Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 29 (Part 1): Snowflower (4)

[Remaining Time: 168:21:15]

A timer flickered like a subtitle. Above it, a blizzard raged. Seo Ji-woo staggered through the torrent of white, where even a step ahead was invisible.

Slung over her back was a wolf—her hard-won prey, now her most precious source of food.

But she had neither the time to prepare it nor the energy left to spare.

‘Haa… haa…’

Her ragged breaths spilled out in frosty puffs, her lungs screaming. For nearly a week, her only sustenance had been the rations Seol Ha-woon had given her, a few luckily caught rabbits, and scavenged crackers from ruins.

[Warning: Caloric consumption due to blizzard has accelerated.]

‘…Ah.’

Ji-woo froze. A sharp pang shot through her stomach, ringing through her entire body. Her cells seemed to shriek—*This is the limit. No further.*

She forced herself forward, only to stumble. The white expanse swallowed her whole.

‘……’

Her eyes fluttered shut.

*Whoooosh—*

The merciless blizzard howled. Buried beneath nature’s cruelty, her consciousness slowly froze over…

—

“She’s done for.”

The PD overseeing Ji-woo sighed bitterly.

Survival labyrinths were always brutal. This one had been high-difficulty from the start, and lasting 200 hours would’ve put her solidly in the mid-tier. After all, 30 explorers had already dropped out within the first 100 hours.

“…Huh?”

Then—magic pulsed from Ji-woo’s skull earring.

The wolf, whose breath had long stilled, twitched. Its joints cracked unnaturally as it rose on all fours. *Creak… creak…*

It had been resurrected.

The wolf glanced at Ji-woo before padding away—*click-click-click*—toward a distant, faint warmth. A place where the scent of food lingered.

Navigating the storm with preternatural senses, it trudged for about ten minutes…

Until it found *him*.

A man in a thick parka hood. Their eyes met. The wolf affectionately scratched at his calf, as if urging him to follow.

“Who’s that guy?”

The impatient PD quickly adjusted the camera angle to capture his face—

“Ah!”

—and clapped a hand over his mouth in shock.

‘…What do you want?’

At the unspoken question, the wolf moved. The man followed. Step by step, the beast led him back through the snow…

Until they reached a mound. Only Ji-woo’s gloved hand peeked out.

‘Grrrl.’

The wolf nudged toward her.

It had brought Seol Ha-woon to Seo Ji-woo.

***

*Bubble, bubble.*

A boiling sound reached her ears.

*Sniff, sniff.*

A delicious aroma tickled her nose.

*Growwwl!*

Her stomach twisted in agony.

“Gah!”

Ji-woo jolted awake with a scream.

“You’re up.”

“Eek?!”

An unfamiliar voice. She whipped her head toward the source.

“Why are you…?”

Seol Ha-woon sat stirring soup in a chair. Ji-woo blinked dumbly before finally processing her surroundings.

She was lying in a bed inside a cabin. It was warm. Cozy. And Seol Ha-woon was casually cooking precious food.

“Ah! Forced extraction?!”

No one had ever died in Labyrinth Exploration. Not a single contestant. [T/N: Not yet..]

The moment a participant’s vitals became critically unstable, the system forcibly extracted them.

“Forced extraction? Can’t you see the timer?”

“…Huh?”

She checked belatedly.

[Remaining Time: 161:21:15]
[Remaining Time: 161:21:14]
[Remaining Time: 161:21:13]

Time was still ticking. She was still inside.

Just then, Ha-woon ladled a fragrant broth onto a plate.

*Gulp.* Her stomach roared.

“Eat.”

He handed her the soup. The aroma alone nearly knocked her out. Questions could wait.

She buried her face in the plate like a starved animal, licking it clean.

“…Ah. I’m alive.”

Only with her hunger slightly sated did curiosity return. She side-eyed Ha-woon while smoothing her hair.

“Thanks, but… Can I ask why you saved me?”

He jerked his chin toward the door. A wolf sat there.

“Whoa! What’s that?!”

Ji-woo recoiled.

“You keep a pet wolf?”

Ha-woon’s brow furrowed in disbelief.

“…It’s yours.”

“Mine? How?”

She squinted at the wolf. A small hole pierced its neck—a clean, painless kill shot from a spell.

“Your necklace.”

Ha-woon pointed at her skull pendant.

“That thing turned the dead wolf into a familiar. You’re wearing it without even knowing what it does?”

Ji-woo’s face twisted oddly. She blinked at the snoring beast.

“…I caught it to eat it. But it saved me instead?”

She sat up.

“Still, wow—this place is nice. You got lucky.”

She glanced around enviously.

“If I’d stumbled here sooner, I wouldn’t have suffered so much. All I saw were wrecked ruins.”

She assumed this cabin was one of the rare intact structures.

“I built it.”

“…Huh?”

“I didn’t *find* it. I built it.”

Ji-woo scoffed.

“Pfft. Yeah, right—”

Ha-woon paused mid-ladle. She backpedaled fast.

“…I mean, wow! Great job! You could sell this! Seriously. Top-tier.”

He wordlessly handed her another bowl.

“Thanks.”

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!

•