Chapter 31: Why This All of a Sudden?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 31: Why This All of a Sudden?
“Two gold coins and twenty-five silver coins. Would you like to verify the amount?”
“Well, look at that.”
I went to the guild the next morning and received my payment. It was the proceeds from selling what little remained of the Ursus carcass, the price for the live goblin runts, and the rescue bounty provided by the guild.
The reason the guild bothered to pay rescue bounties was simple: it was the only way to get people to actually rescue anyone. Rescuing is difficult and transporting people is a hassle, so without an incentive like this, no one would bother.
—Buzz, chatter.
That aside, the guild was unusually crowded today. There were a lot of people I’d never seen before. Most were gathered in groups, whispering and chatting away. In times like this, asking was the fastest way to find out what was going on.
“Ah, that’s because the Scarlet Lotus party—the second party of the Mayerbridge Union—is scheduled to return this evening.”
“Hmm. I see.”
I totally get it.
“...What is that, exactly?”
“...A dive party that reached the 68th floor is returning. This evening.”
Holy crap! The 68th floor? They’re a bunch of monsters.
The [Mayerbridge Union] was a massive labyrinth conquest clan based in the Labyrinth City Calax.
Large-scale clans usually have five conquest teams, each formed as a ‘full party’ of twelve members. Apparently, the ‘Scarlet Lotus’ party was the second strongest of the five full parties belonging to the Mayerbridge Union.
“The 68th floor... that’s truly amazing.”
“Hehe, I’m sure you’ll be able to get there one day too, Yoo Eon.”
“Thanks for the sentiment.”
Dahlia spoke with her usual kind, pleasant smile.
“Ah, please call me Aven from now on.”
“Is that a new pseudonym?”
“Something like that. ‘Yoo Eon’ sounds a bit funny, doesn't it?”
“I think it’s quite witty.”
“Thank you. My mother gave it to me when I was born; she’d be happy to hear that.”
“...Wait, isn't that your real name then?”
Anyway, it wasn't like this had much to do with me. Forget the 68th floor—I hadn't even set foot on the 8th yet. My Iron-grade Explorer’s Plate would probably weep if it heard me.
If a party can make it to the 68th floor, does that mean all twelve members are at least Palladium Grade? I’m jealous. There are only about five grades of difference between us, yet the floor depth they’ve reached is over ten times mine. Of course, they move in a group of twelve.
Is there really a limit to going solo? Still, I prefer working alone. I realized that after traveling with other Iron-grade explorers. The difference in clearing speed is just too vast.
It might sound a bit arrogant, but I’m clearly in a different league than other Iron-grade explorers.
“Are you heading into the labyrinth?”
“Not right now. I’ll probably be back later.”
Now that I had my money, I wanted to check my equipment. I had bought a new sword, but I hadn't thrown away my old one. Since the old one was broken, I wanted to see if I could do something about it.
Fighting with two swords hadn't felt bad at all. It actually made me feel invincible. I hadn't officially committed to the dual-sword style yet, and since I had a shield artifact, I wanted to make good use of that too.
But seriously, what the hell am I supposed to do with this shield? Of all the monsters I’ve met so far, the only ones a shield worked against were the Direwolves. Not the Ursus, and definitely not the Direwolf Alpha.
That deer wasn't the kind of opponent you could block with a shield, either. Plus, once I head up to the 8th floor, I’ll run into Wild Boars, and a shield is useless against them too. What’s the point of a shield if my whole body gets sent flying?
Orcs start appearing on the 9th floor. I haven't met them yet, but I imagine it’ll be a similar story. If the shield were sturdier, it might be different, but this is just a simple round shield—wood covered in leather with a bit of iron around the rim.
“Ugh, this piece of junk shield. I totally got saddled with Rubica’s trash.”
I should also look into artifacts properly. I didn't even know what would happen if the shield broke.
* * *
“That’s your old sword, isn't it? You finally broke it?”
“Give me some credit. This guy died a glorious death fighting an Ursus.”
“An Ursus? You ran into an Ursus?”
“Yeah. One swipe of its paw and crack.”
“Hmm, I see. You can’t use that anymore. A sword that’s been melted and reforged like that can’t possibly be strong.”
I ended up disposing of my old sword. I already had the magnificent Excalibur that could split an Ursus’s shell, after all. Though, considering its track record of breaking bones and getting buried deep in the dirt, I wasn't sure how much longer it would last.
Since I’m rough on my blades, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a spare. It’s better to carry a backup sword than to plan on dual-wielding all the time.
“Do you have another one exactly like this longsword?”
“Do you even know what it means for a sword to be ‘exactly the same’?”
“What does it mean?”
“It means it’s a flimsy, mass-produced piece of junk pulled from a mold. Anything that hasn't been struck by a hammer is nothing more than a model sword.”
“I see.”
Still, most swords of the same type come out looking similar. With two gold coins in my pocket, I felt like a member of the bourgeoisie. I bought a similar longsword and hung it at my waist; it looked pretty sharp.
“Just in case, don't go talking any nonsense about dual-wielding.”
“Why not?”
“All the idiots who tried that are dead. The only ones who carry two swords and stay alive are those who are about to die, or those who are so strong they don't even need two swords to begin with.”
It seemed the Dwarf uncle was a bit conservative when it came to dual-wielding. Regardless, I bought the spare sword. From now on, your name is Extra Excalibur. As in, the backup Excalibur.
“I don't really need to change my pouch or anything else.”
To find out more about artifacts, I had to go to the Northeast district. There were quite a few magic item shops there. If the shield was useless, I’d get rid of it quickly; if it had some other useful function, I’d make sure to use it.
“This... definitely looks like a magic item shop.”
The shop had stalls lined with staves, orbs, and books with titles written in an unknown language. No matter how you looked at it, it was a magical shop.
—Creeeeak.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, the interior was thick with an unidentifiable smoke. This... smelled like tobacco. And a pretty strong one at that.
“Are you open for business?”
“Mhm, very much so.”
“Do you know how to appraise magic items? I brought an artifact, or something like it.”
A woman with silver hair, holding a long pipe in her mouth, was practically lying in a high-backed chair. She reached under the desk and pulled out a small purple cushion. I stepped forward, took off the ring, and placed it on the cushion.
“The effect?”
“It produces a shield. I don't know the specifics, but that’s all I know.”
“Hmph.”
The magic item shop owner’s fashion sense was incredible. Since she was obscured by the desk, I could only see from her waist up, but half of what I could see was skin. I decided right then and there to become a regular.
“It’s a storage-type artifact.”
“Storage-type... you say?”
“Yeah. The shield is just stored inside. It’s a separate object from the magic tool itself. You can swap it for something else if you want.”
“Whoa.”
If it could store items, that made it a pretty decent magic tool. I could put a sword in there instead of a shield, and depending on its performance, it might even effectively reduce the weight.
“The capacity? Or whatever you call it? How much more can I put in there?”
The shop owner reached out and infused mana into the ring, and the shield popped out. She then examined the empty ring from various angles before giving her answer.
“Exactly this much.”
“Hmm, that’s a shame.”
“See this magic crystal embedded in the center of the ring? If you swap it for a higher-quality one, you can store more.”
“Aha.”
The storage function was engraved on the ring itself, and by changing the gem-like thing in the center, I could increase the capacity. It would be great if it could hold at least two swords.
“How much does a magic crystal cost?”
“Depends on the mana it holds. What do you want to put in it?”
“I’d like it to hold at least these two swords.”
The woman took the two swords I offered to gauge their weight, while simultaneously staring intently at the ring to measure the specifications for the magic crystal that would fit inside.
“One gold coin. And maybe about fifty silver coins.”
“Good lord.”
I expected as much, but magical items were in a different price bracket entirely. 1.5 gold coins were about to vanish into thin air. What should I do?
It wasn't that I didn't have the money, but was it okay to spend it so freely?
“What about just one sword?”
“Same price.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
What kind of pricing mechanism was this? If I went from two swords to one, shouldn't the price be cut in half?
“This magic crystal is too old to begin with. Even if you swap it for the cheapest one, it’ll easily fit two swords.”
“I see.”
She said the magic crystal currently in the ring was ancient. It only had enough capacity to barely fit a shield, and even that was about to run out of juice and lose its function.
It seemed that even the cheapest magic crystal would have enough mana to store two swords. Anything more than that would be difficult, though.
“Sigh, alright. Go ahead and take my blood.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’ll pay with my hard-earned cash instead.”
“Go ahead then.”
What kind of reaction was ‘Are you serious?’ That’s terrifying!
“By the way... you. Those eyes. What happened to them?”
“You mean this?”
I brushed my hand over my left eye, and the woman nodded.
“It’s the effect of a skill.”
“Those are Direwolf eyes.”
“Yeah, well. That’s right.”
“How did you do it?”
“I ate them. Raw.”
“I see. So anything is possible?”
“I’ve tried the Direwolf Alpha and an Ursus. This is the eye of a common individual.”
“Hmph.”
The shop owner suddenly stood up and vanished into the back of the shop. She even took my ring with her. Surely she wasn't running off with it?
Ah, never mind. She’s coming back.
Clatter—
“This is?”
She brought out a small box engraved with a sophisticated square pattern. She extended a finger and infused mana into it; a magical sigil glowed bright red, and the lock on the front clicked open.
“Open it.”
“Okay.”
I lifted the lid and looked inside. Resting on a cushion made of very expensive-looking, high-quality red fabric was a strange, pitch-black ball.
“What is this?”
“It’s an Umbra Valkyrie’s eyeball. I’ve placed a preservation spell on it.”
“Whoa, that’s intense. But what’s an Umbra Valkyrie?”
“A monster that appears on the 44th floor.”
“I see.”
I couldn't see a pupil or anything; it was just solid black. This was an eyeball? It looked like a bead made of black glass.
“What are you doing? Eat it.”
“Pardon?”
“Eat it. This.”
“Excuse me...?”
Why the hell was she giving me this all of a sudden?