12. Level 3
Before entering the labyrinth, we decided to settle the loot first.
The armor we'd gotten yesterday was too heavy, so we'd paid one silver coin to store it at the Temple of the Travel God, and they'd said we'd have to pay an additional storage fee if we weren't going to pick it up now.
Three scimitars, twenty-two daggers, three suits of half plate armor, three shields, and three longswords.
Hauling all of that to the smithy was too much work, so in the end we had to pay another silver coin just to have it delivered.
"If I'd known it'd be like this, I should've gotten rid of it yesterday."
"Too much happened yesterday."
Tia nodded at that, but the extra expense still stung. After watching a porter carry the three half plates to the front of the shop, I called for the smithy owner.
"Scrap metal, right? Settle it up, please."
"What's all this?"
Weren't they a rookie party just starting out? The blacksmith seemed to wonder, but he quickly got to weighing everything.
"These are about 18 kg each, so I'll give you 18 silver per suit.*"
Once he added up the weight of all the other miscellaneous items,
"89 silver. It'd be quicker to just pay you in gold. That's 9 gold."
"What about the one silver?"
"A service for a valued customer."
It felt like just yesterday that we'd barely managed to earn a single gold coin, and now we'd already made nine. At this rate, weren't we going to get rich? Tia?
When I looked at Tia, she looked back at me as if she was just as stunned. Apparently adventurers weren't normally this good at making money.
Meanwhile, the blacksmith who'd settled our payment greeted Tia.
"Tia, it's been a while. Is adventurer work treating you well?"
"I was lucky enough to meet this man, so it's manageable."
"Goodness, I told you you could speak comfortably like you used to."
"This is comfortable now."
"I see. How many are in your party?"
"......Two."
At that, the blacksmith looked startled.
"This much haul, with just two people?"
"That's right. Didn't I pick my party member well?"
Tia said that while looking at me.
The blacksmith let out a somewhat deflated laugh.
"Heh heh, I've worried about you for a long time, but it seems there's no need for that anymore."
Tia nodded at that.
"Then I'll look forward to your next haul."
"Of course. I hope you always bring in as much as this."
With that, we used the money we'd earned to restock arrows and headed for the labyrinth.
***
The path to the labyrinth's second floor wasn't difficult. Goblin Minions and Kobold Warriors were no longer a match for us, and although three Goblin Warriors happened to block our way, the arrow the monster fired couldn't pierce my body.
Ting.
"Do-hyeon! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine. This much is within my comfort zone."
I'd learned a lot about HP from Eira. For example, if you have enough HP left, you don't get injured. Luck works in such a way that even a dangerous arrow hits an accessory and bounces off.
［HP］：10/18
Thanks to that, I'd lost quite a bit of HP, but it was better than using a 1st-circle spell. HP could be restored in various ways, after all.
For example,
"Tia. Could you come here for a second?"
"What is it?"
Tia approached me with an innocent look. I grabbed her face and kissed her mercilessly.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Tia seemed to have something to say, but she couldn't get it out of her mouth. I slipped my tongue into that open mouth and toyed with the inside.
"Mmph, mmph!"
By the time her protests started mixing with nasal sounds, I pulled my lips away. A white thread stretched between our lips before snapping.
"What is it this time, Do-hyeon?"
▶Incubus Touch
You master the checks required during sexual activity.
During sexual activity, you may substitute Charisma for the required ability score.
You and your partner can gain the effects of a short rest through sexual contact.
You and your partner can gain the effects of a long rest through sexual activity.
During a short rest, you can expend a resource called HD to recover HP. And I could have a short rest—which originally takes an hour—in a truly short amount of time.
［HP］：18/18
［HD］：1/2
"Recovered from the arrow hit."
"Did you get a bruise or something?"
I explained HP to Tia, who was worried about me, as we searched for the route.
"So that's what it was."
"In other words, in the labyrinth, we can be a little bolder than usual."
"Do that and you'll die."
"I just have to manage it so I don't die."
"If that were easy, adventurers wouldn't die in the labyrinth,"
Tia sighed and looked at me.
"Do-hyeon, I think I can trust you."
Those words were so earnest and endearing that I ruffled her hair wildly.
"Aah! What are you doing! Do-hyeon!"
"It means prepare yourself for bed tonight."
"Ugh, don't you stay in a different lodging than me!"
"That's true. Want to switch to the same lodging?"
"Can you just decide something like that so suddenly?"
"I happened to get some advice about it."
Staying with the teacher would only last until we hit level 3, then we'd scatter in all directions. Tia nodded as if she agreed.
"I've seen a group of outsiders before you. They eventually split up by party too."
"Why did it turn out that way?"
"Because life at level 3 is comfortable."
According to Tia, from level 3 onward, you could live in relative luxury doing work that wasn't very dangerous. So most adventurers settled there.
That was why groups of outsiders inevitably split apart. Those enjoying immediate comfort, those struggling to return home, and those heading deeper into the labyrinth couldn't stay together.
"It's not just outsiders. Parties that entered together often end up the same way."
That raised a question for me.
"That's strange. Teacher Eira said the labyrinth is a garbage place. But it's opening up such an easy and comfortable path?"
"That's the labyrinth's trap. Those who live in the comfort before their eyes can't endure the Great Disaster."
"Great Disaster?"
While I was puzzled by the unfamiliar term, Tia's eyes flashed.
"There! If we go that way, stairs should appear!"
Tia finished the labyrinth map she'd been drawing in one go.
Even if it was "finished," it was only the route from the entrance to the second-floor entrance.
"Alright, then let's steel ourselves and head down."
"I'm always steeled."
Tia added that I should cut down on lewd thoughts inside the labyrinth too. I only did it when necessary inside the labyrinth, you know.
***
The perceived time descending the stairs wasn't that long. About a minute? But once we reached the bottom, a cave with a completely different atmosphere welcomed us.
"The atmosphere feels totally different from before."
"Should I say the air is heavy? My whole body feels pressured."
Once we descended to the second floor, Tia briefed me again. She'd already explained before we entered the labyrinth, but reconfirming information was important.
"The monsters on the second floor are Hobgoblin Warriors, Orcs, and Goblin Warriors."
"The Orcs' trait is charging, right?"
Orcs supposedly charge recklessly when they spot an enemy. An enemy that might be a bad match for us, since we relied on keeping distance. We made plans in advance for how to handle them if we encountered any, then headed into the darkness.
Four Goblin Warriors were waiting for us.
On the first floor, these leader-types would have appeared leading underlings, but now they swarmed us in a group. Still, the difference in visibility was obvious. Having met them on the first floor meant they were no longer enough to threaten us.
Before they even noticed us, Tia's arrows and mine were already reducing their numbers. One died with its head pierced by a Sneak Attack, and another screamed with an arrow lodged in its chest.
There was one arrow that almost hit me, but it was blocked by HP and bounced off.
The enraged goblins fired arrows, but most sliced through empty air in the darkness or were blocked by Mage Armor. The second floor might actually be better for hunting than the first, where fodder had forced us to burn through arrows.
I recovered HP again with a kiss from Tia, drew a circle around the slain monsters, and offered them as a sacrifice. Then I felt my field of vision expand.
Two monster groups I'd met on the first floor. One monster group I'd just killed. It was enough to fill the remaining experience I needed to reach level 3.
***
There were three major changes from reaching level 3. First, I could now use 2nd-circle spells.
That list included Darkness, which Eira had shown me, along with several spells more practical and powerful than 1st-circle ones.
Of course, with great power came limited uses. I could now use 1st-circle spells four times, but 2nd-circle spells only twice.
Second, my HP had risen quite significantly. My HP had been 18 until now, and it became 26. Considering it was 10 at level 1,** that was a 2.6-fold increase.
Third, I had choices before my eyes.***
［Subclass］Draconic Sorcery
［Subclass］Nightmare Sorcery
［Subclass］Mirage Knight Sorcery
The first option, Draconic Sorcery, supposedly used draconic power to cast magic. The basic option, so to speak. Naturally, it was out of the question.
Nightmare was more lethal against sleeping enemies, and Mirage Knight strengthened direct combat ability, apparently.
My Authorities weren't much help in direct combat, after all. Should I strengthen my strengths, or shore up my weaknesses?
After mulling it over for a while, I chose Mirage Knight. If the opponent was asleep anyway, wasn't it as good as won? Whether that opponent was a monster or someone in bed.
Helping me win fights I'd already win wasn't much help. Making winnable fights out of losing situations was what mattered.
The newly acquired subclass Feature was powerful. So much so that it was a shame I had no use for it right now.
Once I finished choosing my subclass, I could select and swap spells as a level-up Perk. I replaced the spells Mirage Knight provided that overlapped with spells I already had, and chose Darkness and Shatter. The latter was an area spell, and since it supposedly made a loud noise, I'd have to use it carefully.
Some Perks also changed with the level-up.
▶Authority of Phantasmal Dreams
From level 3, instead of using the Sleep spell with this Authority, you can use the Suggestion spell.
This spell is always prepared for you.
No wonder I couldn't select Suggestion, a suggestion spell.
After reaching level 3, I made a rough estimate.
'At this level, even without Perks, a four-person party could beat four Goblin Warriors without a scratch, right?'
『Affirmative. They are the primary hunting target of a level 3 adventurer party.』
After sharing information about the power Tia and I had gained, we walked back into the dungeon's darkness.
Like that, we passed several forks on the second floor, and while Tia was recording them, I spotted a monster I'd never seen before.
Three humanoid monsters with angular faces, smashed noses, and heavily bulked-up upper bodies.
"Orcs?"
I asked at the sight of them, since they looked exactly like Orcs, and Tia agreed.
"They match the recorded appearance."
Even when you're prepared, fighting a monster you've never seen before is always tense. But I wasn't anxious. The Features and abilities I'd gained at level 3 were that powerful.