Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 41 (Part 2): Believer (1)

Kim Doo-gyeom was currently ranked in the mid-20s (B-tier), but thanks to his deceptively kind charm he had climbed to 9th place in the first popularity poll—just one step away from the debut group (top 8).

For a while, online communities and SNS treated him as a near-guaranteed debut member—until his past school violence got exposed.

And it wasn’t just ordinary bullying—his crimes were heinous. Extortion, violence, and even multiple sexual offenses.

The deeper people dug, the more they questioned whether he was even human. Eventually, Kim Doo-gyeom was forced to withdraw.

That part was fine.

If he had just rotted in prison like the trash he was, he wouldn’t have pinged my radar.

But then—this bastard did something even more insane.

He killed the original whistleblower.

Not just the whistleblower—their mother, father, younger sibling, even the family’s two dogs. He slaughtered them all, fled Korea, and became a full-fledged villain.

By the time I regressed, Kim Doo-gyeom was still a C-class wanted criminal. Considering he was only in his mid-20s, C-class was a high rank.

Calling him a psychopath would be an understatement. He was a disgusting, subhuman piece of sh*t.

“……”

I sat at the roundtable. Kim Doo-gyeom was directly across from me. The bastard, with his innocent face, fidgeted nervously with his fingers.

To be fair, he was handsome. His skills weren’t bad either—in fact, they were alarmingly good.

The world can be so damn unfair sometimes.

“Hello.”

Kate spoke first. Her Korean pronunciation was native-level perfect.

“I’m Archer Kate.”

Lee Jun-ho next to her gave a short introduction.

“Warrior Lee Jun-ho.”

“Ah, I’m Kim Doo-gyeom. I’m a warrior too.”

“I’m Kim Woo-hyun. A mage, and also the youngest here, haha…”

After Kate, Lee Jun-ho, Kim Doo-gyeom, Kim Woo-hyun, Lee Jong-su, Jung Min-ki, and Ryu Wei had all introduced themselves—

“Mage Seol Ha-woon.”

A brief silence fell when it was my turn.

Kim Woo-hyun, the youngest, couldn’t hide his unease. Probably because of Episode 2’s broadcast.

—

[ Please turn on the meeting room’s monitor, everyone. ]

Yoo Ji-in’s voice echoed through the speakers.

“I’ll do it.”

Kim Doo-gyeom stood up with a saccharine smile.

As he walked toward the monitor, I casually stuck out my foot.

“Whoa!”

He tripped. Eyes briefly turned toward us, and I said flatly,

“Ah, my bad. My leg’s a bit numb.”

“…It’s okay.”

He grinned as he got up. I twisted my lips. Lee Jun-ho shot me a weird look.

Kim Doo-gyeom wouldn’t dare retaliate on camera.

That’s the kind of bastard he was.

He turned on the monitor.

[ Can everyone see and hear me? ]

Yoo Ji-in’s face appeared on-screen.

[ Then, we’ll now begin selecting the Scout. ]

Everyone in the room stiffened.

Scout. A standard role in group labyrinth challenges.

But the problem? This was an individual battle.

[ Please select one Scout through discussion. The Scout will get to experience the scenario for 5 minutes beforehand and gather intel. Important note: The Scout will not be filmed! ]

Not being filmed meant they could choose whether to share intel—or hoard it for themselves.

[ You have 2 hours to decide on your Scout! ]

“…How about Doo-gyeom-ssi? He’s fast.”

Kim Woo-hyun spoke up immediately. Lee Jun-ho nodded, apparently sharing the same thought.

Guess Kim Doo-gyeom’s past whitewashing worked wonders.

“I agree too.”

Even Ryu Wei, the Chinese contestant, approved.

Kate turned to Kim Doo-gyeom.

“What do you think?”

“Ah, well… It’s a lot of pressure, but if you choose me, I’ll do my best!”

His eyes sparkled with fake sincerity. How did he even live with himself? Was he gaslighting himself at this point?

“Alright.”

Kate nodded, ready to conclude.

“If there are no objections—”

“No.”

I raised my hand. Kim Woo-hyun flinched.

(For reference, Kim Woo-hyun was 19. His nickname after Episode 2 was “School Lunch Kid.”

Meaning he was as timid as he was young.)

“I oppose.”

“You oppose?”

Kate frowned.

“Yes.”

“…Does Seol Ha-woon-ssi have someone else in mind?”

“I’ll do it.”

Self-nomination.

I’d rather be the Scout myself than let Kim Doo-gyeom take the role. The key detail was that “Scouts aren’t filmed.”

At least with cameras, he’d have to act decent for appearances, but without them, I can see him pulling all sorts of selfish crap.

He’d done it before regression too.

From a viewer’s perspective, every labyrinth he entered somehow ended up spotlighting only him.

Meanwhile, explorers who clashed with him—his direct competitors— always got screwed over.

“…I oppose that.”

It was Lee Jun-ho. I narrowed my eyes.

Never again with black-haired beasts.

Lee Jun-ho avoided my gaze as he stammered,

“I-I mean, mobility’s important for a Scout, right? If you go in… you’ll probably just walk around until time runs out.”

I stared at him without blinking. Intensifying the pressure.

Lee Jun-ho pretended to rub sleep from his eyes.

“I-I’ll do well, Seol Ha-woon Mage-nim.”

Kim Doo-gyeom tried persuading me in his sickeningly sweet tone.

“I’m pretty fast too. I’ll do my best.”

His tone was frail. Like some sensitive literary boy.

This son of a b*tch.

“If you’d just trust me—”

“It’s not about trust.”

I smirked at him, tilting my head.

“I just don’t want you going in.”

Kim Doo-gyeom’s expression flickered. A hint of irritation flashed—but he quickly masked it with puppy-dog eyes.

“Then,” Kate interjected, “let’s vote.”

A vote would undoubtedly favor Kim Doo-gyeom.

So I said:

“I oppose voting.”

“…Let’s vote on whether to vote.”

I hadn’t expected Kate to be this stubborn.

I shook my head.

“I refuse. I’m going in as Scout.”

Kate calmly countered.

“There are eight of us. If the majority agrees, we follow that decision.”

“Did you not hear Mentor Yoo Ji-in? This labyrinth isn’t a team battle. It’s explicitly individual.”

Kate’s cheeks flushed. She was starting to lose her cool.

“…Then we’ll have no choice but to exclude you in the labyrinth. Is that okay?”

I cheerfully nodded.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Fine. Then—”

“But.”

I paused, sweeping my gaze across the seven others at the table.

*Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.*

Knocking on the table, I declared in a low voice:

“I’ll sabotage you. With everything I’ve got.”

The other seven’s expressions soured. Every camera in the room locked onto me.

I knew exactly how this would look on broadcast—but I didn’t care.

This wasn’t just about not trusting Kim Doo-gyeom.

Something inside me—something primal—was rising to the surface. My innate trait, revealed through [Refinement], was “Punishment.” And right now, it was howling.

The fact that a monster like Kim Doo-gyeom could stretch his legs, smooth out his wrinkles, and even pretend to be kind while breathing the same air as us—

It disgusted me.

“Whether you exclude me or not, I don’t give a damn.”

Of course, I could’ve pretended to play along while secretly undermining him. I could’ve taken the less controversial route.

But I didn’t want to.

I wanted Kim Doo-gyeom to know—someone sees through his disgusting mask. Someone who despises him, who wants to crush his revolting skull.

“This time too—”

Maybe it’s for you out there, watching him from somewhere.

For those too afraid of retaliation to speak up, biting back tears of frustration.

“My word is absolutely right.”

Let’s go all out.

Dangun

I'm currently Translating the following novels: "Labyrinth Exploration 101" & "The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring " If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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