The Butcher's Training

Jackpot.

A spatial pouch with a full ten square meters of space, doubling as waist armor—and a hidden set item, on top of that. Even after I paid Merchant Rufus his hundred-gold commission, I still had fifty gold in cash left.

I hope it keeps going like this.

Satisfaction had me dreaming a hope that made no sense at all, until I remembered how many times I'd nearly died to earn a payoff like this, and the thought stalled.

But.

So what. Screw it.

An adventurer's job was to stake your life and seize power and resources. Push it to the extreme, and there was even a saying that an adventurer's end came in only two kinds.

Succeed, or die.

Retiring alive and in one piece, the way Jerik had, was vanishingly rare. I knew that. And I had absolutely no intention of retiring the way Jerik had.

My little sister, Haeun, had been a first-year in high school when I fell into this place. Our parents were already gone, and then the only brother who brought money home vanished too. How was a kid that young supposed to survive in a world that harsh?

Wait for me, Haeun.

Sooner or later, I was going home. No exceptions. And I would make up for every thing I hadn't been able to give her while I was gone. I swore it, took up my spear again, and left the room.

Clearing fast was good. That was a conversation for when you actually had the ability. I'd cleared the first and second floors entirely on other people's help, so right now I had to focus on clearing in one piece.

In other words—training.

"You're not heading straight to the third floor?"

"I want to train a bit first."

"Hmm. Training's good. I like the caution. That Kirk kid's trouble is he rushes everything. Tsk."

"Well, I think my footwork might be ready for the next stage."

"...What?"

"I had a rough time on the second floor, so my level went up quite a bit."

"Didn't you say you evolved your spear art too?"

"...Yes. I got lucky."

Jerik let out a hollow laugh.

"With specs like that, what was there to suffer over on the second floor of the Labyrinth?"

"...I play a little carefully, is all."

"Carefully? You? Aren't you the one who charges the second something feels like the answer? And if you'd played carefully, you should have suffered less, not more."

Jerik's words stabbed my conscience without mercy. Even so, I couldn't tell him I wanted a Perfect Clear on the third floor without anyone else's help. And I needed to prepare.

"Could I learn butchery?"

"Butchery?"

"Yes. I looked into the third floor. If I know how to butcher, it ought to pay pretty well."

"...True enough, but wouldn't it be better to spend that time clearing fast and getting out? You made decent money on the first and second floors, didn't you?"

"I'll be doing both at once. And money's always short, isn't it?"

"Hmm. If you're only thinking of the third floor, butchering small animals should be enough."

"I think I'd better learn butchery properly. For the future, if nothing else."

"You want to work at a slaughterhouse?"

"If that's how I can learn it, then I should."

Jerik's face said he'd just heard something thoroughly absurd.

"You said you were going to clear the Labyrinth. Did you want to change jobs and become a butcher?"

"No, it's not that. I just want to make proper use of even a little of what I can take from the Labyrinth."

"Join a decent guild or a house later, and they'll assign specialists to handle that."

A guild, or a house. Could I really live among a group while keeping my secrets hidden?

"...For now, I want to try it myself."

"Why not learn herb gathering while you're at it?"

"That... well, I'll see about it separately."

I said that, but honestly I had no intention of learning herb gathering. For one thing, even mushrooms filed as junk items wouldn't synthesize—still judged to be alive, it seemed—so there was no way expensive herbs would.

Common sense. The more potent the herb, the stronger its life force.

A living thing, though, registered as dead the moment it died. And in the Labyrinth, the stronger the monster, the more its byproducts were worth.

Like that werewolf.

That was why I wanted to learn butchery. Set the future aside. Even the third floor, as far as anyone already knew it, was a place that dumped out endless, high-quality "junk."

If I go for a Perfect Clear, it might take a long time. Everything I get in the meantime, I keep and synthesize.

Thinking of the Goblin Basket sitting in the spatial pouch, this had to be the right call. I had to train footwork, spear art, and skills anyway.

"If I can, I'd like to work the slaughterhouse only in the mornings to learn the technique, and train in the afternoons."

"...Fine. Ha. Really. I feel it all over again—you are one strange kid."

"Please call it living diligently. Haha."

"Not money fever?"

"...Maybe that too."

I papered it over with an awkward laugh. Starting the very next day, my body would teach me just how naive that idea had been.

"New hire? New hires usually start on the grunt work, but since Master Jerik asked, I'll teach you the basic technique first. Know how lucky you are!"

"...Thank you."

Julio, the owner of the slaughterhouse, was a fierce-looking old man, but it wasn't the old man's face that hardened mine.

God. The reek of blood.

I'd come out at dawn still half asleep, and a stench beyond anything I could have imagined snapped me wide awake. In the worst way.

And then—

"I'm passing on the technique, and the shift only runs till noon. You know I'm going way easy on you, right?"

"...Yes."

"Put your back into it."

In practice, slaughterhouse work was brutally hard on the body. Without strength and stamina beyond an ordinary person's—Ability Stones and skills—I wouldn't have lasted. And the moment I ate and got off, the afternoons were training. That life went on.

For more than a month.

Paang.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this!

Thud. I turned the Volante Footwork—an art that chased endless lightness—inside out and piled weight onto it instead. The spear thrummed in my hands, then split the air with a crack, vibrating hard enough to burst my grip as it carried that weight whole.

Attack +9. Even a light swing of the Edelin longspear loaded it with the force of a Strength of 9, and the air it pierced burst outward in every direction, shaped like a whirlwind.

Right. Step like this, and even more...

The instant I felt certain I could now use, perfectly and at will, the finishing blow I'd landed against the demon, realization struck—and with it, the System's voice.

"Done!"

I'd already hit the level cap for the Common rank and still seen no progress for two weeks; I'd even thought about going back to the Volante viscount house. Steady training, taken up while I learned the Butchery skill, had helped enormously.

"Ahahahaha!"

I didn't even wipe the sweat running off me. I checked my status window first.

Training the Cheol-woo Circulation Art had naturally raised my Mana by another point, and along the way the art's own level had climbed by one as well.

The spear art went up another level too.

I could feel it. My combat power had risen for certain.

"It's been a while since I've seen that look. You must have hit your goal."

"Instructor!"

"You did it?"

"Yes! I evolved my footwork. Without spending level-up points!"

"...Good. Well done. At this rate I can't even recommend you take the job, can I?"

Jerik let out a rumbling laugh and said something off to the side.

"Sorry?"

"Julio says he's never seen a born butcher like you. If you quit adventuring, he wants you working with him. Mornings only, and he'd still pay double the daily wage."

"Ah..."

A bitter smile came out of me. In a single month the Butchery skill had not only registered—it had climbed to level 7. Of course there was a reason. My trait.

I found a new way to use it, of all the sideways things.

Like this, for instance.

The window that appeared the moment I thought of butchery and used Check Additional Information had turned me into a genius at it. But I had the knack for certain now.

"I'm sorry, but please tell him I have to decline. I think I've learned the basics."

"Fine. Do as you like. So—if you've hit your goal, are you heading into the Labyrinth right away?"

"Yes. I'll rest today and leave early tomorrow morning."

"Fast again, when it suits you. You sure dragged your feet about when to actually go in."

"A man has to be careful."

"I'm telling you, specs like yours ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have already cleared the Novice grade. Level 10, two advanced skills—no, three now. Two artifacts. Hardly anyone slots two or more Ability Stones while they're still a Novice. Your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only weakness... ah. That. Well. It doesn't mean much."

It sounded like Jerik being considerate, and again all I could answer with was a bitter smile.

That's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly why I have to get a Perfect Clear.

The first class was the most important advancement an adventurer ever received. People said it could improve later, depending on your record, but common sense held that the better the first class, the higher the ceiling on everything after. It was the only chance I had of covering the weakness of a lacking Ability Slot.

"I know what you're thinking. But even the top-tier Summoners the royal palace backs only get careful on the fifth and tenth floors. They don't fuss over every single floor the way you do. You know that?"

"Yes, I know."

That was the common knowledge the public held now. Your class changed according to how you performed on the fifth floor—where elite monsters, usually met for the first time there, and special quests appeared—and on the tenth, where the boss monster and the class-advancement quest waited.

"Which is why I'm trying to walk a road no one else takes."

Sorry. For now, this was the only excuse I could give him.

"...Fine. It's your call. The more careful you are, the less danger, I suppose."

I couldn't very well tell him that this carefulness was me deliberately throwing myself into a greater danger.

"And I'll make a lot of money while I'm at it."

"Right. Butcher well on the third floor and it'll pay nicely."

Jerik played along, but he didn't look particularly convinced. What face would he make later, when he saw the things I synthesized on the third floor and brought back?

If it goes the way I'm thinking...

I wouldn't even need a special treasure down there to make serious money.

"Then for today, wash up and get a proper rest."

"Yes."

And so, after a month, my preparations to challenge the third floor of the Labyrinth were done.

The next day.

A flash.

Hm.

I came through the Labyrinth Stele to the second-floor gate—right in front of Edelin's main gate—and felt a moment of conflict.

Is the trading company still here?

Curiosity about a tie I'd made before. I shook it off the moment I remembered what I actually had to do.

Third floor.

The instant I headed straight there—

"Mm."

Humid air rushed in with the heat, and I grimaced before I could stop myself.

Yeah. Figures.

Look anywhere and it was the same: dense trees with broad leaves, insects whining through the air. A jungle. The moment I confirmed the scenery I already knew, I summoned a fire spirit.

Fire.

Flame flared. Keeping the bugs off mattered more than the heat.

A fire spirit alone won't clear all this humidity, will it?

I summoned a water spirit, and the sticky damp vanished in a rush. Then—

Wind.

A long whoosh. I set a wind spirit to breathe a light breeze, and the muggy air turned comfortable at once.

Comfortable like this... am I even going to be able to swap it for another Ability Stone later?

I was sitting in that comfort, thinking a thoroughly ungrateful thought, when the System's voice rang out a beat late.

"As expected."

I clenched my fist without meaning to. I'd drawn the most common quest on the third floor. Which meant the Perfect Clear conditions here were probably—

Check Additional Information.

A low hum.

"...About what I expected."

What I'd imagined had landed true, and I wasn't particularly glad. It meant the start of a long, long grind.