Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 74 (Part 2): Die With a Smile (4)

– Holy shit, how much stronger is ‘Always-Right’ going to get?
– Shotgun’s badass lolol.
– Seol Ha-woon totally fell on purpose, didn’t he? lol

In any case, Seol Ha-woon passed out. Seo Ji-woo and Lee Jun-ho carried him back to the cabin.

A brief moment to catch a breath, but—

─ Lim Hae-jun: “Zzz… Zzz…”

Lim Hae-jun’s sleeping figure appeared again for another five seconds.

– Lim Hae-jun, lmao, what’s with this guy?!
– Hae-jun’s killing me hahaha!
– But seriously, if Seo Ji-woo wasn’t there, what would’ve happened to Seol Ha-woon?
– If Seo Ji-woo wasn’t there, they wouldn’t have even run into those labyrinth dwellers, right?
– Lee Jun-ho fought like a beast.
– Jun-ho basically carried three people, drumming and dancing solo.
– What?? Seol Ha-woon took down four!
– Shotgun’s so cool man. Does he just shoot everything with mana?

—

Inside Seol Ha-woon’s cabin.

Lee Jun-ho and Seo Ji-woo tended to him together. The cause of his collapse was mana overuse. They administered emergency treatment, pressing on his chest, and Seol Ha-woon gradually stabilized.

─ Lee Jun-ho: “…I’m really leaving now.”
─ Seo Ji-woo: “Ugh, this bastard’s so damn stubborn…”

Despite Seo Ji-woo’s protests, Lee Jun-ho insisted on leaving the cabin. She handed him a large chunk of deer meat as a parting gift.

─ Seo Ji-woo: “I didn’t hunt it myself, but I bet *he* would’ve given it to you too. .”
─ Lee Jun-ho: “…Thanks.”

*Whoosh!* Lee Jun-ho disappeared into the blizzard, and the screen faded to black.

[ 100 Hours ]

Subtitles filled the screen. 100 hours remaining.

In the increasingly frigid snowfield, various explorers continued their struggle to survive.

But Ishia’s focus remained solely on Seol Ha-woon’s party.

─ Seo Ji-woo: “It’s freezing out there. Insane! Feels way colder than yesterday.”
─ Seol Ha-woon: “It’ll probably keep getting colder.”
─ Seo Ji-woo: “So, what do we do now?”
─ Seol Ha-woon: “…There’s not much we can do from now on. Here, stick these on the walls.”

Sensing the ominous chill, Seol Ha-woon began fortifying the cabin, attaching animal hides to the walls.

─ Lim Hae-jun: “Zzz… Zzz…”

Lim Hae-jun, still sleeping underground, was like a hibernating squirrel, the laughingstock of SilTalk. Every time he appeared, the comments were flooded with *lololol*.

─ Kang Hyun: “We need to preserve body heat.”

Kang Hyun gathered animal hides to create a tent inside his cave.

[ 80 Hours ]

With less than three days left, the blizzard became relentless, like a disaster movie. The temperature plummeted endlessly.

─ Lim Hae-jun: “Zzz… Zzz…”

Lim Hae-jun slept underground, Ryu Yeon-hwa endured in a volcanic hot spring, and Kang Hyun burned animal fat in his cave.

*Tick, tick.* The sound of a second hand accompanied a montage of scenes.

[ 20 Hours ]

Finally, less than a day remained.

─ Lee Jun-ho: “…I’m gonna freeze to death like this.”

Lee Jun-ho sat hunched in an empty, ruined shelter, trying to spark a fire with his sword, but even that failed. His food and firewood were long gone, and his padded jacket was frozen, encrusted with ice crystals.

– Lol, this idiot should’ve stayed with them instead of acting tough.
– He didn’t just “stay,” he left ‘cause he read the vibe.
– The guy above’s pissing me off.
– Jun-ho’s breaking my heart…
– If Jun-ho gets eliminated, I’m done;; he’s a top contender.
– Lmao, Jun-ho’s out!!
– Bet he’s gonna lose to Kang Hyun soon lolol.
– Look at these creepy Kang Hyun stans;; they were all “let’s share 1st and 2nd” before showing their true colors.

SilTalk was a mess. For context, “Kang-tong” is a derogatory nickname for Kang Hyun, coined for his occasional dimwitted moments. Variations include “Dumb-Kang-tong,” “Idiot-Kang-tong,” and so on. “Kill-Jun-ho” is Lee Jun-ho’s derogatory nickname, tied to his past of killing a burglar who broke into his home at age 13.

Fans of the top contenders have their struggles. For Ishia, having Seol Ha-woon as her main was a small relief.

─ Lee Jun-ho: “Ha…”

Lee Jun-ho tousled his hair, deep in thought, before standing up. He left the desolate shelter, trudging through the blizzard until he reached somewhere familiar.

It was the cabin.

The only sanctuary Lee Jun-ho knew.

*Knock, knock.*

He tapped on the door, but it didn’t open. He hesitated, about to knock again, then clenched his teeth in silence.

Was it pride holding him back? He turned to brave the icy blizzard once more, but…

A warm light, a flicker of heat, shone on his back.

The cabin door opened.

Lee Jun-ho turned to look.

─ Seol Ha-woon: “Come in.”

Seol Ha-woon. He gestured inside with a nod. Lee Jun-ho’s eyes wavered.

─ Lee Jun-ho: “……”

With a faint sigh, Lee Jun-ho stepped inside.

SilTalk was mostly positive, though some—likely fans of other top contenders—grumbled about why Seol Ha-woon helped him.

Seol Ha-woon offered Lee Jun-ho food, and Lee Jun-ho warmed his near-frozen body by the fireplace.

─ Lee Jun-ho: “Thanks.”

Seol Ha-woon merely shrugged in response.

Time passed.

[ 12 Hours ]

─ Lim Hae-jun: *Zzz… Zzz…*

It’s Lim Hae-jun.

This guy’s *always* sleeping.

[ 6 Hours ]

*Whooooosh──!*

A roaring wind accompanied the subtitles. Time was running out.

But the blizzard grew fiercer. The camera showed nearly a third of the surviving explorers failing at the last moment.

─ Seo Ji-woo: “What now? We’re out of firewood.”
─ Seol Ha-woon: “Everyone, dismantle all the furniture.”

Seol Ha-woon’s party faced a crisis. They smashed every piece of furniture in the cabin, feeding it into the fire to keep the fireplace going until the blizzard subsided.

*CRASH────!*

Like a scene from a disaster movie, the blizzard tore through the space. The deafening sound filled the room, making Ishia instinctively pull on her jacket.

─ Seol Ha-woon: “Get closer to the fire. Don’t lose body heat.”
─ Kang Hyun: “…Haa.”
─ Lim Hae-jun: “Zzz… Zzz… Urgh… Zzz…”
─ Yoon Hwa-rim: “I’m losing it. I just want to cry…”

Every surviving explorer fought desperately to preserve their body heat. At the end of their fierce struggle…

[ 15 Minutes ]

Fifteen minutes remained.

The blizzard began to subside. The ear-splitting roar faded completely.

─ Seo Ji-woo: “…Is it over? Did we make it?”
─ Lee Jun-ho: “Hey. Don’t jinx it.”

With Seo Ji-woo’s flag-like comment, the cabin team opened the door first.

Sunlight poured in. A warm breeze, soft as a gentle touch, enveloped them, and the landscape sparkled in pristine white.

“Wow…”

Ishia gasped in awe.

─ Seo Ji-woo: “Hey! The sun’s up~ It’s up~!”

Seo Ji-woo bounced around in the warm snowfield. For a moment, the camera caught Seol Ha-woon, watching her with a wistful gaze.

[ 0 Minutes ]

─ Seo Ji-woo: “It’s over!”

The survival labyrinth’s timer ran out. Seo Ji-woo approached Seol Ha-woon, holding out her hand for a high-five.

The camera zoomed in on Seol Ha-woon’s face, filling the screen like a movie star. His skin was flawless, not a blemish or wrinkle in sight. *What skincare does he use? Is he getting dermatology treatments?* His faint, enigmatic smile as he looked at Seo Ji-woo sparked curiosity. He extended something toward her.

Scissors.

As in, rock-paper-scissors.

─ Seo Ji-woo: “What, you don’t know what a high-five is?”

Seo Ji-woo let out a wry laugh, marking the end of their party’s segment. The scene shifted to Kang Hyun, Lim Hae-jun, Ryu Yeon-hwa, and other survivors, all looking up at the clear sky with smiles.

“…What a great ending.”

This is *Labyrinth Exploration*. This is what it’s all about.

As Ishia savored the lingering emotions, Seol Ha-woon appeared again—this time in an interview room.

“Whoa, there’s more?”

The writer asked him:

─ Writer: “You happened to find Seo Ji-woo-ssi right before her elimination. Was there a reason you went out of your way to save her?”

Seol Ha-woon answered:

─ Seol Ha-woon: “A reason… for saving her?”
─ Writer: “Yes. This is still a competition, right? Having a strong competitor fail would’ve been more beneficial for you. And yet, not only did you save her, but you even formed a team together.”
─ Seol Ha-woon: “…I don’t really know.”

His reason was simply “I don’t know.” His expression and voice carried a curious shyness.

The writer changed the question.

─ Writer: “Hmm~ After the blizzard cleared, we saw you teasing Seo Ji-woo. Did you do that because you’d grown close?”
─ Seol Ha-woon: “…Yeah. A little.”

At that moment, Seol Ha-woon smiled brightly. For the first time, his usual weary, sharp demeanor vanished, replaced by the gentle charm of a boy.

“…Oh my god.”

Ishia hurriedly checked SilTalk. As expected, it was chaos.

The interview quickly shifted to Kang Hyun, but the flood of comments was all about Seol Ha-woon…

[T/N: Curious about the clever editing tricks behind that interview? Flip back to Chapter 36 (Part 1) to see the cunning process in action!]

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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