Chapter 18: Fuck, I’m Jealous
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18: Fuck, I’m Jealous
“This is….”
“Is it your first time seeing jerky? If you just stand there gawking, flies are going to land on it.”
“Goodness. Auntie, do you know how much I truly respect you?”
“Forget it, kid. I was going to throw the leftovers in the pit, but it felt like a waste, so I’m giving them to you.”
There she goes again, saying things she doesn’t mean. This jerky was made by thinly slicing part of the meat I bought yesterday, salting it, and drying it over a wood fire for a long time.
For a guy who used to chew on nothing but grain cubes, this is pure luxury. I really picked the right inn. Well, technically, I was the one picked up. A stray cat choosing its human is a skill in itself, after all.
She looked unusually tired, as if she’d stayed up all night drying the meat. I didn’t expect her to go this far for me.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yes. It might take a little longer this time.”
Sera looked at me with worried eyes. I’m sure the inn work is tough, but what can you do? I want to hurry back and help her, but this trip might be a bit of a haul.
I’ll just have to earn enough to make up for it. Enough so the inn can afford to take a day or two off.
“Well, I’m off. Get some rest, you too, Sera.”
“Ah, yes! Just to the front door!”
Sera insisted on getting up and walking me to the door, waving as I moved further away. Heading to the Labyrinth with a beautiful woman seeing me off—it doesn’t get more luxurious than this.
My preparations are perfect. I took the grain cubes out of my pouch and stuffed it with twenty strips of jerky; just looking at it made me feel full.
“The blade is in good shape, too.”
Perhaps because I spent a lot of money at once at the forge, the Dwarf craftsman threw in some maintenance oil for metal equipment. And it wasn't just regular oil, but a blend of wax and oil.
A high-quality mix of beeswax and linseed oil—one application lasts a very long time.
The inside of the Guild was bustling with people as usual. It’s even more crowded in the morning, filled with people waiting for party members like me or browsing the request board.
“You’re early, Isolde.”
“Ah, yes. I had some things to prepare.”
“Preparation? Inside the Guild building?”
Rangers like Isolde, who serve as guides for their parties, update the latest information on the Labyrinth before the party enters.
They listen for reports on which floors currently have Alphas or Irregular entities, synthesize their locations and movement directions, and then mark them on the maps provided by the Guild to prepare for any contingencies.
Since the Guide class is one that very few people want to take, it seems the Guild provides this kind of support.
It also helps that the importance of a Guide isn't very high below the 10th floor. There are no completely blocked paths; at most, there are just some annoying mountainous regions to cross.
Anyone can figure out the direction by infusing mana into their Explorer’s Plate. Of course, from the 11th floor onward, where the Labyrinth turns into a complex maze, the importance and demand for Guides skyrocket.
“Did anything come up?”
“Ah... yes, there’s some good news. The goblin colony on the 8th floor was subjugated by a Platinum-grade explorer.”
Isolde drew a large circle on the southeast portion of the 8th-floor map and wrote small notes with a strange, ballpoint-pen-like tool.
‘Goblin colony dismantled. High risk of stragglers.’
She writes down every single detail like that. She’s a very meticulous person.
“Your... name was....”
“Yoo Eon.”
“...Wouldn't it be better to use a more plausible pseudonym?”
“Is that so?”
I’ve just come to accept it now. From a Korean perspective, 'Yoo Eon'? Ah, the surname is Yoo and the given name is Eon, a bit unique. That’s what they’d think...
But in this world, names don't follow that format. So, to them, 'Yoo Eon' just sounds like 'Last Will'—a truly bizarre name.
“A plausible pseudonym, huh. What would you suggest?”
“If I tell you, will you actually use it?”
“Sure, why not.”
Isolde glanced at me, then shook her head with a sigh.
“Don't ask me. Ask someone closer to you.”
“Understood.”
A little more time passed, and Garond appeared inside the Guild building almost exactly on time. Lis was a bit late, but only by a few minutes, so it didn't really matter.
“Alright, how is everyone’s condition?”
“I’m good. In peak form.”
“Nothing special here. Except my shoulder is a bit stiff. I must have slept on it wrong last night.”
“No issues here either.”
A stiff shoulder isn't a big deal. An archer doesn't have much to shoot at until we drop below the 5th floor anyway.
An archer’s attacks use consumables. For enemies that can be handled by swinging a sword or a mace, those are more than enough.
“Four Iron Grades. Target floor is the 8th. It’s a hunting party.”
“Confirmed. Have a safe expedition.”
Because the mountain-sized Garond handled the registration up front, I couldn't see Dahlia’s face properly. Not that it mattered much.
“This pulse is one minute and thirty seconds. Please enter.”
The Portal Pulse, or beat.
The portal leading into the Labyrinth periodically changes the destination coordinates for those entering at random intervals. They call that the 'beat.'
It’s said to be named that because the portal hums and flickers every time the destination changes, much like a heartbeat.
Usually, the beat intervals range from as short as thirty seconds to as long as eight minutes. This is also like a calendar; apparently, the brilliant scholars at the Academy have already calculated the beats for the next eighty years.
The beat doesn't progress while a person or object is in the middle of passing through the portal. This means if you hold hands and go in, you won't end up in different places.
“Haaa...! The air is great.”
As soon as we dropped onto the 1st-floor plains, Lis stretched luxuriously and took a deep breath.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been in a party.’
After checking that I hadn't missed anything and roughly coordinating our combat formation, we walked comfortably toward the next portal.
—Ting.
Is an Iron-grade Explorer’s Plate different? The sound it makes when infused with mana is distinctly different from a Brass Grade one.
Or maybe it’s just my imagination.
The 1st floor was the same as always. No, actually, even up to the 4th floor, it was practically a walking trail. Direwolves only try to test their luck and attack when explorers are alone, but with a massive tank like Garond clanking around in metal gear...
‘They won’t even come close.’
Even when I felt like there were Direwolves nearby, they didn't approach beyond a certain distance.
“As expected, the Direwolves don't mess with us when we're in a group.”
“Hmm... that shouldn't be the case. Direwolves aren't the type to shy away from a fight just because there are a few more people.”
“Then why aren't they coming to fight?”
Lis, standing nearby, agreed with Garond’s assessment, finding it strange as well.
“A four-man party shouldn't be enough to scare off Direwolves. This is a bit weird.”
Fortunately, we dropped into a forest until the 4th floor. We started at 10:00 AM, and forget a proper battle—not a single Direwolf had even bared its teeth or growled at us.
Maybe we just got lucky with the spawn points being close to the exits, but it was only 4:00 PM and the base leading to the 5th floor was already in sight. Breaking through the 4th floor in six hours—even if we ran without resting, it felt too fast.
“If we don't have to fight, it’s good for us. Let’s not waste energy on things like Direwolves. Our goal is the Wild Boars.”
Most explorers active on the 8th floor are after Wild Boars.
They first appear on the 7th floor, but their numbers are small. While there are more Wild Boars on the 9th floor than the 8th, the number of goblin settlements increases significantly there.
Crucially, there’s the 10th-floor boss entity, the Orc Warlord. Since Orcs start appearing from the 9th floor... well, the chances of meeting one are low, but I’ve heard they are incredibly strong monsters.
‘Reminds me of that Orc from before.’
I saw an Orc once. Of course, that was a person who had their race changed by an Orc skill.
If something that size charged at you without a word... that would be truly terrifying.
“It really is strange. I’ve never reached the 5th floor this peacefully before.”
“I agree. Though I’ve only reached the 5th floor once.”
Since we’d eaten a hearty meal before coming, we didn't have our second meal until around 4:00 PM on the 5th floor.
Garond’s massive backpack was stuffed with food, and surprisingly, he was sharing it with everyone.
To think a man that big and fierce-looking would be a kind soul who shares his food even inside the Labyrinth.
“Garond, isn't it heavy carrying all this food?”
“I’m already wearing a mountain of iron; a bag of food doesn't make much of a difference.”
“I see.”
On the 5th floor, we landed in a forest. In a clearing with sparse trees, we built a fire. Garond placed some butter in a metal bowl and melted it near the flames to dip our bread in.
It was high-quality, fragrant butter with parsley flakes floating in it. It seems joining Garond’s party was a very good choice.
“Ah, Lis. I need a moment....”
“Now? Ah... okay. Garond, Yoo Eon. Wait here. I’m going to go help Isolde with her curse.”
“Do you have to go far?”
“Not really. See that thick tree over there? We just need to go behind it. Just in case, don't even think about following us.”
“Don't worry.”
Lis, who was relatively shorter than Isolde, took her hand and dragged her behind the thick tree trunk.
They said they were dealing with a curse skill, but what kind of curse skill could it be?
‘At this distance, my detection will pick it up.’
Inside the Guild, it was noisy and there was no danger, so I’d turned off my detection.
But in a quiet forest like this, when I’m keeping a sharp eye out for danger, I can hear everything happening over there.
—How much is there?
—It varies. I think there’s less right now....
Amount? Amount of what? The sound of me chewing bread is distracting, so I can't hear well. Let me stop for a second.
—Do I really have to be the one to do this?
—Yes. I tried to do it alone... but it didn't work.
—It’s not... bad for your health or anything, right?
—They say it’s normal.
What on earth are they talking about? I’m dying of curiosity. I can't even guess.
Click—
‘She’s... undoing buttons.’
—It’s my first time drinking breast milk since I was born.
“Pfft—”
“Whoa, you okay? Did it go down the wrong pipe?”
“Ugh, yeah. I’m fine.”
What kind of crazy talk is this? Is Isolde seriously letting Lis drink her breast milk back there?
‘No, seriously, what kind of curse skill is that? A curse that requires you to be milked? The world has gone mad.’
I choked, so my focus wavered for a moment. Shit, I need to focus again.
‘I hear it...!’
The sound of Lis pressing her lips against the magnificent femininity of Isolde’s chest and consuming something...!
—Ngh....
“Cough.”
“Have some water.”
“Urgh... No, I’ll drink my own.”
I waved off the canteen Garond offered and took a drink from my own. For some reason, the water tasted sweet.
It’s a curse for Isolde, but what about other people?
If Garond had the same curse as Isolde... that would surely be a national disaster.
“Phew. Garond, I’m so glad you don't have a curse.”
“Hahaha. Thanks for the kind words.”