An Unexpected Gift
From Efusio’s appearance to the moment we joined forces to finish him off, and finally to the adventurers who had fallen victim to him returning safely, I began recounting every detail slowly and carefully.
“My word. Such a thing happened.”
“Oh-ho! You responded like that in that situation? That was truly a flash of brilliance.”
While listening to my story, he felt less like a guildmaster and more like a kind neighborly uncle. The guildmaster kept interjecting with exclamations of admiration and sighs, nodding along enthusiastically. Thanks to the consideration he showed without me even noticing, I was able to shake off most of my tension and nervousness and recount everything without a single mistake.
“I’ve heard it all. In the end, we can assume the floor guardian of the first floor won’t be appearing again.”
“Yes. That seems to be the case.”
No matter how friendly the guildmaster in front of me appeared, he was still someone I was meeting for the first time today. The overwhelming presence he had briefly shown earlier made it clear he was an incredibly powerful individual. I couldn’t trust him completely. That was why I hid the fact that Isaac and I were Transmigrators, and claimed that only the late Isaac would have known the exact conditions for summoning Efusio.
‘I don’t know what he’s thinking inside, but it seems like it went over well on the surface at least.’
Well… it was just a small lie buried among mostly truths, after all.
“If you hadn’t managed to withstand his final mental attack, I shudder to imagine how many adventurers would have had to die.”
Indeed. If I had also been afflicted with the Oblivion status, no one would have been able to move immediately. Unless high-ranking adventurers had organized a proper subjugation party… countless low- and mid-floor adventurers would have fallen to Oblivion, losing their traits, and at least several hundred would have died. That would have only made the creature stronger, turning it into a massive headache.
Tap! The guildmaster snapped his fingers, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
“Now that I’ve heard everything, it’s time for a warning.”
A warning?
“I mentioned the Labyrinth Record to you earlier, didn’t I? You haven’t forgotten already, have you?”
“Of course not! I remember it clearly.”
“Good. Then you should also understand just how much attention an achievement with the word ‘First’ engraved on it will attract.”
⋯I understood what he meant. Not only had we defeated a creature that hadn’t been discovered in decades, but a newly registered low-floor adventurer had claimed the top spot, surpassing dozens of other adventurers who participated in the subjugation?
‘Some might approach out of curiosity, while others might try to crush the bud before it grows. What do I do now?’
Seeming to understand my worried expression, the guildmaster folded his arms and spoke in a reassuring tone.
“Don’t worry for the time being. I, Rakion, will do my best to block any external pressure or attention directed at you because of this achievement.”
“⋯Why would you go so far? No matter how much people talk about it being a first-time achievement, I’m still just a beginner adventurer right now.”
“Oh-ho! For now, a simple word of thanks is enough.”
“Th-then, thank you.”
So this was the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild.
“I’m only human, so I can’t take responsibility for every adventurer’s life. But I’m not enough of a fool to sit still after seeing a promising sprout for the first time in a while. I didn’t earn the title of Adventurer’s Guildmaster for nothing.”
Along with his words came a ferocious smile. All traces of his previous friendly and sly demeanor vanished, replaced by nothing but a monster brimming with fighting spirit, as if he would crush anyone who dared to provoke him.
“Just focus on overcoming the hardships you encounter in the Great Labyrinth and the city, and grow stronger. I’m only intervening in this particular matter, so never let your guard down. Understood?”
“Yes! I’ll keep it in mind. I’ll keep it firmly in mind!”
After hearing my response, the guildmaster nodded in satisfaction. He cleared his throat and pointed at my hand, saying he had one last matter to attend to. More precisely, he pointed at the pure white gloves I was wearing.
“So that’s the unique equipment you obtained after subjugating the floor guardian?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Um… to summarize its ability, it allows me to store and handle various weapons.”
“Excellent! Follow me. Consider this an investment in a promising young adventurer who’s clearly going places—I’ll give you a gift!”
Huh? Before I could even voice any objections, the guildmaster began walking off, declaring he wouldn’t hear any arguments. The situation flowed so naturally that I didn’t even have time to say anything.
“Uung—”
Clunk.
When he placed his hand on something in the office and infused it with mana, a section of the nearby wall slid open, revealing another space.
“What are you doing? Stop dawdling and come in already.”
Whoa… seriously? What on earth was he trying to give me?
‘He did say it was an investment. I shouldn’t get my hopes up too much.’
[Chaos’s eyes sparkle as it clasps its hands together in anticipation.]
‘No. If Chaos does that, what does that make me?’
[Chaos says it’s canceling its expectations!]
Following the guildmaster—rather, Rakion—I stepped inside.
‘It’s huge! Did he cast some kind of space-expansion magic?’
He stopped walking and stroked his chin in thought. But before that sight could fully register, something else caught my eye first.
It was the countless weapons and unknown items displayed on shelves and along the walls. Among them, one sword in particular stood out—sealed so tightly it was almost suffocating, locked inside some kind of device and further bound by chains and magic circles.
A sword dropped after the unknown monster that appeared through Dimension Break—annihilating everything in its vicinity—was finally subdued by the End of Chaos after countless sacrifices.
The one who wields this demonic sword gains immense power, but cannot resist the fate of leading themselves and everything around them to ruin.
—Upon first equipping, the user is permanently afflicted with “Path to Ruin.” This state cannot be changed by any means.
—All of the user’s stats increase by six stages.
—Grants the trait “Wave of Annihilation.”
—Grants the trait “Aura of Extinction.”
Holy shit. That was insane. The moment I saw it, a curse nearly slipped out.
‘How the hell does a weapon this terrifying even exist?’
Was it really okay to keep something like this in a personal space? Shouldn’t this be managed at a national level?
⋯No. If it fell into the wrong hands by mistake, it would be an absolute disaster. Maybe it was right for a high-ranking individual to take responsibility and keep it sealed.
Next to it, a red gem was similarly sealed.
The heart of Ignis, a mutant named Flame Giant that appeared in the deeper floors.
Anyone with mana below a certain threshold will burst into flames and turn to ash the moment they touch it.
Consuming it grants absolute resistance to all things related to fire, but comes with a corresponding heavy price.
—Grants the trait “Ignis” upon consumption.
—Permanently applies “Burning Sanity” upon consumption. This state cannot be changed by any means.
—Permanently and drastically reduces mental strength upon consumption.
—If the user enters a near-death state while having lost their sanity, they transform into a flame giant that burns everything, receiving corrections to their stats and traits. They can never return to their original form.
Whoa.
“Haha, you cute little rascal. That’s enough, that’s enough. Your eyes are about to pop out.”
Urk. I had been absentmindedly reading the information that kept appearing. To anyone watching, it must have looked like I was staring intensely at each item one by one.
‘This is terrifying. Is the guild headquarters even safe?’
“You can tell how valuable those are, can’t you? I thought as much.”
Rakion chuckled heartily.
“Well, I do spend more time at the Adventurer’s Guild than at my own residence.”
He scratched his cheek, saying such a thing was impossible.
“Since I’ve decided to store them in the guild headquarters, there’s no one capable of bypassing the headquarters’ defenses and my own security measures. I can say that with certainty.”
Right. ‘I must’ve been out of my mind. I’ve got other things to worry about. Get a grip.’
“Hmm. If you managed to take down a floor guardian… your offensive power should be sufficient. I’ve decided. I’ll go with this one.”
Rakion moved to one of the display shelves and lifted something—a massive greatsword with an enormous, broad blade. It was a greatsword so large that it made Barak, which was an arming sword, look tiny by comparison.
“Bwahahaha! A greatsword is every man’s romance, after all!”
He was… giving this to me?
“It’s one of the weapons I used to favor back in the day, before I reached the mid floors. What do you think?”
I wasn’t even sure if I could lift it.
A massive greatsword forged by a dwarf master smith using special magic crystals and black iron. It specializes in defense using its broad blade rather than offense.
When mana is infused into the sword via the special magic crystal, its durability is restored. However, if the blade is completely destroyed or the magic crystal reaches the end of its lifespan, its functions cease.
—Extremely durable due to the meticulous craftsmanship during its creation.
—When blocking projectiles with the blade, applies minor damage reduction.
—When blocking attacks with the blade, applies moderate stagger resistance and minor defense increase.
—Increases stamina by one stage when equipped.
“It’ll be a great help defensively. Even if you swing it around relying purely on brute strength, it should still be useful.”
“Are you really giving something this valuable to me—”
“Tsk. What did I say earlier?”
He had said a single word of thanks was enough.
“Thank you very much.”
“Good, that’s enough. Go ahead and try using the gloves’ ability. It can store things, right?”
I took Rehagen from Rakion and equipped it.
[Stamina has increased by one stage.]
‘Ugh. It’s as heavy as it looks. Solid, too.’
Not only was its size massive, but the black iron metal itself seemed to be an inherently heavy and durable material. If I wanted to wield it properly or freely assume defensive stances, I’d probably need to keep using Steel Body continuously.
Staring intently at the greatsword held in both hands, I thought about registering it.
[Would you like to register ‘Rehagen, the Shield Sword’ to the Arsenal of Convergence?]
‘Register it.’
[Registration complete. 3 slots remaining.]
I had already registered Barak while traveling through the portal inside the labyrinth.
“Oh-ho. Once registered, you can freely withdraw and store it from the pocket dimension, and there’s no sign at all when you put it in or take it out.”
Rakion remarked that if used well, it could become a surprise attack technique in itself.
“Hmm. Well, I suppose we’re done with everything now. You should head back. Even I have things to do, you know.”
“Yes, sir.”
We exited the hidden space. Before grabbing the doorknob, I bowed as politely as possible, grateful for everything I had received.
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Right. Take care. Since I’m not someone you can meet easily, I hope you’ll remember everything I’ve said until now.”
Thud.
‘Whew.’
Perhaps because I had expended too much mental energy, my legs nearly gave out the moment I closed the door behind me. Only an hour or two had passed at most, yet it felt like I had been in that office three or four times longer.
‘Still, I’m glad it went well. If I had ruined my private audience with the Adventurer’s Guildmaster, just imagining it is terrifying…’
[Chaos lets out a sigh of relief, saying that if you had gotten on his bad side or earned his displeasure, entering the Great Labyrinth would have been the least of your worries—daily life in the city itself would have become difficult.]
Ah, right. This wasn’t the time to be standing around. Thinking about how Yeriel and Lumia had been anxiously waiting for not just a moment, but a whole one or two hours, strength returned to my previously weakened legs, and I began moving again.
“Finished with your business? Seeing a low-floor adventurer come back down safely after reaching the fifth floor, you’ll probably shed that iron tag in a few years.”
As I descended the stairs, the guard I had seen earlier spoke to me.
From the fourth floor upward, all the adventurers coming and going were high-ranking. Compared to mid-floor adventurers, the number of high- and deep-floor adventurers dropped sharply, so this guy must be pretty bored too.
“Yes. Well, I was incredibly nervous when I went in, but thankfully it wasn’t anything that would make me tremble in fear.”
“Kekeke, no one doesn’t get nervous the first time they meet the guildmaster. You did well. You can pass.”
“Thank you. Then.”
I gave a light nod. Leaving behind the guard whose stiffness had noticeably eased as he smirked, I headed down to the first floor.
‘Let’s see, where are they?’
After glancing around for a bit, I spotted the two of them sitting at a table in a distant corner.
‘Why do they both look so serious? Did something happen while I was gone?’
I quickly approached and tapped the table.