Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Language of Alchemy
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Upper floor of the Mercenary Guild.
Ian visited an area no one could enter without a special reason.
It had been quite some time since the last invasion—even for him, this was his first visit to this floor.
Normally, administrative tasks were handled on the lower floors, so unless there was a compelling reason, Ian had no need to climb this high.
In this city, a "compelling reason" meant a monster invasion or the labyrinth.
And today's business involved both.
Thanks to that, Ian had to personally ascend to the vice-guild master's office and submit his report.
"First, this is the log you mentioned last time."
"You brought it already?"
Ian handed the exploration record from this labyrinth expedition to Vice-Guild Master Kael.
Kael gave the document a quick once-over.
There was no need to read every page—the first one neatly summarized all the key results.
Following that were map copies, lists of encountered monsters, and details on each room confirmed in the labyrinth.
It was a simple write-up modeled after the format they'd used for the labyrinth clear log and wiki, and it clearly left quite an impression.
Kael carefully set Ian's report down on the desk.
It was a truly exploration record.
To put it kindly, it could be called a report—an exploration log was really just a mercenary's journal.
They were usually packed with the ramblings of half-mad mercenaries straight out of the labyrinth.
Omitting prior context or skipping urgent entries was commonplace. Forgetting to write for days on end or having inconsistencies? That was par for the course.
Without guild staff spending weeks deciphering and organizing them, it was often impossible to make sense of the contents.
Of course, you couldn't force mercenaries to learn proper record-keeping or shove literate types into the labyrinth against their will.
In that light, a report penned by someone capable of accurate logging while actually inside the labyrinth was an artifact worthy of the name—right up there with relics unearthed from the depths.
"Buy it for three times... no, five times the price. Set the external viewing fee to five times as well."
"That works for me."
Ian nodded and sold the report.
The labyrinth expedition hadn't been a guild commission—it was the personal venture of his mercenary corps.
They weren't obligated to share intel if they didn't want to.
In exchange, the guild bought up explorers' journals for cash, just like this.
All to gather as much labyrinth data as possible.
Combining the banshee bounty with the payout from the log covered the entire expedition cost with plenty to spare.
Since most materials from the labyrinth were slated for in-house use rather than sale, it was good news for Ian.
"By the way... Ah, you're here."
The labyrinth log discussion had just wrapped up when a knock echoed from outside.
"It's Chris."
"Come in."
The man who entered was a familiar face to Ian.
Ian had mentioned the report concerned the labyrinth, so Kael had summoned Chris separately.
With Chris's arrival, Kael pushed Ian's report aside and spoke.
There was no need to drag someone up to the vice-guild master's office for a single exploration log.
This next part was the real meat of it.
A secret report requiring direct delivery to the vice-guild master himself. Had it been anyone but Ian, it likely never would have reached Kael's ears.
"Now, speak. What's this report that needs to be filed confidentially?"
"Do you recognize this seal?"
Ian pulled out a sheet of paper—the sketch he'd made during the expedition—and offered it.
Chris took it instead and examined the contents.
A chaotic overlay of countless shapes, an indecipherable pattern.
Chris recognized it on sight.
"The mural in the Source Room."
The labyrinth's final chamber, where the boss and source always resided. A mural invariably painted there.
Any explorer worth their salt had seen it at least once.
Naturally, efforts to investigate the eerie artwork dated back ages.
But with no one ever uncovering anything substantial, it had become a dead topic. Only fresh-faced newbies showed interest these days.
"...But what did you just call it?"
Chris realized Ian had referred to it by an odd name moments ago.
"A seal?"
"The seal is broken. With this monster wave, the creature inside will be unleashed."
Chris and Kael's eyes met.
"Got evidence for this?"
Chris mulled it over briefly before responding.
"Word among explorers lately mentioned the mural looking a bit different. Stories of strange lights flickering from it now and then."
The seal talk suddenly made sense of the "changes"—it hadn't altered; it was damaged.
Ian handed Kael another single-page report.
The previous one had just been the exploration log for guild sale.
This was the true critical intel, to be reported confidentially.
It contained a concise summary of the deep-layer monster slated for release, as compiled by Ian.
"......"
Kael silently reread the monster's details several times over.
Something like this attacking the city.
It felt deliberately engineered to drive him insane.
Chris, peering over from the side, grimaced too.
After a long stare, Kael's gaze shifted to Ian.
"This means I won't be sleeping tonight—or any night soon."
If overwork claimed him suddenly, at least half the blame would lie with Ian.
Kael resolved to add Ian's name to the will tucked in his drawer, the one he updated regularly.
He'd dump that headache shop—plagued by deadbeat debtors—onto Ian for petty revenge.
"Evidence for this intel you uncovered...?"
"None."
"Basis for claiming your proposed countermeasures will actually work?"
"Nope."
I'd pegged him as a reliable, diligent mercenary.
Now the mask was slipping.
All labyrinth divers were like this eventually.
Kael pressed a hand to his head as the headache intensified.
Chris turned to Ian.
"Met the [Mouth of Truth]? Or the [Mirror Room]? Heads-up: in that room, only one mirror shows the real deal."
"......"
"Can't disclose the source? Then the [Devil's Exchange]? Rare on the first floor. Buy info on your death date there or something?"
The labyrinth was that kind of place by nature.
Ian's silence convinced them all on its own.
The surest proof would be sharing the method to access the deep layers.
They could dispatch another party to verify the deep-layer entity's existence firsthand and confirm Ian's account.
But no one wanted the hassle.
The seal was breaking regardless, and circumstances would paint Ian as the fool who'd cracked the depths needlessly.
Kael, still glaring at the report, spoke up.
"Can't assign dedicated staff, allocate special budget, or divert supplies."
"Understood."
Probably. Circumstantially speaking, expected as much.
Far too flimsy for any responsible party to act on.
Base decisions on this, and the treasury department would swarm the guild in an instant.
Instead, Kael opted for the higher-ups' favorite fix.
"Chris."
"...Figured as much."
Dumping it on the underling stuck in the room.
With the report done, Ian returned from the guild.
A letter had arrived at the base in his absence.
Leona's reply to the one he'd sent recently.
Ian had forwarded the same exploration report to his labyrinth sponsor, Leona—including the confidential guild intel.
Leona's response mirrored the guild's: no official personnel assignment possible.
But sponsorship funds arrived alongside it.
Labyrinth exploration sponsorship—three times the originally promised amount.
Well, yeah.
If a single word from Ian could freely mobilize the city's forces, why bother with the personal grind of delving the labyrinth?
A lone mercenary captain's unproven report couldn't overhaul defense plans.
Still, those folks knew exactly how vital it was to get wind of this intel so early.
They'd be swamped for a while, too busy to meet.
Let them handle preparations their way.
Ian's priorities came first.
Fortunately, he still had one ally offering full-throated support.
Lucky she had the skills to tackle this.
Otherwise, he'd have needed to scramble for fresh talent on short notice.
Ian descended the basement stairs in search of Louise.
"You around? Got something important."
"Heard you headed to the guild. Back already?"
Louise, in her lab, looked up.
Hearing it was an important task for her, Louise smiled.
"An important matter bringing you to me? Must be research."
"Yeah. This."
Ian handed her the new recipe.
"Develop it as fast as humanly possible."
"New recipe?"
Wonder what it is this time.
Louise accepted it with keen interest.
Until Ian added one more detail.
"Within the month."
"A month?"
Louise's expression tightened.
Ian knew it was a brutal deadline, but no helping it.
They needed ample stockpile before the invasion kicked off.
Finishing the recipe within that window would let them jump straight into production.
"Captain Ian? I thought you were one of the few who actually got alchemy..."
"Can't be helped."
Louise rolled her eyes at Ian's resolute face.
"Research doesn't bend to deadlines like that..."
"One month."
"......"
He knew it wasn't purely effort-driven.
Unable to snap at her investor's face, Louise quietly shut her eyes and let out a small sigh.
"That's not something I can promise..."
"......"
Finally losing patience, Louise raised her voice.
"No, research isn't something I can just will into—!"
"Five gold per day shaved off."
"...If it's that urgent, guess we'll make it happen."
Speaking her alchemists' language at last, Louise grasped the gravity and nodded.