Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 46 (Part 1): Believer (6)

When the daughter of the protected target died, Lee Jun-ho froze. No matter how much he’d lost his reason, it was an excessively sudden event.

“…Huh?”

When thorns surged from the body of the child whose head had been blown apart, his entire body turned cold. His brain, which had been burning as if it would melt, rapidly cooled.

“What the hell….”

The thorns intertwined with one another, rising to form a monster as massive as an ogre, and the tender skin of the young child crumpled in an instant.

〓〓〓〓-!

The monster roared. Lee Jun-ho chuckled wryly. It was hiding inside a kid, huh?

*Shwiiiiing!*

From afar, a spear of mana hurtled forward. It pierced the thorn monster’s chest in one strike, but it wasn’t a vital spot. The creature, unfazed, stretched its arm toward the limousine.

Lee Jun-ho hurriedly dashed forward, swinging his sword. A single flash—One Slash Attack(一閃)—severed part of the thorns. However, the remaining thorns surged independently.

*Thud!*

They were blocked by the limousine’s frame. It was the work of Mage Kim Woo-hyun. He had already imbued the limousine with a reinforcement preservation spell.

“Hup!”

Lee Jun-ho leaped high, positioning himself between the limousine and the monster as if to shield it.

*Whiiik— Whiiiik—!*

He deflected every thorn the creature whipped out like a lash. Ryu Wei, Jung Min-ki, Lee Jong-su, and other contestants who hadn’t had much screen time until now rushed to assist Lee Jun-ho.

Such moments continued.

[ 2 : 15 ]

Just over two minutes remained. The objective was to kill the creature.

But its resilience was formidable. The sword winds Lee Jun-ho unleashed were blocked by the thorns and fizzled out. Even Kate’s thrown spears struck true a couple of times, but the monster barely flinched.

—

Suddenly, gunfire rang out.

A sniper shot from higher ground—a mana bullet struck the monster.

〓〓〓-!

The creature shrieked, staggering more violently than before. Kate quickly checked the impact point.

“Lower back!”

Meaning the lower back was its weak spot.

Lee Jun-ho signaled to his teammates with his eyes.

“I’ll take the front. Get behind it.”

“Copy.”

They scattered, aiming for its rear. Lee Jun-ho fired a sword energy at the stumbling monster. A scorching gale rushed forward, singeing the thorns.

〓〓〓〓〓!

Enraged, the creature raised all its thorn tendrils. Lee Jun-ho braced for defense, but the attack wasn’t aimed at him.

The target was at a distance.

The monster fired thorns toward Seol Ha-woon. Thorn fragments shot out like artillery. Lee Jun-ho seized the opportunity to charge at the creature.

*Shwiiiik!*

Kate’s spear pierced its lower back, and the other explorers tore into its rear.

〓〓〓〓……

Slashed dozens of times, the thorn monster let out a feeble roar and collapsed. The thorns composing its body dried up and crumbled with a *crackle*.

“…Ah.”

It’s really over now, right? Lee Jun-ho staggered, leaning on his sword.

Kate asked, “You okay over there?”

Lee Jun-ho nodded.

“I’m fine, but….”

He trailed off, looking elsewhere. The building where Seol Ha-woon’s support had just come from. It was now riddled with thorns.

Kate tapped her earpiece and said, “Seol Ha-woon is fine. I got a radio message.”

“…Really? Phew.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Lee Jun-ho collapsed onto the ground, sprawling out. Kate sat on the thorn debris as if it were a chair.

*Ta-ta-ta-tat.*

Belatedly, the sound of someone running approached. Kate glanced in that direction.

“…Kim Doo-gyeom. Where were you, showing up now?”

“Uh….”

Scratching the back of his neck, he made an excuse for wasting time shuttling to Seol Ha-woon.

“Well, I was… up there protecting Seol Ha-woon. In case an attack came….”

“Really?”

Lee Jun-ho, still lying down, asked, “So, you’re the one who protected him?”

“…Huh?”

He looked utterly clueless about what had happened. Lee Jun-ho let out a hollow laugh.

“No, then how did that guy survive?”

That monster was shooting like some vengeful spirit.

At that moment.

[ Success ]

Finally, success.

* * *

—One minute earlier.

A montage of memories flashes through my mind. Time feels stretched like rubber, hazy, as sharp thorns surge toward me from afar.

*Kwa—da—da—da—da—*

To my eyes, the barrage appears slow. But my body won’t move. Perception and action are separate. I lack the physical ability to exploit this moment.

Meaning, I was as good as dead.

There was no way out.

…At least, not before I learned *that*.

I channeled mana.

The back of my hand.

The back of my hand was enough. I vibrated mana across its skin surface.

「Sequence」.

The mana resonated through the air faster than thought, compressing the atmosphere and halting the kinetic energy of the thorns.

“…….”

In front of my eyes.

No, precisely in front of my rimless glasses, the thorns stopped and fell like spent casings—*tuduk, hudududuk*.

“Haah….”

My heart pounded wildly.

I placed a hand on my forehead. Cold sweat had formed. My skull felt like it was buzzing.

“Heh.”

I let out a hollow laugh. I succeeded with 「Sequence」, something I’d never properly pulled off in training.

It must be the intensity of this real combat situation, unlike any other, and the glasses I’m wearing now.

【Reinforced Compression Rimless Glasses】

◆ When worn, Perception increases by 2, but mana is constantly consumed.

◆ When worn, acquire the trait *Neural Amplification*.

◆ Neural Amplification: 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.

I used Neural Amplification to identify the thorn monster’s weak point and snipe it. Enraged, it tried to take me down with it.

It was a damn nasty creature to the end.

“The side effects are a bit harsh, though….”

But its unique value is worth it.

For reference, *unique* means exclusive to the wearer. No one else can use these glasses and gain their effects.

*Drip.* Blood trickled from my nose.

“Ugh.”

I wiped the blood with my sleeve.

[ Seol Ha-woon has defeated a labyrinth boss for the first time. ]

[ Acquired 3 B-grade Random Boxes! ]

*Cling-clang.* Pleasant system notifications popped up.

* * *

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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