Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 48 (Part 1): Cliché Melody (2)

A dimly lit room. In a home theater meticulously set up solely for *Labyrinth Exploration*, Ishia is watching Episode 3.

The entire transport team is in peril due to the appearance of an orc shaman.

At the very moment when the tension, stretched to its breaking point, grips the air beyond the screen, a voice resounds with striking clarity…

──”That won’t be necessary.”

A radio transmission.

Ishia’s ears perked up.

──”This is Team B. We’ve located Team A’s position.”

Seol Ha-woon, whose voice alone is now enough for her to recognize.

Goosebumps prickled across Ishia’s body, and the screen abruptly switched.

[ Ding-ding-ding-dan, We love you~ Brought to you by KAS Bank… ]

An ad.

“Oh, come on, seriously!”

—

At the summit of the forest. A man lies in wait, perched silently on a hammock woven from mana between towering branches.

*Shwaaaa.*

Leaves and hair sway in the blowing wind, and Seol Ha-woon lifts his head, gazing somewhere in the distance.

Eyes fixed on a far-off point.

Soon, he channels a spell into his staff. Mana takes the form of a sniper rifle.

– What’s that??
– What kind of gun is that?
– Holy sh*t, that’s wild; does that even work?
– It’s an AEM904 ㅇㅇ. An upgraded version of the one from PUBG. Most soldiers don’t even get to touch it.

Ishia had already seen this spell in the live *Labyrinth Exploration* broadcast, but for first-time viewers, it was chaos.

Seol Ha-woon spoke into the radio.

──Seol Ha-woon: “We’ve assessed the situation and will now commence more active escort operations.”

The muzzle points toward the distant ground, a close-up of his finger on the trigger.

*Click.*

He fires the rifle.

The camera follows the blue mana bullet. Its dazzling trajectory slices through the night sky in a vivid blue arc, whispering toward its destination: the orc shaman.

*Crack!*

The bullet pierces the shaman’s forehead. The orc collapses, dead without even a final cry.

It wasn’t just one shot. He adjusts the scope, methodically eliminating distant shamans one by one with precision.

In the dark heavens, against the backdrop of the forest, his support rains down like a meteor shower.

It feels almost fantastical, like a galaxy descending, or something out of a fairy tale.

Yet Seol Ha-woon remains calm. No swagger, no arrogance. He simply carries out his duty without wavering, steadying his breath in silence.

*Gulp.*

Ishia swallows hard.

– Bro, WTF is this guy??
– LMAOOOO
– He was RIGHT all along…
– Guess he’s the MC of this ep LOL
– How’s he hitting every shot from that distance??

The reactions weren’t bad.

No, they were explosive.

──Seol Ha-woon: “Bravo 1, Alpha Team is surrounded. Prepare for fire support after advancing 500 meters.”

Having neutralized all the orc shamans, Seol Ha-woon issues an order to Lim Hae-jun.

──Lim Hae-jun: “Roger!”

Lim Hae-jun swiftly moves to close range of the cart, firing forked arrows and explosive arrows at the orc horde.

[ *KABOOOM!* ]

The power of his spell-arrows bursts through the LED monitor. Surround sound fills the room. Both were products promoted via PPL in *Labyrinth Exploration* Season 2.

Thanks to Seol Ha-woon’s sniping and Lim Hae-jun’s spell-arrow support, the transport team escapes the crisis.

──Yoon Hwa-rim: “The cart’s ready!”

The cart starts moving again.

– Wait, this guy was getting slandered all this time;;;;
– MyWordIsAbsolute needs a re-evaluation LOL
– That sniper is freaking dope;
– IONET’s editing strikes again.

The chat is moving so fast it’s barely visible.

The cargo re-enters the forest. From that moment, the orcs don’t even get a glimpse of it, thanks to the escort team’s preemptive guerrilla tactics.

*Keek!*

*Krrrk!*

Archer Lim Hae-jun’s arrows, martial artist Ichiko’s ambushes, and Seol Ha-woon’s relentless sniping from afar.

The orcs can’t even rally, collapsing one after another.

“Phew…”

Ishia lets out a sigh of relief. The mission itself is proceeding smoothly.

But something feels off.

Ominous, perhaps.

The camera shows Yoon Hwa-rim nodding off, her eyes blinking heavily.

This… it’s a cliché.

*Crunch!*

“Ah.”

Bad hunches never lied.

The cart crashes into a tree. Yoon Hwa-rim’s eyes snap open, and the cart’s dashboard is shown in close-up.

[ 0 / 100 ]

Durability 0.

The cart is broken.

Yoon Hwa-rim’s face turns pale. With a trembling voice, she calls out to Kang Hyun.

──Yoon Hwa-rim: “Uh… Kang Hyun, Kang Hyun-ssi?”

Ishia glances at the live chat, worried for a different reason.

– Oh, what the f*ck!@#%@ What is she doing?
– Bruh.
– The escort team is busting their asses, and she’s sleeping and screwing up. Brain full of flowers.
– Holy sh*t, what an elite LOL. Sleeping like a baby while transporting cargo.

Public opinion shifts in an instant.

It’s hard to watch, so Ishia turns her attention back to the broadcast.

──Kang Hyun: “We’ll remove the cart’s frame and pull it manually.”

Kang Hyun’s response is composed, and warrior Lee Jong-su grabs the front of the cargo with gusto.

*Hup!* He pulls, but it doesn’t budge. Panic flashes across his face.

──Lee Jong-su: “It’s… kinda heavy, huh?”

──Kang Hyun: “Let’s work in pairs. One pushes from behind, the other pulls from the front.”

──Lee Jong-su: “…Uh, yeah. But, uh, shouldn’t we call for another escort warrior? Hwa-rim probably can’t do this.”

Nodding, Kang Hyun requests support via radio.

“…Scary, so scary.”

Episode 2’s “MyWordIsAbsolute”, and now Episode 3’s scapegoat is decided.

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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