8. Entering the Labyrinth
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Entering the Labyrinth
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The new explorers class lasted for a week.
He certainly learned a lot.
Of course, it was all theoretical knowledge and no practical experience.
Still, some things were immediately applicable.
How to pack a backpack, basic first aid, party formation strategies, mandatory rules for each level, basic trap detection, and hand signals.
Learning these things opened his eyes.
He could discern the guild’s principles and its overall direction.
Delving into the labyrinth, slaying monsters, and progressing through the levels wasn’t everything.
It wasn’t enough.
Thorough preparation to minimize risk and slow but steady progress were the keys.
This was the main point emphasized throughout the week-long class.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next morning.
“Is it today?”
Dalmong asked.
“Yes. I’ll be going now.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
Dalmong’s words were discouraging, but he couldn’t help but feel excited.
It was finally time for party matching.
Five people formed a party. Four-person parties were possible, but rare.
Most people joined parties by responding to recruitment notices on the quest board.
However, the guild also arranged parties for new explorers.
Dalmong recommended the latter. He heard that although it was at the receptionist’s discretion, they tried to form parties with people who had taken the guild’s class together.
The guild’s branch building was packed.
To save time, Jeong Yoo-shin joined the shortest queue.
And he immediately regretted it.
It was the same receptionist with the spiteful expression he encountered before.
‘Oh, shit. That look again.’
There was a reason the line was short.
He didn’t want to join another queue now though.
More people had arrived, and the lines were growing longer.
He didn’t want to wait any longer.
‘Just think of it as stepping on shit. It’s not the end of the world.’
It was Jeong Yoo-shin's turn.
“I’d like to request a party matching for a new explorer.”
“Confirmed. There’s currently only one party looking for a front-liner. I’ll assign you to them. Please go to table six.”
“Yes.”
He quickly left the counter and went to table six.
There were about thirty tables, all filled with people chatting, making the area quite noisy.
He finally found the table marked with the number six.
Familiar faces were seated there.
It was the young man who had yelled at the receptionist and slammed his hand on the reception desk.
Besides the young man, there was another man and two women at the table.
One man was missing from the group based on what he saw last week.
“Hello. I’m Skar. I was referred to this party by the guild.”
“Hello. I’m Karl, the party leader.”
His voice was confident and assertive. Karl introduced his party members one by one.
The other man’s name was Dean, the scout.
The red-haired woman was Anne, one of the rear guards who carried a bow.
The other rear guard was Marie, a brown-haired woman and a trainee priestess of the Earth Mother Goddess of the Spirit Church.
Karl briefly explained the party’s situation.
They had entered the labyrinth for the first time last week and had cleared the first level without much difficulty. However, one of their members injured their foot on the second level, so they were temporarily looking for a replacement.
That replacement was Jeong Yoo-shin.
The party had two objectives:
Goblin extermination.
And magic stone collection.
The reward would be divided equally among the five members.
Their activities were limited to the first level of the labyrinth.
Having finalized their agreement, Jeong Yoo-shin and Karl’s party members decided to meet at the guild branch the next morning and left.
Back at the inn, he told Dalmong about Karl and his party.
“Dalmong, didn’t you say they usually match people who took the new explorer class together?”
“That’s strange.”
Dalmong stroked his chin.
“Well, anyway, I’m going tomorrow.”
“Skar, be careful.”
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded at the serious warning.
The night passed and morning arrived.
The day he had been eagerly waiting for had arrived. Today, he would enter the labyrinth.
He woke up at dawn and checked his equipment.
He made sure that his sword could be drawn smoothly, that the shield strap wasn’t too loose, and that the joints of his hard leather armor weren’t too stiff.
He checked everything he could.
He gathered his equipment and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He packed only the essentials for the first level based on what he learned in class.
“Good.”
He went down to the dining room with his helmet attached to his waist. Dalmong brought him breakfast.
“This is my last meal in civilized society.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
A perfectly cooked steak with a mountain of garlic was placed before him.
“Is it okay for you to give me this much?”
“I’m giving you this because I can already see you starving in the labyrinth for days.”
“Thank you.”
He cleaned up his plate.
“Phew.”
As he patted his full stomach, Dalmong handed him something wrapped in paper.
“Jerky and biscuits. Eat them sparingly.”
“Thank you very much.”
He didn’t refuse. He didn’t want to reject the kind gesture of the cute tsundere bear. Besides, he had no money.
“I’ll be going now.”
He said his goodbyes before leaving with his belongings.
"I will say it again: be careful.”
“Yes.”
Jeong Yoo-shin took Dalmong's advice to heart and headed towards the Explorers Guild branch.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
He arrived at the branch and waited for Karl and his party at an empty table.
About thirty minutes later, they arrived, talking amongst themselves. One of them had a minor injury, but they seemed confident and relaxed, having successfully cleared the first level before without much difficulty.
“Ah! Mr. Skar, you’re early.”
Karl greeted him. Their equipment seemed light. They wore leather armor and carried long swords at their waists. Their backpacks also looked light, but he couldn’t tell if it was due to budget constraints or some other strategic reason.
All the party members were similarly equipped.
“Let’s go now. It’s better to go at this time before it gets too crowded.”
“Alright.”
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up and followed the party.
The Great Labyrinth was located west of the city.
The closer they got to the labyrinth, the more crowded it became. He walked amidst the throng of people before finally catching sight of it.
The Great Labyrinth.
When he saw it from outside the city, he thought it was a small tower.
Up close, it was a sharply pointed rocky hill.
A magic circle large enough to accommodate thousands of people glowed in front of the rocky hill. Soldiers from the Labyrinth City controlled its access.
“One party at a time, please enter calmly!”
A man in full plate armor shouted.
Parties stepped into the magic circle one by one and vanished in a flash of light.
The explorers followed the soldiers’ instructions.
The soldiers stationed at various points quickly processed the explorers.
Soon, it was their party’s turn.
His heart pounded with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
As he stood in the magic circle, the light intensified, blinding him.
Flash!
An intense light and a floating sensation washed over him.
Thud!
“Oof!”
He lost his balance and landed on his backside. He felt the cold, damp stone floor beneath him.
He had finally been transported to the first level of the labyrinth.
Due to the nature of the labyrinth, everyone, without exception, started on the first level. Whether they had reached the fiftieth or the eightieth level didn’t matter.
Once they left the labyrinth, they had to start from the beginning.
This meant that countless people were currently on the first level.
And now was…
‘The safest time.’
They needed to assess their current location and form their ranks as quickly as possible.
“Oh!”
A startled voice echoed through the dark cave.
It was Karl’s voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“I dropped my flint. Can you light this for me?”
“Alright.”
He took his flint and steel from his pouch and lit the torch.
The surroundings became somewhat brighter.
There was one mandatory rule for the surface levels, from the first floor to the fifth:
Maintain a light at all costs.
There was a specific reason for this.
It was because of the “darkness,” a characteristic of the surface levels.
The “darkness” of the surface levels drove people mad.
Inevitably and without fail.
It was an absolute law that applied to everyone, from high-ranking explorers to legendary heroes.
However, even the faintest light like that of a firefly could ward off the madness, so experienced explorers quickly traversed the surface levels with minimal lighting.
“It seems like we’ve been transported to the outermost edge.”
Dean, the scout and navigator, said while looking at the map.
“Really? We’re not as lucky as last time.”
“Yeah, last time we were transported near the entrance to the second level.”
Karl shrugged at Dean’s dejected mumbling.
“Some days are like this. Let’s go.”
Karl took the lead as he held the torch up.
Jeong Yoo-shin walked right behind him, followed by Dean, Marie, and Anne.
They walked for hours. They encountered a few other parties along the way, but they only brushed past each other like the wind, merely exchanging curt instructions to move aside.
“Phew. Dean, where are we?”
“Just a moment.”
At Karl’s question, Dean took out his map and unfolded it.
“If we take the left path at the next fork, we can enter the central area of the first level.”
“Good!”
Karl exclaimed energetically, encouraging his seemingly exhausted party members.
“Let’s quickly reach the central area and then rest, alright?”
“Okay.”
“Got it.”
Karl looked at Jeong Yoo-shin expectantly.
“Yes, understood.”
Driven by the promise of rest upon reaching the central area, they walked without pause. Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any monsters along the way.
However…
Luck wasn't on their side.
“Dean, what is this? A dead end!”
Karl glared at Dean irritably.
“S-Sorry.”
“Get a grip. This isn’t our village. If we keep wandering around like this without thinking…”
“Karl, stop it. You’re being too harsh. This is only our second time in the labyrinth.”
Anne, the red-haired woman, interrupted Karl.
Karl sighed and shook his head.
“Alright. Sorry, Dean.”
“No, I should have been more careful.”
“I want to rest.”
Marie, the trainee priestess, chimed in. She looked exhausted from the hours of continuous walking.
“Alright, let’s rest.”
They leaned against the dead-end wall and sat down. Jeong Yoo-shin sat a little apart from them.
They chatted amongst themselves, reminiscing.
About how they would be sowing seeds in the village fields around this time.
About how the girl Dean used to have a crush on turned out to be a boy.
As he listened quietly to their stories, Karl came over and sat down next to him.
“All five of us are from the same village. Ah! The other one is probably resting at the inn right now.”
“I see.”
“We’ve done everything together since we were kids. Our village is in a remote, barren area, so there were always dangers. But as long as we had each other, we weren’t afraid. And after overcoming those threats, we realized something. That we learned more from experience than from books.”
“Yeah.”
Jeong Yoo-shin simply agreed, unsure of what Karl was trying to say.
“I saw you going to the new explorer class last time, Mr. Skar. You seem older than me, but you didn’t seem to know much. You learn more from experience. You’ll learn more from street explorers than from those comfortably seated inside the guild building.”
He understood.
‘He came to give me advice.’
Life advice from a teenager was certainly different from that of older people.
It was more assertive and certain.
As if he had already grasped the truths of life.
“And also, Mr. Skar, I think you…”
“Karl, I’m tired. Can’t we just sleep here?”
Marie interrupted, whining.
“Marie, there’s a rest area just a little further ahead. We can rest there.”
Dean approached and tried to soothe Marie.
“Dean, are you sure this time?”
“Yes. I checked the map carefully. There’s a resting spot in the central area.”
“Okay. Marie, let’s hang in there a little longer.”
“Sigh, alright.”
Karl stood up, patted Marie on the back, and led the party onward.
They walked for about two hours. Just as Marie was about to collapse from exhaustion, they found the rest area.
There was a gap in the cave wall leading to a small chamber.
It was just large enough to accommodate around ten people.
They entered and unpacked their belongings.
They covered the entrance with a blanket to prevent the torchlight from escaping and sat down, leaning against the walls.
They took some biscuits and jerky from their backpacks and ate, then immediately decided on the watch order.
By now it should be evening outside already.
Marie took the first watch, followed by Karl, Jeong Yoo-shin, Dean, and finally Anne.
They spread their blankets on the cold cavern floor.
‘Not bad.’
Perhaps because they were childhood friends, the party's atmosphere was good. There had been some mistakes due to nervousness, but they supported and encouraged each other.
No monster attacks, no internal conflicts.
Jeong Yoo-shin pulled his blanket over himself, hoping that tomorrow(?) would go just as smoothly, and closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
In the darkness of the Great Labyrinth.