Permanent Gear Loans and the Road West
"The guild's offering permanent rentals for labyrinth exploration gear, right?"
"Yes. And if there are spots left in the guild's annexes, we can provide room and board at a reasonable price."
"Where are these annexes located?"
"There's one in each of the four labyrinth cities."
"Oh..."
Eresa let out a gasp of admiration. The guild's terms were solid. Buying gear suited to the party's level would mean wasting time just scraping together the cash, but their sponsorship eliminated that hassle. Since it was a permanent rental, it wouldn't burden the explorers too heavily and allowed for a proper distance from the guild. Even if the guild made unreasonable demands later, they could simply return the gear and end things cleanly.
(It's designed to exploit any attachment to the gear, making explorers side with the guild rather than cut ties. But a clear-headed explorer would make the smart choice.)
Shouldering all the financial costs of exploration wouldn't be impossible for the East Labyrinth Guild, but their restraint showed an effort to maintain appropriate distance and relations with explorers.
"By the way, Arvin. Are there a lot of explorers receiving your guild's sponsorship besides us?"
"There used to be plenty. We're always keen on building good ties with promising explorers. But even after we nurture them with sponsorships, many head off once they become deep-layer explorers, lured by noble backing."
"I see."
There were two main reasons to explore labyrinths—or rather, two broad paths for growing stronger and wielding that power. One was for personal fame, fortune, or livelihood. The other was to fight the monsters still invading human territory.
Explorers backed by nobles would be thrown into territorial skirmishes against those monsters. It was both the duty and right of landholding nobles. Those explorers became tools for that purpose. Newly claimed land birthed new nobles or expanded the domains of established ones.
Dorne's party hadn't planned that far ahead for after they became deep-layer explorers. Their skills were growing fast, but their mindset and experience had only just shed the beginner label. Would they take noble sponsorships and shuttle between battlefields and labyrinths? Stick with their original party and delve deeper? Or choose something else entirely...? It was still distant talk.
After discussion, Dorne's party decided to head for the West Labyrinth City.
The West Labyrinth granted abilities specialized for mages. This was to address the party's lack of a mage or priest. They wouldn't solve this issue easily—some delays were expected. Their approach to tackling labyrinths differed from other explorers.
Most explorers didn't form fixed parties before pushing into the deep layers. Why? They couldn't trust explorers of other classes. If someone promised to team up for a labyrinth run, then just leeched off the work and bailed, there was no recourse.
(Ordinary explorers don't think to have the Labyrinth Guild notarize agreements. Even if they did, they wouldn't trust it. The royal gaze doesn't reach inside labyrinths.)
Such fixed parties were rare: maybe six childhood friends from the same village, or noble scions deeply intertwined outside the labyrinths. So, finding fixed-party hopefuls matching Dorne's group's level would be tough.
Still, it was unavoidable, so they'd try. If no luck, they'd lean on the guild's connections once, then hire a temporary mage if needed. That would cost a fortune, though.
So where were they now? Right where you'd expect—still at the annex. They planned to leave, but not without picking up the gear Arvin had promised.
Through the East Labyrinth Guild's connections, Dorne's party got introduced to a skilled blacksmith. They'd order gear good enough for deep-layer runs. Each requested what they wanted; the guild paid the smith, who crafted it, and the party rented it.
Eresa commissioned light, sturdy leather armor for her torso, shoulders, shins, and forearms, plus a helmet. Scouts didn't need heavy plate. Couldn't afford it either. Unlike warrior explorers, scout abilities focused on finesse, not raw base stats. Without superhuman strength, you couldn't roam labyrinths in heavy armor—and if you had that, becoming a warrior for synergy made more sense.
Raon requested armor reinforcing the same areas with iron plates, plus a longsword and iron shield as weapons.
Lilia went for the same reinforced armor, a solid iron spear, an iron shield, several javelins, and a javelin launcher. Without a mage, ranged checks were their weakness, but Lilia—having seen results from improvised javelin throws in the labyrinth—planned to cover it for now.
And Dorne? Same reinforced armor as the other warriors, but with a longer hammer and bigger shield.
Does someone with 【Iron Man】 even need armor? You might think so, but running around bare-chested looked ridiculous. Even with 【Iron Man】, he felt pain, and without armor, his clothes wouldn't survive fights. Then he'd be buck-naked. With 【Iron Man】 letting him use his tendons and ligaments like tools, plus 【Giant】's size and the longer hammer... the monsters facing Dorne were in for unreasonable brutality.
Thus, Dorne's party lingered at the annex a few more days until the gear was ready.
Clatter-clatter, rattle-rattle...
Three carriages rumbled along the road.
They'd asked about joining an East Labyrinth Guild caravan, but the timing didn't match, and it was too slow. They'd saved time with the sponsorship—no point wasting it now. These were Warrior Guild carriages heading from East to West Labyrinth City. Each guild ran such services to help members travel between labyrinths.
(It was profitable too.)
Explorers were great at delving labyrinths but hopeless at life's practicalities. Tell them, "Head to ○○ Labyrinth now!" and half would get lost, not knowing east from west.
Still, the Warrior Guild carriages carried only seasoned warriors—no escorts needed. Just slap a scout on each with the driver, and they'd arrive safe.
(Truth be told, even scouts were optional. Anyone could memorize the route without abilities.)
Roads between labyrinth cities ran deep in human territory, so no major monsters appeared.
Gack! Hack! Yeah, maybe a goblin or orc at worst.
Neigh!Rattle-rattle, clatter...
The guild scout, sensing goblins ahead, halted the carriages away from the pack. The warriors inside would pile out and mop them up quick.
"Who's the rookie here?"
"Yeah, just goblins—rookie's job. You want the grown-ups moving?"
"Hey, you lot. How many years you been exploring? Me, three."
Dorne—massive frame crammed in a seat, innocent eyes wide—eyed the chatty senior explorer.
"Uh... us? About a month...?"
The warrior passengers had chatted en route, so they knew Dorne's full party held guild abilities, with Dorne sporting two combos. Look at him: one was clearly 【Giant】, and factoring his heavy weapon, he likely had synergistic 【Fighting Spirit】 or 【Iron Man】. Three years' experience let you make those guesses.
The three-year vet's face stiffened, his rookie-hazing backfired.
"Ah, you're the seniors! Should've said so. Seniors gotta set the example, right? C'mon, kids—let's go!"
Led by the three-year vet, the other mercenaries from the carriage hopped out without a word.
"Guild combos in a month? Synergistic ones at that? Who raised that monster?"
The vet, who'd bragged on tenure alone, looked utterly defeated. Broke, he'd grinded Layer 1 endlessly until finally completing a solid combo to make real money. Three years of diligent delving, erasing unwanted abilities, taking crap jobs others shunned—he'd collected his abilities honestly. Now the world hated him.
A life making bank from exploring! After three years' grind, he'd finally gone pro... Why, heavens, did you birth me and that monster...?
The three-year explorer hated the world...
The diligently driven carriages entered what passed for the capital region.
An Earthling might picture bustling shopping districts at "capital." Not wrong, but this world's capital symbolized something different from Earth's vibe.
Golden wheat fields stretched to the horizon, greeting them. Knights on horseback patrolled the roads cutting through.
This was the kingdom's heart, feeding humanity: the royal wheat fields. The royals ran the Labyrinth Guild directly, funneling most magic stones bought from labyrinth cities into sustaining humanity.
(Not that they handed out free food.)
To farm these vast fields, mage researchers—Earth's equivalent of world-class scholars—developed techniques, powered by magic stones.
(Mage researchers differed from labyrinth-granted mage ability users. Think mage tower wizards: they studied and cast without abilities. "Mages" were strictly "magic users"—no creation or true understanding, even combat ones.)
The country-bumpkin warriors gawked, awed by the fields. The scout driver spoke.
"This is capital territory from here. Keep going and you'll hit walls, but we'll skirt 'em and head the other way. Same distance more, and you're in West Labyrinth City."
His words sailed past the bumpkins' ears, lost in the golden heartland's glow.
Dorne's party arrived in West Labyrinth City, took a quick look around, and entered the Warrior Guild building.
In East Labyrinth City, the Warrior Guild sat nearest the Labyrinth Guild in the busiest spot. Here, a Mage Guild took that prime location.
As Dorne approached the counter, the clerk spoke first.
"Ah, Dorne's party?"
"...? Yes, I'm Dorne. You know me?"
"Yes. Just got orders from headquarters to assist you. Whatever you need, I'm here."
Whether via East Labyrinth Guild info or the shared scout being a guild VIP, the Warrior Guild knew of Dorne's party. Not a bad thing.
No high-up pestering them—just quiet perks, like a restaurant owner slipping regulars a freebie without chit-chat. Plus, geared up but low on travel funds, a smooth talk might land quests without posting fees.
"Straight to it, then: we're seeking a mage for a fixed party. Or failing that, an employer hiring all four of us."
"No fixed-party mages I know of right now. But I recall a client seeking four explorers."