Into the Labyrinth with a Sucker
Having a complete party did not mean they set out at once. Coordinating schedules among party members was its own kind of business, after all.
As much as Rendel regretted not leaving right away, there was nothing he could do about it.
When they say jump, you jump.
A first-time porter like him had no say in the matter.
Udir the guide rose from her seat.
"We've settled on the second-floor forest zone. Meet at the labyrinth entrance tomorrow at ten in the morning. Everyone good with that?"
"Fine by me."
"Yes!"
"Then we're dismissed!"
Everyone stood and went their separate ways. Haber, Udir, and Lucia left together, heading off somewhere as a group.
As Rendel was about to leave the guild, someone caught hold of his sleeve.
"Rendel!"
It was Mirmya — the unusual fox beastman mage who carried a mace.
"Um… I'd like to thank you for the auction ticket from yesterday."
"Ah, the auction."
Right. Mirmya had taken the auction ticket without paying for it. Lokt hadn't told him the price, so he didn't know exactly how much it had cost, but from what he'd heard, it had been a considerable sum.
Mirmya's eyes sparkled as she gripped her mace tightly.
"Yes! At that auction, I was able to get a seal I absolutely needed."
"I'm glad it was of help to you."
Seeing that the auction ticket he'd been ready to throw away had actually helped Mirmya made him feel it hadn't been wasted after all. It was like discovering that a lottery ticket you'd tossed in the trash was actually a winner. And since the woman who'd obtained the seal was now in the same party, all the better.
"So, um — do you have a moment? There's something I really want to give you."
Something she wanted to give him?
Rendel's imagination briefly ran wild before he nodded.
He followed Mirmya, chatting along the way, and learned a few new things. She was the same age as him, and this would also be her first time entering the labyrinth.
Rendel studied her outfit and couldn't help but be impressed.
"That's unexpected."
The robe she wore was reinforced with mana.
"Hehe. I heard the labyrinth is dangerous, so I figured I should prepare thoroughly!"
It was high-grade equipment — good enough to qualify as an Engraving Item. She clearly had money.
Lokt's words came back to him.
Slathering yourself in money like that isn't good.
She looked like a prime target for enemies. But he kept that thought to himself.
The place Mirmya led him to was a small inn — apparently where she was staying. The "thanks" turned out not to be a meal or anything of the sort.
"Please wait just a moment! I'll bring it right out!"
He waited, gazing up at the signboard.
Cuckoo Inn
Before long she emerged from the inn carrying something that, at a glance, looked anything but ordinary.
"!!!"
Rendel's money-radar blared a full alarm.
"Th-this is…?!"
"This is my way of saying thanks. I had some money left over from the auction, so I bought it."
What she handed him was an Engraving Item — equipment imbued with a seal. Specifically, a bracer engraved with a lightweighting seal.
Rendel was speechless.
An Engraving Item?
Weren't these the kind of items whose prices started in the millions? And she was just… giving it to him?
Even Rendel, who burned money on the Dragon's Seal like he was throwing it into a pit, could only blink in stunned silence.
Mirmya looked thoroughly pleased with his reaction.
"W-well then, put it to good use!"
With that, she vanished back into the Cuckoo Inn in a flash.
"…What just happened?"
Rendel stared at the lightweighting bracer in his hands. It gave off a faint bluish aura — clearly not made of ordinary iron.
…No way.
Was Mirmya perhaps a woman of terrifying sucker-power? He'd accepted it, so he'd use it — but the cost-benefit ratio was wildly, absurdly off.
It was like exchanging gifts with a lover and giving a teddy bear only to receive a luxury sedan in return.
No — maybe even more extreme than that…
Rendel could only stand there staring at the Cuckoo Inn for a long while, marveling at Mirmya's capacity for being a mark.
The next day — the day they would finally enter the labyrinth — Rendel had barely slept, still reeling from the lightweighting bracer.
At the labyrinth entrance, Mirmya had arrived first and was waving.
"Rendel! Over here!"
"…"
There she was, greeting him with a sunny smile after having dropped a fortune on him. Was her head full of flowers? Or did she just genuinely like people?
Rendel approached and asked,
"This bracer. Are you really giving it to me?"
"Yes! You're my benefactor, Rendel!"
"…?"
"You helped me get the seal I absolutely needed! My b-benefactor!"
Mirmya… was difficult. He couldn't begin to figure out what went on in her head — especially with those excessively bright, sparkling eyes of hers.
"I'll gratefully accept it, then."
He didn't try to give it back. If he'd received it, he might as well use it. Whether he sold it later or kept wearing it was his business.
He strapped the lightweighting bracer onto his left arm. A normal bracer would have thrown off his balance with its weight, but this one didn't at all. It was light as a feather — he could barely tell it was on his left arm. And yet it was extraordinarily hard; on the lower floors, his left arm would be all but invincible.
After chatting with Mirmya for a few more minutes, the rest of the party arrived.
Haber the bear beastman eyed the large backpack on Rendel's back.
"You got here first. Wait long?"
"I just arrived."
"Good. No need to be tense — just take it easy. Not many dangers on the lower floors."
Haber was a 7th Class adventurer, and he spoke like someone with considerable labyrinth experience.
His gaze shifted to Mirmya.
"Mirmya. Do you know binding magic?"
"Y-yes!"
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Binding magic gathered the party's transfer points into one location when they entered the labyrinth through the magic circle at the entrance, so party members wouldn't scatter. Normally the entrance administrator applied it, but when a party had a mage — like theirs — the mage typically cast the binding magic.
Mirmya chanted the spell, and a current of mana washed over the party's bodies before fading.
"All done."
"Good. Let's go in."
The party stepped onto the magic circle before the labyrinth, and it began to glow.
Wooooong!
Their vision flashed white, and they landed in a dark space.
Thud.
"Ow!"
Mirmya's sharp cry rang out.
Everything was pitch black, and Rendel realized — he had entered the first floor of the labyrinth.
The air was musty and damp. The first floor, known as the Dark Cave, was so dark that movement without light was impossible.
Fwoosh!
Udir the guide raised a torch, illuminating their surroundings.
The first thing that came into view was Mirmya rubbing her backside.
Lucia the priestess looked at Rendel with praise.
"My, Rendel — you landed well. First-timers usually end up on their bottoms like Mirmya."
That was probably thanks to the first stage of the Dragon's Seal. He'd always been confident when it came to physical work.
Udir consulted a map.
"…We're a bit far from the transfer stone. This'll take a while."
Udir took the lead. Behind her came Haber, then Lucia, Mirmya, and Rendel, in that order.
"Let's move."
They set off at a quick pace.
About an hour later, their first monster appeared.
"Stop. Goblins."
Rendel's hand moved reflexively to the sword at his hip — but:
"Rendel. Don't worry. There's no need for you to lift a finger."
"…I see."
Lucia the priestess stopped him with a benevolent smile.
And she wasn't lying. Haber the bear beastman charged forward and smashed a goblin's skull. He shoved aside a goblin throwing stones with his shield, breaking its nose, then finished it with his mace — a clean combination. From the rear, Udir the guide aimed her crossbow and put a bolt clean through the last dagger-wielding goblin's forehead. The fight was over in moments.
The dead goblins crumbled to dust, dropping magic stones.
"Porter. What are you doing? Pick up the magic stones."
"Ah."
He'd been so absorbed watching the fight that he'd completely forgotten a porter's duties.
Rendel collected the four goblins' magic stones and stowed them in his backpack. Udir said,
"Moving again."
Following Udir, they turned right, then left, then right again, repeating the pattern.
Then a dark bat hanging from the cave ceiling swooped down. Udir killed the lead bat and shouted,
"Dark bats! Combat ready!"
Dark bats traveled in swarms — which meant attacks could come Rendel's way too.
He drew his Arming Sword from his hip.
"Kiiik-kiiik!"
"Chirrrr!"
He swung the Arming Sword at the dark bats swarming down from above.
Slash!
In a single arc, a cluster of dark bats was cut down, vanishing as they dropped magic stones. They weren't particularly strong monsters, so there was no real threat.
While everyone else was breathing hard as they hunted the dark bats, Mirmya was—
"Kyaa! Hiyaah!"
Whoosh!
Crunch!
—swinging her mace. And every swing burst a dark bat's body like a grape.
This is a… mage?
Was a mage supposed to be competing for the vanguard position? There was no sign of her using any magic at all.
Regardless, Rendel calmly hunted dark bats with his Arming Sword.
Once they were all dealt with, he collected more than twenty magic stones and put them in his backpack.
Haber the bear beastman spoke up.
"We'll rest here a bit."
"Yes."
Rendel and Mirmya sat against the cave wall first. Haber exchanged a look with Udir, then nodded as if some signal had passed between them. Their expressions were hidden by the darkness.
Udir glanced sidelong at Lucia.
"I'm going to scout ahead a bit. You all rest."
"Udir, I'll go with you."
"Do what you want."
After one more shared look with Haber, Udir and Lucia vanished into the darkness.
Rendel watched their retreating figures for a moment, then chewed thoughtfully on the jerky he'd brought as trail rations.
…Does a priestess normally go scouting together like that?
As a first-time adventurer, Rendel didn't know.