The Sparring Challenge
Just as we’d discussed yesterday, I packed up my meager belongings from the room, returned the key to the innkeeper, and finished my last meal there before heading to the guild with Yeriel. As we walked, my thoughts turned to Lumia.
“Is there really no way to remove the curse Lumia received, even at the cathedral? It shows up as a trait on the status window.”
[Chaos shakes its head, stating that traits connected to gods cannot be erased through ordinary means.]
If ordinary methods won’t work, maybe once I become a high-ranking adventurer—someone who reaches the upper or deeper floors—there’ll be a way? Lost in thought, I soon found myself at the guild. When I opened the door and stepped inside, I noticed several adventurers’ gazes lingering on one particular table. Sure enough, Lumia sat alone in the corner, staring blankly at the floor with her head bowed.
“Lumia! Sorry for making you wait so long.”
The moment she heard my voice, her eyes lit up as if someone had flipped a switch.
“It’s fine. More importantly, Aren… I missed you so much.”
It hadn’t even been a full day. “Yeah. I missed you too.”
“Eep. Really?”
“Of course. Oh, right—Yeriel and I decided to move into the same inn you’re staying at starting today.” I shrugged and continued. “Figured it’d be less of a hassle going forward. We’re a party now, after all.”
Lumia stared at me intently. “My body feels warm again and I’m in such a good moo—”
Smack.
“For goodness’ sake! If we don’t get to the reception desk right now, we’ll be late for training! Aren, let’s go line up at the party registration counter over there.” Yeriel cut her off, spreading her arms to shield Lumia before pointing toward the counter.
Right. If we wanted to finish registering before the crowd arrived, we needed to move quickly. Hopefully the process wouldn’t take too long. We joined the shortest line, and several people who had been staring at Lumia quietly switched lines, so our turn came quickly.
“Hello. How may I help you?”
“We’d like to form a fixed party.”
“Is the purpose to establish a permanent party? One moment, please.”
When the receptionist asked for my name, I gave it. “Yes! Your information has been confirmed. Are the two people behind you the intended party members?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Since Aren has already been verified, could the two of you please step forward, state your names, and complete the consent process?”
The receptionist gestured for Yeriel and Lumia to come forward. After a short wait, they finished their part.
“Um, Aren?”
When I approached again, the receptionist suddenly leaned in and whispered, “That Lumia woman… she has two recorded incidents of being the sole survivor after her party was wiped out, and there are other unfavorable rumors. Are you certain you still want to form a fixed party with her?”
Argh! The meddling made my blood boil the instant I heard it. Still, I calmed myself and decided to brush it off. She was only trying to look out for me, after all.
“Yes, my decision hasn’t changed. Please proceed with the registration. Thank you for your concern.”
“R-right. The fee for establishing a fixed party is ten silver coins. …Yes, confirmed. The registration is complete. You may go now.”
“Thank you.”
With the guild business settled, we headed upstairs around the time today’s training was scheduled to begin. Yeriel was fine, but I wasn’t sure if Lumia would be allowed in. Just in case, I opened the door, greeted Bardus and Berkel, and asked for permission. Both looked a little reluctant, but they gave their approval, so Lumia was able to enter as well.
Bardus let out a low hum when he saw Lumia, then quickly apologized with an awkward expression. “Hmm… so you really are an Arar. Ah, my apologies. I’d heard the rumors, but this is the first time I’ve seen one with my own eyes.”
Bardus forced a hearty laugh, clearly feeling guilty. “Haha, if she’s one of Aren’s companions—the ones I’ve been watching these past few days—she can’t be a bad person.”
“Yes. I haven’t been in the party long myself, but I can confidently say Lumia isn’t a bad person.”
Explaining about the curse through my trait would be more trouble than it was worth right now, so a vague answer seemed best.
“And don’t worry about the rumors regarding her misfortune. I’ve been with her all day and nothing happened. A few hours of training together shouldn’t be a problem.”
Bardus laughed heartily. “Your name is Lumia, right? You’re truly fortunate to have met Aren. Don’t let him go.”
‘But why is Isaac just standing there? He’s not the type to let something like Lumia slide.’
Before Lumia could speak, Berkel said, “Even as a high-floor adventurer who took on instructor duties after retiring from active adventuring, I’ve never encountered an Arar before. The unusual people I’ve seen in this city so far… Easterners from far away, northern barbarians, wandering priests who worship forgotten gods, or noble high elves. And now an Arar has been added to that list.”
Berkel wore a distant, nostalgic expression as if recalling the past. Then he shook it off and spoke seriously. “It’s already the third day. I mentioned the training would last five days total, didn’t I? The Labyrinth will open in just a few days, so let’s not waste any more time and begin right away.”
The lesson started. We learned about the rest areas inside the Labyrinth and the floor guardians that appear when hidden conditions are met every five floors. While everyone was listening attentively, Isaac—who had been quiet in the corner—suddenly asked why it had to be every five floors. He wondered if floor guardians didn’t appear on floors below five, his face filled with both confusion and excitement.
“The 30th floor is still an unreached layer. Floor guardians have been discovered on the 5th, 10th, 15th, and so on—every five floors up to the 25th floor.”
Every five floors. I made a mental note.
“Because the adventurers who discovered the conditions have kept silent for their own reasons, very few people know how to summon the guardians.”
Berkel smirked and crossed his arms. “Even if someone did know, it takes a certain period of time for new guardians to appear in the places of those that were slain. So it’s not something beginners need to concern themselves with. Just keep it in mind.”
“Ah, right. Come to think of it,” he added, pointing at me, “after the first day’s training, I looked into your background, Aren. I never expected you to be the disciple of the Blood Princess. They say she once formed a party with an apostle and defeated Aldebaran on the 15th floor.”
Berkel continued with genuine admiration. “The sight of her wielding that unique weapon after slaying a guardian was terrifying even from a distance. That eerie blood-red sword dance is still vivid in my memory.”
So my master’s name came up here. The Great Bell Lin.
“Shit… I’m supposed to be the protagonist, so why the hell is that guy getting all the attention?”
Isaac muttered under his breath while glaring at me, clearly jealous after hearing Berkel’s words. Then he turned away with a scheming look on his face.
…Near the end of the lesson, Isaac—who had been deep in thought—turned his gaze toward me. With a mocking tone, as if he’d just heard some juicy gossip, he opened his mouth.
“By the way, I heard an interesting rumor. Yesterday, some cursed witch threw herself at you right in the middle of the guild, and you caught her, took her outside, and even hugged and stroked her!”
Ah, this bastard. Here we go again.
“Kya, I only found out what an Arar was yesterday, but you looked pretty impressive. This must be what forbidden love looks like!”
Had he completely lost his mind? Even as Berkel started glaring at him, Isaac kept running his mouth, oblivious.
“No, seriously—why did something like that even come to Labyrinth City in the first place? From what I hear, they’re born cursed and gather in some village with other outcasts? What kind of nuisance are they causing just by existing?”
What he said wasn’t entirely wrong, but saying it to her face was crossing the line.
“Anyway, you’ve got some nerve. Who knows when you’ll die just by standing next to her, but I guess you need that kind of guts to hug a beauty like that!”
“There he goes again. Isaac, you really…”
Even Bardus, who had been listening to the guy’s bluster and slip-ups for days, finally shook his head in disgust.
This bastard really hadn’t changed even after being watched for several days. Then Yeriel spoke in a low voice.
“Ugh. I can’t hold back anymore. Aren, hold my hand.”
…Was she serious? I took her hand anyway.
“You pathetic, washed-up thug who’d just float if thrown in water! I don’t know what kind of pathetic life you’ve lived until now, but you keep spouting bullshit that even beggars in the 8th district slums wouldn’t believe! The only thing you’re good at is mocking and tearing others down, and you keep provoking people on purpose?!”
Oh no.
“And when someone stronger than you says something, you’ll just grovel again, won’t you? No guts, no skill, and a face that looks like it was scraped from the bottom of the cathedral’s trash bin! My sister is a deep-floor adventurer—should I beg her to come stomp on a worm like you? Hmm?”
“…”
“You’re nothing but a cancerous tumor on society. I’d love to see the faces of the parents who gave birth to something like you and let you loose here! Or are they already dead and gone—mmph! Mmmph—!”
Whew. If she kept going, she’d probably wipe out the guy’s entire extended family. I covered her mouth and calmed her down.
[Chaos clutches its stomach and laughs uproariously.]
“Yeriel… thanks for getting angry on my behalf. But getting worked up over someone like that isn’t worth your time, you know?” I patted her shoulder. “If he gets insulted and receives attention, he’ll probably enjoy controlling other people’s emotions. Just calm down and take a deep breath, okay?”
…Nod.
When I looked around, Berkel was frozen in shock, still in the middle of approaching Isaac, while Bardus stood with his mouth hanging open as if his jaw had come unhinged. Lumia… the corner of her mouth was slightly raised.
“Ha. Seriously. What the—ugh, I feel dizzy. Did I bite into a rag or something?”
Isaac still looked dazed from Yeriel’s sudden outburst.
“Damn it. Did Lumia ask to be cursed? She probably came to the city because she had a reason to enter the Labyrinth.”
The more I thought about it, the less I understood.
“Whether it’s a nuisance or whatever, why the hell would you say that kind of crap to her face? Just to get under my skin? Because I’m the disciple of some famous person and it pisses you off?”
Isaac, this bastard… Did he really think he was special and amazing just because he’d been chosen by a god and dropped into a city modeled after a game he was familiar with?
‘An apostle would be one thing, but this guy only got two decent traits.’
[Chaos points at Isaac and sneers.]
There was no point in talking anymore. I needed his blood and hair as materials for the curse anyway, and this seemed like the perfect time.
“Whatever. Isaac. If you don’t like me, let’s just have a match. How about a light sparring session? The loser just has to sit out the remaining two days of training.”
Isaac’s eyes gleamed with interest. “Hah. I’ve been wanting to see just how great you think you are anyway. Thanks for setting it up. Sure. Want to do it right now?”
Perfect. He took the bait.
“Berkel, you heard that, right? Could you referee for us?”
Berkel finally snapped out of his daze and moved. “R-right, got it. As the witness, I’ll make sure there are no complaints later. We’ll move to the training ground, so everyone follow me.”
Great. Getting the materials for the curse spell would be easy now. On the way, Bardus approached me with a worried expression.
“You must be confident you’ll win if you suggested a sparring match. Make sure you crush him flat while you’re at it.”
“Of course. There’s no way I’ll lose to that guy. Don’t worry.”
You’d better prepare yourself, Isaac. Let’s have a light match before we risk our lives in the Labyrinth.