Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 49 (Part 2): Cliché Melody (3)

“…….”

I opened my eyes. The night sky was dark.

“Awake?”

A husky voice called to me. I looked up. Eyes gleamed. In the darkness, her yellow eyes sparkled like stars. Like a snake, or perhaps a dragon from legend.

“Ah… Yes.”

I stared at the sky beyond her.

“The sky is spinning.”

The firmament swirled. Blue particles blurred against the dark canvas, with gossamer threads weaving between.

“That’s the mana of nature. Your senses are sharp right after the refinement. Since you’ve mastered [Sequence], you’ll see it even clearer.”

So she knew about [Sequence] too.

“…I see.”

“How do you feel?”

She asked about my mood.

I replied quietly.

“How should I feel?”

“Like, whoa, whoa, I’m soaring to the skies.”

“…Huh?”

“Ahem.”

Yu-yul cleared her throat. A joke, apparently.

“Because even just achieving the second refinement makes life as a mage considerably easier.”

“Ah…”

I smiled.

With the help of one candy, I’d succeeded in the second. For the third, I’d probably need to use both remaining ones.

“I… feel like I still have a long way to go.”

“Then be careful.”

Yu-yul continued, her tone serious.

“So you don’t die before you get there.”

[‘Seol Ha-woon’ grasps the edge of mana for the second time.]

[Mana stat increases by 0.3.]

[Acquired trait: 【Second Refinement】.]

[Mana rank increases.]

◆ C → C+

Refinement raised the ceiling of one’s talent while purifying the quality of mana. Thus, both current rank and potential stats rose.

“Ugh…”

I tried to sit up.

“Sleep there tonight.”

Yu-yul stopped me. She cast a mana barrier over the grass where I lay. The ground became as soft as a mattress. The air felt purified, my nose cleared, and my body melted into a languid warmth.

“…Thank you.”

I closed my eyes, dazed.

* * *

The next morning, when I woke, Yu-yul was gone. I trudged back to the lodging alone and ran into Lim Hae-jun.

“Master!”

Lim Hae-jun tagged along, chattering as if he’d been waiting for me.

“Master, that was insane. How’d you know?”

“Know what.”

I stopped at my room’s door.

“That the child was the boss!”

“…When guts and limbs are flying and only one person’s laughing.”

“Woow~”

I opened the lodging door. Lim Hae-jun followed me inside.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Aw~ Come on, why so cold? After all we’ve been through~”

Lim Hae-jun grinned cheekily and plopped onto the sofa. Then, in a low voice, he broached a topic.

“Master.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“…What was Kate like?”

His stubborn expression was odd. Was this kid into Kate or something?

“Like what.”

“Well… aren’t you curious about what kind of ‘person’ she is~?”

“What kind of ‘person’?”

He was being unusually formal.

“Of course. Honestly, she’s someone you couldn’t even meet in normal society. Don’t you know Hailford, Master?”

Kate. Full name: Catherine Violet Hailford.

She was from the Hailford family.

“I know.”

That family was a bit peculiar. Twenty direct descendants, two mages, eight high-rankers, five politicians, three corporate heads…

Kate was the eldest daughter of the eldest son, but the succession race must be cutthroat.

“Exactly! We gotta get on her good side!”

“Good side, my a*s. People are all the same.”

I’d met a Hailford during a past mission. One of them was in the U.S. military.

“So, what was Kate like~?”

Lim Hae-jun was persistent. He’d cling forever if I didn’t give a proper answer.

I thought about Kate.

“…Hard to say.”

Before regressing, she was in the debut group for the show. She could have been a suspect in Black Call, or a victim.

But that kind of secret probably wasn’t what Lim Hae-jun was curious about.

“I don’t really know.”

“Really? I’m jealous. Crazy talent, great connections.”

Ah. Thinking about it, they have the same Class. When Classes are the same, comparing oneself to the other is unavoidable.

Even carefree Lim Hae-jun had a competitive streak, huh.

“No need to be jealous.”

“Why not?”

I glanced at him.

“Your level’s just right. People raised in the ultra-elite? They mostly seem miserable. It’s actually pitiful. Their family comes before themselves.”

TLike the US soldier, that Hailford decked out in medals whom I met before, and Kate here—my gut says the same.

Of course, I’m no Buddha; I can’t read souls.

But my accuracy’s probably decent.

【Good Ears, Good Eyes】

◆ Rank: Mid-Grade

◆ The character’s vision and hearing are inherently exceptional. All actions involving eyes and ears are superior.

◆ Perceives people more accurately and detects the unseen with sensitivity.

◆ Can easily appraise the value of objects.

◆ If it can be seen, its sound can be heard.

The part about *perceiving people more accurately*.

“What’s with the rose?”

Lim Hae-jun pointed at it. I’d put it in a new vase next to the 【Snowflower】 pot.

“Gift.”

“From who?”

“Kate.”

“Wha— Master, no way!”

Lim Hae-jun’s face twisted.

“You’re already, what, flirting?! Getting flowers and all!”

“No.”

“Then why! Why’d you get a rose! What’s that! What—ow, don’t push! What’s going on!”

I shooed out Lim Hae-jun, who was chirping like a canary.

* * *

Catherine Violet Hailford.

The eldest daughter of the Hailford family’s eldest son, she overheard Seol Ha-woon and Lim Hae-jun’s conversation.

Nothing special. Just mundane chatter.

…Honestly, it was pathetic.

Not even worth a sneer.

‘Good side, my a*s. People are all the same.’

Seol Ha-woon was wrong.

We’re not the same. Between you, born a cog, and me, born a master, lies a vast chasm. Maybe wider than the distance between Neptune and Earth.

But I get it.

Most people in this world burn out without realizing they’re cogs. They reject the very idea. It’s the only way they can chase their petty happiness and claim mental victory.

And…

‘It’s actually pitiful. Their family comes before themselves.’

“…What a laughable thing to say.”

Kate twisted her lips.

Seol Ha-woon didn’t even know the situation he was in.

Her family had ordered his elimination.

He’d soon vanish from this program. Kate wouldn’t need to lift a finger. Her role was mere surveillance.

All the *work* would happen behind the curtain.

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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