Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 58 (Part 2): Let you down (6)

Countless mana bullets hurtled toward me through the air.

Dark spells followed. Shadowy mana clung to the ground, writhing like a living thing.

I perceived the space.

First, I formed a mana barrier along the bullets’ trajectory. Dozens of rounds halted three steps in front of me.

Now I understood how Kim Se-jin had blocked my mana bullets.

It was simple.

If you see it slowly, you can react.

I emitted mana, reversing the trajectory of the captured bullets.

Next, I analyzed the spells rushing toward me. It was a curse—a troublesome kind that projected the mage’s will.

But breaking it was easy.

Stare deeply with your ‘eyes,’ observe the spells, and burn its core.

*Tsstssss!*

The curse melted into the asphalt.

Then, I recalled the enemy’s spell. My amplified nervous system memorized the visual data perfectly, recreating the same curse and firing it back—at far greater speed and power.

*…Sequence.*

In a fraction of a second, my accelerated thoughts perceived and controlled every inch of my surroundings without a sliver of oversight.

Not just hearing, but smell, and even the tactile sensation of air against my skin. I interpreted my environment, reacted, and resolved the situation.

Then, I restored my nervous system.

*───*

Dozens of bullets glowed blue as they reversed. The rounds meant for me, now wrapped in my mana, pierced the enemies’ throats.

*Guh! Gak! Urk! Ugh!*

Countless death cries rang out under the moonlight like a chorus.

“…….”

I closed my eyes quietly. Taking a deep breath, I calmed my body.

The headache was intense. I pulled out a thermos, pouring tea into its lid.

One sip.

Savoring it with my eyes closed, I felt my mind and body settle.

Two sips.

Drinking tea, I endured the skull-splitting pain, the agony threatening to snap my nerves.

The backlash of Sequence, the high-speed spellcasting, was immense. It felt toxic. I questioned whether my barely rehabilitated, rag-like body could withstand it.

Three sips.

That’s why I had to become stronger.

Tougher than I was now.

The [MoMo] system I’d gained wasn’t me. It was merely a part of me.

It was never mine to begin with, so I had no reason to rely on the Status Window.

Since my birth into this world, the only thing I’ve ever trusted is myself.

If I had a blind faith, it was in the desires of the human named me.

[MoMo] was just a weapon in my hand. I couldn’t let it consume me or lean on it. My limits lay beyond the Status Window.

I am, ultimately, me.

Nothing more than ‘Seol Ha-woon.’

“…Haa.”

With a single sigh, I shook off the overload. My mind and body stabilized moderately. The synergy between tea and 【Good Ears, Good Eyes】 was undeniably effective.

Belatedly, I surveyed the scene I’d created. Corpses littered the surroundings.

Fifteen of them. A battle likely over in three seconds.

*Clap. Clap. Clap.*

Applause echoed from nearby.

“Perfect.”

It was my employer.

* * *

The monitoring room. The staff, pulling all-nighters daily, were mostly haggard, but PD Kim A-rang’s eyes still sparkled.

Thanks to Seol Ha-woon.

“Wow… it’s really, like, distinctive.”

The writer beside her gasped in awe. Ha-woon’s combat was that exceptional.

“Right?”

Ha-woon simply stood there. He didn’t move a single step. In one spot, he deflected every attack, deployed sorcery, and ended the situation.

What followed was even more cinematic.

He simply sipped tea. Leisurely. His long hair fluttered in the wind, accentuating a mage’s mystique. His gaze, fixed on the distance as if contemplating mana’s flow, carried a weary sadness that added depth to his character.

“Top-tier potential, I’m telling you.”

Satisfied, Kim A-rang glanced sideways.

“What do you think, Mentor Yu-yul?”

Yu-yul had arrived at some point. Mentors could join the monitoring sessions.

Yu-yul spoke.

“He’s overtaxing his body.”

“…Huh?”

Kim A-rang tilted her head.

“But he didn’t move?”

“Moving would’ve been far easier.”

It was hard for Kim A-rang to grasp, but if a high-ranker said so, she’d take it.

“Oh, by the way, Mentor Yu-yul. Did you know? Seol Ha-woon speaks really highly of you.”

Honestly, Kim A-rang found Yu-yul’s casting surprising. She hadn’t even known who Yu-yul was. It was Yoon Sa-hyeok’s decision, so she’d gone along with it.

“You haven’t seen the mentor survey yet, right? He seems to regard you almost like a master.”

Yu-yul, of course, lacked outward appeal. Among the mentors, she had the most detractors.

The public was brutally honest about appearances. They’d cry out against lookism when judged themselves, but behind the mask of anonymity, they became the same judgmental crowd.

“What about you, Mentor? Ha-woon as a disciple?”

Kim A-rang wanted to forge a mentor-disciple bond between Yu-yul and Ha-woon. Stories thrive on relationships, and even someone as plain as Yu-yul needed character depth to benefit Ha-woon.

“…I don’t have a hobby of taking disciples.”

Yu-yul herself seemed uninterested.

“Well, then. I’ll be going.”

Yu-yul stood to leave.

Kim A-rang turned back to the screen, watching Ha-woon.

He was growing rapidly. The mage now was worlds apart from the one at his first interview, toying with barriers. His daily progress was visible, his unique flair among the rarest in all seasons of explorers.

“A mage…”

It made her wonder, now and then. Ha-woon—by his own account—had only been a mage for five months.

If he’d walked the path of a mage from the start, not a soldier, could he have become a grand mage?

“…PD-nim. This time, it’s really gonna be like a movie. Ha-woon’s heading to Sier, and if that friend goes to the opposite side….”

The writer’s words snapped Kim A-rang back. Nodding, she quickly jotted down editing notes.

“You’re right~”

They had to condense the open-world journey of 96 explorers into three or four episodes. The storyline needed to stay gripping, the editing polished.

Sure, over half the 96 would barely get screen time, practically filler.

Kim A-rang refocused on Ha-woon.

Dangun

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