Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 64 (Part 2): Runaway (1)

“That’s the situation now. Got it?”

At the four-star [Armand HOTEL], I relayed the details of the eavesdropping to Kang Hyun.

“How’d you figure it out, Hyung?” he asked.

“I didn’t figure it out…”

I never trusted them to begin with. When you don’t trust someone, you go out of your way to find reasons *not* to.

“Anyway, from now on, we’re working together.”

“Got it.”

World Points were no longer the goal. The exchange office would be under surveillance, and explorers would be captured without ever knowing why.

“Hyung, what do you think the outside world is like right now? The PD and the writers?”

Kang Hyun glanced around the hotel’s interior.

“There’s probably a camera filming us right now.”

“They’re probably thrilled, thinking they’re shooting a blockbuster.”

“…Bet the ratings are through the roof,” Kang Hyun said with a subtle expression.

Just then, I sensed multiple suspicious footsteps from the first floor. The flurry of movement scrambled my mind.

“They’re coming up.”

“Huh?” Kang Hyun tilted his head.

As we’d climbed the hotel, I’d planted bombs in every nook and cranny, imbued with formulas and linked to my senses through sequences.

In other words, I could feel any activity near the explosives.

The downside of such convenient tech? A splitting headache.

“…This hurts like hell.”

I sipped my tea.

Kang Hyun toyed with his broadsword and asked, “Hyung, how do you think the enemy will move?”

“They’ll hunt down explorers one by one.”

We had no right to judge them. It was understandable. If anything, *we* might be the problem, treating this entire world as entertainment.

“What about us?”

I gazed out the window.

“Well, there’s one thing we need to know. The enemy’s smart.”

Sier was sharp. In just a week, he’d pieced together the actions of outsiders, doubted his own existence, and become convinced of a ‘world within a box.’

A battle of wits was out of the question.

“No plan is the plan.”

Against someone that clever, making a plan is the dumbest move. No matter how cunning you think you are, a genius who’s spent their life outsmarting others will see through it.

In the end, it comes down to instinct and gut. Variables born from randomness and spontaneity—doing things they can’t predict.

“What kind of no-plan?”

“Hmm…”

I took a swig of tea and sat across from Kang Hyun. *Snap.* I flicked my fingers sharply.

*Boom!*

A small tremor rippled from the hotel’s base.

*Weeeee—!*

The fire alarm blared.

In five minutes, everyone in the hotel would evacuate. Even in a labyrinth, there was no need to wipe out civilians.

“We’re blowing up the hotel. From the inside.”

Kang Hyun blinked.

We were currently on the 13th floor. And I intended to bring the whole building down.

“The hotel?”

“Yeah.”

*Tap tap tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap tap.*

The sounds in my ears surged chaotically. The noise of guests fleeing. The headache pressed down on my brain.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

*Tap tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap.*

I waited until they were all gone.

*Boom!*

Just in case anyone was hard of hearing or slow to move, I triggered another small explosion.

*Tap tap. Tap tap.*

The sound of footsteps descending the stairs faded, replaced by the heavy tread of others coming up.

I opened my eyes.

“Details later… or rather, let’s not think about them at all.”

Raising a gloved hand, I asked, “Ready?”

Kang Hyun drew his sword and rested it on his knees. Apparently, unsheathing it was his way of preparing.

“Ready,” he said.

*Click.*

I pressed my thumb down, as if triggering a detonator.

*BOOOOM!*

A cataclysmic tremor erupted. A deafening explosion roared.

The demolition tore through the hotel’s structure. An act of violence born of my magic.

*Crshshshsh—*

Debris rained from the ceiling. Amid the collapsing structure, I looked at Kang Hyun.

He was unfazed. No fear, no panic, no joy, not even a hint of agitation. His eyes were calm as a lake.

Clear, yet with depths unseen.

My reflection shimmered in Kang Hyun’s pupils. He was watching me.

Was he, too, trying to discern my essence?

At some point, we’d begun sizing each other up. Measuring. Gauging.

We were still unknowns to each other, but I was certain.

One day, we’d understand.

You’d know me.

I’d know you.

That’s why…

The one who rushes loses.

*CRRRRACK!*

The floor gave way. The hotel, its balance shattered, collapsed like a house of matchsticks.

Darkness swallowed everything.

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!

•