Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 55 (Part 1): Let You Down (3)

Back at the orphanage.

I placed the pendant on the table. The moment the director saw it, his eyes welled up. His trembling hands covered his face.

“When Roha first came here… this pendant was tied around her ankle.”

A voice tracing the past of a child who had already left this world.

The director is a good person.

Even if he isn’t truly human.

“Perhaps… the young parents who left Roha here intended to come back for her someday. They must have thought this pendant would let them recognize their child.”

A mother, or perhaps a father, who had sworn to return to their child one day.

But it caught the eye of a villain, and the child had left this world forever.

[ Quest Completed ]

■ Acquired 300 WP

“That’s enough about the story.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I got a bit emotional….”

The orphanage director pulled an envelope from under a drawer and held it out. It contained ten bills.

“No. Not money.”

I had no intention of taking money to begin with. I added more to his stack—half of the bundle of bills I’d taken from the killer’s hideout.

“But why….”

“Black tea.”

“…Pardon?”

The director’s eyes widened.

I looked at him and said:

“I’d like to buy as much of the black tea leaves you grow here as possible.”

Rare-grade black tea. The first item I’d take from this world.

Of course, the rare grade has a wide spectrum, and some rares are worse than commons, but tea that qualifies as rare is hard to come by.

Moreover, 「Sequence」 is a power that overtaxes the body, and 「Refinement」 is training that tears circuits apart.

This black tea could potentially be a side-effect-free remedy for me.

“Uh… yes. Of course.”

The director nodded with a warm smile.

“I’ll gather as much as I can. The garden is quite large, after all.”

* * *

[ *Labyrinth Exploration NaN* achieves 23% viewership rating after 3 episodes… highest in 4 years ]

[ *LabExNaN* tops OTT charts in 43 countries ]

[ A new paradigm in labyrinth entertainment ]

[ Explorer Spotlight, Part 3: Seol Ha-woon, Lim Hae-jun, Kim Doo-gyeom…. ]

The time after *LabExNaN*’s third episode passed slowly. During that period, Ishia uploaded posts about the show across the internet. Most of them were about Seol Ha-woon.

[Analysis Post) Why Seol Ha-woon Was Right]

[ Seol Ha-woon meets a squirrel ]

[ Seol Ha-woon making a mustache out of leaves ]

In truth, Seol Ha-woon’s screen time in episode 3 wasn’t extensive. It was just overwhelmingly impactful. So Ishia picked out fleeting moments that had flashed by in certain scenes.

Seol Ha-woon chuckling at a squirrel from a treetop, playfully holding a leaf near his nose out of boredom, sitting on a branch feeling the breeze, and so on. She turned these 1-to-3-second details into clips and spread them online.

And finally, the broadcast day for episode 4 arrived.

Ishia sat reverently in front of the TV, as always.

┌──Labyrinth Exploration NaN──┐

A brief recap of the previous episode played, followed immediately by the loot distribution in the Cargo Labyrinth.

─Yoon Hwa-rim: “I’ll, um, I’ll go last. I’m a bit ashamed to even take a share…”

Yoon Hwa-rim chose conscience over loot.

– She’s got some shame, at least.
– If she’d been greedy for loot on top of that, she’d be less than human.
– Ugh. Can’t stand looking at her face.
– lololol

─ Kang Hyun: “What do you think about letting Seol Ha-woon choose first?”

Kang Hyun recommended giving Seol Ha-woon priority. It was only natural.

─Seol Ha-woon: “I’ll take this.”

But Seol Ha-woon chose a small feather.

“Why?”

Ishia tilted her head. The reactions from other viewers weren’t much different.

– What’s that?
– Why’d he pick that?
– Looks like an accessory or something;
– Is he just being humble?
– Why bother?
– Honestly, the physical labor was mostly done by the others lol
– Yeah, guys like him just get satisfaction from being right and completing the mission.
– Feels like he’s weighing who suffered more rather than who contributed more??

Maybe. Sometimes the interpretation outshines the dream.

In any case, after all the teams finished dividing their loot, it was time for the mentor evaluations.

First up was Lee Jun-ho’s team.

─Kim Yoon-jun: “Warrior Lee Jun-ho. I understand you wanted to showcase your performance. But it’s also important to adjust your pace so your teammates can keep up.”

─DK: “Well, I don’t think it’s Lee Jun-ho’s fault if others can’t keep up with his pace….”

A brief clash of opinions between DK and Kim Yoon-jun occurred, and the total score was 368 points.

Kim Yoon-jun: 93 | DK: 98 | Yu-yul: 82 | Kim Ji-an: 95

– What’s with that fat mage?
– WTF why’d she give such a low score without saying anything?
– Is she insane?
– Drop the Insta handle
– No, seriously, that’s ridiculous LMAO
– 82 points?? He could’ve gotten 90 even if he’d solo’d it.

Next, Kang Hyun’s team.

─Kim Yoon-jun: “Hmm….”

Mentor Kim Yoon-jun smiled the moment they stepped onto the stage.

─Kim Yoon-jun: “An unexpected performance from a mage. Sniping an orc shaman from long range… did that come from your military days?”

─Seol Ha-woon: “Yes, sir. It was.”

─Kim Ji-an: “He could’ve been an archer…”

─DK: “But I also think it must’ve been quite convenient.”

“What’s he saying?”

Ishia furrowed her brow.

DK, people are saying you’re getting too full of yourself lately.

─DK: “Well, it’s better than being a burden on the ground. Still, you provided decisive help from above. That smoke grenade was quite amusing, though it was a bit too obvious…”

Even so, Seol Ha-woon, Kang Hyun, and the others received various praises.

─Kim Yoon-jun: “Mage Yoon Hwa-rim?”

This was the highlight.

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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