Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 81 (Part 2): New Friends (1)

Seol Ha-woon arrives at Kim Se-jin’s pawnshop.

Several sorcerers had visited before, only to leave without even knowing what the quiz was.

– Seol Ha-woon came here too, huh?

– Among sorcerer instructors, Kim Se-jin’s got the biggest name value, right?

– Yup, Kim Se-jin’s like the gatekeeper of sorcerers. Honestly, I don’t get why he’s not an official mentor. Yu-yul’s a total nobody.

─Old Man: “…Hm?”

An elderly man at the counter looks at Seol Ha-woon with recognition.

Seol Ha-woon gazes at him steadily.

– They don’t even tell you what the quiz is here, do they?

– Bet it’s related to the pawnshop’s items.

– Think Seol Ha-woon will figure it out?

– Scenes with “MyWordIsAbsolute” are just always fun. That guy’s just *fun*.

Then, Seol Ha-woon speaks to the old man.

─Seol Ha-woon: “By any chance… are you sorcerer Kim Se-jin?”

The old man’s movements freeze. He tilts his head silently.

– What’s he saying now?

– Did he just get dementia or something?

– Don’t doubt MyWordIsAbsolute

*Ahem.* With a clearing of the throat, the old man’s face melts away. In an instant, the elderly man transforms into Kim Se-jin.

Polymorph.

─Kim Se-jin: “Your senses are quite sharp. That was my little quiz. Nine people came before you and all left without a clue.”

Kim Se-jin smiles at Seol Ha-woon.

– ?? Lol what

– ????

– What the heck lol

– Hahaha

– Hahahaha, everything he says is just *Right*

– Is this guy blessed by the gods or what?

“Heh.”

Ishia shrugs proudly. The rest of the Jesuldan probably feel the same.

Oh, Jesuldan is a recently coined term for Seol Ha-woon’s fandom. Short for “Always-Right, Seol Ha-woon” or “My Words Are Absolute Seol Ha-woon.” It’s not the most elegant term, thrown together for search convenience, so it’s not exactly to her liking.

Anyway.

Kim Se-jin’s pawnshop. Seol Ha-woon, the only one to crack the quiz, makes a request to Kim Se-jin.

─Seol Ha-woon: “I want to grow as a sorcerer.”

─Kim Se-jin: “Aren’t you already growing well enough, Ha-woon?”

─Seol Ha-woon: “I understand the basics of spellcraft. However, I believe there’s more to the subtleties of being a sorcerer.”

Kim Se-jin looks at him, then stands up.

─Kim Se-jin: “Hmm… Come along, then.”

The two reunite for the first time since the final qualifiers. SilTalk is already buzzing with excitement.

– Didn’t Kim Se-jin rate Seol Ha-woon really highly?

– Yup, Kim Se-jin’s the one who gave him the “Turtle Genius” nickname.

– Not Turtle Genius, Slow Genius.

– Kim Se-jin basically built half of Seol Ha-woon’s narrative. The whole “genius” image? That’s all him.

─Kim Se-jin: “Your left leg is too much of a penalty for a sorcerer. Mobility on the battlefield is practically nonexistent. You’d want a way to compensate for your mobility as much as possible, right?”

─Seol Ha-woon: “Yes.”

Kim Se-jin positions Seol Ha-woon in what looks like a training ground.

─Kim Se-jin: “In that case… try casting a spell at me.”

*Bang bang bang bang bang!* Seol Ha-woon unleashes a barrage of mana bullets.

Nothing happens. The bullets vanish just before reaching Kim Se-jin.

─Kim Se-jin: “More. Give it everything you’ve got. Use every method you’d employ to harm someone.”

This time, Seol Ha-woon fires like a machine gun, but the bullets disappear into thin air.

─Seol Ha-woon: “Did you dispel them?”

─Kim Se-jin: “Dispel isn’t quite the right word. The moment you fired, my mana—linked to my nervous system—reacted first. It reflexively perceived the threat and consumed your spell.”

Kim Se-jin raises the back of his hand. A faint layer of mana shimmers above it.

“Wow.”

It’s fascinating.

─Kim Se-jin: “Think of mana as cells. I’ve overlapped them externally like this and linked them to my nervous system. In simple terms, it’s about connecting mana to the brain and spinal cord.”

The lecture itself is heavily edited. Probably because it’s top-secret stuff.

A few SilTalk chats catch Ishia’s eye.

– If that’s what I think it is, that’s a seriously dangerous technique.

– What’s Kim Se-jin doing? Why teach him that? Or is it just something similar?

Comments from people who seem to be sorcerers. They call it a dangerous technique. But for Ishia, for the Jesuldan, there’s a belief that Seol Ha-woon can handle it because he’s a genius.

Meanwhile, the perspective shifts to other explorers. When it returns to Seol Ha-woon, he’s lying on the ground, drenched in sweat and blood.

─Seol Ha-woon: “Haa… Haa…”

Panting heavily, Seol Ha-woon lies there as Kim Se-jin looks at him intently and asks:

─Kim Se-jin: “Why do you want to grow as a sorcerer?”

Seol Ha-woon, soaked in sweat, pauses to think, then answers in a low, subdued voice.

─Seol Ha-woon: “…To survive.”

─Kim Se-jin: “But you’re alive, aren’t you?”

─Seol Ha-woon: “No.”

His voice trembles faintly, like an exhausted sigh.

─Seol Ha-woon: “I’m dead.”

The words, ‘I am dead’.

─Seol Ha-woon: “I was a soldier. For a long time. Maybe I still delude myself into thinking I am.”

For the first time, Seol Ha-woon reveals his inner thoughts.

Ishia mulls over his words. She nods instinctively.

This line might be the best way to describe him.

– He’s got a point.

– Come to think of it, Seol Ha-woon’s always been labyrinth-first. Didn’t care if people criticized him, just focused on clearing the labyrinth.

– For real, Seol Ha-woon always had this heavy vibe…

– They say he was deployed to actual battlefields. No way he doesn’t have PTSD.

– Heard he was in a coma and fully paralyzed. His recovery alone was a miracle.

Next comes Kim Se-jin’s interview segment.

──”Yes, Seol Ha-woon is a complex person.”

Kim Se-jin’s tone is soft and steady. His youthful face makes him look almost younger than Seol Ha-woon.

──”An elite soldier thrown into a battlefield of life and death. But not anymore. The body that once leaped over walls, rolled between barriers, the muscles that seemed capable of stopping bullets—they’re gone now.”

A brutally cold reality. An unavoidable truth.

What despair must he have felt waking from a coma?

How terrifying must it have been to see his emaciated body, his unmoving limbs?

──”Instead, he found a new talent. When one path breaks, does another open? He fully absorbed the techniques I taught him. Techniques even ten-year veteran sorcerers struggle with.”

Kim Se-jin gives a faint smile, shaking his head in awe.

Then, the PD asks:

──”In your view, Ranker Kim Se-jin, how talented is Explorer Seol Ha-woon as a sorcerer?”

Kim Se-jin answers without hesitation.

──”Seol Ha-woon has the highest potential of any sorcerer I’ve ever seen.”

A glowing praise from a renowned high-ranker for a sorcerer with less than a year of experience.

──”I’m serious. This isn’t flattery or lip service. He has everything. Everything a sorcerer needs…”

He flashes a relieved smile, his brown curls bouncing like a puppy’s.

– Holy… If Kim Se-jin’s saying that;;

– How big of a deal is Kim Se-jin, anyway?

– He’s not an attention-seeker, so some don’t know, but he’s on par with Yoo Ji-in.

– The highest potential among sorcerers? Doesn’t that mean he could become a mage?

– Potential’s one thing, but plenty of people with potential crash and burn. That’s just how the sorcerer world works.

– Even the sorcerer community’s saying if Seol Ha-woon’s not even a first-year and this is real, he’s just an absurd genius…

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!

•