The Labyrinth City Seems Really Friendly with Anna! (2)
I walked over to the long row of reception counters, where staff sat side by side.
They didn’t seem to use a number-ticket system here, did they?
I was still glancing around for one when a woman with sky-blue hair called out to me.
"Hey! You there, bright blonde!"
"Oh my, are you speaking to me?"
"Yeah, you. Stop looking around and get over here."
She didn’t look like staff at all—more like someone free-spirited and playful, dressed casually with a straightforward air.
"New guide registration? Got your adventurer’s card?"
"Yes. If you would, please."
I handed her the wooden adventurer’s card. She slotted the identification into some device and checked my face against it.
"Name’s Lua? You’ve got some skill, huh?"
"You’re too kind."
"Newbies get a basic course. You taking it?"
"If it’s all right, I suppose I will."
"Kii… You don’t really look like you need it. Costs one silver coin."
Was the cost of living high, or was one silver just cheap? The old regret over Anna’s value floated up again.
Stop reminiscing about your childhood like that. It pains this mother’s heart.
Still, the fact that three silver coins equaled one Anna hadn’t changed, had it?
I handed over the silver. The woman quietly rose from her seat and told me to follow her. Watching her walk, she seemed quite capable.
I trailed after her into a room where a cluster of obviously green recruits were gathered together. Their multicolored hair made the place look almost fun.
"Go on, sit wherever."
Once I took a seat, the woman stepped up onto the platform.
"Hey, kids. Name’s Lorca, Gold 9-class guide. Gonna give you a quick lesson so you don’t die too easily. Kiki."
The guide newbies stared up at her with sparkling eyes, drawn in by that easygoing voice. Was she some kind of celebrity?
Well… the basic course was pretty much a review of things I already knew. Real fundamentals. Terrain assessment, danger sensing, stealth movement, hand signals. In short: map the place, crack treasure chests, disarm traps, and keep quiet. Only the hand signals were a little different in structure, so I memorized those.
The labyrinth had a single entrance portal, but the exit portals were spread wide every five floors; taking one recorded your personal deepest floor reached. Floor ten was a boss floor, and environmental shifts happened every ten floors as well. Only the first floor was an exception, with its own exit portal. There were also magic tools for forming parties. She didn’t recommend it, but if you were really nervous you could buy a full map of the first floor. Price: six silver coins—two whole Annas!
For now, up through the safe zone on the fifth floor, lighting was plentiful and patrols were fairly regular. Tch.
Daughter?
"All right! That’s the end of basic training. Kiki. Oh—anyone who’s finished the course can come to the guild anytime to practice lockpicking and trap disarming, so keep that in mind. These are commemorative gifts for completing the course. Take ’em."
Lorca handed out sturdy notebooks with hard covers and attached cords, solid-looking pens, and lanterns—all stamped with what looked like the Guide Guild’s symbol. Flipping the notebook open, I found a brief summary of the lesson plus a generous stack of graph-paper pages. Ah. For mapping.
All of this for one silver coin? Pretty cheap, actually.
Lorca noticed me examining the notebook and spoke up.
"Hey, little miss prim-and-proper. Come with me a second."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you."
Hm? What’s this about? I wasn’t being coy, exactly. Old habits from the convent just stuck. I tucked the notebook into my clothes, tilted my head, and followed her.
She stepped back behind the reception counter and said,
"You a noble?"
"Do I look like one?"
"Nngh. Dunno. Looks and manners scream noble… but no matter how I look at you, you’re no 0-class. So I’ll upgrade your adventurer’s card on my recommendation."
Lorca tilted her head, lips pursed.
"What if I’m some terrible villain? Why recommend me then?"
"Kiki. Then I just snick-snick."
She answered with a bright grin, drawing a finger across her throat. In that instant a fierce aura poured off Lorca.
As I thought—this place isn’t right! Hurry and find another profession.
Ah, that bloodthirsty edge. The chill of it felt rather nice. I smiled naturally in return.
"Thank you, Miss Lorca."
"What’s with the ‘Miss’? Call me big sister."
"Thank you, Miss Lorca."
"Prim little brat. Kiki."
Lorca snickered and fed my wooden ID into some machine, extracted a gem, then inserted a bronze metal rod. A soft pssh sounded; she blew on the rod after the tiny gem transferred and handed it over.
"There. Anyway, Lua—you’re Bronze 3-class now. I’m not staff here, so my recommendation only goes this far, which is a bit of a shame. Just stick to guiding, yeah? Kiki."
As she passed me the rod she casually glanced at my hands. Even I had to admit they were pale and completely free of calluses.
"Of course, Miss Lorca."
"I told you to call me big sister. If you make it big, you owe me a treat."
I demurely tilted my head.
"I’m quite all right, Miss Lorca."
"Nngh. So firm about it. Hard girl to get close to."
"Fufu. We can take our time becoming friends."
I gently offered my hand, hoping to take hers, but Lorca yanked hers back, rubbed her arm, and shuddered. Sharp instincts, this one. Heeh. So the recommendation was a kind of warning, was it? I looked at her with a faintly wounded expression.
"Whoa, whoa, don’t look at me like that. You don’t seem like someone who just came of age at all."
"Oh my. This year truly is my coming of age."
"Ki. That so? Guess it’s real. You sure you’re not a noble?"
"I’m not, Miss Lorca."
"Kii. For crying out loud."
Lorca kept tilting her head and scratched the back of her neck. Relying too much on gut feelings isn’t healthy, Miss Lorca.
You like women like that as well?
Well, she’s pretty, isn’t she?
I left the Guide Guild, paid another Anna for a magic carriage, and headed toward the labyrinth at the city center. Hmm. Anna was too precious; from now on I’d just run. Good for building stamina, too. I roughly calculated the route from the inn to the labyrinth in my head.
The area in front of the labyrinth could only be called a human blast furnace. A sprawling market spread before a massive white stone building. Shops with hastily scrawled signs and stalls hung with weapons crowded every inch. It felt like the perfect chaotic place for clueless greenhorns to get scammed or pickpocketed.
Be careful, daughter.
Come now—I’d be the one doing the scamming, not the other way around.
I… I see?
I passed people loudly recruiting party members and quietly took my place alone in the line for the labyrinth. Guards who looked fairly skilled checked adventurer cards against faces. Hmm. Outside you could commit whatever crime you liked so long as you didn’t do it inside the Labyrinth City—that was the stance?
After a short wait my turn arrived.
"You’re alone?"
"Yes."
"Please present your adventurer’s card."
I showed the brand-new bronze card. The guard slotted the rod into a machine similar to the guild’s, watched a green light and my face, then handed it back. Would a criminal get flagged there?
"Bronze adventurer entry fee is three silver coins. The fifth floor is relatively safe, but still be careful."
"Oh my, thank you for your concern."
The guard looked at my face and gave a bright smile. Of course! Another Anna here as well!
Daughter…
A short walk brought me to a waiting area where people clustered in parties, then a long, grand corridor of white stone. The sheer scale of the architecture stirred a sense of awe and pressure.
It’s been so long. The entrance still overflows with divinity, as expected.
Setting Auntie’s reminiscence aside, I followed the crowd until a massive portal shimmering with golden light came into view. Hmm. Shall I take a light stroll up to the fifth floor?
I waited my turn and stepped into the portal. Unlike the gates of my previous life, it felt like sinking into a soft, gentle sensation.
I arrived in a vast white space. No one else was visible—only me. A small, wavering golden portal floated ahead.
This is a sacred domain. Don’t go too far. You’ll return here.
Auntie’s voice sounded clearer than usual. Well… the space didn’t quite match my tastes. Too bright. My body seemed to like it, though. According to her, this place served as both a hub and a seal of sorts. Back in the day she always went on in hardcore mode, so I’d only half-listened, but it seemed even the locals didn’t know much about it.
I padded across and leapt into the small portal. Without any sensation at all, dirt ground met my feet. Then perfect darkness.
Hm? Plenty of lighting and patrols, she said? Well, suits me just fine.
Feeling at ease, I pulled up my hood and withdrew the notebook from inside Black. I hung the cord around my neck for that authentic newbie look and began sketching a rough map with the pen as I walked. Not many monsters around, it seemed.
Right as I thought that and rounded a corner, something caught my senses.
Hm? What’s this cute little thing?
I approached quietly. A round, jelly-like blob with an adorable face drawn on it was crawling across the floor.
A slime. If you get hit by its bouncing attack it stings quite a bit, so be careful.
Uh… a slime? This cute little guy?
Out of habit I quickly scanned the ceiling, corridor gaps, and holes. In my previous life, slimes were half-melted vomit-looking things that usually dropped from above…
I extended Black from my feet in a thread-thin strand and sliced the jelly cleanly in half.
Kyaak!
……
It was absurdly weak. The jelly burst in a strangely appetizing way, then melted into soft white powder. Stirring the powder with Black turned up a fingernail-sized gem fragment. Ah, that part was similar to the old days.
Hmm. Shall I pick up the pace?
I fed the remains and magic stone to Black, noted only the important details as alerts, and moved quickly. I understood the “instinct” Miss Lorca had mentioned, but did the portals apply something similar?
Daughter, aren’t you rushing too much?
Come on—compared to my previous life this is extremely slow. It’s light exercise and feels good.
I adjusted my pace until I was slightly out of breath while slaughtering or swallowing the cute jellies with Black. Thanks to Auntie’s power, even when I pushed a little harder I recovered almost at once. Black, thrilled with the tasty snacks, wriggled happily inside me, chewing away with cheerful crunches.
"Kya—kyaaaaah! D-don’t come near meee! H-how dare you! Filthy! Filthy! Someone! Someone, save meee!"
Just then, from quite a distance, a desperate yet somehow pathetic scream rang out.
What? A villainess young lady?