5. First Party (Illustration Added)
Early morning. I was on my way out of the inn.
"Do-hyeon? Where are you going? You're not doing something dangerous again, are you?"
I ran into Ms. Kwon Chae-a, who happened to be coming down the stairs.
"I picked something up yesterday, so I'm going to go get rid of it."
I had a legitimate excuse. The reason was that I was going to dispose of the loot I'd gotten from the kobolds and goblins.
"Hurry back so you aren't late in the morning."
"Yes. I'll hurry."
I headed straight for the nearby smithy Tia had told me about.
"Adventurer?"
"Yes. I came to sell some things."
When I took out six daggers and two scimitars, the blacksmith grimaced.
"Stuff that comes off monsters only gets scrap-iron price."
"How much?"
"One silver per kilogram."*
Mary. Do you know the price of iron?
『It is two silver per kilogram.』
"That's only half the price of iron."
"If it were plain iron, sure. But this stuff is worse than plain iron. It has to be reprocessed, so it's half price. If you don't like it, go somewhere else."
Since Tia had introduced me to this shop, he probably wasn't trying to cheat me. If it did turn out to be a scam, I'd just tease Tia even more.
After disposing of the weapons like that, what remained was six silver. Ten silver made one gold, so I hadn't even earned a day's lodging fee.
But they said adventurers in the labyrinth started at level 3, so it couldn't be helped. Setting aside my disappointment, I looked around the shop, but I couldn't find what I was looking for.
"Don't you sell crossbows?"
"Complicated things like that are sold at specialty shops. Go two blocks down that alley, and there should be a shop on the right."
By the time I bought what I needed and came back, it was right in the middle of mealtime.
"I'm not too late, am I?"
"The food came out early and has cooled a little. Is that all right?"
"Yes. It's fine. But just a moment first."
Leaving the teacher behind, I scanned the group of female students and approached the student whose pouch had been stolen yesterday.
"Here."
"Huh?"
The female student checked the pouch she'd received, counted the gold coins, and then looked relieved.
"Thanks."
She didn't thank me right away, but at least she did after checking.
"How did you find it?"
The female student who asked, a little accusingly, was Song Ji-yu. Probably because singing was her specialty, she seemed to have picked Bard when she got her class.
"It looks like someone saw us get pickpocketed yesterday and chased after them. When I stopped by the smithy, they saw how I was dressed and asked me to pass it along."
Compared to saying the culprit returned it, saying a good person found it makes a much better picture, right?
"Hmm~. Really?"
"What would I gain from lying about something like this?"
"I thought you were using it as an excuse to hit on Su-min."
As she said that, Song Ji-yu lightly hugged the female student who had lost her wallet. So her name was Su-min. Why would I hit on someone whose name I don't even know?
"No way. I just came to return it to its owner."
"Wait, don't tell me you didn't even know Su-min's name? Try to memorize your classmates' names at least. Jo Su-min."
After saying that, Song Ji-yu asked with a look that said, No way.
"Do you not know my name either?"
"I know it. You're Song Ji-yu. Sorry. I don't really have friends. Returning the pouch really didn't mean anything."
"If you were just going to return it, you could have left it with the teacher, you know~?"
The teacher was eating too, so this was faster. As I stood there not knowing how to answer, Song Ji-yu smiled and continued.
"I'm joking~. Joking."
"Then I'm going."
With the explanation finished, I turned to go back to my seat and eat, but Song Ji-yu grabbed hold of me.
"By the way, did you change your cologne or something?"
"What cologne? Here?"
"Your whole vibe seems different somehow. Before, Su-min would have shooed you away for being a nuisance."
After saying that, she paused for a moment, then,
"Now, you might actually be worth giving a chance?"
Song Ji-yu giggled like that.
"Thanks, even if you don't mean it."
"Then I'm really going. I need to eat."
"Sure. See you around."
After returning to my seat and finishing my meal, the class president was waiting for me.
"What's up?"
"Um, I was just curious what you were talking about with Ji-yu and them earlier."
"Someone found the pouch that got stolen yesterday, so I just went and returned it."
"Really? That's a relief."
"Right. Without money, you couldn't even stay at an inn like this, could you?"
"Ah, right. True. That's a relief."
The class president smiled, repeating that it was a relief. That small, animal-like quality of hers softened my mood a little.
Once the conversation ended, the class president went tap-tap-tap back to her group. Fortunately, no one was glaring at me today.
***
After a short period of free time, our class headed to the Temple of the Travel God. And at the temple entrance, I spotted Tia and waved.
"Over here, Big Sis Tia."
"Who are you calling big sis?"
As Tia approached, the teacher asked with a hint of wariness.
"Um, who is this?"
"She's the person who found the pouch that got stolen yesterday."
"Ah, I heard about that earlier. So it was her."
The student who had lost the pouch, Jo Su-min, came over and expressed her thanks, and Tia naturally joined my side.
"Hm? Is she an adventurer too?"
"Ah, she and I agreed to form a party. She's mixed-blood from another race, so even though she looks like that, she's older than me."
"You found a party already! That's a relief."
Teacher, saying it like that makes it sound like I couldn't find a party and had to solo.
"Please take good care of our Do-hyeon."
"Ah, um. Don't worry."
Joining the group as planned had gone well, but...
"Hey, did you make an enemy of those girls or something?"
Lee Se-rin was glaring at me with a terrifying intensity. Enough that the class president next to her was flustered and didn't know what to do with herself.
I'd refused her invitation to join their party and then found a different party member, so that was probably why. But it couldn't be helped. The new tactic I'd come up with could only be used by me and Tia.
But Lee Se-rin couldn't know my plan. Just like yesterday, while we waited at the temple, Lee Se-rin came over.
"What are you thinking?"
"About what?"
"You refused to join our party yesterday, and now you bring a party member? And just one?"
"I have a plan."
"Tell me."
"I can't. It's related to my ability."
When I said that, Lee Se-rin glared at me for a long while, then
"Fine. Don't you dare die. Come back safe."
She left those words and walked away. What the hell? I wished she'd make up her mind whether she hated me or liked me.
"Hey, is this okay?"
Tia asked that, apparently thinking I'd gotten into an argument because of her.
"It's fine, Big Sis Tia. She's always like that."
The procedures at the temple proceeded just like yesterday. The one unusual thing was,
"We're going to the temple."
Lee Se-rin's party headed not to the grassland but to the temple.
The teacher tried to talk Lee Se-rin out of it, but in the end couldn't stop her, and only sent her off with a warning to come back quickly if things got dangerous.
And I, together with Tia, entered the cave.
***
"I can't see anything. Are you sure this is okay?"
Once we entered the cave, Tia looked around and spoke.
"Don't worry. I said I have a plan, right?"
I put a hand on Tia's shoulder to reassure her and checked the status window details that had been ready since yesterday.
▶Incubus Bond
I set it up as planned and activated the bond, and,
"Whoa! I can see!"
"Right?"
I shared Incubus Gaze with Tia. With this, Tia could see 54 meters in the dark, just like me.
Mary had told me that the function of Incubus Gaze that lets me peek at other people isn't shared. That was a relief. Thanks to that, I could share it without any burden.
"How did you do that?"
"My ability. The details are secret."
I'd agonized over whether to share the effects of my secret, my Authority. But Tia wanted to become an adventurer badly enough to offer her body. In that case, as long as I was helping her achieve that dream, I probably wouldn't have to worry about her betraying me.
"The moment it's just the two of us, you drop the 'big sis'?"
"Why? Do you like it better that way, Big Sis Tia?"
"Ugh! Stop it!"
If this were all, it would be the same as what we'd done before forming the party. There'd be no need to form a party at all.
So what I took out was a light crossbow.
"Weren't you a spellcaster?"
"There are spells that use weapons."
"I'm uneasy about this."
I understood her unease since our first adventure was inside a cave, but it was absolutely no more dangerous than anywhere else.
"First, quiet your mana circuit."
"Like this?"
Tia succeeded at hiding with far more practiced skill than me. I also managed to hide on my second try, and I lowered my voice and continued.
"How well can you see in the dark?"
"About 50 meters, I think."
"A goblin's vision is one third of that."
Explaining that much was enough.
"So we can attack them one-sidedly from outside their vision."
Of course, that had its limits too. No matter how one-sidedly we could attack, the weapons themselves had limited range.
Both the shortbow Tia had brought and the light crossbow I'd brought had normal ranges far shorter than the vision we possessed. Their maximum range was longer than our vision, but attacks beyond normal range took a penalty. The advantage gained from one-sided vision was canceled out by the disadvantage of maximum range.
That was where Tia's Feat came in.
［Feat］Sharpshooter
Requirement: Dexterity 13 or higher
You gain the following benefits:
▶Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 1, up to a maximum of 20.
▶Sharpshooting
When you use a ranged weapon, attacking an enemy at maximum range does not impose disadvantage.
When you attack with a ranged weapon, you can attack enemies up to twice the maximum range.
If you attack an enemy beyond maximum range, that attack suffers disadvantage.
▶Precision Shot
Your attacks with ranged weapons ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
Thanks to this Feat's effect, there was no penalty even when attacking beyond normal range. This was exactly the ability I'd received from Tia through sharing.
What had been dealt to the kobolds and goblins yesterday was a comfortable death in their sleep. But what awaited them today was the terror of arrows flying from outside their vision.
***
Thunk, thunk.
"Gurk!"
"Krelelelek!"
Goblin minions came running toward the direction the arrows had come from at the deaths of their comrades. But their steps were far too slow.
"This speed limit from mana is nice."
Creatures living in the labyrinth have their speed limited by mana resistance when moving.
Basically 54 meters per minute. Exactly as far as my darkvision. If they activated their mana circuit to accelerate, about twice that.
In other words, it would take the goblin minions 30 seconds to reach us, and in that time I could plant at least five arrows in them.
But whether they lacked arithmetic ability or lacked fear, the goblins came running with their eyes flashing.
One more arrow into a goblin like that. Another one collapsed just like that. Goblin minions died to a single arrow.
［Feature］Sneak Attack
That was the second function I'd taken from Tia. A function that added extra damage when attacking with a ranged weapon or a finesse weapon if you had advantage or an ally within 1.5 meters.
With extra damage added on top of an already advantageous environment, there was no chance for the goblin minions to survive.
Because we'd become a party of two, the time it took for four of them to rush out and be annihilated without dealing any damage was 12 seconds. It was an overwhelming victory.
"This is... adventuring?"
Leaving behind Tia, who was bewildered because our first battle had been fought with cheats, I gathered the monsters' corpses and offered them as sacrifices.
We split the reward between two people, but since there were twice as many enemies, the experience per person was still 50. I went from the 250 experience I'd earned yesterday to 300, which meant I'd reached level 2.
A comfortable sensation, different from a thrill, as if I'd reached some lofty space. Within it, I checked my status.
［Name］ː Seo Do-hyeon
［Race］ː Human
［Level］ː 2 (300 EXP)
［Class］ː Sorcerer
□STR : 9
□DEX : 16
■CON : 18
□INT : 11
□WIS : 15
■CHA : 20
One more magic circuit was added, and I could gain a new 1st-circle** spell. Also, Sorcerers learned Metamagic from level 2, allowing them to use tricks when casting spells.
After choosing my spell amid the exhilarating sensation filling my whole mind, I found Tia watching me with an envious gaze.
"Was that just now a level-up?"
"Did my body glow or something?"
I hadn't noticed, but did level-ups actually have an effect?
"No. You looked like you were staring off into the distance."
"Really? Then shall we continue the adventure?"
I activated my newly gained spell, Mage Armor, wrapping it around my body as I spoke. This spell lasted 8 hours, so it was better to use it in advance.
"This isn't adventuring."
Whether Tia denied reality or not, our adventure continued. Meaning we one-sidedly slaughtered goblins and kobolds.
***
Load the crossbow, click the finger, and it was time for experience to be duplicated.
An adventure where the time spent wandering the cave looking for suitable monster groups was longer than the fighting.
In the midst of that, we naturally began talking in hushed voices.
"Tia, you seem to have plenty of equipment and skill, so why couldn't you become an adventurer?"
"Adventurers have to entrust their lives to each other. No one accepts just anyone as a companion."
"What? Then how do new adventurers operate?"
"Usually adventurers already come in with a party from outside."
"Like us?"
"No. Didn't you all come unintentionally? Ordinary adventurers are different."
She said that ordinary adventurers paid donations or Contribution Points to the temple to enter this labyrinth world.
Most adventurers who entered this labyrinth world already had a party they'd been active with.
"Then what about you, Tia?"
"I was born in Tartarus."
Both her father and mother had been adventurers, but they'd passed away. There had been an adventurer who looked after her in their place, but she too had lost her life during an adventure.
'So it was that woman named Bel I saw in the dream.'
"Because of that, to become an adventurer, you need a letter of recommendation."
She added that you could get a letter of recommendation by working under a city notable for a long time, building trust, and paying a sufficient price for it.
Something felt a little strange. If she worked under a notable, why was she making money by stealing?
"He's a retired adventurer notorious in the back alleys. He's not a good person, but the back alleys are kept under control thanks to him."
Of course, since he wasn't a good person, even if you got a letter of recommendation from him, the places you could use it were limited.
It would probably only work on debtors at the gambling house he ran, and even then, if a criminal record came into play, you'd be kicked out.
"...Why did you want to become an adventurer so badly?"
"When I was young, it was because I admired Big Sis Bel, the adventurer who looked after me."
Tia seemed to be gazing somewhere far away as she said that.
"After she died during an adventure, I hated the monsters so much."
As she said that, Tia gritted her teeth.
"I struggled to become an adventurer by any means, and before I knew it, I'd walked too far down the road to quit."
Tia, who had been talking while facing forward the whole time,
suddenly turned toward me and continued.
"So I thank you, Do-hyeon. Thanks to you, I've started adventuring."
Feeling awkward at those words, I answered teasingly.
"Then make sure to repay me with that body of yours."
"Wh-what are you saying!"
I asked back to Tia, who was shouting at me with a red face.
"I meant shoot your bow diligently. What did you think I meant?"
"Ugh! I'm starting to think maybe I should have gone for the letter of recommendation after all."
"Then you wouldn't have gotten to hunt this comfortably, would you?"
"Even if you searched the entire City of Light, you'd be the only adventurer who hunts like this."
The adventure I dreamed of wasn't like this. That was how Tia lamented.
Feeling somehow like I'd dirtied Tia's dream, I changed the subject.
"Come to think of it, what is this City of Light? Wasn't this Tartarus?"
"Tartarus is the name of the world. The City of Light is the name of this city where we're staying."
"Really? It's a strange name."
Isn't that more like a nickname than a name?
"It's because the gods built the city. In particular, they say the walls were raised by the God of Light and the Sea God themselves."
Aha. So it's the City of Light because it's the God of Light's city.
"Then are there other cities?"
"There are several cities just on the upper layer of the labyrinth, and I've heard there are cities on the middle and lower layers too."
"How do you get to other cities?"
"I heard you can reach them by passing several trials in open terrain. That's only for cities on the same layer, though. Cities on different layers require passing through a closed labyrinth."
So if we went to the end of this cave, another city would appear?
"Then what city is at the end of this cave?"
"I heard it's Ocean City."
Tia added that she'd only heard it in passing, so she wasn't certain.
"An ocean in a labyrinth. That's amazing."
I thought about asking more, since it might be the next city we'd go to, but
"Sorry to interrupt, but there are monsters."
"Yeah, I saw them too."
The path we'd arrived at was a dead end. Three monsters stood there as if guarding the place.
But they were different from the goblins, which were small humans with hooked noses and mouths full of fangs, or the kobolds, which were humans with small dragon heads.
Three well-armed men with dark skin and flat, broad noses stood there. Weren't only kobolds and goblins supposed to appear here?
"What are those?"
"Monsters I don't know either."
『They are hobgoblins.』
What the hell is that.
"What do we do, Do-hyeon?"
With the appearance of monsters we'd never seen before, it was obviously a battle we should avoid.
"Those are stairs, right?"
Behind them lay a staircase leading downward.