Fall (4)

Whoosh...

A sandstorm sweeps over, blanketing the world. It is hard to even keep my eyes open, and gritty dust forces its way into my mouth.

It is a desert of scorching heat, hot enough to melt skin. In that place, my heart beats ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like crazy. To save someone. Placing my hand on someone's chest, trying to staunch the gushing wound.

"Ha-woon..."

The guy coughing up blood calls my name. His voice is so choked with blood it sounds as if he is spitting out his very life.

"I'm... sorry."

He looks at me, gripping my hand, and tells me he is sorry.

That word irritates me. If you're sorry, then live. Just survive. I want to say that, but the words won't form on my lips.

"You know... my sister..."

Seo Ji-hyuk said.

Drip, drip. With breaths that signal his life is slipping away.

"My sister..."

Even as he was dying, Seo Ji-hyuk worried about someone else. He was so frustratingly selfless.

"My sister... my poor..."

At the moment of death, in that split second his breath cut off, what was he thinking?

What was in his heart when he died talking about his sister?

What kind of dream did he have?

"...!"

I opened my eyes. I hurriedly sat up. Breathing heavily, I clutched my chest. My entire body was trembling.

"I told you. It would hurt."

A voice drifted in from the side. I looked over. Mentor Yu Yul was there.

"Even more than your body."

She looked at me and continued.

"Your mind."

My eyes were damp. Only then did I realize tears had welled up. I wiped them away with my sleeve.

"It's nothing. Is this... the infirmary?"

Yu Yul crossed her arms in silence. One corner of her mouth quirked up. It was something resembling a smile.

Just then, the door to the infirmary opened. Another person walked in.

It was Yu Ji-in.

Click-clack. Walking in as if to show off her legs, which were easily three times longer than Yu Yul's, she looked back and forth between Yu Yul and me.

"Mentor Yu Yul, please refrain from overly sadistic lessons in the future."

"I've never been sadistic."

"I heard there was blood and screaming everywhere?"

"That was just him."

Yu Ji-in pursed her lips as she faced Yu Yul. She looked ready to spit out a curse at any moment.

Then she turned her gaze to me.

"Mr. Seol Ha-woon. Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Was the lesson too sadistic?"

"No, it wasn't. I just... pushed myself too hard."

A vein popped on Yu Ji-in's temple like a noodle. Apparently, that wasn't the answer she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted. She glared at me and clicked her tongue.

"Fine. Have it your way, then."

She spun around and stormed out. It seemed she was warming up to unleash her real personality soon.

"Seol Ha-woon."

Yu Yul called my name.

"Yes?"

"Let me ask you one thing."

She crossed her legs. This time, she succeeded perfectly.

"What on earth were you imagining? A refinement as violent as yours is rare."

"Uh... well..."

I scratched the back of my neck.

"It's a bit embarrassing to say."

Yu Yul looked at me with a slightly expectant face.

"Do you happen to know what a kidney stone is?"

"...What?"

The still cuts were uploaded to Ionet. Lee Si-ah immediately accessed the site.

"Whoa."

Quite a few photos had been released. There had to be at least thirty.

Lee Si-ah calmed her racing heart as she scrolled down. She examined them one by one, as if appraising treasures.

Photos of the scene as they conquered the labyrinth. Seeing a glimpse of cargo, it must be a Cargo Labyrinth!

The faces of the explorers captured in the frame were Lee Jun-ho, Ryu Yeon-hwa, Seo Ji-woo, Kate, Kang Hyun... and Seol Ha-woon.

He was the explorer Lee Si-ah had been unconsciously looking for.

In a forest, there was a scene where Seol Ha-woon was handing an arrow to Im Hae-jun, but for some reason, it looked incredibly solemn. Why would a spellcaster hand an arrow to an archer?

Anyway, Lee Si-ah looked at the very next photo.

"..."

Her breath hitched.

Kang Hyun and Seol Ha-woon were shaking hands while facing each other, looking like a scene from a movie. Their faces were smudged with mud, sweat, and fallen leaves.

Was it right after they successfully cleared the labyrinth? Or was it in the middle of it?

Whichever it was, this was a massive hit.

She immediately logged onto the community. She copied the photos and posted them right away.

Nine carefully selected photos. Among them, she put the one of Seol Ha-woon and Kang Hyun as the very first picture.

When there are multiple photos, many people just look at the first one, skim through, and leave a comment.

The reactions were heartwarming. The speed at which comments were being posted was also unusual. Lee Si-ah felt a thrill run through her entire body.

She wanted to see it so badly she could hardly stand it. The first broadcast, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4. And...

"Seol Ha-woon."

So far, nothing was known about Seol Ha-woon. He didn't seem to have any personal social media accounts like Instagram either.

That made her even more curious.

What kind of person he was.

How he would be portrayed.

Ionet's editing was famous for destroying people. They were the ones who first started splicing reactions and distorting interviews under the guise of "evil editing," after all.

Lee Si-ah rested her chin on her hand, staring at him on the screen.

Please, Seol Ha-woon, survive their labyrinth-like hands.

The next morning, at dawn.

Beep! Beep! Beep! A noisy alarm woke me up.

"Ah, damn it, what...?"

When I opened my eyes, the status window of MoMo filled my vision.

"Oh! Shit! What!"

I threw off my blanket and sat up.

Finally, a level up. For me, even-numbered level ups are incredibly important.

What is the gift?!

"...Ah."

Suddenly, I felt a bit complicated.

Reinforced Compressed Rimless Glasses.

Reinforced Compressed Rimless Glasses?

What is this?

Unique. It was actually an incredibly good item, especially since it came with an "item trait."

"What kind of item is this?"

But it was an item I had never seen before. Nervous System Amplification... did it mean the five senses? For now, I tossed it into my inventory.

Next, I checked the trait I obtained from the refinement.

Karma is evil... it probably refers to bad guys like villains. Beating them up is my innate attribute?

Fascinating.

"Mana grade is C."

It rose from B- to exactly C.

However, it shouldn't be compared to other ordinary C-ranks. The rank simply limits "the ability to utilize mana."

This wasn't conceit or arrogance. The quality of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my mana itself, my talent stat, was a whopping 11.8. It meant I had already surpassed the threshold of a genius.

Even if we used the same spell, I would be far superior to other C-rank spellcasters.

"Well..."

That was that.

Why did I suddenly level up out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of nowhere?

I opened the internet community on my smartphone.

"Ah, the views exploded."

I could tell just from the front page of almost any community.

On the list of popular posts, the views on the still cuts were a whopping 238,150.

The situation was similar on other communities and social media.

#NANStillCuts

#LabyrinthExplorationSeason3

#MiTamNaN

#KangHyun

#LeeJunHo

#SeoJiWoo

#MiTamNaNPremiereDate

#RyuYeonHwa

#WhoIsTheGuyNextToKangHyun

"What's 'WhoIsTheGuyNextToKangHyun'?"

I scrolled through the photos filling my social media feed. Among them, the cut that received particularly high interest and retweets was the photo of Kang Hyun and me shaking hands.

"...Oh."

I unconsciously pursed my lips.

The background was a lush forest with dense trees, we were perfectly eye-to-eye, and the composition was flawless, with the golden light of dawn washing over us.

Wait a minute.

Kang Hyun is obviously handsome, but when did I start looking this good?

Ahem.

I cleared my throat for no reason and stood in front of the bathroom mirror.

My skin was definitely smooth. It was clean and pale. It was thanks to diligently applying the skincare set every morning and evening. On top of that, the increase from the camera massage effect was 0.2.

Thanks to that, my appearance stat was nearly approaching 8.

It was a decent level. An 8 is objectively handsome, and a 9 is enough to turn heads on the street.

"I guess you really need to stand next to someone famous."

Kang Hyun was an enigmatic guy, but just being next to him brought some crumbs my way.

"Oh, they caught this too?"

The cut of me handing the spell-infused arrow I personally enchanted to Im Hae-jun. Our expressions were so unnecessarily serious it looked like we were off to save the world.

"Ah, right."

I checked my vote count.

Almost 10,000 votes had gone up at once.

"Nice."

Just as I was about to start my daily routine in a good mood...

A group message arrived.

It was about time to enter the labyrinth. After tidying up my bedding, I put on my uniform.

Under the soft lighting, the marble floor sparkled brilliantly. Sunlight filtered gently through the massive glass walls. A chandelier decorated the center of the ceiling, and beneath it, rows of shops were filled with displays of luxury brands.

It was a set that looked as if an entire department store had been moved there.

"Hello, everyone~"

The main MC, Yu Ji-in, made her entrance. In keeping with the department store concept, she was decked out in luxury brands from head to toe.

She wore a suit jacket that easily looked like it cost tens of thousands of dollars, styled in a way that brought to mind an equestrian rider.

"As you can see, we are at a department store today. This task is in collaboration with BraveWorld."

In other words, it was product placement. The signs inside were probably all PPL too. Labyrinth Exploration NaN was a brand exposed to the entire world, after all.

The actual set was a carbon copy of a real department store.

"What you need to do here is simple. It's preparing for a trip. Simply put, shopping."

Shopping. The contestants' eyes went wide.

There is no human who doesn't like the act of buying things. The only reason humans are obsessed with income is to consume.

And what if that consumption didn't cost their own money? It would be the icing on the cake.

"Of course, you don't have any money on you. Your currency will be your vote count."

Vote count.

Yu Ji-in pointed to a place labeled "AMOS WAY Aviation Exchange." AMOS WAY was, of course, PPL. It was a highly famous airline operated by BraveWorld.

"Exchange your votes for coins at the 'AMOS WAY Exchange,' which always boasts the best service and safety. They will exchange 1 vote for 1 coin."

The contestants tapped their wrists.

Simply put, it meant I had 20,000 coins.

"I won't say much else. Everyone, enjoy shopping to your heart's content for the next three hours~"

Yu Ji-in spun around.

"...Ah, right."

Then, showing only her profile, she let out a meaningful smile.

"Please look forward to a special trip after shopping. Hints about the destination will be scattered all over this department store."

A special trip.

I already knew exactly what that was.