Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 18 (Part 2): Rush (2)

Follow me.

I regretted saying that boldly the moment I did, and that regret became reality.

Even though I’ve eaten energy pills, I’m still someone with serious physical limitations.

“Your stamina’s kinda lacking, huh~”

Lim Hae-jun teased.

“Sorry. I’m disabled.”

“……”

Lim Hae-jun’s expression stiffened instantly. Probably because he remembered the cameras.

Every step we take is being recorded and sent to the monitoring room. Right now, something invisible is hovering in front of my eyes—this is the camera. The production team can set up remote magic cameras anywhere in the labyrinth, according to their explanation.

“No, no! Seol Ha-woon. Brother Ha-woon. I think you misunderstood me! I meant your stamina is amazing despite your condition—”

“My condition? What condition are you talking about? Can you specify?”

“……”

Lim Hae-jun swallowed his words. His complexion darkened considerably. I chuckled and lightly tapped his shoulder.

“Just kidding. Let’s go.”

“…Seriously. Why do you do this to your own teammate? My heart’s racing.”

“Sorry.”

He’s fun to tease.

Lim Hae-jun glanced at me and asked, “Want me to carry you?”

“I’m fine.”

My leg still limps, and just walking through the forest leaves me breathless.

But the most important things—my pride and mental strength—are still intact.

—

* * *

I arrived at the center of the forest. It wasn’t as late as I thought. I guess I overcame my lack of stamina with mental strength.

“…Your leg’s shaking.”

Lim Hae-jun pointed at my left leg.

“It’s always like this.”

I looked up and examined the height of the trees. I placed my hand on the surface of the tallest-looking tree.

If I climb to the top, I’ll be able to see the entire labyrinth, including the orc settlement, at a glance.

We need an archer’s eyes.

“Hey. Lim Hae.”

“It’s Lim Hae-jun.”

“How high can you climb?”

“…Huh?”

Lim Hae-jun asked back. I repeated myself.

“How high can you climb?”

“…Huh?”

“How high.”

I turned to look at Lim Hae-jun.

“Can you climb or not?”

“……”

Lim Hae-jun was silent. He fidgeted with his fingers while gauging my reaction.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well…”

“Say it. It’s fine. Do you need to poop?”

“No… I actually have a fear of heights.”

“……”

A sudden headache hit me. I pressed my temples with my fingers.

“An archer afraid of heights? That makes no sense.”

“It’s, it’s a different style! And, that tree isn’t a high place! It’s just… a cliff!!”

Lim Hae-jun suddenly burst out.

“I’m a mid-range archer. The kind of sniper you’re thinking of is practically a mage! Don’t you know that? Geez!”

He was right—archers had varied roles. Snipers, turrets, shooters, marksmen, and so on.

“You’re a turret?”

“Yeah! You know positions?”

A turret is a shooter who pours out firepower in mid-to-long-range distances. They have significant tactical value in escort missions like this. The fear of heights is something he should endure in such a position.

“Then I’ll climb up.”

“…What?”

“Are you okay?”

The other team members wore ambiguous expressions. Probably because of my leg.

“I’ll be fine.”

I put on my gloves.

The core of a mage lies in their mastery of spellcraft. While pre-made spells are common, the ability to create them on the spot is crucial.

“…Hoo.”

I preheated my mana and infused the surface of my gloves with a spell.

The target? Duct tape.

*Tap.*

My hand stuck to the tree’s surface.

With this level of adhesion, I could climb using only my hands without using my legs at all.

“I’ll climb up, scout for variables, and give orders via radio.”

“Orders?!”

Lim Hae-jun made a face as if to say, “I’m the leader?!” I gladly handed him the radio.

“Then you climb up. The tree.”

“…I delegate the command authority to Seol Ha-woon.”

Lim Hae-jun recited seriously. I let out a hollow laugh.

“Then let’s take a maintenance break first.”

Warrior Jin Yun-hwa was already in armor, and martial artist Ichigo checked his sword. Lim Hae-jun slung his quiver on his back.

I reached out to Lim Hae-jun.

“Give me your arrows.”

“They’re mine!”

“Ugh.”

“…Here.”

I picked up one of Lim Hae-jun’s arrows. It was a pretty expensive brand. Thermium, with each arrowhead costing at least 300,000 won. How do I know? It’s featured on [MoMo].

“This arrow absorbs mana well.”

“It’s expensive, that’s why.”

“Exactly. This’ll be easy.”

“What’ll be easy?”

Spellbinding, of course.

I cast a specific spell on Lim Hae-jun’s arrow. *Sss…* A tattoo-like spell pattern engraved itself on the arrow’s surface. Evidence of the spell.

“What, what are you doing?! You’re ruining it!”

“I’m not ruining it, idiot.”

I returned the arrow to Lim Hae-jun.

“Part of a mage’s role is to assist all other positions. Shoot it. Anywhere.”

Lim Hae-jun looked skeptical as he nocked the arrow. He drew the bowstring and shot. The arrow, hitting the tree’s surface in the distance, instantly branched out and erupted.

*Crackle!*

“Whoa!”

“Oh!”

“Wow.”

Not just Lim Hae-jun, but Warrior Jin Yun-hwa and martial artist Ichigo also exclaimed in admiration.

I nodded in satisfaction.

“Spellbound arrow. Called a branching arrow.”

It’s an actual military arrow. The military also has archers, warriors, and martial artists. Most UDT special recruits are from those fields.

“Bro! How many of these can you make?!”

Lim Hae-jun excitedly held out his entire quiver.

“We’ll have to see—”

“Do all of them!”

I counted the arrows. There were about 24 in total.

It’s far from enough to clear the labyrinth, but he probably has more arrows. Once the physical arrows run out, he’ll form arrows with mana and shoot them.

That’s why archers are half-mages.

“I can’t do all of them, so use them only in critical situations.”

I enchanted 6 out of the 24 arrows with branching arrows, 4 with explosive arrows, and 2 with wire arrows.

“The colors are different, bro?”

“To distinguish them. Red ones explode, blue ones are branching arrows, and green ones are wire arrows. Use them for the escape.”

“…Can’t you do the remaining twelve?!”

I pushed Lim Hae-jun away.

I’m running low on mana. I need to enchant Jin Yun-hwa and Ichigo’s gear too.

“Next, Jin Yun-hwa?”

“Yes!”

Warrior Jin Yun-hwa straightened his back with an expectant look.

I enchanted his armor with a spell to reduce friction.

“I reduced the friction on your armor. Orcs use blunt weapons, so they’ll easily slide off.”

Against orcs, reducing friction on armor is much more useful than increasing its strength or hardness. Blades will just slide off.

Jin Yun-hwa asked, “How long will it last?”

“Until you get hit enough to dispel the spell or the enchanted spell’s mana runs out.”

The duration of such enchantments depends on the ‘quality of mana.’ My magic stat is quite high, so it should last about a day.

“Next. Ichigo.”

“Yes.”

I enchanted Ichigo’s blade with a spell to enhance its sharpness. A blue mana pattern etched itself beautifully on the blade.

“…It looks cool.”

Ichigo muttered in satisfaction.

Before climbing the tree, I pointed at each team member.

“From now on, Hae-jun is Bravo 1. Yun-hwa is Bravo 2. Ichigo is Bravo 3.”

“It’s Lim Hae-jun.”

“I’m Jin Yun-hwa. Not Yun-hwa.”

“…I’ll brief you on your positions from above.”

*Tap!* I climbed the tree, sticking my gloves to the bark. My cane dangled from my waist.

*Tap! Tap! Tap!*

I looked like a frog climbing, but there was no helping it. I can’t do cool things like I used to.

*Tap! Tap! Tap!*

I guess I have to accept who I am now.

Dangun

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