Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 57 (Part 1): Let You Down (5)

The next day.

“Seems you didn’t need to run after all.”

The owner of [Chrome Oasis] greeted me upon my return from the orphanage. He smirked and offered me a beer.

“The bodies have been taken care of. Heard you made quite a scene.”

I sipped tea from my thermos instead of taking the beer.

“You help with the cleanup too?”

“After-service. We’re the ones who passed on the job, so dealing with the trash is our responsibility.”

He was a man with a strong sense of professional duty as a broker.

I asked him, “Any other jobs?”

“…Right away?”

There was no reason to rest. Sure, I’d completed a mission, but the haul was a mere 300 WP.

To buy a ticket, I needed to keep moving.

“Not the type to dawdle.”

More than WP, though, there was something else I needed.

Real combat experience as a mage.

Combat isn’t just about hunting down monsters. Human malice, enmity—it’s filled with infinite variables, writhing like a living thing. The desire to survive spares no means or methods.

In simple terms, it’s a situation where ‘every function of the brain is devoted solely to killing the opponent.’

That’s real combat.

“Well…”

The owner spread his hand. From the camera embedded in the center of his palm, several wanted posters flickered into holographic view.

“Take your pick.”

I scanned them, focusing mainly on the worst of the worst. Most would avoid hardened criminals, but my compatibility made them far more advantageous prey.

One caught my eye.

[ BICO THE ‘BUTCHER’ ]

[ DEAD or ALIVE ]

His face alone sent a chill. A hulking man, his neck sagging with layers of flesh like a tire.

The WP reward: exactly 700.

“Bico. What about this one?”

The owner clicked his tongue, eyeing the poster like it was filthy refuse.

“…Personally, I wouldn’t recommend him.”

“Why’s that?”

“Name’s Bico. The Butcher. A violent criminal. He slaughters travelers in a freezer warehouse on the outskirts. Even killed a few vigilantes, so we’ve been avoiding him. The whole warehouse is fortified like a fortress…”

He went on at length, but I didn’t press further.

“I’ll take him.”

The darker the evil, the more brazenly they pile up their karma without hiding it—the more they become my prey.

It’s a bit perverse, I suppose, but what can I do?

This reversal of compatibility is my talent.

* * *

“Pffuh, pffuh, pffuh…!”

Each step sent his flesh jiggling, his mouth leaking metallic gasps. Blood oozed from his sloshing footsteps.

Bico. A.K.A. The Butcher. The serial killer who’d reigned over Reynos’ outskirts with terror for far too long was now waddling frantically through the freezer warehouse.

“Pffuh, pffuh, pffuh…”

A space packed tight with butchered corpses and slaughtered pigs. Shrouded in darkness, nothing was visible, yet Bico kept glancing side to side, behind him, as he ran.

*Tap. Tap.*

The sound of a cane echoed from somewhere, chillingly sinister. It slithered down his spine like a scythe grazing his neck.

“Pffuh, pffuh…!”

Then, a faint light flickered in Bico’s vision. His eyes widened, and he scrambled toward it, gasping for breath. In that fleeting moment—

*Crack!*

“Arghhh!”

The ground bit into his ankle. A bear trap forged from mana. Bico thrashed, clutching his leg.

“Urgh, arghhh!”

He reached to pry it off, but spikes sprouted from the trap, piercing his hand.

“Guh!”

*Tap. Tap.*

The sound of footsteps grew steadily closer.

“Y-you… f-filthy… bastard!”

Bico roared into the darkness.

*Tap. Tap.*

Yet the sound kept coming, relentless and eerie.

Dripping sweat like broth, Bico waited patiently.

*Tap. Tap.*

He calculated the sound’s position. Licking his lips, he timed his move. Sweat stung his bulging eyes.

*Tap. Tap.*

Now!

He hurled his butcher’s knife.

*Thud.* The sound of it striking something rang out. A satisfying resonance. Bico grinned.

“Gotcha, gotcha! You filthy bastard!”

“…Pfft.”

His glee was cut short by a dry chuckle from the shadows.

The darkness parted, revealing a glinting, icy gaze. A piercing stare that seemed to stab through his heart. Bico’s body trembled violently.

“They said you could even cut through mana. Seems it wasn’t a lie.”

The figure murmured in admiration. The butcher’s knife was lodged in a barrier. A throw like that could slice through a warrior’s body like butter.

“W-Who… who are you…?”

“Guys like you always say the same thing.”

He gripped the knife in a reverse hold, poised to drive it straight into Bico’s face.

“……”

But Bico was already bleeding out, dying. Dozens of bullets embedded in his gut, the trap devouring his ankle—these were his executioners.

Seol Ha-woon set the knife down. No need to dirty his hands further.

He turned, leaving Bico behind.

“Where, where…!”

Bico stammered. Cunning and clever, but his EQ didn’t seem high. Dig deep enough, and there’d be some story behind him.

But everyone has a story.

“Where… take me, take me too…!”

Bico crawled, still caught in the bear trap. Seol Ha-woon placed a hand on the warehouse wall as he exited.

*Tssst.* Mana sparked like electricity, and a blue spell array flared across the entire door.

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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