Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 47 (Part 2): Cliché Melody (1)

Late at night.

Back at the quarters, Kate turned on the radio as usual. It was an ordinary station, EMA.

[Hello, everyone. In the deep night, sharing this dawn…]

Kate closed her eyes quietly.

[The first story. It’s about something that happened at a convenience store today.]

A magical code woven into everyday language.

Kate absorbed the DJ’s syllables with mana, reassembling them. These were the instructions she was to ‘receive’ today.

[There was no clerk at the convenience store, so I looked around…]

Kate had another purpose.

A scion of one of America’s wealthiest and most prestigious families didn’t join an East Asian audition program just for fame or to prove her magical potential.

[The warehouse door was open, so…]

──An unexpected individual detected.

To uncover the secrets lurking at the bottom of *Labyrinth Exploration*.

[That was an interesting story. It’d definitely be startling if that happened at a convenience store.]

──Possibility of labyrinth control difficulties.

She scribbled with a pen while listening to the radio. The magical code translated into English sentences.

[ Well, that’s just how life is, things happen~ ]

──Seol Ha-woon.

The name Seol Ha-woon.

Followed by the issued directive.

──Dangerous variable. Elimination required.

Kate turned off the radio. Sipping her tea, she sank into the sofa. *Creak.* The luxurious fabric felt comforting.

Whoosh. She burned the paper with the decoded message.

“…Seol Ha-woon.”

Her family wanted Seol Ha-woon eliminated. For a family that rarely concerned itself with individuals, this was an unusual order.

Did it mean Seol Ha-woon was that dangerous? Kate didn’t yet understand, but the family’s will had to be enforced.

*Tap. Tap.*

She tapped the table with her pen, contemplating the method of ‘elimination.’

* * *

Late at night.

Kang Hyun was watching a video. It was the Situational Labyrinth, specifically the [Plaza] process. Having obtained the footage for study, he was on his third replay.

His focus was Seol Ha-woon.

Kang Hyun observed Seol Ha-woon’s methods. Amid the chaos Lee Jun-ho caused, Seol Ha-woon shot a child. A choice no ordinary person could make.

He was undoubtedly someone who spared no means or methods. Someone who’d make any sacrifice to complete a mission. Someone who could abandon the small for the sake of the greater.

Someone who knew what was right and what mattered.

Seol Ha-woon reflected in Kang Hyun’s empty eyes.

He smiled unknowingly. A strange joy curled at his twisted lips.

He might be my kind. That thought occurred to him, out of the blue.

* * *

The day after the Situational Labyrinth ended. Thankfully, it was a rest day.

“Growing well, aren’t you~?”

I toyed with the sprouting [Snowflower].

A kind of handling. It felt like it’d grow better with some human touch.

After pampering the [Snowflower] for about five minutes, I sat on the sofa. A deep breath suppressed my tension.

The third episode was about to air.

*Ding!*

[Lim Hae-jun: Hyung, the third episode’s airing soon! Our highlights are coming up lol!!]

I hope so. I pray our highlights make it. Not that damned devil’s edit.

[Kang Hyun: Looking forward to the third episode~]

Surprisingly, Kang Hyun messaged too.

[Kate: I’ll watch the third episode closely. You’ll probably be the star.]

Kate too—what’s with these guys? Did they all agree to text me at the same time or something?

Anyway.

┌───「Labyrinth Exploration NaN」───┐

The Labyrinth Exploration logo appeared on the screen, and the third episode began.

The first scene was just before entering the labyrinth. Team A4’s waiting room.

─Lee Jong-su: “…Aren’t we trusting the escort team too much?”

─Kang Hyun: “The transport team and the escort team are one team. It’s not just the transport team working alone.”

After various discussions in the meeting room, the transport team entered the labyrinth first.

─Kang Hyun: “Team A4. Entering the labyrinth.”

They successfully located the cargo in the orc burrow, and the perspective shifted to the escort team.

I appeared, walking through the forest with Lim Hae-jun.

─Lim Hae-jun: “So, what do we do now!”

─Seol Ha-woon: “Let’s move first.”

This was the critical part. If the editing screws me here, my life is over.

─Lim Hae-jun: “Seol Ha-woon. I’ve been trying to say this since earlier, but I thought I might be mistaken, so I kept quiet. Why do you keep using informal speech with me?”

Lim Hae-jun tried to assert himself, but Seol Ha-woon just stared silently. Lim Hae-jun quickly backed down.

This edit feels ominous already.

I glanced at the live chat.

– Ugh, so unlikeable;

– For real, people who speak informally to your face are never normal

– That guy’s got old-man vibes as a lifestyle lmao

Meanwhile, the entire escort team reached the middle of the forest.

─Seol Ha-woon: “Give me your arrows.”

Before starting the escort, Seol Ha-woon enchanted the team’s gear.

─Lim Hae-jun: “W-what are you doing?! They’ll break!”

─Seol Ha-woon: “They won’t break, idiot.”

The live reactions when he imbued Lim Hae-jun’s Ternium arrows with spell-killing enchantments were something else.

– Won’t those break later?

– Right? Feels like they’ll get wrecked cause of that fake spell;;

– A four-month mage doing enchantments lololol

Anyway, he enchanted everyone’s gear, and then.

─Seol Ha-woon: “Then I’ll climb up.”

Seol Ha-woon climbed a tree.

Even I thought the climbing form looked awkward.

– What’s with the frog?

– Still, he somehow made it up..

– How’s he climbing with that leg lol, that’s wild?

“…Tell me about it.”

Seol Ha-woon reached the top somehow.

Soon after, Kang Hyun’s briefing came through the radio.

──“Transport team. We’ve secured the cargo.”

The perspective shifted to Kang Hyun’s cargo team.

Yoon Hwa-rim confidently took the driver’s seat first.

─Yoon Hwa-rim: “Everyone, get in!”

The cargo cart roared forward. It was quite fast.

– Damn, Yoon Hwa-rim’s cargo is fast.

– True elite. But there’s an ex-soldier ignoring elites like her??

– That guy’s a moron lol

– They’ll clear this easily? Even with one troll, Kang Hyun’s god-tier SS, and Yoon Hwa-rim’s S-tier level.

Groooar──!

Orcs swarmed in, and the cargo team defended smoothly while advancing, but at some point.

The entire cargo cart stopped dead.

– ?

– ??

– What happened?

– ???

Question marks flooded the live chat.

When the camera showed fireballs and other spells filling the screen, the viewers finally realized.

– Looks like a shaman?

– Orc shaman;;

– Damn, the difficulty’s insane

– Shamans are kinda tough, no?

– lol isn’t a shaman a bit much

─Lee Jong-su: “What about the cart?!”

─Yoon Hwa-rim: “…The cart won’t move! The wheels are cursed!”

As a result, the cargo team was in dire straits.

In dramatic terms, the crisis just before the climax.

─Kang Hyun: “I’ll find the shaman.”

─Yoon Hwa-rim: “Then what about us?”

With orcs swarming like zombies from all directions, even I, who’d experienced it, was immersed in the moment.

──”That won’t be necessary.”

A voice rang through the radio.

Seol Ha-woon—me—had spoken.

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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