Chapter 5: Into the Labyrinth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: Into the Labyrinth
Two days later.
“Auntie, we’re out of firewood. Aren’t you going to go buy more?”
“We don’t need firewood for the baths anymore. The magic tool arrived, didn’t it?”
“Ah, right. I forgot.”
As I loitered by the desk, Auntie Marta shot me a look and shook her head.
“Go if you want to go.”
“Wait, how did you know?”
“Just look at yourself. You’ve got a sword at your hip, a pack on your back, and you’re even wearing a cloak. You planning on taking a casual stroll dressed like that?”
“Haha… Well, about that.”
I suppose I did look the part. I was fully geared up for the Labyrinth. Since I’d been away from the inn for quite a while during my last trip, Auntie seemed to think I’d become some kind of Labyrinth-obsessed maniac.
When I’d finally returned to the inn, I might have smelled a bit like blood, but I was physically intact. She probably assumed I’d stayed in there so long because I enjoyed it.
“Yoo Eon, are you going back to the Labyrinth?”
“Ah, Sera. Yes, that’s the plan.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“It won’t be long. I’m not exactly a fan of the Labyrinth myself.”
“Then you shouldn’t go…”
“I have to earn a living. I owe your mother a lot, after all.”
“Oh, really? You actually realize that?” Auntie chimed in.
“Of course I do.”
Auntie waved her hand dismissively and headed into the kitchen.
“Don’t get hurt,” Sera said.
“Yeah, well…”
Why was Sera so worried about me? Was working at the inn that exhausting?
“I’ll help out with the chores again when I get back.”
“Promise?”
Yeah, she must be really tired. To be fair, the inn had been packed lately. There were even more guests yesterday than usual.
The power of a poster girl was truly something else.
“Man, the sun feels good.”
A month ago, when I first dropped into this world, it was the tail end of winter—early March.
The repairs on my sword were finished. There was a deep groove running down the center of the blade. This part is called the fuller, and it looked a bit deeper than before.
The dwarf craftsman told me the blade’s structural integrity had decreased slightly, so I should be careful with it.
“It doesn’t seem to have shortened as much as I expected.”
A fuller is useful for reducing the weight of the blade and shifting the center of gravity toward the hilt. The trade-off is a slight loss in strength, but if I stuck to thrusting, it shouldn't be a problem.
I wore my gambeson, a single-edged sword, and a short dagger. My pouch was packed with grain cubes wrapped in clean cotton cloth, and my metal canteen was filled to the brim with water. I draped my cloak—essential for sleeping at night—over my shoulders and hooked my lantern to the belt opposite my pouch.
“Still got plenty of oil.”
It was solid whale oil, rendered and hardened so it wouldn't leak or smear unless lit. It wasn't a local product of the Labyrinth City, but something brought in by caravans from the coastal cities.
I’d spilled all the liquid oil I had last time. Luckily, a caravan had just arrived, so I managed to buy the good stuff.
I’d wondered if whale oil was strictly necessary—wouldn't pig lard also solidify at room temperature?
‘The moment you light it, it’ll smell like roasting meat. Every wolf in the area will come running for a snack.’
The caravan merchant knew better than I did.
There was actually an ocean inside the Labyrinth. On the 7th Floor, I think. I’d heard it was a forest similar to Floors 1 through 6, but with a sea nearby. Water in the form of rivers and lakes was everywhere, regardless.
“Boots? Check.”
The leather walkers, reinforced with metal soles, felt great as they gripped my ankles firmly. Thanks to the thick coating of tar, I could expect some decent waterproofing too.
“Let’s head out.”
* * *
“One Brass-grade explorer. Target floor is the 3rd Floor.”
“You’re back again.”
“Yes.”
Among the ten explorer grades—Brass, Lead, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Cobalt, Palladium, Titanium, and Orichalcum—I was at the very bottom. Brass. That was me.
No matter how much people outside complimented my strength or my build, a low-ranked explorer was ultimately just like the dirt on the side of the road.
“Have you made any progress?”
“Yes, a little.”
Detecting anomalies in the Labyrinth, managing explorer records, handling quest orders and distributions, managing grades and promotions, and providing relief for explorers harmed by skills…
The institution that handled all these tasks was commonly known as the ‘Guild.’
The vast lobby was packed with people. To the right, thin notice boards stood at regular intervals like library bookshelves, each pinned with requests suited to different grades.
Ah, there were none for Brass or Lead Grades. They appeared occasionally, but most were just gathering requests that could be completed on Floors 1 through 5.
Lead Grade was treated almost the same as Brass. You had to reach Iron Grade before people actually started treating you like an explorer.
After all, even people who visited the Labyrinth as a hobby were given Lead Grade.
“You’re only showing me half your face today.”
“It’s a day where my right side looks better.”
“What an interesting answer. Shall we look each other in the eye while we talk?”
The guild receptionist, Dahlia, was staring at me with her usual worried eyes. In truth, there weren't that many Brass-grade explorers.
The condition for promotion from Brass was simply reaching the 5th Floor, which would bump you up to Lead.
Because of this, the Guild encouraged people to reach Lead Grade before even issuing a formal license.
Technically, you needed a license to enter the Labyrinth, but the Guild would issue a temporary paper tag and have you wait for a week. If you reached Lead Grade within those seven days, you wouldn't even have to bother making a Brass-grade Explorer’s Plate.
The fact that I was on my seventh trip to the Labyrinth and still held a Brass Grade was quite exceptional. And not in a good way.
A few made it on their first trip, and the majority reached Lead by their second or third, yet I was still stuck at Brass.
I had reached the 5th Floor once in a party, but for the grade to count, you had to be in a party of three or fewer consisting only of Brass Grades.
Last time, we’d had a Lead Grade with us.
“Could you just record it quickly?”
“Let me see your face. Did you get a big scar on the left side?”
“It’s not that… Haaa, fine.”
As I turned my head forward, Dahlia, who had been smiling playfully, scrutinized my face before her eyes widened.
“Oh my, that left eye…”
“Things happened. It doesn't really hurt.”
“That’s a Direwolf’s eye.”
“...You can tell just by looking?”
“We get a lot of carcasses through here. Is it… functional?”
“Yes. Fortunately.”
“That’s incredible.”
Dahlia scribbled a note on the last line of a long list.
The Guild kept records of explorers entering and exiting like this. The reason for recording the target floor was to estimate their return time.
If an explorer who said they were going to the 5th Floor didn't return for over a month, it was clear something had gone wrong.
Conversely, if an explorer was aiming for the 50th Floor, the Guild wouldn't bat an eye even after a month. I’d heard of an explorer who returned after three years.
“Look here. For this trip, your target floor is the 5th Floor.”
“What? I’m sure I said the 3rd Floor.”
“I just have a feeling… that you’ll make it to the 5th this time.”
“Well… I guess.”
It didn't actually matter if I failed to reach my target floor. There were no penalties.
“Good luck.”
“Yeah… thanks. I’ll try.”
The Guild building was a massive complex built in a square surrounding the Labyrinth Portal. After passing through a few more doors into the interior, the portal came into view. A staff member standing in front of it cast a spell on my Explorer’s Plate. They said it was a spell that notified them when an explorer returned, though I had no idea how it worked.
“Have a safe expedition.”
“Thanks.”
As I stepped into the shimmering, deep blue portal, I felt the familiar sensation of my body being instantly sucked in.
* * *
I dropped onto the 1st Floor.
“This is…”
If you channeled mana into the Explorer’s Plate, it would point you toward the portal or return stone that led to the next floor or out of the Labyrinth.
The plate was shaped a bit like a military dog tag. As I hung the cord around my neck and breathed a tiny bit of mana into it, the plate tugged taut toward the portal before losing its strength and falling back against my chest.
Clink—
In this world, there was no one who possessed absolutely no mana. Even I, who had been transported from Earth, possessed mana—though it was so faint that I could only check the direction once every thirty minutes. Unfortunately, it didn't tell me the distance.
“Let’s go.”
The 1st Floor was peaceful. It was mostly populated by normal animals like wild boar and deer that didn't have mana. At most, you’d find rodent-like monsters called Kobolds that looked like guinea pigs in the occasional cave, but those things were surprisingly tough.
They would crawl along the dark cave walls and drop from the ceiling when they saw a person, using their powerful incisors to chew through almost any leather armor. If one managed to latch onto your face, you could die instantly.
However, they squeaked constantly while moving, so there was no risk of not noticing them. Unless you were deaf.
“A forest. Should take about thirty minutes.”
Plains, forests, mountains, and swamps appeared in a rotating sequence from the 1st to the 10th Floor.
The 1st Floor was 80% plains and 20% forest.
The 2nd Floor was 50% plains, 40% forest, and 10% mountains.
In this manner, the easier plains and forests gradually decreased, while mountains and swamps became more frequent.
I reached the 2nd Floor after thirty minutes without encountering anything that could be called a monster.
I ran into a few people near the return stone and the portal to the next floor—the heart of the Labyrinth—but I didn't recognize any of them.
The 1st Floor was basically a walking trail. The forest expanded on the 2nd Floor, and Direwolves—the first real monsters—began to appear.
Wuuu—
“The 2nd Floor… I got lucky and dropped in the plains.”
The plains were truly peaceful. Is that why they were called plains? With no trees, you could see for hundreds of meters, and the ground was relatively level. You could spot anyone or any monster coming from a mile away.
After walking for about two hours without any combat, I passed through the portal.
“A forest… I see.”
The place where I had almost died.
A floor consisting of 10% plains, 70% forest, and 20% mountains.
“I’m back.”
I had reached the 3rd Floor.