The Labyrinth City of Zarkal (3)
The Labyrinth City of Zarkal (3)
A forest path lined with trees with red leaves. At the end of it was an ornate pavilion.
The Moon Pavilion.
The Mystic Inquisition is a special group from the Kingdom of Adrian. They are one of the top three examiners in the continent, led by the legendary swordmaster, the Moon Empress.
"It's far, so far."
As he walked along the road, Daylon thought of the participants in this Hell War. A woman whose name was being talked about as the next Moon Empress.
It was rumored that she had great skill and an excellent personality.
If it was the Moon Empress, there would be no need for verification, but he had stopped by to confirm their intentions.
"I hope this isn't a waste of time."
As he slowly walked down the street.
Kiiiiii!
He raised his hand at the familiar sound. A blue hawk landed lightly on his arm.
A spirit beast, raised by the Special Task Force.
A Blue Hawk.
It has the uncanny ability to locate the location of the Task Force members. Unless it's in the Demon World or the Heavenly Realms, there's nothing it can't find.
"Report?"
Daylon plucked the paper from the strap at the blue hawk's leg. He untied it and read the sender's name: Redin.
[Report]
-Came in contact with two of Terry's men, but both were killed in combat.
-Discovered the Black Dragon Clan's headquarters shortly before their deaths.
.
.
.
To summarize.
Using the Black Dragon Clan to cause an internal rift, and then waiting for Terry to reveal himself in the process.
"Not bad."
He marveled at Redin's ability to plan.
This wasn't something that could be taught. It takes an innate sense, a meticulous planning, and the confidence to carry it out.
In that respect, Redin was a natural.
"My eyes weren't wrong after all."
When he first met Redin, there was nothing but youthful ambition. The numbers on his record showed him near the bottom of the class.
But he liked his grit, so he hired him.
Daylon liked the way he didn't hesitate to act when it came to dealing with prisoners. He figured he'd be able to teach the rest, and he had the environment to do so.
And Redin had proven himself.
"Rascal"
The grin on Daylon's face showed no sign of fading.
Sskkrr!
He scribbled a note in the report, "Take care of yourself, and if you see Terry, make sure to check in with me first," and sent the blue hawk flying.
Flap-Flap!
After watching the blue hawk fly off into the distance, he turned his head to look at the main gate of the Moon Pavilion in front of him.
"It'll be quiet for a while, so he can move around freely."
He smirked.
Trying to suppress the grin that was growing on his face, Daylon walked through the doorway.
Two women blocked his approach.
"Where are you from?"
"My name is Daylon, 7th Division Captain of Burning Hell."
"What brings you here?"
"I'm here to meet with the Moon Empress regarding the participants in this Hell War."
One of the women shook her head slightly.
"The master is outside right now."
"No.. Damn it, Then is the department head available?"
"I'll escort you in, sir, please come in."
* * *
It's been five days since he left the Black Dragon Clan.
There are no teleporters near the Black Dragon Clan's headquarters, so Redin was forced to travel by horse-drawn carriage.
The destination he was heading to wasn't too far from the Black Dragon Clan.
Clip-clop!
Clip-clop!
The sound of horses' hooves and the rolling of the carriage. As he listens quietly with his eyes closed, the strange rhythm makes him feel languid.
"Sir, we are nearing our destination."
The coachman's voice snaps his eyes open.
He raises his hand to open the curtains, and through the small window, he catches a glimpse of the city.
A large expanse of blackened land.
Three gaping holes in the center.
Between the triangular holes, various buildings were built, and many people were moving in and out.
Zarkal, the Labyrinth City.
Those three holes are the entrances to the Labyrinth, and within them are a vast number of dungeons.
Traces left behind by the Demonic Cult.
The kingdoms have sent troops to eradicate them, but the numbers are too great to be easily dealt with, and adventurers have been hired to do it for them.
Guilds naturally developed along the way, and as people gathered, the city quickly grew.
"Let's pick up the pace, Iya!"
The coachman began to speed up, and the city of Zarkal was quickly drawing closer. Before entering Zarkhal, they stopped at a checkpoint and Redin handed over his fake ID.
"Please proceed."
The carriage drove into Zarkhal.
The road was made of white bricks.
The carriage moved along it.
"Recruiting new guild members!"
"We are looking for mercenaries to enter Labyrinth 1!"
"Any mages that can cast fire magic?"
Around the perimeter of the labyrinth, various people were forming parties, and as they entered the center, a bustling street was revealed.
"We're selling Fireball Magic Scrolls at a bargain price, just for today!"
"If you have anything broken, we'll fix it."
"Grab a bite to eat before you head out to explore the labyrinth!"
For starters, accommodations.
Restaurants, smithies, magic shops, and more.
Contrary to the name of Labyrinth City, there was a lively atmosphere.
"I'll get off here."
"Thank you for choosing us!"
After handing the coachman the money, he stepped off the carriage. Redin looked around for a moment, remembering what he'd seen in the game.
While looking around, he stopped in front of a shop.
[Tears streamed down my face]
It was one of the places he remembered from his quest in the Labyrinth City of Zarkal because of its unusual name.
"I guess you made it, huh?"
There's someone he agreed to meet here.
The coachman from when he gained the Phoenix's power. And to get a report on Bordeaux, the potion maker from last time.
There's something he needs to do here, and so Redin left a message for him when he left the Black Dragon Clan.
Creak!
The shop was quiet as he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Scanning the place, he recognizes the man in the corner and walks over.
Coachman Reto
Redin recalls a sullen look on his face when he was under the slave trader's thumb, but he seemed to lighten up now that he was living off the money he gave him.
"Over here."
Reto saw him and waved.
He walked over and sat down across from him.
"How have you been?"
"Oh yeah, I'm doing great, thanks to you Bahad."
"I'm hungry, let's order some food first."
"I've been waiting for a few days and I've been eating some. Seriously, the food here makes my eyes water."
Whoa.
He recalls a pointless discussion among users once. Does it mean that the food is so good that it makes you cry, or does it mean something else?
They couldn't come to a consensus.
"Is it really that good?"
"It's unnecessarily spicy and salty. It's so spicy that I can't keep my eyes from watering. Personally, I recommend changing restaurants."
"Let's do it."
They left the shop and moved to a place with decent customers nearby.
"The seafood pasta here is amazing."
"Order all you want."
"Boss, I'll have two spicy seafood pastas here, two beef steaks, and some extra bread!"
After ordering neatly, Reto looked at Redin with a satisfied expression.¹
"Thank you so much again, Bahad, you saved my life back then, and now I'm living happily ever since."
"Really?"
"Yes. This time, my daughter has entered the Magic Tower as a magical prospect in the Kingdom of Resha. The mages say she's very talented, hahahaha. If Master Bahad hadn't sent her to the Resha Kingdom, I'd never have been able to...."
Reto's eyes lit up.
"Whatever you want me to do. I will give you all my devotion at the cost of my life."
"I see you are."
He cleared his throat with a light sip of water.
Now it was time to talk about something important.
Using mana, he muffled any outgoing sounds.
"What happened to that thing I had you investigate?"
"Oh, do you mean that Bordeaux guy?"
Redin nodded.
In order to get a head start on the various potions Bordeaux would make, Redin had instructed Reto to find him.
"Right."
"There are a total of five people that I've found. All of them are in the capital of the Kingdom of Resha, and two of them are mages."
"Make sure you didn't overlook anything, and find out more about those five. Make sure you don't get detected by the mages."
"Yes. Of course."
After that, the food was brought out, and Redin removed the barrier and concentrated on eating.
He didn't like seafood.
Normally he wasn't a fan of seafood.
The spicy seafood pasta was delicious enough to overcome that aversion.² The steak melted in his mouth, and the bread dipped in the pasta sauce was just too...
"Delicious."
"I know a couple great places, let's get some barbecue for dinner."
"I'm looking forward to it."
After filling up his stomach, he washed his mouth with carbonated water. After paying, Reto walked over and sat back down.
"So what do you say we do next? Let's go back and continue our discussion on Bordeaux?"
"No. I have a job for you. I want you to find out who's looking for fairies in the Labyrinth City."
"Do they have any special looks or characteristics?"
"A beggar."
"What?"
"If you find someone in an abandoned area, he or she will come out. If you don't want to go in alone, put in a request with the guild."
"Okay."
Redin left the shop with Reto.
Following behind, Reto asked from the side.
"Are you going straight to your hostel?"
"No. I have a stop to make."
"Well, take this."
Reto handed him something.
A piece of paper and a key.
"I've made arrangements for you. I managed to get a double room, so you can make yourself comfortable. This is the address, and this is the key."
This is way more comfortable than he anticipated.³
"I'll do what I can to find out what you asked me to do, and if you're at the hotel around dinner time, I'll show you where to eat."
"See you then."
"Yeah!"
After parting ways with Reto, Redin headed toward an alley lined with shops. Magical goods shops clustered in the middle of the street.
There were several different kinds of shops, some with a large number of patrons and some with a smaller crowd.
He entered the most crowded one, the [Wizard's Treasure House].
The attendant waiting at the entrance approached him.
He carefully examined him up and down and seemed to be sizing him up, so Redin fished a gem out of his pocket and handed it over.
A gem from the Black Dragon Clan's hideout.
"Welcome, sir, just tell me what you need and I'll find it for you."
He placed an order for a few things from the cheerful attendant.
"One low-grade subspace pouch, ten of each type of basic magic scroll, ten of each type of two-circle attribute magic, one magic tent, a water container for drinking water, and a food storage box."
"Hmmm... Sir, it would be difficult for you to purchase all of those items with this gem alone."
He took out two more gems from his pocket.
"Here."
"Please give me a moment!"
The staff member quickly disappeared, and reappeared in a matter of seconds, as he politely held out both hands.
A blue pouch rested on top of them.
"As a perk of being a VIP customer, I've upgraded your subspace pouch to intermediate. Thank you for patronizing our store."
He took the pouch.
Then he visualized a warehouse in his mind, containing the items he'd previously mentioned.
Redin thought of an attribute magic scroll, and a scroll appeared in his hand. He imagined putting it back into the storage and then the scroll disappeared from his hand.
'This is how it works, huh?'
"See you later."
"Please return again in the future!"
In the meantime, he stopped by a blacksmith shop to purchase a replacement for his famed sword, Cairo, and bought some leather armor and extra clothes to wear.
After wandering around the downtown area like that.
Just as he was about to make his way back to his hotel, the colors in front of him shifted and a streak of green flashed.
The activation of the Eye of Arrakis.
“A coincidence?”
The green line led to a place fairly close by. A tavern near his lodging. He moved closer to it.
Squeak!
Pushing open the door, he stepped inside.
"Drink! Drink!"
He saw a woman holding a glass the size of an adult's thigh. She looked so familiar that there was no way he couldn't recognize her.
One of the top 3 ranked swordmaster in the continent.
At the same time, she was also the leader of the Moon Pavilion.
This was the swordswoman Jin Sowol.
The woman glanced at him.
"Whooa..."
And he made eye contact with her.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Reto noticed Redin has a preference in eating Beef Steak that's why he ordered it.
2. Leave a Comment if you like to get the recipe for the Spicy Seafood Pasta.
3. Recall Redin booked in a hostel upon entering the City, In a hostel, he'll stay in dorm rooms with anywhere from 4 to 24 other people. Hence the reaction he had when Reto suddenly gave a key to a Hotel he pre-arrange without Redin knowing.