Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 19 (Part 2): Rush (3)

“Over there!”

“What the—!”

Lee Jong-su hastily raised his shield, and Kang Hyun leaped up, swinging his sword like an acrobat. Three fireballs were blocked by the shield, six were destroyed by the sword, but one clung to the cart.

Yoon Hwa-rim summoned water to extinguish it.

“What about the cart?!”

Lee Jong-su asked urgently.

“…The cart won’t move! The wheels are cursed!”

The creaking cart had already ground to a halt. The shaman’s curse (which works like a spell) had seized the wheels.

*Grrr—Groaaar!*

*Groaaar!*

Seizing the opening, orcs swarmed in. They attacked not just the transport team but the cart itself.

The cart has durability. If it ran out, naturally, it would break.

“Damn it, get off already!”

Lee Jong-su swung his shield and mace with both hands, fending them off, while Asher fired arrows until his arms ached, but with the cart stalled in place, it was futile.

If the cargo isn’t moved, the orcs will keep respawning endlessly.

“I’ll find the shaman.”

At Kang Hyun’s words, Yoon Hwa-rim was startled.

“Then what about us?”

“I’ll hold them off somehow!”

Lee Jong-su shouted, infusing his shield with mana. Veins popped on his forehead and temples.

“Leave it to me!”

“I don’t think that’s going to work….”

Yoon Hwa-rim looked at Lee Jong-su’s determination with doubt.

—

──That won’t be necessary.

A voice crackled through the radio. They all looked at their waists.

──This is Team B. We’ve located Team A’s position.

Team B12, Seol Ha-woon’s voice.

──We’ve assessed the situation and will now commence more active escort operations.

The radio call announcing the start of the escort was followed by…

───

The sound was faint. But somewhere, a blue, very blue line surged. It connected the distant sky to the ground in an instant, and part of the curse holding the cart’s wheels was lifted.

Yoon Hwa-rim was startled.

There’s only one reason the curse would suddenly break.

Someone had eliminated the shaman.

—

* * *

30 minutes earlier.

──This is the transport team. We’ve secured the cargo.

“Confirmed.”

As soon as I received Kang Hyun’s radio message, I prepared my team.

“Alpha Team has started their mission. Get ready.”

─What’s Alpha Team? Over.

It was Lim Hae-jun’s reply.

“The cargo transport team.”

─Ah, got it. Over. Why Alpha Team, though? It’s Team A. Over.

“It’s a thing. Called the phonetic alphabet.”

─Oh, I see. Over.

“You don’t need to say ‘over’ every time.”

─Roger.

Orcs are quite unique among labyrinth monsters. First, when the labyrinth is full, they crawl out to Earth and form villages, making them one of the most notorious pests. Additionally, the difficulty of their groups varies wildly.

Orc chieftain, orc grunts, orc archers.

If a village is composed of just these three, it’s not too difficult.

But if you add orc guards, orc shamans, orc giants, and even the rare orc ‘mages,’ it becomes a disaster-level threat.

Of course, in the Labyrinth Exploration series, orc mages didn’t appear. Shamans shouldn’t either.

At least, not in the episodes I’d seen before regressing.

*Dum-dum-dum-dum──!*

The cargo transport had officially begun. The orcs’ frenzy made it clear. The chieftain was beating a drum, rallying his troops, and I focused my mana on my retinas again. My field of vision expanded significantly.

“…Found it.”

I could see the cargo cart exiting the cave and descending the slope toward the orc village.

The cart’s speed was decent, and Kang Hyun’s combat prowess was impressive, so things seemed to be going smoothly….

“What the?”

Suddenly, the flow of mana felt strange. Cracks formed in the ground beneath the moving cart.

A distinctly unnatural phenomenon.

A raw, unrefined technique wielded by non-humans—natural magic in its purest form.

In other words, ‘shamanism.’

“What the…”

I was thrown off. There were no shamans before my regression.

Was it always like this? Or did the transport team trigger something by mistake?

Still, if there’s a shaman, it explains why the labyrinth’s total mana is so high. A shaman holds the mana equivalent of about 30 orc soldiers.

“Ugh, what a mess.”

Anyway, the shaman turned the tide.

Not just one, but multiple shamanic spells were scattered, attacking the transport team, while an orc army surged from behind.

“Too far.”

As the escort team, we were too far away. There was still a long way to go before reaching the agreed-upon escort starting point.

“…Will this work?”

I extended my finger. The orc shaman was clearly visible to me. Hiding among the warriors, waving his arms as if praying to the sky. I aimed and fired a mana bullet, but it disappeared mid-air.

“It’s about 2 km away….”

A pistol can’t even reach 200 meters, let alone 2 km.

Is there no way?

As I racked my brain, a technique suddenly flashed through my mind.

[Mana Amplification]

Well, I’ll just have to try something. The transport team is in chaos right now.

First, I gathered the mana to amplify into the【Mysterious Staff】. Until now, I’d only used it as a walking stick, but its nature was closer to a magic staff. It could definitely serve as a mana conduit.

“Haa….”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

With the【Mysterious Staff】filled with mana resting on my shoulder, I envisioned a sniper rifle.

The standard-issue AEM94 I used on the battlefield. [TL/N: A fictional sniper rifle crafted for the story, not a real-world weapon, reflecting modern weaponry from Ha-woon’s military past.]

Reviving the feel of that weapon I’d handled hundreds, thousands of times, I ‘amplified’ the mana into the shape from my memory.

*Tzzzzzt—!*

A burning sensation ran through my veins. The circuits in my body contracted sharply. More than half of my mana was drained.

*Pzzt—! Pzzzzzt—!*

Sharp sparks accompanied the sound as I opened my eyes.

A blue mana clung to the staff, semi-transparent like a liquid but taking on a solid form. Even I was surprised by how accurate it was.

“…….”

For a moment, I forgot the situation and fiddled with it blankly.

The long barrel, smooth trigger, ergonomic stock, telescopic sight—all the details were flawless. But it didn’t need to be identical.

I minimized noise and recoil. The firepower too. There’s no need to waste mana on anti-tank level power when dealing with orcs.

I shouldered the staff, now projecting a sniper rifle. I placed my eye against the scope. The battlefield came into clear view.

The top priority was the orc shaman.

At this distance, I could definitely reach him.

I would reach him.

──I’ll find the shaman.

Just as Kang Hyun told the main team to hold on.

“That won’t be necessary.”

I calmly spoke into the radio as I placed my finger on the trigger.

“This is Team B. We’ve located Team A’s position.”

*Click.*

The sound of metal. The trigger’s spring engaged.

“We’ve assessed the situation and will now commence more active escort operations.”

*Squeeze.*

Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger. Mana surged from the barrel.

A convenient trajectory, free of air resistance. A vivid blue line stitched across the sky. The bullet sliced through the horizon, homing in on a single target—

The heart of the mana-wielding shaman.

—

[Mana Rank Increased.]

◆ C- → C

Dangun

I'm currently Translating the following novel: "Labyrinth Exploration 101" If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

•