Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 79 (Part 2): A Bit of Fresh Air (4)

PD Kim A-rang turned off all the cameras and glared at me.

“…Ha-woon-ssi.”

“Yes.”

“You *really* not doing this? It’s Zephyrell.”

“Yes.”

“Because of Mentor Yu-yul? *Zephyrell*?”

“Yes.”

*You wouldn’t get it, but I’ve got plenty to gain from Yu-yul one way or another.*

“To be blunt, Mentor Yu-yul genuinely doesn’t care about you, Ha-woon-ssi.”

Of course she doesn’t.

I feel the same. I have zero desire to serve Yu-yul as a mentor. Just like she’s deceiving everyone, I’m trying to deceive her.

“You’re giving up a winning lottery ticket for a scratch-off.”

I looked at Kim A-rang silently.

“…Fine. Do what you want. That’s your narrative, I guess.”

PD Kim A-rang waved her hand, clearly annoyed.

“Filming’s done. Go.”

“Yes.”

I left Room 17.

*Thud, thud.* I tapped my cane as I headed down, but Kim Jung-wook was still by the window. The breeze flowing through the open window tousled his slicked-back hair.

“Sorcerer Ha-woon. Come here.”

He called me over, staring at the distant sky.

I stood beside him.

“Look there. The center of the sky.”

I followed where his finger pointed. ‘Something’ was coalescing.

Invisible wind formed a ring along a path of mana.

“Now.”

*Click.* He snapped his tongue. The ring dispersed, unleashing a gust in all directions.

A high-level magic that seized the surroundings in an instant.

“Think about it. What if your enchanted bullets merged with that wind?”

I imagined it for a moment. Bullets spreading along the wind’s grain. Their speed incalculable, their trajectory erratic. An unavoidable, mass-destructive magic.

“It’d just kill more people.”

Kim Jung-wook paused. He turned his eyes to me.

“You were a soldier. Still thinking like that, huh?”

“…It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“Come on. You could use it to wipe out monsters too.”

I looked at Kim Jung-wook. His face had softened, almost gentle.

“Seol Ha-woon. I get what you’re thinking. But listen. Without bullets, guns, or weapons, this society—this world—wouldn’t hold together.”

*Click.* He snapped his tongue again. It seemed like both a sorcerer’s self-suggestion and a habit.

“It’s the inevitable balance of power. How could ordinary people stand against mana-wielding superhumans? If thousands, tens of thousands of superhumans emerged, and the only way to stop them was each other, why would they follow the law? The whole world would turn into a mercenary free-for-all.”

Kim Jung-wook continued.

“If there’s anything to blame, it’s human nature. The desire to possess. To take what’s others’, protect what’s yours, and ultimately put others beneath you… that beastly instinct.”

His voice sounded like a sigh.

“Hey, kid.”

Turning to me, Kim Jung-wook smiled. His eyes curved like buttered shrimp.

“So, your mistake is…”

He let the words linger.

“…small.”

Small.

That word stirred something in me.

“If I said it’s nothing, you wouldn’t believe me. Just like you wouldn’t admit to the people you’ve killed with your own hands.”

Kim Jung-wook leaned against the windowsill.

Looking at him now, his sturdy build and large, rough hands seemed too suspicious for just a sorcerer.

“But we’ve got to move forward somehow. PTSD isn’t just panic attacks, anxiety, or depression. Just staying stuck in place is PTSD too. The past holds us back.”

His words might be right.

I changed careers and grew as a sorcerer.

But that’s all it amounts to.

Seol Ha-woon, the person, is still sitting in the same spot.

“But here’s the thing. Get past it, and there’s PTG—Post-Traumatic Growth. Fighting the you inside you to find the real you.”

In that moment, I was certain.

“…Were you a soldier?”

Kim Jung-wook burst into hearty laughter. His large features made it a bit greasy, but it felt just as bold.

“You’re only figuring that out now? You should’ve thought harder about why I was the one sent to recruit you.”

He pulled out another card. This time, it wasn’t the school’s—it was his personal one.

“Anytime. We’re open. Keep at it.”

He placed the card in my palm, brushed past me, and even waved dramatically over his shoulder.

I looked at the card.

—

[Kim Jung-wook

Current: Head of Zephyrell School Korea Branch, High-Ranker Sorcerer*

Former: 707th Special Mission Unit – Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Expert]

—

“…707.”

A laugh slipped out before I knew it.

The 707th and UDT are rivals, both in the media and within the military.

“Interesting.”

The magic’s world is harsh and cold. A school that was Tier 1 ten years ago might suddenly collapse, while an unknown one could rise to the mainstream overnight.

In that turbulent world, I could see how Zephyrell maintained its Tier 1 status for three generations.

They have an eye for people. They know how to inspire and place them where they belong.

That alone keeps a group enduring.

* * *

“Ha… Goddamn. Unbelievable.”

Up on the rooftop, Kim A-rang lit a cigarette. She was honestly pissed. Seol Ha-woon had kicked away the best narrative.

Starting at rank 96 and joining the world’s Tier 1 Zephyrell School?

That’s 9 o’clock news material.

Zephyrell’s headquarters is in New York. The center of the world—well, the capital’s Washington, but still.

A Tier 1 school based in a megacity like New York is rare, to say the least.

“…Ugh.”

Nothing to be done.

You can manipulate edits, but not people. It was Yoon Sa-hyeok’s philosophy, one Kim A-rang followed strictly.

If there’s no script, you take responsibility for whatever happens.

“Didn’t go well, huh?”

Someone approached from behind. Yoon Sa-hyeok.

“…PD-nim. How’d you know?”

“Know what?”

“That Seol Ha-woon would reject Zephyrell.”

“Didn’t.”

Yoon Sa-hyeok offered her a mixed coffee. Kim A-rang stubbed out her cigarette. Taking the paper cup, she tucked a new cigarette between her lips.

“Still, Seol Ha-woon’s the kind of guy you’d like, Yoon PD-nim.”

“Guess so. Choosing a scratch-off over a winning lottery ticket.”

Yoon Sa-hyeok chuckled. Kim A-rang’s lips twisted.

“You got a problem with Seol Ha-woon?”

“…No.”

Seol Ha-woon. He’s shown far more than she ever expected.

“Turning down Zephyrell? A nobody like me couldn’t do that. That place was my dream back in the day.”

Once an aspiring sorcerer, Kim A-rang flopped onto the railing like wet laundry, smoking.

“That’s why I’m even more… convinced.”

She let out a sigh-like laugh.

“Seol Ha-woon is all or nothing.”

“All or nothing?”

“Yeah. Just a gut feeling.”

*Pufff…* She exhaled smoke, muttering.

“He’ll either die young or become a mage. One or the other.”

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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