Chapter 3

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Translator: Ebonarch

Chapter: 3

Chapter Title: Awakening (3)

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I dragged Claude back to the lodging and tucked him inside. Then I grabbed a few silver coins from the pouch of personal funds I kept separately and headed to the Explorer Guild alone.

"Whoa... From this angle, it really looks like a bank."

Viewing the Explorer Guild building's interior through the sensibilities of a modern man, it was surprisingly systematic.

Dozens of individual counters lined up like bank teller windows, each with a small pillar at one end fitted with what looked like an antenna.

For newbie explorers without a party or those whose assigned receptionist was busy, the system worked like this: once the person ahead finished, the receptionist would operate it, and the mana stone embedded at the pillar's tip would glow and vibrate, signaling waiting explorers to approach.

I spotted the counter for our party was free—our dedicated receptionist's spot—and headed straight over.

"Oh my! How are you feeling, Cain?"

"Word's gotten around here already, huh. Mion."

Mion, the dedicated staff member for our party, asked after my well-being.

"There are no secrets in Labyrinth City!"

She winked.

A white dress shirt paired with a leather vest, dark brown pants matching the vest, and neatly pinned-up ash-gray hair with just a few strands peeking at her nape.

She wore a beret-like hat with a single feather tucked into it and greeted me with a cheerful smile.

Cain—the current me—hadn't spared a glance at any woman but Sia, but Mion was surprisingly quite the looker.

Her white shirt seemed made of a thinner material than the other receptionists', faintly revealing the black lace bra that cupped her breasts—smaller than Sia's but ample compared to most women.

Even in the same uniform, she'd tailored her pants tighter to flaunt her figure, a subtle flush coloring her cheeks.

If Sia had an innocent, harmless small-animal vibe, this woman's face was more like a sly fox, maybe?

"First off, I'd like to update my card..."

"Really? You've actually reached level 3?"

"Didn't you hear the rumors?"

"I did, but still... This way!"

Mion's eyes sparkled as she hopped out from behind the counter, fussing over me excitedly and leading me to one side of the building.

"This place always looks unnecessarily grand, no matter when I see it."

"Don't say that. The guild only exists thanks to this measurement relic, you know."

We passed the counters for mission requests, party matching, and mana stone exchanges, heading to a corner of the guild building—a deeper section where a vast space opened up, dominated by a complex machine about twice the width of an average man.

"Your card goes here."

"Here you go."

I pulled the explorer card I'd brought along from my pocket—after grabbing the silver coins—and handed it to Mion.

Since the characters and words were indecipherable from memory anyway, it wouldn't hurt to see it after the update.

Mion took the card and slotted it into a thin slot at the machine's center.

It really looked like an ATM from up close.

Woooong!!!!

"Wow! You really leveled up!"

"Think I'd fake it?"

"Some people do, you know. The ones who insist on double-checking because they swear they leveled up."

"Ah..."

Rattle rattle rattle!!

The machine emitted a light like the glow from my body during the level up, its parts whirring and shifting.

Pop!

"All done! Card updated!"

"Thanks... Huh?"

Mion snatched the card as it spat out and handed it to me. I examined it, but instead of what I expected, some highly suspicious letters jumped out.

"Any issues?"

"N-No... Thanks."

Fuck... Why's the blessing status like this?

"Oh, right, Mion—here."

Without thinking, I returned the feather I'd swiped from her hat.

"Hehe, still got sticky fingers, huh, Cain."

"Cut me some slack. You know about my quirk."

"I only let it slide because you give it right back."

Watching her strike a slightly sultry pose and wink at me, I started feeling a bit aroused.

"Hehe, staring at weird places? You sure you're okay, Cain?"

"H-Huh? What do you mean?"

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"You've been eyeing my chest since the counter. Not like you usually do."

"Ah..."

"Finally noticing my charms? You're so slow!"

"Hm... Sorry, I'm still off my game, feeling a bit dazed. If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize."

Smack!

"Ow!"

"Gah! Don't be so serious! I was just teasing, and you react like that? Kinda hurts my feelings."

She puffed her cheeks a bit and smacked my arm, but that wasn't important right now.

"Haha, got it. Well, I'll head out then. See you, Mion."

"Sure thing~ Rest up, and take it easy entering the Labyrinth."

"Will do."

I left the guild building quickly, waving goodbye to Mion as she fluttered her hand.

"So that's why I couldn't read it before... It was English."

After exiting the guild, I sat on a park bench nearby, glaring at the card.

Recalling Cain's memories, it did seem that way.

Even when he first arrived in Labyrinth City and received his blessings.

'Hey, Claude, you know what these characters say?'

'Hm... Never seen letters like that before? If you don't know, how would I?'

'Fair, but just checking...'

'Ca-Cain! Let's ask the guild lady!'

'Eh... Labyrinth City has no secrets, but even Mion said it's unfamiliar script.'

And when he hit level 2 and got a new blessing.

'Not this again... Hitomi? What the hell does this say?'

'Some kind of spell? Try something with it, Cain!'

'Alright, Hitomi! Uwaaaaaah!!!'

'Cain!!!'

'Cain!!!'

Chaotic. The moment he shouted Hitomi, unknown letters floated before his eyes, and he passed out. It happened every few tries, so he'd sealed it away.

What if...?

"Hitomi!"

"Roy, where to for lunch today?"

"Huh? That place you wanted last time?"

"Really? Yay!"

"Got reservation tickets from Robin."

"For real? Your little bro's the best."

"Right?"

Throb!

"Urgh!!!"

My vision tinted red, eyes stinging painfully, forcing out a groan. A passing couple turned back with worried looks.

"Um... You okay?"

"Y-Yeah... Fi...!"

As the woman approached asking if I was alright, I looked up to brush it off—and that's when it hit.

"Oh no, what do we do? You look really pale."

The woman's cheeks flushed slightly upon seeing my face. As I started feeling a bit embarrassed, her boyfriend called from behind in a slightly miffed tone.

"Babe... He says he's fine..."

"Roy! Isn't that too much? He looks sick..."

No way... Is the ??? me?

"N-No, really, I'm fine. You two go on with your business."

"Oh... Okay?"

"Tanya..."

"...Yeah, let's go, Roy."

Hm... If my guess is right... Uh... Good luck, Roy?

The couple left, the burning eye pain faded, leaving me with exhaustion washing over my body.

"What's different from last time... Hm, number of people?"

Before recalling his past life, when he used Hitomi at the guild amid crowds.

"Magic power at 1 must be straining me."

Thinking he'd gotten some ridiculous blessings, I tried another word.

"NTL!!"

"Not an activation type, huh?"

Unbelievable no matter how I thought about it. Hitomi? Not even eyes, what kind of baseless nonsense.

"Fuck, next thing you know, a status window's gonna pop up. Haha..."

Ding!

"Huh?"

My muttered disbelief made a translucent window appear in my vision.

"What the...?"

From what I knew, no one understood the conditions for leveling or stats rising in the Labyrinth.

When exiting to the city, a light similar to level up would accompany stat increases or quirk acquisitions, but the mechanism was a mystery.

Seeing the status window with even more detail than the explorer card...

"Does it explain blessings and stuff too...?"

On a whim, I gestured in the air, and the blessing details popped up.

"Fuck... That's why I thought it was a thief class."

Random quirks can attach when entering/exiting the Labyrinth—from mild ones like mine, Claude's, or Sia's, up to mental breakdowns, cannibalism, pedophilia—basically forced mental illnesses or bad passives.

Around level 2, I got Kleptomania and unwittingly pocketed a few items while buying consumables in bulk at a general store; text appeared in the air.

In the Labyrinth too, disarming traps or looting monster hoards and mana stones always triggered it. Though the blessings were in gibberish, seeing Technique as a special stat and text pop up for thieving acts made me assume thief class—but not like this.

"Ha...! Ridiculous."

I rubbed my dry face, gathered my wits, stopped by the church aid station to pay the medical bill, and returned to the lodging.

For now, I'll cool my head for a few days and figure out how to live from here.