Chapter 16: Freeman
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 16: Freeman
The dwarf Birtanen was wrong twice at the exit gate.
Caleb, is that you?
Wrong! It’s Avison’s body.
Caleb, is that you?
Wrong! It’s Mr. Back Attack.
And the third time.
“Caleb! It’s really you this time, isn’t it!”
“Sorry, it’s Yernil.”
Yernil emerged from the other side of the exit gate, looking sheepish.
“But Caleb will be out soon.”
“I knew it! Did you and Caleb take down Mr. Back Attack together?” Birtanen asked.
“Yes… though to be precise, it feels like Caleb did almost everything.”
“Wait a minute.”
Assistant Instructor Scarlett approached Yernil, her hand covering her mouth, unable to shake off her astonishment.
It was because Yernil was wearing a slave’s prison uniform.
“You… you’re… from the university’s slave unit?” she asked, pointing a trembling finger at Yernil.
“Yes.”
The assistant instructor’s shock had now reached a singularity.
“What is the meaning of this…”
The fact that a two-person party of adventurers had taken down Mr. Back Attack was a huge deal in itself, but they were a slave party?
Shouldn’t an overpowered fighter like Clorence be required for a duo to clear Mr. Back Attack’s exit room?
How on earth did a slave party, far weaker than the average adventurer, manage it?
Putting skill aside, they had no proper equipment and no food. Their only weapons were a mass-produced, cheap wand and the junk goblins carried around.
And they were a makeshift party, formed just a few days ago after meeting for the first time.
“But how did you even manage to kill him…?”
She couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened in that exit room.
BOOM!
The gate erupted. The last person was coming out.
The party leader and architect who had pulled off this shocking result.
“Caleb!”
A collective gasp burst from Birtanen’s party.
*
I had escaped.
I had finally succeeded in getting out of that hellish labyrinth.
And the moment I stepped through the gate…
‘A bit noisy.’
Cheers and greetings poured in from all sides.
“Caleb! Where did you find Avison’s body?”
“Rookie! Did you two really take down Back Attack?”
“Did you bring the body back so we could resurrect him? Oh my, I’m so touched!”
And a red-haired human woman, who looked like a university assistant instructor, grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me.
“H-Hey. Is your name Caleb? Are you really a slave wizard?”
Hmm.
Considering our team’s strength, bringing back two bodies didn’t make any sense.
I understand your shock, Assistant Instructor.
“What the hell are you! Can you really use non-incantation, high-speed casting? No, even if you could, how did you beat Back Attack…”
“I’m… getting dizzy, could you please let go…”
No, my head was seriously throbbing. It was from overdosing on healing potions.
If I could, I’d gladly answer all their questions one by one.
“Priest.”
The last words I managed to squeeze out with my fading consciousness were:
“Give us… our 8,000 gold…”
My consciousness shut off, like a TV being abruptly turned off.
Like a professional habit, I analyzed the phenomenon even in my last moment.
‘Drug overdose shock.’
I’d chugged five healing potions in a row, so I was likely suffering from drug poisoning. My low health stat meant the side effects hit hard.
I’d probably be out for a few hours.
*
When I came to, I was in a temple.
“You fainted the moment you came out.”
Priest Emma of the Order of Nathaniel approached and gently placed a hand on my forehead.
“It was probably due to drug poisoning. I heard you drank a massive amount of healing potions?”
“I had no choice. There were no detoxification potions.”
“It was a crude method, but you did well. You have to survive, no matter what it takes.”
“Priest, what about my money?”
“It’s over there.”
Emma pointed to a small table. A small pouch was stuffed with gold coins.
I took it out and counted. 7,850 gold.
“It should be 8,000 gold after subtracting 1,500 for the spider carcass from the 9,500, right? It’s short 150 gold.”
“That’s the treatment fee.”
“I didn’t need it.”
“I know. You probably would have recovered just fine sleeping it off at an inn.”
“Exactly!”
“However, your party member, Caleb, requested that I treat you.”
Yernil, you little…!
“And you didn’t refuse, Priest…?”
“A priest of Nathaniel cannot refuse a patient who requests treatment and pays the fee. It is because the god himself has guided that patient to me.”
Of course. Dammit.
The Temple of Nathaniel has a fanatical obsession with the fairness and transparent execution of contracts, transactions, and services.
Because they believe Lord Nathaniel himself presides over such matters.
If Emma’s best friend or family came to her on the verge of death asking for help, she wouldn’t treat them if they had no money.
Because if they were worthy of treatment, the god would have made sure their pockets were full.
Conversely, if her mortal enemy or a wanted serial killer showed up with money, she would treat them.
What did that mean, in short?
The followers of Nathaniel were psychotic fanatics.
“I am very happy and moved by this situation. The fact that I could treat you with your own service fee… doesn’t it feel as if Lord Nathaniel himself is trying to bind us together as a party?”
“I’m not so sure…”
“Once you leave, you’ll go to the Magic University to acquire your freeman status, correct?” Emma asked.
“Yes.”
Though I wasn’t sure if I’d be entering the labyrinth again.
“I wish you the best of luck!”
“…”
I glanced around. All the sickbeds were empty.
“What about Avison?”
“Avison is receiving treatment in the Resurrection Chamber. Thanks to you bringing him back so quickly, his soul preservation period hasn’t expired yet. Instead of reviving him immediately, we will regenerate his lost leg and restore the decayed tissue before attempting resuscitation.”
“And Back Attack?”
“Mr. Back Attack’s body is in the morgue.”
“…”
The Resurrection Chamber and the morgue were different. Both handled corpses, but the former was for resurrection, the latter for burial.
“Can’t you resurrect Mr. Back Attack?”
“It’s impossible. Mr. Back Attack did not have Soul Preservation cast on him. When he died, he was simply dead.”
This part was identical to the game’s lore.
According to the lore, when a person dies, their soul departs for the afterlife. Soul Preservation is a spell that binds the soul to the physical body.
Its duration is one week.
So in the game, if you had Soul Preservation cast on a character, you could recover their body within a week and resurrect them.
What if you didn’t cast it, or the time ran out?
Permanent death.
At that point, you had to swallow your tears and recruit a new party member.
‘But you’re wrong, Emma.’
Mr. Back Attack hadn’t suffered a permanent death.
‘Mr. Back Attack’s soul is preserved.’
Except his soul wasn’t bound to his body. The Labyrinth Master had extracted it and stored it in a jar, like pickling kimchi.
And that jar was likely in the Soul Sanctuary, somewhere on the 1st floor of the labyrinth.
That was also the cause of the unremovable madness that afflicted him.
His soul had been stolen, and his empty shell of a body was just moving on the Labyrinth Master’s orders.
‘Does Emma not know about the Soul Sanctuary?’
Perhaps it wasn’t just Emma; maybe none of the adventurers here knew about it.
Come to think of it, I only discovered it myself after reaching the ‘God of Strategy’ difficulty.
If I found the jar in the 1st floor sanctuary, I could revive Mr. Back Attack, but that wasn’t a problem I could deal with right now.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
First, let’s head to the Magic University.
“Yes! You can do it! Make sure you become a freeman!”
I left the temple, with Emma’s cheers following me.
*
When I arrived at the Magic University, I found Yernil squatting dejectedly at the lobby entrance.
I could guess what had happened just by looking at her face.
The university’s assistant instructor must have heard about our 9,500 gold employment contract from the dwarf and his party, and also about our exploits.
And she would have told Yernil something like this:
“That 9,500 gold all belongs to Caleb.”
Just as I thought.
The reason was contribution.
For a university slave, simply getting carried through the labyrinth by a party wasn’t enough. Their income was redistributed based on the degree to which they personally contributed to the adventure until their escape.
For example, let’s say Birtanen hired the slave wizard Caleb, played the labyrinth as a four-person party, and split the earnings 25% each.
Afterward, the slave wizard Caleb would be summoned to the Magic University and interrogated.
‘Was your contribution to that party’s adventure really 25%? Let’s see, by my calculations, it seems to be around 18%. The 7% difference is considered unjust enrichment, so the Magic University will confiscate it.’
…They would simply collect it, just like that.
This was legally possible because the reason we were slaves was that we were ‘criminals.’
One could not shed their slave status by relying on someone’s goodwill, charity, or a party that carried them. For a university slave, entering the labyrinth was a form of punishment.
Naturally, you couldn’t receive money as a gift either. Becoming a freeman because someone paid your ransom—that kind of development was also impossible.
Only when the money earned through the slave’s own abilities exceeded their fine, proving they could contribute to society, was their slave status lifted.
So, how would the distribution between Yernil and me work out?
“I will now distribute the income you have farmed from the labyrinth to each of you. I am Jacob, a Tier 4 wizard and an assistant instructor in the Magic University’s Slave Management Department.”
When we went to the university to settle our accounts, a man with a business-like appearance and dark circles under his eyes greeted us.
“First, the service fee from Birtanen’s party. Final settlement amount, 7,850 gold.”
He had already finished calculating and distributing the service fee by cross-verifying Yernil’s and Birtanen’s testimonies.
“The ratio is 7,848 gold to 2 gold.”
It was practically giving the entire amount to me. The assistant instructor handed me the pouch containing 7,848 gold.
“In that exit room battle, Yernil did not inflict any meaningful damage on the exit boss, protect any allies, or command the battle.”
He wasn’t wrong, but should I double-check if both testimonies were clear?
“Yernil shot two arrows at the spider. And after receiving the priest’s Weapon Light, she marked the gathering point for the spiderlings. She also rolled the barrel to Birtanen.”
“I am aware. But the two arrows were meaningless, as was the barrel. And marking the spot with Weapon Light was something Caleb ordered.”
“Yes.”
“This distribution is accurate. I’ve already used the Scale of Fairness.”
The Scale of Fairness?
It was a term I’d never heard before.
“What’s that?”
“Since I have to distribute the next settlement anyway, I’ll show you directly.”
Jacob raised his wand and began chanting a spell in front of us.
“Let each contribution become a fair counterweight.”
An enchanted two-pan balance, the kind you might find in an antique shop, materialized before our eyes.
When the assistant instructor entered the amount 7,850 in the center, the scale tipped heavily toward me, showing 7,848.
‘A spell I’ve never seen before.’
There was nothing like this in the game.
How does this thing work?
“Yernil was the one who extracted the poison fangs from the spider carcass and crafted the poison arrows.”
I offered a piece of information Birtanen wouldn’t have known.
He had said he proceeded with the service fee distribution by cross-verifying Yernil’s and Birtanen’s statements.
“That is unrelated to the service contract.”
The scale didn’t move.
Should I try to be more persuasive?
“It is related. The very proposal of the service contract was based on the calculation that we could clear the next exit room with poison arrows. And the reason I bought the spider carcass for 1,500 gold was for the poison fangs. If Yernil didn’t have that level of dexterity, I would never have proposed the contract in the first place.”
“Hmm…”
The assistant instructor stared silently at the scale.
A few seconds later.
[Caleb: 7,845 Gold]
[Yernil: 5 Gold]
The scale moved, ever so slightly!
Clink.
The assistant instructor took 3 gold from my pouch and placed it on Yernil’s palm as if giving alms.
“Caleb, with the gold you have now acquired, you can immediately become a freeman. Would you like to purchase your freeman status?”
“Yes.”
The assistant instructor took 3,000 gold and removed the slave collar from my neck. He also issued me a temporary freeman’s identification card.
I was now a freeman.
“Now then, let’s get to the real settlement. But before that…”
He aimed his wand at each of us in turn.
“Lie Detection Magic.”
This was another spell I’d never seen before.
Lie Detection Magic?
“When you lie, neurological and physiological reactions such as a dry mouth and sweating are unavoidable. This magic stimulates those reactions, making them more intense. It’s standard procedure when evaluating a slave’s team contribution, so please bear with it.”
The assistant instructor said.
“As long as you don’t lie, there will be no problem, so rest assured.”
So these kinds of spells were why it was so quiet here.
The Slave Management Department, I mean.
In the game, every time I came here, the NPCs would turn the place into a parliamentary hearing, arguing over their testimonies. It was always a chaotic mess of people grabbing each other by the hair.
“Now, shall we hear your testimonies? From the moment you were dropped into the labyrinth until you came out of the exit gate, tell me about your adventure and how each of you contributed to it.”
The assistant instructor took out a large pouch of gold coins and placed it on the table with a thud. It was heavy, even at a glance.
The value of the magic stones and goblin equipment we obtained in the labyrinth, the money from selling the scroll, the reward for recovering Avison’s body, Mr. Back Attack’s bounty, and the proceeds from selling the equipment Mr. Back Attack had.
We were rich.
“Resetting the scale’s value.”
No.
Maybe… I was the only one who was rich?
Wait a minute.
Yernil, you… you’ll at least be able to buy your freedom, right?
Please