he brazenly bullied the children even more, so I thought it was an unavoidable choice. I’m sorry.

 

Seol Ha-woon bowed his head.

 

─I’m not trying to justify my violence. It was my mistake for thinking, with a youthful mind, that violence was the only solution…

 

Explorers, or more broadly ‘humans who can handle magic power,’ must not use violence against ordinary people. Even light assault can become a major crime.

 

It’s the maxim that great power comes with great responsibility.

 

However, Seol Ha-woon at that time was a student. So was his opponent.

 

Of course, in many situations, assault is never the right method. It’s a means that’s never permitted in almost all daily situations.

 

But Lee Si-ah wants to say.

 

What else could he do.

 

Sometimes there really are bastards who deserve to get beaten up.

 

Situations where I have to kill others to survive are also frequent for explorers.

 

I’m not saying we should break the law, I’m not saying we should condone violence, I’m just saying that’s how it is.

 

Customarily and socially, violence that won’t be condemned can definitely exist.

 

─Next… I will refrain from discussing matters from when I was on active duty. That person has also deleted their post and sent their intention to apologize personally to the broadcasting station.

 

“…Then why expose it in the first place.”

 

Strange people. Did they momentarily feel tremendous jealousy and couldn’t hold back? Still, I need to show that life is real combat.

 

─Lastly, regarding Kim Du-gyeom…

 

This is the most important topic. Lee Si-ah perked up her ears.

 

─I actually knew.

 

Lee Si-ah’s eyes became as big as torches.

 

He knew? He knew?

 

─What kind of person he was. What kind of things he had done. I knew from our first meeting.

 

“What?!”

 

Lee Si-ah was shocked. Seol Ha-woon’s actions flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

 

The scene of him tripping Kim Du-gyeom. Just saying he ‘disliked’ him and criticizing him, trying not to select him as a scout… Those puzzle-like scenes finally fit together belatedly.

 

─However, I thought that bringing up that incident as a third party could be another form of harm to the victim, so I just watched.

 

Lee Si-ah looked at Seol Ha-woon on the screen.

 

─Actually, I didn’t just watch. Seeing him pretend to be good made my insides twist. It was hard to endure.

 

He spoke honestly while running his hand through his hair.

 

─…The day the victim wrote the exposé post and Kim Du-gyeom decided to leave the show. That particular day, I had an ominous feeling. So I followed him and was able to prevent a tragedy.

 

Wait, it didn’t feel real. It suddenly seemed like a comic book.

 

His face was handsome. His voice was handsome.

 

─I’m sorry for causing controversy. As I continue working as an explorer, I’ll frequently clash with others. There will definitely be situations where we kill each other…

 

Explorers who operate in the Labyrinth, which is extraterritorial, or in lawless zones where nations don’t exist at all, walk the gray boundaries.

 

They follow that side’s logic in the Labyrinth, then must respect the original laws when returning to society.

 

─…However, I will never lose my duty as an explorer.

 

Seol Ha-woon finished speaking.

 

Lee Si-ah looked at the comments.

 

·He’s right..

 

·For real, he saved someone’s life. After listening to Kim Du-gyeom’s recording, he was really a scumbag.

 

·Wow but how did our righteous guy beat Kim Du-gyeom? A mage beating a warrior one-on-one?

 

·They said they recorded the fight with Kim Du-gyeom, show us too…

 

Click. She moved to the community.

 

│Summary of Seol Ha-woon’s Recent Incident.txt│

 

1. The school violence controversy was him disciplining kids who were beating up his orphanage siblings.

 

2. The military violence was appropriate reprimand as a superior, though he can’t say much due to operational reasons. The person who exposed it contacted him to apologize

 

3. He knew what kind of person Kim Du-gyeom was from the beginning. He knows the whistleblower’s father. But he stayed quiet because exposing it might cause secondary harm.

 

│Our righteous guy.jpg│

 

(Archangel photo)

 

│Looking back now, reevaluation… Compilation of scenes where Seol Ha-woon picked on Kim Du-gyeom│

 

│From what I hear from inside sources, Kim Dugyeom keeps getting beaten up by Seol Haun lol shouldn’t they edit out Kim Dugyeom’s parts?│

 

“…Ridiculous.”

 

What kind of seesaw is this. I don’t know how many times public opinion has gone back and forth in just one week.

 

Seol Ha-woon’s ranking, which had plummeted to 40th place, rose again. He even broke through the magical top 10.

 

His current rank is 13th.

 

The debut team isn’t impossible either.

 

No, at this rate, the debut team is confirmed, and the question is what rank he’ll finish with.

 

“…Phew.”

 

Lee Si-ah logged into SNS. There were many feeds related to Seol Ha-woon.

 

It was a sub-account where she only followed Seol Ha-woon fans anyway.

 

Among them, a feed that received particularly many likes caught her eye.

 

@snowiscoming1

 

Snow is two-sided. Sometimes it’s so cold it freezes us, but sometimes it warmly embraces our hearts and we call it warm.

 

Snow is a symbol of nature that changes according to our mindset.

 

So when it snows, I always think like this. Yesterday’s snow. No matter how beautiful that snow was, and no matter how cold and cruel it was, when tomorrow comes, it will change to look different from today.

 

Today’s warmth and today’s coldness… are just moments. What’s important is our hearts.

 

SnowIsComing. A famous heavy uploader for Seol Ha-woon.

 

“…Right. It’s good to have a strong mentality.”

 

All other Seol Ha-woon fans probably feel the same way.

 

You have to fan over explorers when you can. Once they enter the Labyrinth, there’s no news for months, and even though they say it’s much safer these days, many explorers still die.

 

Children look with admiring eyes, adults with envy, jealousy, or longing, but the mortality rate of the explorer profession is excluded from statistics. Because it’s overwhelmingly higher than other professions.

 

“Phew~ Right. It’s all yesterday’s snow.”

 

Lee Si-ah, having pulled herself together mentally, started making GIFs from episode 7 again.

 

* * *

 

Returning to the dormitory, I laid out my items.

 

The internet world and outside are still noisy, but I have my own things to do.

 

【B-Grade Random Box *4】

 

【Skill Draw Ticket】

 

【Lucky Snake Wine】

 

Finally, it’s time to use the snake wine.

 

I could wait until I collect more probability items, but if I die while saving them, that would be shit. It’s absolutely not because of Kate’s words that “Mr. Seol Ha-woon is dangerous.”

 

I just felt like if I kept calculating efficiency like this, I’d never be able to use it.

 

Maybe it would be better to open random boxes, and when good items come out, use them carefully with full devotion and make them into treasured possessions.

 

“This looks delicious.”

 

I prepared pig’s trotters as a side dish.

 

Ah, I was going to borrow the gem string from Yoo Yul, but I decided against it. There’s a high possibility that the Perfect Candy and snake wine might not be compatible.

 

Snake wine has luck dwelling in the alcohol’s effects, but the Perfect Candy might classify that as mental contamination and purify it all away.

 

Instead, I’m thinking of training the ‘Nervous System Implant’.

 

“…Has it been 5 years?”

 

Drinking. And drinking alone at that, it’s been 5-6 years.

 

Pop!

 

I opened the snake wine.

 

I’ll probably have to drink this whole bottle. Fortunately, it’s only about 8 soju glasses or 2 cups worth.

 

I’m not planning to chug it painfully. I’ll drink it enjoyably while watching TV. I’m actually feeling quite good too.

 

First, one glass straight.

 

“…Ugh.”

 

It’s strong.

 

The alcohol content is higher than vodka. It feels like it easily exceeds 60 proof.

 

“Kha.”

 

I unconsciously grimaced. I stuffed some pig’s trotters in my mouth and turned on the TV.

 

I put on some random variety show and poured more snake wine.

 

─No~ How can you do it like that? You need to set it up properly.

 

─What’s the point of setting it up properly? It’s human bowling.

 

─Still, set it up properly!

 

─They’re running away! It’s human bowling! The humans are running away!

 

The people in the variety show are laughing, but I just watch silently. It’s my drinking habit. Words disappear. But I feel good. I’m laughing inside.

 

Hahaha.

 

When I had drunk 8 glasses like that

 

[ Lucky Snake Wine activates. ]

 

■ Luck +5 for 180 minutes

 

The snake wine activated.

 

│　Luck　│　11　│A│

 

Good.

 

I rolled up my sleeves.

 

Clap! First I prayed with my hands together, then the Skill Draw Ticket.

 

[ Using Skill Draw Ticket. ]

 

[ You have acquired Skill 【Subspace】 Scroll. ]

 

【Subspace】■ Grade: Epic■ Description: Creates an independent dimensional space separated from reality. The size of the space is determined by the user’s magic power level. Only targets permitted by the user can enter and exit, and they can be expelled at will. Living beings cannot stay longer than 8 hours once per day, and it can be used simply to only retrieve objects from within the subspace.

 

Epic!

 

Seems like a good skill. The text is hard to read, but subspace.

 

Hahaha. It’s similar to inventory but looks different. Anyway, it’s Epic.

 

I’ll try it later.

 

Opening the random boxes right away.

 

4 of them, opening all at once!

 

【Herb Garden】

 

【Astroal193】

 

【Scarecrow Blueprint】

 

【Sacred Cloth】

 

I don’t know what they are, but they look good.

 

Ah, there’s not enough time for this. 2 hours and 40 minutes left. I need to move quickly if I want to train the implant.

 

Focus. Tension. Composure.

 

I straightened my mental state with deep breathing and sat cross-legged in the room. I placed my hand on my spine. In that position, I implanted the implant. Injecting magic power.

 

Swish.

 

The flow of magic power spreading throughout the nervous system. Starting from the spine and wrapping around the entire central nervous system, I connected it stitch by stitch, carefully.

 

“Haah…”

 

Sizzle!

 

Something seemed to get tangled just now. Am I imagining it?

 

Let’s continue.

 

Crackle!

 

It stings. It stings but it’s bearable. At this level…

 

Crackle crackle!

 

Electricity sparked.

 

At the same time, I felt my whole body becoming clear.

 

How should I put it. A sensation like my entire nervous system was being excessively activated…

 

[ …’Seol Ha-woon’ succeeds in establishing his own domain. ]

 

[ Magic Power grade increases. ]

 

■ C+ → B-

 

“Huh?”

 

The system announced the change before I did.

 

I calmly felt around inside my body. I checked the magic power lines covering my nervous system.

 

“Ah.”

 

I realized belatedly.

 

It’s not a straight line.

 

Because I was drunk, the flow of magic power got twisted without me knowing. Due to the alcohol’s influence, it became a winding path.

 

Thanks to that, I understood.

 

It was too simple a story.

 

So obvious that it’s not even in textbooks… ‘Curves are less direct than straight lines.’

 

Magic power is the same.

 

Formulas aimed at simple destruction are rigid in construction. Because magic power must be poured out in an instant.

 

On the other hand, formulas with more sophisticated and useful functions are curved.

 

Actually, it’s not ‘because it’s a straight line’ or ‘because it’s a curve’.

 

The causation is reversed.

 

The form of the formula changes according to Mental Visualization.

 

This time is the same.

 

It’s an implant that affects the nervous system, the most sensitive and delicate part of my body.

 

Then a more delicate approach was needed. A much gentler flow of magic power was required. Curves were more suitable than straight lines.

 

By chance, perhaps this too was with luck’s help, the magic power lines are now spiraling around my central nervous system. Not following in a straight line, but embracing it from the side.

 

The implant was created by accident.

 

It should be something to celebrate… but it’s hot.

 

My body is burning up.

 

Is it because of the alcohol? It feels like my entire body is melting away.

 

Humans are vulnerable to heat. No matter how superhuman someone is, their ‘brain’ is no different from an ordinary person’s, and the brain can suffer serious damage if it exceeds just 40 degrees.

 

My eyes are blinking erratically on their own, and my limbs are twitching and swaying like they’re having spasms.

 

Am I trying to die or something.

 

It doesn’t really hurt though.

 

Just as I was drifting aimlessly from the combination of high fever and alcohol…

 

Suddenly, pure white things began falling down.

 

Rustle. Rustle. A cold sensation touching my skin.

 

Snow.

 

Snow was falling indoors.

 

Without the strength to turn my head, I could only move my eyes.

 

It was the Flower Pot.

 

Snow Flower.

 

Snow was blooming and falling from the Snow Flower. Heavy snow falling indoors.

 

I gazed blankly at such a mystical scene.

 

“Thank you…”

 

My burning hot body calmed down, and my consciousness gradually grew dim.

 

Using the snow gently settling down as my blanket, I fell asleep.

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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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