Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 24 (Part 2): The Fall (4)

The next morning.

*Beep! Beep! Beep!* A noisy alarm woke me up.

“Ugh, what the…?”

When I opened my eyes, [MoMo]’s status window was filled with notifications.

—

[ Recognition Level Up! ]

[ Recognition Level: 6 ]

[ An additional 30-day deadline has been granted. ]

[ Karma: A level-up gift has been awarded. ]

—

“Oh, sh—! What is this?”

I threw off the blanket and got up.

Finally, a level-up. Even-numbered level-ups are especially important to me.

What’s the gift?

—

[ Reinforced Compression Rimless Glasses Acquired ]

—

“…Ah.”

My excitement dimmed a bit.

Reinforced Compression Rimless Glasses.

Reinforced Compression Rimless Glasses?

What even is this?

—

【Reinforced Compression Rimless Glasses】

■ Overview: Reinforced compression rimless glasses. Compared to regular rimless glasses, their durability is exceptional. Wearing these allows you to see what you couldn’t see before and do what you couldn’t do before?

■ Grade: Unique

■ Acquires the trait ‘Neural Amplification’ when equipped.

■ Neural Expansion: Infuse mana into the rimless glasses to temporarily amplify the character’s nervous system. The effect increases proportionally to the mana input, and mana is consumed every second.

■ When equipped, perception increases by 2, but mana is constantly consumed.

—

Unique. Even comes with an ‘item trait.’ It’s an incredibly good item.

“What kind of item is this?”

But it’s my first time seeing something like this. Neural Expansion… is it about the five senses? I put it in my inventory for now.

I checked the trait I gained from refinement.

—

【First Refinement】

■ Grade: Mid-Low

■ Mana +0.3

■ The mana circulating through your circuits becomes more refined.

■ An innate attribute is bestowed upon your mana – 「Punishment」

■ Karmic Clearance: When in combat with a target whose Karma is ‘Evil,’ the refinement grade increases by 2.

—

Evil Karma… probably referring to villains or bad guys. So, punishing them up is my innate attribute?

It’s confusing.

“Mana grade is C.”

It went from C- to exactly C.

However, it shouldn’t be compared to other ordinary C grades. Ranks are solely based on ‘the ability to utilize mana.’

This isn’t arrogance or pride. My mana quality, my talent value, is a whopping [11.8]. That means I’ve already surpassed the threshold of a genius.

Even if I use the same spell, I’ll be far superior to other C-grade mages.

“Well….”

That aside.

Why did I suddenly level up?

I opened an internet community on my smartphone.

“The views have exploded.”

One glance at the front page told me everything.

—

[ Popular! ] Labyrinth Exploration NaN Stills

—

In the list of popular posts, the stills had a whopping 238,150 views.

Other communities and SNS were similar.

—

#NANStills
#LabyrinthExplorationSeason3
#LabyrinthExplorationPremiere
#KangHyun
#LeeJunho
#SeoJiwoo
#RyuYeonhwa
#WhoNextToKangHyun

—

“What’s with ‘WhoNextToKangHyun’?”

I scrolled through the SNS feed filled with photos. Among them, the one that garnered the most attention and retweets was the photo of Kang Hyun and me shaking hands.

“…Oh.”

I pursed my lips unconsciously.

The background was a lush forest, and the composition was perfect—our eyes level, the light filtering through the trees.

Wait, hold on.

Of course, Kang Hyun is handsome, but when did I start looking like this?

*Ahem, ahem.*

I cleared my throat for no reason and stepped in front of the bathroom mirror.

My skin was definitely smoother. Clean and fair. Thanks to diligently applying the skincare set every morning and night. Even my Appearance stat got a 0.2 boost from [Camera Effect]. (TL/N: [Camera Love] changed to [Camera Effect])

—

　Appearance　│ 7.8 │ B-

—

Thanks to that, my appearance stat was almost at 8.

That’s considered a decent level. 8 is objectively good-looking, and 9 is the level that turns heads on the street.

“Guess it pays to stand next to a famous guy.”

Kang Hyun is an enigma, but just standing next to him gets me some crumbs.

“Oh, this got snapped too?”

A shot of me handing a spelled arrow to Lim Hae-jun. Our expressions were unnecessarily serious, like we were off to save the world.

“Oh, right.”

I checked my vote count.

—

[ Labyrinth Exploration NaN ]

Name: Seol Ha-woon
Rank: 96
Votes: 20,232

—

Almost 10,000 votes in one go.

“Nice.”

I was about to start my daily routine in high spirits when…

—

[Filming begins soon. Please gather at the set.]

—

A group message popped up.

It’s about time to head into the labyrinth. I tidied up my bedding and put on my uniform.

* * *

Under soft lighting, the marble floor sparkled dazzlingly. Sunlight filtered gently through the glass walls. A chandelier adorned the ceiling, and the displays of high-end brands lined up below.

The set looked like an entire department store had been transplanted.

“Hello, everyone~”

Main MC Yoo Ji-in appeared. She was dressed head-to-toe in luxury, fitting the department store concept.

A suit jacket that screamed tens of millions of won at first glance, paired with equestrian-inspired fashion.

“As you can see, we’re at a department store today. This mission is in collaboration with BraveWorld.”

Which means PPL (product placement). The store signs inside are probably all PPL too. *Labyrinth Exploration* is a globally exposed brand, after all.

The actual set was a carbon copy of that department store.

“What you need to do here is simple. Prepare for a trip. In other words, shopping.”

Shopping. The participants’ eyes widened.

There’s no human who doesn’t enjoy buying things. The reason humans obsess over income is solely to spend.

Especially if that spending doesn’t involve their own money? That’s the cherry on top.

“Of course, you don’t have any money on hand. Your currency is your vote count.”

Vote count.

Yoo Ji-in pointed to a place called [AOMS WAY Currency Exchange]. AMOS WAY is, of course, PPL. It’s a hugely famous airline operated by BraveWorld.

“At ‘AMOS WAY Currency Exchange,’ known for its top-notch service and safety, you can exchange your vote count for coins. 1 vote equals 1 coin.”

The participants each tapped their wrists.

—

[ Labyrinth Exploration NaN ]

Name: Seol Ha-woon
Rank: 96
Votes: 20,535

—

In short, I have 20,000 coins.

“I won’t say much more. Enjoy three hours of shopping to your heart’s content~”

Yoo Ji-in turned around with a smile.

“…Oh, one more thing.”

Then, with just a slight glance over her shoulder, she gave a meaningful smile.

“After shopping, look forward to a special trip. Hints about the destination are scattered throughout this department store.”

A special trip.

I already know what that is.

Dangun

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